£11 per night to take my wife. wow
Comments
-
Hi - Late to the party on this debate and a member since only Jan this year (if that makes any difference).
I'm in complete agreement with <theyoungoldcodger>. I've asked exactly the same question of the club itself on 6 occasions and never even had a response. A formal statement would be helpful regarding the pricing model.
The 'price from' price is completely misleading as I strongly suspect that the number of members caravanning alone on a grass pitch without EHU etc. is a tiny %age. The actual price for a couple (as we know) is much higher.
And I remain at a loss to understand why it's considered that the cost of my wife coming with me equates to (typ) £11 per night (even if she is worth it). Obviously a second person doesn't 'cost' that much it's simply a charge allocated.
No other hospitality sector charges per person. Hotels, B&B's etc all charge per room. It'd be much more transparent to post a typical / standard charge.
1 -
Your statement about hotels all charging by the room is incorrect. While some of the chains undoubtedly do that, others charge different rates for a single room, double room or family room. Some also charge a lower price for one person occupying a double room.
This is the same per capita pricing structure as CAMC uses and I think it’s unreasonable to expect two, three, four people to stay for the same price as a solo camper. The prices are displayed when booking and available to see before joining. The Price Guide clearly states the policy of pitch fee + a cost per person.
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/uk-holidays/useful-information/price-guide/
2 -
The price from is always misleading, be it the club or any other company and it appears sadly to be standard practice for travel and leisure.
There are quite a few members who travel solo, a few post on here and there is a section for them on CT. Again a few post to say they use club sites because of the per person price which does make it cheaper for them.
You don't have to understand why an extra person costs extra at all really, although it could be justified on the extra energy, water, used on your pitch and facilities. But all you have to understand or rather accept is simply the price when you try and book. There are plenty of other providers if you think it too high. And that leads very nicely on to another point.
However the club gets to the final price you will find that it's more or less the same price if you went to another similar providers who charge for a couple, the club is still middle of the road for prices for its type of sites.
all charge per room that's not my experience, some do, some don't, sometimes there's even a supplement for a single use of a double room, but again no one forced to pay any price set.
I can't see how pitch plus per person cost can be any more transparent or obvious? And again what is a typical or standard charge? What should the club base that on? Apart from number of people (and what abt families?) what season? What type of pitch?
0 -
Historically, many of us remember much simpler charging regimes with the Club and also where the charge shown was for 2 adults so more likely to be what most people would pay. I suspect there are more single campers than some years ago and I have no problem with there being a lower charge for them. For me, the issue with the Club pricing regime, besides dynamic pricing, is the huge variation during the year with different rates at weekends, different rates at bank holidays, different rates when ANY schools are on holiday. The vast majority of independent sites I look at have two or three "seasons" with, in some cases, minimum nights for bank holidays. The CCC has recognised charging seasons, even produces a leaflet which shows the charges (many of us remember that for the CAMC) However, a number of their sites, not all, do have minimum night stays.
This complexity irritates me because I cannot just look at a site and think "this will cost me £x" I have to do a dummy booking to work it out.
If tempted by a Club site I work out the cost, compare with alternatives, and make a decision. So far this year we have had three nights on one Club site and intend to spend four nights on another in October. We mainly use CL & CS sites and recognised overnight stops, especially in Scotland.
3 -
"….also where the charge shown was for 2 adults so more likely to be what most people would pay"
Just to clarify, that didn’t mean people paid £11 less for two people but was a different way of giving an example of the 'from' price. I think CAMC changed it because it's clearer to show the from price for pitch + one person because, in reality, that is the starting price and not everyone is part of a couple.
2 -
The Club quote the minimum price that a pitch can be booked for which happens to be a combination of the pitch fee plus one adult and at the lowest price point in the year. How useful that is to the majority is open to question. I have some sympathy with Hja's view that Club pricing is very complicated, certainly at first look, and maybe second! Perhaps what we should discuss is what would be a better system that would appeal to majority or is it just a question of getting used to what we have?
David
0 -
As if our opinion counts!! They at HO will do just what they want regardless, and then hide behind the statement that "members said this and we take notice", but only when it it agrees with their ideas.
3 -
I have criticised this charging system as simply stupid for years but it is the way almost the whole industry works.
When you book a camp sites you pay for the cost of the fixed costs, the rent or cost of purchase, council tax, maintenance, staffing and he like. This remains the same however many people are in your unit and is by far the biggest part of the site costs.
Extra people use a bit more electricity, water and create a bit more waste and wear and tear but nothing like the charges sites charge for them.
What we are doing with this system is financing lower occupancy units and fleecing families. I do accept that correcting the system would hurt single occupants, but would also help families. Even a family discount would help as is done by the C&CC.
Whatever you do will hit someone but the current system is plainly wrong. The additional person charge has simply got way beyond any sensible sum and needs seriously looking at.
I have nothing to gain from my ideas as at 78 we tour as a pair and would probably still pay about the same if the pitch fee was increased and the extra person charge was reduced.
3
