Pitch-Up .com
I notived on the Caravan Talk forum some one mentioning the the Club are selling pitch nights via Pitch-Up.com. Anyone have any information on this , particularly why?
David
Reply from the Club:
We’re excited to introduce the Club to a wider audience of outdoor lovers. Because we are run for our members, our community drives everything we do. The more people who join and stay with us, the more we can invest back into improving our campsites for everyone to enjoy. Plus, members always secure the best rate—saving £15 a night, whether booking directly with Pitchup or directly with us via our website, App, Campsite staff or award-winning contact centre.
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I would guess that it is another avenue to try and attract more customer, as it appears they are struggling somewhat to sell their pitches during the week, hence the number of different pitch-free offers being posted.🤐
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I've done a little digging and it's not all sites. For example Melrose can't be booked through pitchup.com but Troutbeck Head can. I can see the sense in that as TH is a large site, a bit out of the way and usually has space outside of peak and/or BH while Melrose is always popular so perhaps it's just for those sort of sites.
The prices are the same, including for non members, but the booking T&C's are not. For example there's a 15% non refundable deposit based on your whole stay ( and no matter when you cancel) v the club's £5 per whole stay and 21 days, this 15% could be quite a bit over a week, and the balance is taken out a week before you arrive. You can get your balance back if you paid it before 21 days. Also once booked no changes at all are allowed and no refunds for an early departure no matter when during your stay
I think it's to get people to look at club sites from a wider audience who will hopefully see the advantages in the club's T&C's and then join the club, maybe a quite clever move by the club?This is from a test booking for the next BH Monday.
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PitchUp normally takes a commission charge of 15% of the cost of a reservation they make on behalf of a site owner.
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Thanks to CS for the further research. Clearly a lot more people use Pitch Up than I realised although personally I never found it always provided me with the answers I was looking for. I suppose its a case of the Club being more commercially aware? Its in all members interest for the site network to be used as much as possible as it helps finance new sites and improvements to existing ones?
David
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It’s just a bookings platform, draws together lots of different places to stay, different types of accommodation and allows users to book and reserve dates via Pitch Up. I could make an educated guess and say that it’s very likely that users willing to make the effort could probably get their stays cheaper by going direct to the accommodation provider, but not everyone wants to do that, it requires another level of effort. It’s the camping equivalent of Cottages.com, Sykes Cottages, etc…… easy to browse and auto book, but getting direct to the owners will reduce the price and enable some form of negotiation that can and does save a considerable sum sometimes.
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I gather from other forums that the club is now advertising pitches on pitch up. Not just for non members but members as well. Problem seems to have arisen that trying to book via club site member found no availability but when they tried pitch up there was availability. Apparently the fees will be taken by the club. My understanding is that pitch up take a cut of the fee paid by the camper. Someone reported being able to get a pitch for less when they booked on pitch up! I can see a situation where none Members can book via pitch up, but I do think it is a bit unfair that pitch up apparently have some pitch to sell which means members can’t book via the club’s own web site. Has anyone seen any info about this?
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@Hja I posted similar here
David
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It will be interesting to read the response/explanation from @Rowena should she provide one!
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It strikes me as an excellent idea. Club sites are hardly ever full these days. The Club is trying a new tactic to sell empty pitches, even though they will be paying a commission to PitchUp to sell them - and of course the hope is that non members might well be attracted to join when they see what the club has to offer. Good move.
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"Club sites are hardly ever full these days"
Sorry, Euro, but as someone who no longer uses club sites, how do you know that?4 -
Hi @DavidKlyne By introducing the Club to a wider audience we want to get more people using our campsites and to join the Club. As a membership organisation, the more members we have and the more people stay with us, the more we can invest back into improving our campsites for everyone.
Members will pay the best price, saving £15 per night - whether booked on Pitch Up or on our website.
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we pay £69 a year to book through the caravan and motorhome club not pitch up. No wonder there are empty pitches on site they are not as always been no shows now they are unsold pitch up pitches, been trying to book a site for spring week showing full on club site but available on pitch up what’s fiasco.
spoke to a manager at head office told to book it through pitch up but beware there terms and conditions are more severe than the clubs , what am I paying £69 for.2 -
@clarinetman I suppose it could be said you are paying £69 for far better terms and conditions as I outlined above, and of course the reduced member price.
What site was it? I only ask as I'm trying to work out which sites are in pitchup and which aren't.
@Rowena is there, or will there be, a list of which sites are in pitchup? I would suspect it might be useful for members to know.
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@Hja there is another post on this subject, which you have perhaps missed, so here is the link to it. This might answer one of two of the points you raised.
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@Hja I don't know if, as a moderator, @DavidKlyne can merge the two posts or whether that has to be done by @Rowena or someone else at HO, but that would be the best idea I think.
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David is no longer a moderator, Nellie, but DSB is.
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Hi @nelliethehooker. It is my understanding that threads cannot be merged. The only thing I can do it to close this thread and to add a link referring folk to post on the other thread, while I refer the matter to @Rowena. She can then decide if anything can be done....
In the meantime, please do continue the discussion here:
David
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Thanks @Tinwheeler I was not sure which of the Davids were still mods, and of course I picked the wrong one!
Thanks for your post too @DSB hopefully @Hja will see it and continue on this one.
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Hi everyone and thanks for closing the discussion @DSB
Good news, I've found that there is now a way to merge discussions what will be a really useful tool for us. ☺️
Sorry for going off topic. I will tidy this discussion up once everyone's had a chance to read that the discussions have been merged.
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@Cornersteady I will ask for a list and share here.
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hi spoke to site team re this issue and they say they cannot book this site for the dates concerned and has to be booked via pitch up, so I have tried the pitch up booking system,I found it easier than the caravan club site yes if I cancel I lose £12 prior to seven days before booking commences or the whole £83 if within this period, shame this move by the club puts members in this position if they want to visit this site on the dates, it is around £2 cheaper with pitch up than the current charge for these nights via the club.
The site is Ferry Meadows, we were booked on a service pitch leaving on Thursday 28th May 2026 which was showing full on the club booking page. Friday 29th was available to book on the club booking page, on looking on pitch up they were showing both days available via them at the slightly reduced rate so I have booked via pitch up.
The site team have requested that I inform them that part of my stay has been booked through pitch up not sure why they would not know that but will tell them when I arrive.
I will post again with my experience, I have cancelled most of my future bookings as I reduce my 30 year reliance on the caravan club and will look for a change of focus could be exciting.
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Thanks @clarinetman for taking the time to share your experience, that's really helpful. I will forward to my colleagues for their reference.
Sorry to hear you are cancelling your bookings with us. Don't forget we have 2100 CL Sites as well as our Club Campsites across the UK to explore and enjoy too.
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It all sounds a bit complicated to me to be honest. I can understand the Club wanting to tap into a new market (those who don’t usually use Club Sites), but I can’t help but wonder just how popular it would be (with existing Members) if the Club brought back proper mid week discounts on any Club Sites that had regular shortfall in midweek take up, without all the t and c that tend to go with any discounts nowadays. 🤷♀️
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Hi @Hja regarding why there may have been a difference in price, I've spoken to my colleague who has advised that when we update our prices on our direct website, that change happens instantly. However, Pitchup (like other booking or comparison sites) don't always pick up those changes right away.
Think of it like a digital delay. When our prices adjust, it can take a little while for that "memo" to reach other websites. During that short window, those sites are essentially showing an "old" price that hasn't been updated to the current rate yet.
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The site team have requested that I inform them that part of my stay has been booked through pitch up not sure why they would not know that but will tell them when I arrive.
@clarinetman the probable reason is that the T&C are different for both parts of your stay, under pitchup you cannot move those dates or obtain any refund should you leave early unlike the club's T&C on moving dates and/or leaving early if applicable. And also as you've said you've already paid for your pitchup dates a week before before arrival.
I think for a large site like FM times when the site, and pitch type is full will only happen a few times a year.
Thanks for posting which site it is.
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Hi everyone,
FYI and further to @Cornersteady's question, here are the Club Campsites currently listed on Pitch Up:
Carnon Downs
Ferry Meadows
White Water Park
York Beechwood Grange
Daleacres
Troutbeck Head
Alderstead Heath
Freshwater East
Chester Fairoaks
Incleboro Fields
Looe
Willingcott
Hurn Lane
Battle Normanhurst Court
Cae Mawr
Camelford
Culloden Moor
Dornafield
Moorhampton
Pandy
Stover
The Firs
Modbury
Plymouth Sound
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Totally agree with that.
We do not use many Club sites any more due to price, so a mid week discount would be attractive.
If we were trying to book one of these sites and found some dates unavailable, we would just go elsewhere, would never think to use pitch up, nor would we be happy with having part of a stay with those different T&Cs.
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