An altogether better booking experience
Comments
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well once again you seem to be implying that over there is much cheaper, those Italian sites were charging about £30 per night for a couple?
Why are you insisting talking about over there on this thread which is about the club's new approach on booking?
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Well, we do both over here and over there, pretty much out of peak season in both places.
Over here, we would not travel without booking, over there I think we have possibly booked twice in the last 10 years......once at Ypres as the site is very popular and we wanted that site, and once for one night at Delftse Hout as it was a holiday period.
Other than for one night, no sites have asked for payment on arrival. Some ask how long we think we might stay, we always say something like 3 or 4 nights if we plan to stay for a few nights, they seem happy with that and say to let them know when leaving, either on the day or the night before.
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Some of you aren’t right into this casual touring at all in UK. We find a site, pitch up, then post some money through door for each day we want to stay. That’s about as spontaneous as you can get! 🤔😁 There are still places in UK where you can arrive on a whim and say hello to some old chums made down the years.
But not Club Sites. Gone are the days of just rolling in, mooching from site to site.
Anyone care to put a bet on the introduction of deposits? And extending the cancellation period.........
Meanwhile, we will be off next week. Not a single site booked yet, in fact the deliberation on West or East is still ongoing.........
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Staying away from the "who books what when" discussions as I have probably said enough about that....
I commend the club for updating the web facilities. The current system is very poor and really needs attention.
I hope it has been benchmarked against the leading site finder and booking platforms.
Wow, even an APP.
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interesting, in what is it poor?
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What we really need is a system which allows us to book in and pay on line before your leave home. Then all that is needed is to have a scanner at the gate which reads your membership card and off you go to find a pitch. No more queuing in the office for half an hour while the person in front insists on telling the warden all his problems.
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And an automatic site barrier which won't open till the advertised arrival time!!
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I find the way the Club is approaching these changes a bit strange. Nothing wrong with making the booking system for both overseas sites and UK sites easier or slicker which ever way it turns out. However what I find slightly Machiavellian is that the post script that they are looking at the administration of the booking system to overcome considered shortcomings but not until later. What is really happening is two things which should not be linked in the way they are. It feels as if we are being softened up for bad news down the road. If the Club feel they need to introduce deposits or lengthen the cancellation period or other tweaks surely that is a stand alone proposition and should be dealt with as such? I only hope that when we do get to the nitty gritty of what is happening the Club furnish us with real facts and statistics (not just percentages) of why the changes are needed.
David
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great idea
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I only hope that when we do get to the nitty gritty of what is happening the Club furnish us with real facts and statistics (not just percentages) of why the changes are needed.
Can you actually see HO doing anything like that David, because following the lack of communication from them on other similar subjects I certainly can't?
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It’s the smoke and mirrors approach. It’s catching on in all walks of life, from running a touring Club to governing a country.......
Management by cloak and dagger. Usually ends badly. For someone.
Since I left work, I now tell it like it is, not what the poor misguided soul in front of me thinks they want to hear. The art is in trying to do it politely. 🤔😁
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Personally I don’t have a problem with the booking procedure as it is but if change is to happen so be it. However, IMHO, in order to ensure that changes are in the best interest of the membership as a whole all members should be given a chance make their views known on any possible/proposed changes involving block bookings cancellations deposits etc via a survey as all members would be affected by these.
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It’s been said that Members should have been consulted about the name change, the new logo, new signs, camping pods, goodness knows what else and now you add changes to the booking system to the list.
We elect Council Members to make decisions on our behalf and the club staff then implement the changes.
To consult all members on every issue would be time consuming, expensive and impractical. As you can see from her OP, Rowena says the club has listened to members via CT, surveys and focus groups (and probably Facebook too) so I think that’s a pretty comprehensive catchment area. Everyone has the opportunity to make their voice heard here and elsewhere.
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A bit like the referendum. Listen but take not a blind bit of notice.
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I agree in principle with Tinwheeler's last post. However, it’s not unusual in a Members Club, where there is possibly a contentious issue, for the proposed change to be put to the full membership. Particularly, where the item will directly affect the total membership. I suspect “Deposits” fall into this category. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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My problem with this announcement is that it deals with two separate issues as I mentioned above. However on the point of consultation the Club do make it clear that they have used several sources to work out their future policy and that includes Club Together which I think we should all be pleased with. I am not sure about Focus Groups but would like to know more about them and how people are chosen to contribute to such groups. I have filled in no end of site surveys over the last year although quite how they help provide this sort of information I am not to sure but then I only know what I write! I am not of the view that any decision needs further consultation because the evidence should point to a course of action. That action might not be popular in all quarters but providing the Club fully explain the need for action I think we have to accept that.
David
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I think that the cancellation and deposit issues shouldn’t even have been mentioned at this stage. It’s a bit half baked to hint at things to come when decisions haven’t been made. Far better and more professional to launch phase 1 - the booking system revamp - then, later if need be, announce phase 2.
What the club has done here, by handling things in an unprofessional way, is to invite speculation and to cause rumblings of resentment and dissatisfaction. Does no one think of the consequences of their words and actions?
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Spot on! 👍😃
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But is that not the same in the way all companies seem to work these days, The BBC announce they cannot "afford" to carry on giving "free tv licences then have just announced a Scots only broadcasting company at over £35 million to run
for a population of ,is it 5million?0
, and believe it when it when it happens 