Secure you summer holiday for just £5 deposit
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to let you know that you can now secure your summer holiday with only a £5 deposit when you make your booking between 4th July and 30th September 2024 for any time this year, and up to August 2025.
You can book any pitch, at any UK Club campsite for any date and duration with only a £5 deposit. What’s more, it’s fully refundable*! Don’t miss out, secure your last-minute summer holiday today - whether for a day, a week or even a fortnight.
More Info HERE
*fully refundable up to 21 days before arrival.
Comments
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Surely that’s an admission from camc that they got it wrong by introducing the deposit system in its present form? They listened to a few complainers, threw away the club’s USP, introduced a troublesome booking system and have had to back track.
Btw, I’m not attempting to shoot the messenger here.
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Although I am out of this now I didn't think there was anything wrong with the original deposit system. It was way fairer than anything out there in the commercial sector. Given the Club used to argue that a low deposit did not discourage people from booking and then cancelling at the last minute have we not gone full circle? Perhaps there is a deeper problem that we are not aware of. We have seen an unprecedented number of money off offers this year. Are people falling out of love with camping?
David
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We introduced deposits in 2022 to reduce the number of speculative bookings as previously almost 1 million nights were cancelled across our UK Club campsite network. We're pleased to say that cancellations have now reduced by 70% (so more members than ever can find a pitch at the campsite they want to visit). To further help our members tour with the Club and enjoy the great outdoors, we believe we can now reduce the deposit and still retain a low cancellation rate. The deposit is still fully refundable - if you cancel more than 21 days before the arrival date you get your deposit back in full.
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Cheers, Ro. Yes I read that in the FAQ. I’m sure CAMC must realise that £5 won’t stop any speculative bookers. Not that it matters at all to me.🤷🏻♂️
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I agree with you David. The fundamental problem is occupancy is down,hence all the offers and changes. How bad this is we will have to wait for the accounts for 2023 to see.
I don't think people have fallen out of love with camping, the reduction in occupancy is probably down to a number of factors, cost of living, higher site prices and the shift to motorhome ownership which is altering the style of camping and also where they camp.
peedee
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Yes it will be interesting to see what happens with Baltic Wharf. Under the no deposit system by now the rest of the year would have been largely booked. Currently for hardstanding without awning only July and August are showing any full / low dates and even the few awning pitches have plenty of availability.
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I don't think people have fallen out of love with camping, the reduction in occupancy is probably down to a number of factors, cost of living, higher site prices and the shift to motorhome ownership which is altering the style of camping and also where they camp.
Cost of living perhaps, reducing the number of trips made. However, if York is anything to go by prices haven't put folk off. We stopped for 3 nights a week ago and paid £50 a night booked well in advance. Looking at the prices for the few spaces left in the week before we arrived they were high fifties and the Friday over sixty. The site was full and there were lots of Motorhomes.
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The fundamental problem is occupancy is down...
Is it? I don't see it like that at all. I'm almost constantly monitoring about six to eight sites and I can't get a full week at any of them for the next two months.
shift to motorhome ownership which is altering the style of camping and also where they camp.
Again looking at club sites when I'm staying this isn't the case, MH now usually outnumber caravans often by quite significant amount and it's never lower than 50%. What was the latest figures? Highest ever membership and was it something like 70/80% MH owners?
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the reduction in occupancy is probably down to a number of factors, cost of living, higher site prices and the shift to motorhome ownership which is altering the style of camping and also where they camp.
Oh, I forgot, then there is the weather, wasn't 2023 wetter than normal?
peedee
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Whatever the cause of the decline the facts are facts.
The Club has seven sites in the Lake District. Every one of them has availability every single day for the whole of the rest of July
No wonder Club managers are alarmed and are offering deals.
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I don’t think the shift to MH ownership accounts for the reduction in occupancy - assuming there is such a reduction. Members swapping from a caravan are, in my opinion, just as likely to use CAMC sites with a MH as they did with a caravan, albeit they may stay for shorter periods and move on to the next CAMC site. We’ve seen plenty of newcomers with MHs join CAMC as well.
Is it not more likely that any reduction in occupancy is due to people like yourself turning to CLs, THS, rallies etc? Only CAMC can say for sure if there is such a reduction but the evidence of regular site users suggests that may not be so.
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But that fact alone doesn't prove or show anything. It's in one area for a start. Also it's not totally accurate either, there are only six sites as I recall (and have checked), and service pitches on two of them are full on quite a few days.
As a long time user of club sites in the Lakes I can't remember a time when they were full, can you? The majority of them are 100+ site pitches, one over 200, so expecting full sites is a big ask?
You've alluded to this before (and usually choose different areas to make the same point, usually the SW) but is your measure of club success having club sites full in every area? Do club managers simply look at full occupancy figures to gauge how well the club is doing?
Of course what we don't know or can't tell from anywhere is how full these sites are, are they 80% full? 50% full, or maybe just full enough to cover their costs? This I assume is what club mangers will look at and as we don't know the data we can't wonder either.
As I posted on six sites I look at I can't get more than a few days but again what does that fact show?.
Now of course the more pitches filled the better and yes why not use offers to get more?
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For is, it's not the amount of the deposit that prevents us from booking our "summer" holiday, but the 21 days notice to cancel. As farmers our leisure time is in short supply, and is dependant on the weather. So all we can plan is to go away "sometime in August". And we probably get up one day, look at the weather App and click online to go the next day.
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Same here Goldie. Good luck to those who can commit to two three weeks of uncertain weather, we did that all our working lives (mostly lucky, thankfully), but committing at todays prices is a different kettle of fish. It’s not just the deposits, it’s the cancellation period, and the prices per night that have meant folks no longer commit earlier.
I think the Club is trying to mend a fractured relationship with a core of its long term Members, but the only kit it has at the moment is akin to sticking plasters, and it won’t work to get folks back in without some serious, dynamically applied big discounts on very last minute pitches. I spent a working life filling space and time activities, and early recognised that any money gathered in last moment, is better than having unfilled, unused capacity. That’s dynamic pricing applied to poor take up🤷♀️
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I'm not aware of the club having site occupancy issues before the system changes but it seems to now certainly for me the lower 10% deposit encouraged me to book more and I've now taken advantage of the £5 deposit, the whole low deposit flexible options of swapping and changing sites is what attracts me to the club.
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Unfortunately, it is not likely to make a difference to the way we book. Apart from for the main holiday, which we usually book in January, all our short visits are often booked a few days before (or even the day before) we go. If a site is fully booked, I just choose another site.... Never cancelled a booking until last year - when we were recovered by Mayday from the Outer Hebrides (fortunately not towing the caravan), and the car couldn't be repaired in time for our 'turn around' with the caravan.
David
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If a 10% or even 20% deposit is putting people off booking I can only assume they don't use non Club sites, especially the better quality commercial sites? Earlier in the year (before we decided to sell up) we had booked a few days at Castleton. On the morning of departure I was in so much pain with my knee I didn't feel it safe to drive. The fact that I would lose the deposit was neither here nor there. Somehow I had ticked the box to pay before arrival which was no issue as the Club gave me a refund minus the deposit. Exactly as the system should be. Had I been unfortunate enough to have booked a commercial site not only would I have had to pay a deposit but more likely the entire fee for my stay 4/6 weeks before arrival. Had I cancelled at the last minute I would have lost the lot. The latter has happened to me twice in the last couple of years. I understand that I agreed to the T&C's so no comeback but it does leave a nasty taste in the mouth. By comparison the CMC T&C's are so, so much more generous and it is difficult to understand why the Club feel the need to reduce the deposit to such a low figure, in fact half of what it was the last time we took deposits! I am in the same position as TW in that it no longer applies to me but it does seem like a 360 degree reversal of the reasons why deposits were reintroduced in the first place and as TW says it will no deterrent at all as some members will just not show up if all they lose is a fiver? If the Club feel that have made a mistake introducing deposits, why not just say so and go back to the old system of deposit free booking?
David
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"As I posted on six sites I look at I can't get more than a few days but again what does that fact show?"
possibly as a result of more MH's, have not used a club site for maybe 2 years but the commercial sites i visit i have noticed that lots of MH's only rock up for a couple of days, 1 site i have used has changed its booking policy to a minimum of a 3 night stay, owner said he had complaints that regular customers could not book a 4 day weekend as before because Friday's were often booked but not Saturday and he put this down to MH's
as for loosing deposit, have had to cxl 2 commercial sites for July, because my OH has a badly broken wrist, both gave me a 12 month credit for my deposit, which i thought was very fair. Most large commercial sites have their own insurance scheme, so for not very much money you can cover your deposit and full fee if necessary.
I believe also, that if you have EU travel policy in force you can claim your deposit/fees on this policy provided you have proof of booking ?
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Again it's interesting andor funny that when the club appears to respond to comments on here then it's never received well.
It was 'we need deposits' then when they came in, there were numerous posts against it, with I recall comments along the lines of the club having all this upfront money to get interest on and how bad is that?. Now a sort of halfway (well 3/4 back) house has been done which really benefits us all rather than say that's a very good deal the opposite happens. No doubt when this offer goes we'll be back to the opposite view -again.
No matter what the club does it's alway not well received by some.
No me it makes no difference what-so ever. The pitch fee has to be paid for at some point but I'll glady pay less.
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It was PD and EuroT who said occupancy was down and PD who suggested it was because of MH but I think not and your post backs that up.
I'm not bothered who uses a club site but obviously they are being used. I'm not not bothered that I can't get what I want, as always one has to book early for club sites.
I've no idea what schemes are available on non club sites but I can't see it being far different from a £5 deposit which is refundable under the rules, I assume these schemes won't give you back the payment needed to pay for them?
As to travel insurance this has been discussed before but many, if not all, have an excess, ours is around a £100 so really not applicable to club sites, and probably many non club sites if your deposit is under that?
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Again why so bothered Burt, you don't use club sites?
But has any business ever done that?
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They don’t have to admit anything really, all the changes/offers since the initial change to deposits is a good indicator that changes have been needed.
We don’t have any issues with deposits, it’s the 21 day cancellation period that we don’t like, but I suppose the Club is just doing what any other holiday providers do. But, as I’ve said previously, the “Club” imposes this on fee paying Members.
We had to come home a night early last time out. We intended staying while around 7.30 pm to avoid traffic. Merely as a matter of courtesy, I range the site owner to let her know we were leaving. She insisted we had our last night fee back, despite me saying no, tried to suggest putting as a credit for us for next time, but no, insisted. It will be the first place we go back to when we can get away again. Lovely small site, and I wouldn’t expect a Club/commercial site to be this generous, but what customer care is all I can say.
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Well it could be seen that the offers made so far, £5 off, 10% dspoists, were so successful in getting more people onto club sites, indeed how many on here have posted to the effect, that further offers could do even better?
It's a business decision pure and simple. Jet2 makes these all the time, low deposits, offers... so do Ryanair, yet their planes and holidays are mostly full.
Personally I think as it's so low perhaps it should be non refundable no matter what? And have a refundable deposit at 10%, take your choice?
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CS said "Personally I think as it's so low perhaps it should be non refundable no matter what? And have a refundable deposit at 10%, take your choice?"
Does make you wonder if at £5 its worth the admin to refund? I expect the majority would be willing to give up a fiver? Having said that I still think there is a danger that having paid five pounds lots will not bother informing the site they are not coming. Two ways to get over that would be to go back to the old sanction system or perhaps a quid pro quo if want only to pay a five pound deposit the payment must be automatically paid on the morning of arrival?
Regarding Ruf's point about commercial sites, I can only say that Cofton and Wells Touring Park did not offer to reschedule the booking. I would also be surprised if insurance covered the cost which for the two sites was around £450. Despite having Covid on one of the sites I should have just carried and stayed at the site regardless.
David
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It's not the deposit that has stopped me booking Camc sites, it's the price per night.
On our return from France 2 weeks ago we didn't have a single night booked for our journey home.
We didn't have any trouble finding sites in the right place that had availability.
One site we stayed on was booked over the phone 3 hours before getting there, pitch allocated (but could change on arrival) paid in full.
The site was good, big gravel pitches, good facilities block, ehu on every pitch. No staff on site just the code for the barrier to enter, £24 a night. The owner lived close by and was available on the phone if needed.
Would definitely use again.
Nearest club site was Thirsk, £27.50 a night on grass, old facilities.
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My issue with CAMC sites is that many are several miles away from anything, such as pubs, supermarkets, bus stops etc. We have a motorhome and cycle around once pitched using our racing bikes. Which is better for the environment than driving around in a motorhome. This needs the weather to be dry at the least. UK weather is not reliable. The idea of sitting in the motorhome for a week waiting for the rain to stop does not attract. Therefore we tend to book late.
Recently there was an offer over high season if you stayed a week, which we tend to. However it had to be booked by 30 June and you had to be more than 21 days ahead of arriving. Why? It certainly doesn't make us likely to book anything. The discount should apply for late bookers over the whole period. I assume they want to fill pitches.
I find I use sites less ofen as the years progress and look at affiliated sites first as they're often cheaper.
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