A Night Free!🤩
Comments
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Ina
The email seems to assume you will pay in advance of arrival or pay in full on booking, if I have read it correctly? Now if you are only staying one night there might not be an option to do anything else. However if staying more than one night surely you could untick the box which agrees to paying in advance? That way the voucher could be used as part payment which might be less work for site staff? Although I am sure the Free Night scheme will be very popular I imagine a fair slice of the membership don't normally start their touring season until later than the end of March? So it will be interesting to see what the take up is like. Once I have sorted my service and MOT, which is usually the beginning of March I might be tempted at a few days at Morton in Marsh or Ferry Meadows.
David
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I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, and any offer that saves money is welcome, but I see this as an offer with limited appeal and one that is aimed to fill sites at a time of year when they would normally be less busy.
Great if you tour all year around but, as David says, a good portion of the membership probably don't.
I think a better offer would have been to go back to the one we had a couple of seasons ago when a discount was applied to the purchase of vouchers that were used when paying. Something like that would have broader appeal as it could be used all year.
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I think it's a very clever approach by the club.
Some may just use it for one night, some may add on a day to an existing/new booking , or some may book a weekend and get one night free and have a feel good factor. It might get people starting their touring earlier and/or get them to use one of the open all year sites. It might be a factor for someone joining the club soon and it's at a time when sites aren't particularly full. I'm sure there will be those (and I'm one of them) who will look for the most expensive site available and/or use a SP.
I think it's going to be popular as well. It is going to get more people on club sites for any mixture of the above and especially as I suspect most will do is use it for a weeknd booking and earlier than their normal, or rather established, touring dates.
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Just looking at the reality of the offer.
What happens if...
...you don't book and pay for your one night before 31st Dec 23?
...you do book and and pay for your one night by the 31st Dec for a date in 03/24, and for some reason you can't make it, refund, total loss, etc, etc?
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The wording is “You will need to pay the deposit or pay in full as usual” so the usual option when booking is in place. I don’t see that cancellation terms would be any different to the normal arrangements.
However, it won’t affect you and I as the offer is only for members.🤷🏻♂️
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It’s a selective offer, as are most that the Club throw at Members, just happens to be one that our personal circumstances fit, or almost.
It’s time limited to two months, 1st Jan to 27th February, so that eliminates those that either don’t tour in Winter, or might not have a Club Site open without travelling a long way. (There aren’t as many sites open after Xmas in some geographical areas)
We normally only book a Club Site a maximum of a couple of days in advance, but will take a punt on this, as even if I cannot go, my OH can have a couple of nights out cycling, so we won’t lose anything by having to book.
It does seem a convoluted way of getting a discount, but there’s nothing user friendly I find with the Club’s new booking system anyway.
In 40 years of using Club Sites, this will be only the second free night offer we have ever had, the first was a voucher for recommending a friend. What we are missing more than anything else is that mid week discount at certain Sites, at certain times of the year. We made great use of this, as it was often comparable with some CLs.
Grateful for the gesture from the Club, we will use it.
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Quite simple I think. You have to book before midnight 31/12/23 to get the discount. If you cancel, you get everything back if outside 21 days, but not of course extra money back for the freebie. If inside, tough luck you don’t get the discount, and you lose your deposit.
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The Club likes to trumpet it’s “you said, we listened” spiel for how it makes changes, so here’s one they might like to consider…….. just simply like if you agree…….
Bring back mid week discounts (without restrictive booking T&C’s) at certain sites, and certain times of the year please……
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And it might just be taken up by members who were going to book anyway.
This has been sold as a gesture, available to all members, in recognition of the fact that wallets and purses are under pressure. I hope it is popular, but I think it would be more so if extended into the Spring
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We used to start our year in late March/ early April, but now DD and family are using the caravan we try to fit in with what they want, they can only do school holidays, and we like to do a 3 week trip.
Easter is early next year, and March is often cold here, so not really attracted by going away in early/mid March! I also notice that March prices start increasing well before the 27th.
Still, it is not a bad offer, if one wants to go away that early in the year. A trip somewhere new might appeal, but there are no Club sites near to us that we have not used before, and the offer (understandably) does not include affiliated sites, so looks like we will not be taking up the offer.
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We had actually no intention of booking a Club Site, had already decided to use Laneside rather than Castleton, but for a couple of nights away locally, it gives us a very nice under £18 a night at Castleton. So it’s changed our mind for a very short stay.
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But you're still probably in a minority of members wanting to stay away at that time of year, and it's good that it works for you.
Its going to be good for a lot of people, but I don't see it as the all inclusive offer its dressed up to be as many people won't want to
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What do they say "Don't look a gift horse in the face" The offer is there so why not take it. Not much point seeking motivation for the offer in my view. If it proves popular it's just possible it will be repeated. If we book three nights at one of the sites I previously mentioned they are about £31 a night in early March so rather than £93 it would cost me £62, about the same as it would cost per night on an all facility CL? Just for ref, Moreton in Marsh was £24 a night at that time of year in 2019 so even a saving on prices five years ago!
David
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Exactly what I said in my initial post David. I'm just making the point that it has limited appeal.
I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, and any offer that saves money is welcome, but I see this as an offer with limited appeal and one that is aimed to fill sites at a time of year when they would normally be less busy.
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Let’s face it, what ever reasons are given this is simply a business move to get people to go to sites that are already open and being staffed. It is no different to the cheap pitches at Haven sites, Searles and others. We hope to be at Searles in Hunstanton in March, for less than a club site, even with offer, and with a swimming pool, which is why we will be going. Most of the other attractions will be closed, which suits us.
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I agree Hja. The Club has chosen to play in the same league as some of the big multi site providers, adopting similar deposit and booking T&Cs. If it’s going to compete, it’s got to adopt some of the similar really good offers that are out there as well. I am sure at quiet times, some of them have a bit more to offer than Club Sites, it’s not going to be enough just to think “we are The Caravan Club, we can rely on the loyalty of our membership paying customers” any more. That baby went out with the unique booking selling point bath water last year, certainly for a good few like us.
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A very good offer. If we book Baltic Wharf for a few days, as we often do in March, next year it will save us £38.60
Worth bearing in mind though that it is first night free, so if the price goes up for the weekend at the end you can’t have that day😂
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I get offers as e mails everyday . Some I accept, some I delete.
The latest is Nivea Happy Days Skincare Gift Set for £5.50 instead of £11.00 . Half price, what a bargain. How can anyone look such a gift horse in the face?
I just did.
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Good deal for you then PD as well. We shall be there probably late Jan, early Feb, after Xmas, pre half term, mid week. Like it as quiet as possible.
Don’t know if you know it, but top of Winnats Pass, turn right, then right again, (Blue John Mine) some great MH parking underneath Mam Tor, looking right down Hope Valley and Lose Hill. There’s an old bus turning circle, so no nasty manoeuvring to do. Best eatery in the area is back towards Hathersage, The Bird Cafe. Best pub in Castleton is The George, nice food in there.
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David
That's how I read the email; payment in advance, then getting the 1st night refunded on arrival. I haven't made any bookings on the new system, so am not familiar with the process; although I have of course read a lot of posts on the subject, and am aware that you can untick a box, so that you only pay on arrival. However, I've also read that people thought they had unticked the box, only to find that payment had been taken before arrival anyway......
I agree that a considerable number of the membership don't start their touring season until April, or Easter, the offer is available until the 27th of March, and Good Friday is on the 29th, so Easter is excluded. It will indeed be interesting to see what the uptake will be.
We go away all year round, so we will make use of it.
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It’s time limited to two months, 1st Jan to 27th February, so that eliminates those that either don’t tour in Winter, or might not have a Club Site open without travelling a long way. (There aren’t as many sites open after Xmas in some geographical areas)
Tda, the offer is open until the 27th March, so it takes in the February Half Term school holidays in England, Wales and Scotland, and finishes just before the schools' Easter holiday periods in England and Scotland, but includes the first week of the Welsh Schools holiday period.
We will certainly take advantage of it, either on our homeward journey after our Xmas trip or on our early spring one.
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As a matter of interest, is there a list of all the club sites' opening dates for 2024 anywhere, without having to look at each one individually, so as to identify those that the offer can be used on before it expires?
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School hols up here , in the Glasgow area, are from 28th March , so outside the offer.
School hols up here these days are fixed to the first 2 weeks in April, with a long weekend for Easter if it falls outside that period.
CCC do not consider that holiday period to be a peak period in Scotland (so far) ( must think it is too cold!) so age offers are still valid, which is useful.
Puzzled as to why CAMC start to increase prices the week before.
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I must pay more attention Nellie, thanks for that, another month then. That’s good news.
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That what I said, Kjell. Those members in Wales may benefit with their school holidays starting a week earlier than either England and Scotland.
In response to you last line the obvious answer is because they can, to increase profits obviously.
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