Swift Caravans, in the dolddrums
In a depressed market, I gather they made a £4 million loss in their latest accounts. Caravan sales not doing so well probably due to several factors, cost of vans, sites and towing vehicles all pushing up the costs of touring, build quality, and competition from other forms of holiday.
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Losses at Elddis were £11 million over the last two years.
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There is >a report< out about the decline in domestic tourism and in it they point out the estimated decline in caravan, camping and glamping visitor numbers down from 12.10 million in 2022 to 8.95 million this year. If true, those kind or numbers are obviously effecting the whole industry.
peedee
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Wasn’t 2022 a bumper year as we came out of the pandemic with overseas travel still restricted?
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Yes , I think it was. That was the first post Covid year. However, the industry does appear to be suffering with not only manufacturers having problems but also dealers going bust. I don''t think it is clear what is actually happening with motorhomes and sites. Motorcaravan sales do not appear buoyant but site occupancy????
peedee
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Mmm, so 2022 was far from being a typical year and using it in that report is misleading.
Manufacturers and dealers thrived when the staycation bubble was floating high but it was clear that bubble was going to burst at some point and trade would drop. It’s as if the industry didn’t expect it🙄.
Some say site occupancy is good, others say not. Who knows? 🤷🏻♂️
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Theres been a lot of arrogance in the trade, post covid.
At the end of '23 we were looking to trade in our caravan, and visited Lady Bailey in Dorset for a quote. When I asked why they weren't at the previous months caravan show, I was told 'We don't need to to do shows. We're Baileys biggest dealer'
I asked if they would swop the spot lights in a particular caravan between the bedroom and the lounge, as the bedroom ones had usb points and the lounge didn't. 'I suppose' came the reply 'but it'll cost you!'
When the quote arrived, there was no 'Dear Mr' or 'Thank you for visiting us', just a blank email with a pdf quote attached. I was appalled.
12 months later, and they're gone.
We bought from Winchester Caravans, who have been exemplary from the start.
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Its not just the manufactures the dealership are struggling to, took the caravan in for service the other day, we noticed heavy discounted new caravans and new Isabella Cirrus 300 air awning £1600, this could only lead to cost cutting practises and laying of staff.
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I think we all knew post Covid the market was going to be a bad way. New owners buying into something they had little knowledge of who sold on quickly when things returned to normal, rushed orders, manufacturers upping production, dealers buying in higher numbers of vehicles, and then the bubble burst. It hit caravans first, I'm guessing because these are the cheaper end of the market. Motorhomes seemed to be holding on well, but I'm assuming things are starting to go the same way there.
Late summer 2022 I started looking at another Eriba caravan. At the time I was on my 4th and the previous 3 I had sold for more than I'd paid for them, including one sold to a dealer. Things looked good and at that time if I sold privately I could reasonably expect to see up to £3K "profit" and if I went to a dealer i was around break even. The market then tanked. In June 2023 I could not find a private buyer and dealers all said the same. My van was high spec, excellent condition, the correct model, full service history and immaculate BUT they were heavily overstocked and nothing was moving. I eventually sold to a dealer for a £3.5K "loss". The blessing was a £6K+ reduction on a stock van at another dealer.
Since then things have got worse. Dealers are closing and those trying to keep going are offering very large discounts. If buying now and you are in it for the long term, then you are in luck.
Colin
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No one I know personally is towing a trailer caravan these days. Many people are not having a holiday, but those who can are using Airbnb, budget airlines, cruises, all inclusive overseas packages, renting fixed campsite accommodation, or cottages, families going to Disneyland Paris, or Center Parcs, or posh glamping with hot tubs, using camper vans, taking city breaks both home and overseas, and all ages taking tents to festivals. There are obviously some “true believers” in caravan touring, but to me it seems to be a hobby in gentle terminal decline and fading away. I am not surprised caravan manufacturers and dealers are struggling.
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I just wonder how much tourism has been lost from cities like Oxford. With this Club losing their site or the CCC not wanting to invest in their site.Along with now Bristol losing BW surely must have an impact,for the hospitality sector.
Even Crystal Palace site has been lost for visits to London.
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I think caravan holidays as probably most of us knew them are no more. It used to be a low cost option for many, buying second hand, doing a bit of maintenance yourself, using low cost pitch prices, including both Clubs. But that’s very different now. A caravan for those still doing it, or new to it is an expensive item, and not easy to maintain, hence high servicing, repair costs. Most like towing a small apartment behind their already expensive tow car, so you get fixed bedrooms, swanky kitchens full of tech, a lounge area, an often huge awning, and it’s all very expensive, and requires the disposable income for the initial purchase and then the extras for site fees. It’s become a choice for the well off really. But there is a market out there for those who do it on the cheap still, but it’s now far removed from the Clubs in the main, and a large portion of the commercial sites. The awful reputation on some caravan builds and after service doesn’t help either. It’s somewhat akin to what happened to the British car manufacturers pre 2000’s. A lot of working families might not get the VFM from spending upwards of £70k+ on a decent tow car and family sized outfit bought new, and the rash of second hand models will come with possibly a lot of issues, so it’s a vicious circle.
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That doesn't wholly explain why there are so many motorhomes and campervans being bought. But I do agree, instead of spending 80k on and MH or caravan + suitable car, you can get an awful lot of AirBnBs or cheap catered holidays for the same money - without maintenance or purchasing finance costs, even cash costs.
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Touring can be done inexpensively, using a variety of different format types of sites, including full service CLs and club sites. We have been away for 6 weeks at an average cost of £13:50 pn, and our previous trip of 53 days worked out at £17:81 pn.
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Over the week on site Swift and Coachman appear to be the leading brands by a large margin. Although for twin axles it's Elddis. Not too many Bailey's this week.
Again it was half caravans and Motorhomes on both types of pitches, but that's alway been the case at TH due to its location, again a lot of Swift made ones MHs but many VW campervans.
Also saw my first tent box camper.
There were quite a few expensive large MHs on site but this one surely beat everyone else?
I checked and I think it's a Morelo Palace liner(?) and from a quick search on google it comes in around £389,000 new. You can pick up a 2019 model for around £275,000 with about 10,000 miles on the clock. It won the club's 2025 design awards, with the judges praising its chilled bar compartment, something I've always missed in my outfit - unless you count the awning in winter!
There's higher model at over £600,000.
If this was you - a lot of respect!
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These were the runner ups taken on the same evening walk as the Morelo, all beautiful no doubt about it. No idea of prices and I bet they all thought they were going to be the largest on site until the saw the Morelo?
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How the other half lives, eh, Corners😀
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If we are talking big boys, how about this one I parked my little Eriba [body length 4.2m] up next to at Eurotunnel Calais in 2018.
Colin
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There was a Morelo (huge) at Marazion the last time we were there, which was 2021 I think. On one of the pitches along the entrance road. Fabulous outfit for full timing, we were impressed that it was on a grass pitch, the owner carefully drove it out to a watering point, then back onto the pitch every few days. They had a big 4x4 as a daily run around, guessing towed behind the Morelo on the move. Exeter Racecourse always has some huge MH on site, often with the slide out sides as well. They tend to be along the course rails by the tower rather than on the pitch rows. Huge Neismann Bischoff outfit pitched up across from us at Clumber, chap on his own with his small dog. It had an enormous Sat dish on the roof, and he moved around a bit from pitch to pitch before he finally got a signal. Always interesting when there’s lots of outfit variety😁
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We spent last weekend in an AirBnB, and Ive never appreciated our caravan more. Couldnt get in till 4 on Friday, and had to be out by 10 on Sunday.
Bed was lumpy, the shower was so powerful it nearly took my face off and the toilet cistern leaked all over the floor. All for the price of 2 weeks on a caravan site.
I havent spent £80k on an outfit but, if I had, I'd still get a sizable chunk back if I decided to sell.
Money spent on a shonky hotel or AirBnB is gone forever
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You pays your money - you get class.
I've always thought that whatever subject is being talked about those 2 things, money and class, more often than not don't go together.
As an example we once had to stop at a Restaurant in France one night as we'd misjudged the opening hours of another and there really wasn't any alternative. It was one of those places that didn't serve a menu but rather small courses, about 8 of them that didn't amount to a full dinner plates worth. Every diner was in their Sunday best, except ourselves although we weren't scruffy. It was the worst dining experience we have ever had when eating out. Cost us about £100 25 years ago.
I know a few people who are comfortably rich but they definitely do not possess class, well not in what I believe to be class.
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There were a couple like that on the THS we have just been on at Kendal, including a Hymer of similar size, but the largest we have seen was last year on a THS at the Bridge of Allan and one of the two guys in it drove a Smart Car up a set of ramps and into the M/H's garage, at the back, before they left!! They do seem it be popular with some who are content with staying on non EHU sites or rallies.
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Triky's Concorde was like that. He had a Smart in the back too. Whatever happened to him?
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Gone the way of many others, unfortunately, although hopefully he Is still out and about somewhere.
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Some say site occupancy is good, others say not. Who knows? 🤷🏻♂️
My experience, more in the commercial sector than the Club's is that occupancy is down, certainly compared to the boom years. This is a shot of one site taken last week, note all the empty pitches. It is in a very popular location and fairly priced for August.
The 60 pitch site we are on now, which also takes tents, has been doing quite well over our stay here, but has never been more than 80 percet full throughout our stay. Without tents, it may have been much less.
Looking at Club site bookings, there are vacancies on what used to be full sites at this time of year, they also seem down. It maybe we are getting back to pattern of site occupancy seen a good few years ago.
peedee
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Well my experience this year from actually using club sites, that is being on them for a number of days or more rather than looking in, is that it's been better than previous years. The site we're pn is about 85% full and the warden said that over the year it's averaging over 60%. I think that's pretty good
The snapshot posted, or taken by @peedee (of an unknown site but probably south west that always had less occupancy anyway), is literally just that a snapshot and shows nothing more than that moment.
PD often mentions that MHs are in greater numbers than caravans in sales and on site, which is true, so perhaps those empty pitches are MH off site? We'd need an evening picture for accuracy.
at this time of year PD perhaps you don't know but this is the last two weeks of the school holidays I would think based on experience most use the first two, and in fact the Scottish school go back about now. Sites were never full at this time of year in my experience.
You mention late availability but if look at late availability for the BH weekend and Saturday it's a very good picture indeed. I've counted 10 areas that are mostly full with a lot of lows. Peak district is completely full, and three other areas are all full apart from one low.
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Puts it into context TW. CS There are an awfull lot of motorhomes out for the day. 🤣🤣. The site manager confirmed occupancy was down.
Don't know were you look at availability CS, but even Melrose has vacancies on all pitches over the Bank holiday as have many other Club sites.
peedee
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@peedee so you took that photo and chatted to the wardens? What site was it? Out for the day? or travelling to that site? It's debatable either way but who knows the reality? But if you named the site then it would give your post some context? Some areas do not get the occupancy that others do. The site I was on was 85% full last week and one night all 39 SP were taken, often by MHs arriving at night.
You're in error about Melrose @peedee, and you've made this mistake before PD in looking at late availability.
You have not selected all touring pitches but all pitch types. Since Melrose has tent pitches, which usually have space nearly all of the time, it show those up in all pitch types. If you change the selection to touring pitches you will notice it is full on the Saturday and low on the other two days. I think it's fair to exclude tent pitches as this thread is about caravans and MHs?
I would think that you have made this mistake on pitch type selection for other sites, try it again with touring pitches (ie for caravans and MH) and you'll see the pattern I describe. Apart from Devon and Cornwall, and Scotland the picture is looking very good.
Melrose at the bottom row once you select touring pitches. Also take a look at Melrose going in September, you won't get a full week on a service pitch (four nights max) till the last week and not a full week on a standard pitch (with or without awning) for the first three weeks.
Some screen shots to show my post was indeed correct.
I think that looks pretty good? It's not all areas as talked about above, but backs up my post. It was the same on the other BHs as well.
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But then again @Cornersteady that is just snapshot of one special weekend, ie the August bank holiday one, on a limited type of pitch, (serviced ones of which there are only a relative few on each site) and is certainly not the norm for all pitch types for the weekends either side of it.
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