Internet should be free
Comments
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Yes a full +1. I've often shown that some sites have, in my view, horrendous T&C where one could lose all your payments if you cancel often along time before arrival.
It always amazed me that people have to somehow 'boast' that the site they're on is so far better and cheaper than a club site.
Why? Is it the old people only use club sites because they don't know there's better out there line and those that use club sites need educating somehow? I'm really happy that people find what they want and are happy, but maybe people who use club sites are happy too?
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1) you supply showers and toilets but not everyone uses them so your justification comment on how many members will use it is invalid
2) i have stayed at many sites where phone reception is poor let alone 4G/5G so VOIP is the only option.
3) when you stay at a Premier Inn you expect to pay for internet when you stay at a Hilton you do not, its certainly not poor quality and its already in the price. CMH are the best sites but prices are the highest already.
4) If walk around most sites the demographic is clear, good luck with attracting younger generations with this strategy. To quote the old cliche "If you dont implement or embrace change you will be the victim of it"...Think of all the big companies and brands who simply dont exist anymore, Kodak being an excellent example. Markets move and you should know that because its why you had to change the name of the club to attract more members
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I don't think any of it was David's doing, Fernhill😀
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Only to moderate fairly in line with the forum T&Cs. David is a volunteer forum mod and has nothing to do with the running of the club.
I agree it gets a little confusing at times when personal views are posted.
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LLM, yes that was the site and if demonstrating that a non club site can offer free wifi (the subject matter?) along with other additional amenities is 'boasting' then so be it..
Ive actually used both the Henley sites so feel able to make a comparison based on real experience rather than just trying to belittle someone elses post.
...and yes, we certainly did have to pay a £30 deposit....in fact, we paid one last year when our planned trip was cancelled due to covid. the site just rolled the deposit onto this visit so we didnt need one for this time....didnt seem too horrendous a deal to me.
we will be visiting again at New Year so have paid another £30 deposit for that trip, again, not a problem, we will go and the final bill will be reduced by said £30. yes, awful practice but there you go.
we also had a continental winter sun break cancelled by covid and that deposit was also rolled over to our new booking for Jan next year. dreadful customer service, cant understand why we are going back to either site...
some folk have an aversion to deposits, some dont, however the earlier post showed that comparable sites, in near identical locations can offer, amongst other things, a free wifi service that works exceptionally well across a large site.
Comment from Community Manager: Part of post removed
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Looks very nice BB and we would certainly give it a try for our normal 2 / 3 day stop. However, with those T&C’s I would be wary about booking for a week / two weeks. Particularly at present.
Payment at least 7 days before or they reserve the right to cancel. Refund minus deposit from 14 - 2 days only if they can rebook the pitch. Full loss within two days and no refund if you leave early. That could make the free Wi-fi seem very expensive.😉
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Likewise...dont see any problem with deposits, we paid £30 last September for a site we will hopefully be visiting this coming September, site has previously rolled over deposits. Somehow £30 in the grand scheme of things does not seem to me to be worth bothering about some 12 months later if you loose it.
cant remember whether wifi was free or not, never use it
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Steve, yes it is nice, very nice in fact...
but as Rufs says, you can get all hung up on this sort of deposit T/C thing and end up going to places/sites you might not have picked, all things being equal...
we go to sites because they fit a good combination of location and facilities.
in the case of SF over Henley Four Oaks, the £30 (which obviously we didnt lose because we actually went...) pales as the two sites offer different levels of service/facs..
if the £30 was a 'risk' (as seen by some) it was worth it for us....as we went.. and made use of those extra facilities....for the same price.
its interesteing how, whenever anyone makes a non club recommendation or comparison, there is an instant effort to 'defend' the club from the (obvious) 'slight' thats just been inflicted upon it....it was just a post about free wifi, but some get very defensive, very quickly.
either way, its a great site, with top class facilities and for those who choose it great, and for those who choose HFO thats great, too....
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You don't have to go to an all facility site to have wi-fi included. Some CLs offer this too. It's nothing to do with how much a site costs. It's much more to do with the vision of the owners, functionality of supply and a general outlook on what customers might see as a benefit to their stay. I think the club started with an dysfunctional system, unfortunately.
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Free internet exists nowhere! The cost is factored, included and spread so those not using it are possibly paying for something they do not need. Now is that fair? Admittedly, that factor may be included as a loss leader but a cost non the less.
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Swiss farm is next door to four oaks at Henley-on-Thames and as when BB posted in earlier posts it is a holiday and park home site which also has touring pitches, so it would have as we noted when we had a look some years ago the facilities BB mentioned as the holiday park ,and park homes would subsidise all the facilities as happens on most holiday home parks
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That's my point, Micky, and, although I wouldn't mind so much if the WiFi was fit for purpose, it isn't in my experience so I object to being forced to pay by means of an all inclusive fee for something substandard.
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I don’t have any problem with loosing a £30 deposit. We’ve several £25 ones with the C&CC. I would have a problem with loosing £400 or so, if staying for longer and cancelling late on. As I said would certainly give it a go for a 2 / 3 days. Particularly as we would probably be staying at out of season prices.
In these uncertain times the more flexible the T&C’s the better.
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+1 especially when most say they appear to get a better service using their mobile signal.
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But at the annual price, we find it very cheap compared to what , a mobile phone contract would cost and I have been using it on all the club sites we have and will be going to this year and have not ,as posted earlier found it any slower or have any more problems than seems normal on the clubs Web site, and can check on our emails and surf the net ,without any more problems than we get at home
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If you don't have a mobile contract then yes the annual price is cheaper, but otherwise not.
I'm not saying, and never said, buy a mobile just for club sites but many people already have a mobile which they can use while on a site and no extra cost.
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Reckon your home broadband needs an overhaul, JV🙂
You've overlooked the fact that a mobile package can be used for calls and texts as well as Internet and can be used in places other than CAMC sites. Contract prices are tumbling all the time and I consider less than £2 p/w to be extremely good value for the year round use I get (almost) anywhere.
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A MiFi loaded with a 24 GB internet with legs sim might be worth considering. Currently £45 and data lasts 2 years once activated, unless of course you use it up. You would have to buy the MiFi if you haven’t got one but they are much cheaper than a smart phone. You can get an unlocked one for around £40.
Although I had 3 / 4 annual contracts. I’ve not bothered since the start of the pandemic, as with generally full sites and possibly the different demographic, it has been generally poor to not working using the free access.
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I'm sorry Micky but you are wrong.
i stayed on 2 CLs this year which had free wifi. Both owners admitted that they were worried about including it without a hike in rates but felt that it might be a selling point and one of them has actually negotiated a discount with their provider since starting to offer it. Both CLs were full for the extent of our stay. I didn't choose either due to the wifi offer but it meant we didn't have to eat into our own allowance so was grateful for it.
i do think that when people make sweeping statements that include the words "Everyone" or like yourself "exists nowhere" you are holding yourself hostage to fortune. There are likely to be exceptions somewhere
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There is a world of difference between a CL with five potential users and site where it could be upwards to 300 users. The bandwidth used by a CL could probably be accounted for within most of our personal data plans but a site with between100 and 300 pitches can't. CL's are also likely to be away from good 4G signals which makes it more important for the CL to offer WiFi, be it free or charged.
Until we know what percentage of Club members make use of site WiFi it is difficult to judge whether it should be an included service or not. I am not sure CL's are a useful barometer, although I am pretty sure if a CL owner saw the cost of this data package go through the roof they would adjust their prices!!!
David
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DK I was merely pointing out Micky that the word "nowhere" shouldn't be used in this context. He didn't qualify it and I'm merely showing that some places I have stayed at provided it. I understand there is a world of difference in size. It works both ways as economies of scale apply to the larger organisation but that wasn't the crux of my post.
And I don't hold with your view Micky. The prices were already set before the offer of free wifi. Sites that size can't afford loss leaders.
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WN I merely replied to the OP which clearly stated the fact that WiFi should be free. I merely pointed out the fact that because a site has decided not to pass the cost on to the end user this does not mean it is free. For example, go to your local library and use what purports to be ‘free’ WiFi there. It is not, it comes out of those taxes both you and I pay.
In those very early days of the internet some folk did call for free National access for all. I’m afraid this never happened in this country of ours, the ‘will’ was not there. In the same way the cost of water on site is not free. Sites owners do factor all costs and overheads into consideration when arriving at their end charges. This is how businesses work.I’m one who did campaign in those early days for free National WiFi and for it to be made available to every community and person in our land. It just never was and dare I say, now never will be.
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As posted a lot earlier. Does anybody know what the approximate costs are to install suitable Wi-Fi on a typical club site?
Colin
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The fact that no one answered should tell you.
What good would it do you to know? You would also need to understand occupancy rates, any upkeep costs and tax liabilities on income for that figure to be meaningful.
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