Am I being unreasonable?
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I think it’s just CLs evolving, doing what’s best for them. There’s still a huge range of CLs doing things differently. If owners have committed to putting in facilities to attract more visitors, then that outlay needs to be recouped. If it’s a more laid back, sanguine affair, then the pressure might not be there.
I think more members are trying CLs, probably as a result of ever rising Club Site fees, but to expect them to be mini clones, with the same terms and conditions is unfair. Totally different business models. We seldom use CLs that ask for much in way of a deposit nowadays.
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I think some are expecting mini clones of the club which is putting pressure on CL owners to upgrade or lose out. Personally I don't want this but it could be the way that some CLs will survive, deposits etc are possibly all part of this. In the meantime I'll just enjoy the huge variety out there, deposits or no deposits.
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If a CL owner has a minimum investment and usually has no more than 2 or three vans they might consider it better not to operate deposits. If an owner is regularly running full or near so and having put considerable effort into a CL in a popular area then deposits make more sense.
A popular CL that I have earmarked when next in the Macc area is probably charging £20 a night. We stay 5 nights on sites and so I would not be upset to pay a £50 deposit (50%). If we did not take up such a booking it would likely be due to health or breakdown and in such a circumstance a £50 deposit would be the last of our concerns
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I don't think I can really add much to what I've already said. We love using CLs - because we only have a small van and our shower is really a glorified storeage area (particularly when we had, and hopefully will have again next year, 2 dogs) we look for a site with toilet/shower facilities if we're staying more than just a night. We've found loads where those facilities are available and every bit as good as club sites; many where we'd have been willing to pay more than what we were charged! Some have asked for deposits, most not. That is entirely up to the CL owner to decide. Personally, I feel that asking for getting on for 60% deposit is unreasonable but good luck to them if they can fill the site with folk willing to pay that.
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Back when I had my apartment in Spain, I charged a deposit and, additionally, required full payment six weeks before the commencement of the rental. Whilst the 'no-show' rate would be lower as people have to arrange flights etc. it would have made a substantial dent in my income as getting last minute bookings is a precarious business. CL owners have my every sympathy.
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Yes I agree, it is their business but personally I think they are being too greedy
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Personally i think with the growth of the more inconsiderate people in society these days , the case for deposits of one night's fees is beckoning ever more strongly ,even if it is for just the one night stay or first night.of each booking for the Club or even more so for Cls
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That’s standard for booking cottages in this country in most instances as well CY. A good few require a damage deposit as well, I know we paid £100 first time we used a lovely cottage in Penzance. It was returned to us after we had left and the cottage was checked out. Have heard some real horror stories of folks having cottages trashed by visitors.
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I also took a 'security deposit' of £100. Fortunately I only had to invoke it once but the subsequent recriminations left a nasty taste.
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interesting thread...
personally I don't see any site asking for a deposit as a problem if it's somewhere I really want to go...
on the flip side we have the open booking system of the cc, and ive booked sites in the past that we thought we 'might' like to visit, so booked early and got the spaces.
in the end, we didn't take them all up....all within the 'rules'.
if I'd had to pay a 'non returnable' deposit on each, I wouldn't have booked them.
but if I really wanted to go somewhere perticular and the site was just what we wanted (as seemed to be the case in th OP) then I'd be happy to commit.
its odd that the level of deposit seems to have sharpened the 'level of commitment' and in this case, the booking was not taken up.
perhaps the issue was the level of commitment not the level of deposit, as in my case above?
i wonder what level of deposit would be the threashold for taking up the holiday? 20%, 30%? and does this reflect the percentage commitment to the supplier?
when folk have discussed deposits here, citing the same reason for having them, we are told that they don't sharpen focus at all, In fact the opposite is true....
we happily pay deposits (or pay fully in advance) for many things in life, foreign holidays, theatre tickets etc, I guess it just depends on whether we are committed or not....
strange old world.
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At what level of deposit is it too much? It does depend on the alternatives for me. In September our first stop was 5 nights at The Willows at Abersoch. The deposit was £108 with a further £108 to pay.
We were going to book Dornafield for July next year on their website but it demanded payment in full on booking and so we booked another site for 5 nights with £30 deposit. I did however send an e-mail to Dornafield to let them know that they had lost my booking. Their reply amused me as they said that if I had phoned they would have given me a lower deposit cost but that their website did not allow for that.
Most commercial sites have wanted between £5 and £10 a night
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Reading your post you are suggesting that even if you are only staying one night? Really?
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"its odd that the level of deposit seems to have sharpened the 'level of commitment' and in this case, the booking was not taken up.
perhaps the issue was the level of commitment not the level of deposit, as in my case above?"
I don't think you can have read my subsequent posts very carefully, BB. This 7 night stay comes bang in the middle of a proposed tour next year. My commitment is to finding a suitable site in the area we're visiting. There are many alternatives in the area, one of which now has our custom for those 7 nights (and, interestingly, without a deposit). The booking was not taken up, not by any lack of commitment, but out of personal choice and consideration of our experience in other CLs we have used recently.
I'll say again, it is entirely up to the CL owner to decide how to run their business. We weren't satisfied in this case, but good luck to them if they can find folk happy to pay that level of deposit.
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odd wrinkle? -no need to be offensive. And if not taken that way then people who stay one or two nights are not 'odd' but perhaps the norm at weekends.
As far as CC Ltd is concerned I would suggest the value of three nights to correspond with the three night (72 hr) alteration / cancellation time.
I am a not a mind reader and if you write something it should be clear as to what you mean, the above was not
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corners, I read DD"s post to mean the odd 'wrinkle' (as in 'hiccup') in the suggestion
.....certainly not 'wrinklie'.....if this is what you are referring to?
...and, I must say, I certainly thought the suggestion meant 'upto' three days....(although it didn't actually say that...)
and I didn't study rocket science
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When touring we only nèed to stay for one night....en route...(sound familiar ?) Are you seriously suggesting that I pay for 3 nights upfront for that luxury ? Full amount for one night....perhaps, But 3 definately not. If we liked it, we MAY stay longer ? But we are touring, the least organization the better.
The 'other' club only allows a minimum of 2 nights bookable on some sites....no good for us, I thought CLs were more easy going ? Obviously not.
If i phone up and book, (usually for the following day) then apart from a RTA, i WILL be there,,and if i'm going to be late, again i phone up and let them know....its just good manners.
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perhaps I haven't understood, but having decided on a site, doent this mean that it is the preferred site in that area....
you go as far as to say this about it....
'Looked very good, toilet/shower, dog friendly, great reviews, ideal for where we wanted to stay and just £15 a night. Ideal for us I thought ......"
but then, because of a £60 deposit, this now falls from favour.
of course, you're the customer and can go where you like, but to me, you weren't committed to that site.
if you really wanted to go there, and were committed to doing so, does it really matter what level of deposit they want...why is £60 any worse than, say, £50....or £40....
you still have to pay the balance when you get there....
is there some doubt in your mind that you will be going?
is it that, should the whole holiday be cancelled, you would have lost more?
again, if I wanted to go to a particular site (and it had all I wanted including a good price) I don't see why one wouldn't take it up.
im glad you've found an alternative, hopefully with all the things you need, and at a good price.....and that their deposit policy meets your criterion.
im sure it'll be as nice as the one that got away.
enjoy.
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Ray - I think most CLs certainly are more easy going. I'm sure many folk will stump up want the site I mentioned in the OP requests, and good luck to them. But in my experience the vast majority of CL owners, many of whom are, of course club members themselves, show a considerable degree of trust in fellow members. The most we've been asked for over the past 2 or 3 years is one night's fee, which is entirely reasonable in my view.
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BB - I really don't know how you can have so seriously misread or misinterpreted what I've written throughout this thread. Why are you, for the second time, suggesting a lack of "commitment"? My "commitment" was to finding a site in this area. This site was the first I enquired about and since I found their request for a 60% deposit unreasonable I decided to look elsewhere. I don't know why you raise the possibility of having to cancel the holiday - that would only be for very extreme health reasons and in that case a £60 loss would be the least of my concerns.
Let me say again (it's not "rocket science"
) I am entirely happy for CL owners to run their sitest in whichever way they see fit - I've no axe to grind with this particular site and if they can fill it with these terms, good luck to them. 3 -
what happened to the naughty step?
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So Wotser didn’t take it after all. 😄
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sigh
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You seem to have misread the OP, David.
Welcome back.
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ROFL
