New Site Booking System
Comments
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You are so .right, this clubs USP seems is being given up in the what I see as going to be a failed attempt to appease a minority of members, who as in many walks of life are more vocal and tend to be listened to, than the silent majority ,that are happy with the system as it has worked
The club had no real need to go down the route they have ,if there was such a problem? With late cancelations by some? ,it just needed the Cancellation period to be extended as with it seems new system to 21nights
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Price is a consideration for Some !! ,and with what seems the majority who post on here are past or approaching retirement age? ,prices are a consideration and will not get any cheaper,,
Midweek discounts do assist. ,but all the time sites are as busy as in recent times why would any company discount ?
The future may be different? when members start to realise this clubs USP is not available and paying £54 as many do just to get a cheaper? Pitch which as others have said using other site operators can be cheaper then why bother,
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Although we have had a bit more information from the Club on this major change than perhaps we normally do we have no idea what went on behind closed doors. So we don't know what aspect of the cancellations decided them to introduce deposits. Many might think it is the late cancellations and if that was the case then perhaps an alternative strategy could have been tried first. Looking at the figures only a quarter of total cancellations are are very late to comply with the current 72 hour rule. That still leaves three quarters of the cancellations not so near to arrival. What we don't know is what influenced the management more?
I am not sure how the Club will judge success? If deposits give the majority of members a better booking experience and the Club maintain both membership numbers and occupancy rates I am sure they will come to the conclusion that the change has been worthwhile. However what happens if membership numbers and occupancy decreases? How does the Club tackle that, do they have a Plan B? Having put the new system in place its unlikely they will scrap it so perhaps they will have to look at pricing to see where they could make that more attractive. Another great unknown is whether moving to what is basically the industry standard, whether members will be more prepared to use the other Club and commercial sites more than they currently do?
David
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As always, David, the club will judge success by cash flow. The metaphoric ringing of the tills will outweigh other factors. It's a business and it's what businesses do. The club's success and survival is in all our interests.
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Simple really. Just put 2 persons down on initial booking, which will generate the deposit amount, then pay for the extra occupants on arrival, when you have saved up?🤷♀️ I can see a lot of this going on to keep deposits as low as possible to be honest. Unless of course the Club puts on an administrative fee to amend a booking🤨
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Good to hear, I think we will be heading that way in June.
Now there will be similar booking conditions in both clubs, where both have sites in an area we are visiting, we will be booking on price, and also looking at CLs where available. With price rises on pretty much everything in the offing, we either keep costs down or have fewer nights away.
Having decided £32.70 was just too much for a pitch at Banchory, and having found we could have a serviced pitch at Deeside Holiday Park for £31, we have now booked a pitch on a CL at Banchory for £18. Serviced HS, toilets and showers too, not that we need them. Just have to decide where we will head after that.
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As you know we have booked a commercial site in Norfolk with hardstands ehu and heated new toilet block, which is nearly £15 cheaper than both the club sites in the same area per night
And that could be just the start
USP of the club gone so may well be us. even if we do not now have to pay for membership
Two of our friends are of the same thoughts
We may as they have said look for CLs if they have decent write ups
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Cheap food,? cheap wine,? cheap hotels,? cheap campsites? No way. Quality governs choice every time for me.
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Academic for us all this deposits, amending etc…. We shall be using more CLs, and having just come back from a cottage stay where it worked out at just over £30 per night, with everything we needed (wifi, dishwasher, ensuite shower, garden, perfect location) we might just be using our MH as a day van and for a bit of a tour travelling to and from a similar priced cottage. (Booked late, hence the bargain price)
Happy to remain Members, but the CL network is still the primary reason. No doubt we will pick up the odd cheap Club night here and there on occasion, but we have nothing booked, and no intention of booking anything Club after January.1 -
Is it all part of a "Baldrick cunning plan"? Reduce pitch occupancy by less attractive amended T&C plus pricing and use the result to justify swapping pitches for pods to improve cash return on sites.
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Your crystal ball is a bit steamed up cyber.
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I think as we are finding ,that with the occupancy levels as they are at this time even with the prices we chunter about, more large ,investment by the clubs "experiance freedom" arm is not going to happen soon
Even site staff are still being restricted with their concessions on site stays, and that was I understand been reiterated for this time of year,in an email last week
If as quite a few have posted ,it will be interesting to see if the USP of this club ,is going to be affected in the membership, when and if a reduction in the covid. influence will be used if sites and membership declines
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Just one correction jv. Your second paragraph only applies to retired staff.
JK
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As we are looking to make some bookings, outside of this Club, for next year, we are finding that there is probably no such thing as a cheap campsite these days, only less expensive ones!
That does not necessarily mean one has to compromise on quality if you choose carefully.
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Lots of changes ahead jv, not only the new booking system. That's not to be discussed here. Long overdues in my opinion.
JK
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The only thing that worries me about the New Booking System and the posts on here is that a lot more people are expressing an intention to use CLs more next year.
Now, this is a good thing for keeping CLs going but making bookings on them may become harder for us regulars.
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...or as my old boss used to say.....'had ock'...how's your Latin, JV?😉
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Indeed☹️ We were very surprised last year to find some of our very basic (but nice) regular stop offs a lot busier than usual. Mind at £8 a night, you can’t blame folks for giving them a go and enjoying the tranquillity. There does seem to be a lot more new CLs coming along, but some are between the £20-£30 mark. Lots of choice out there.
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I thought it was something about wardens wine allowance.
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Actually that's not a bad thing, I personally know of two Norfolk ex Cls that have gone down that route (camping pods/huts) & they are thriving.
Another touring site in the same area as 3 separated 5 van sites CMC, C&CC & a local tourist board registered site on their several acre paddocks.
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