Age groups
i am puzzled having been a member for 22 years and staying on club sites for 12 weeks per year i find that most of the fellow members i meet are mature couples. when i read the magazine everything seems to slanted towards younger members. this also seems to be true reguards improvments to club sites ie childrens play areas. i wonder why nothing seems to be about catering for what i think is the backbone of the club.do other members not think that mybe some emphasis should be for more mature members,perhaps site discounts for mature members for instance, i will be interested to know what other members think?
Mod Comment
Morgon22
Thanks for reposting in the discussion area, I will delete from the Story section. Good to see you have a lot of comments here.
David
Comments
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well it is hard to think what mature couples would need, how the club could cater for their needs better? Children need somewhere to play so they don't affect others on site so is in effect catering to non child caravaners.
So what would you like for the more mature camper? a library, a social room with armchairs, a bar? A bingo hall? What would
you like?I suppose phyiscally I am now getting to be 'mature' and now go away without my children, all I want is a tidy site with lots of hardstandings
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Yep. Quiet, tidy site, with lots and lots and lots of hard standings! Also convenient, warm underfloor heated shower blocks with lots of showers. (And yes before some of you start, we do have facilities on-board, but we prefer to use the site facilities!)
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yes nice warm toilet block is good, but don't we have that already?
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With the weather as it has been over winter and Easter I really wouldn't want to have to take a grass pitch for a few months yet, (not at all really) Just don't want mud in the awning and caravan. If we have to use a grass pitch then we would rather not
go at all. But ok MollysMum I admit it is nice to have grass strips in between the lovely hardstanding pitches.0 -
I'm mature - some would say old - and there's absolutely nothing I want in addition to that which already exists.
The OP mentioned discounts for older people but that would mean others would subsidise us oldies which isn't fair. We get age related discount with the other club and surprise, surprise, it brings their prices down to roughly the same as CC fees.
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I agree with Morgan regards the club magazive. When I open the covers it seems to cater for the superfit youngsters. There does seem to be quite a large proportion of older campers on site and I feel a bit as though the club is ignoring our needs. We cant
all go tramping across the hills , sadly. Some of us are content with a nice brisk walk, a nice meal and time to do just what we want.0 -
I think you are referring only to magazine issues, Chatterbox, rather than CC as a whole, and it's my guess that CC is trying to attract younger members. Indeed, they need to attract a younger generation as us old fogies won't be vanning for ever.
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, with lots and lots and lots of hard standings!
You must be a lot older than I am . . . !
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I think similar to supermarket trolley bays, there should be a zimmer frame bay in a central position. Perhaps free steradent tablets in the blocks for overnight soaking. Larger letters on all signage and a free 'where am I' guide available on which someone could draw arrows taking you back to your caravan.
But away from school holidays you will always see the more mature person.
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Morgan22, you say you stay on club site approximately 12 weeks a year and mainly see more “mature” people. Which 12 weeks in the year do you use? If you have the freedom to go all year round but avoid school holidays, then of course you will on see mature
people, everyone else is probably working while their children are at school. If you use the club sites during the main school summer holidays I’m sure you will see more younger people.0 -
I hate this idea that because someone is a certain age, they all go into a box with everyone else of that age with the assumption that they all want the same facilities. Everyone who reaches a certain age, 65 for example, does not have the same outlook and
needs as everyone else aged 65. Not all 20 year olds share the same interests and outlook.Sites should, IMO merely provide somewhere to park whatever vehicle you use and provide toilet and shower facilities. I don't have an issue with children's play areas, it keeps them away from me, although I rarely use sites preferring CLs. I don't know what
additional 'facilities' some of the more 'mature' members want but, whatever they are, they would have to be paid for. I certainly don't think older members should get any sort of subsidised rate. If the statistics are to be believed, its the older generation
that is doing best at this time of austerity. and, I know that's a sweeping generalisation....the dangers of putting everyone into the same box
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I think similar to supermarket trolley bays, there should be a zimmer frame bay in a central position. Perhaps free steradent tablets in the blocks for overnight soaking. Larger letters on all signage and a free 'where am I' guide available on which someone
could draw arrows taking you back to your caravan.But away from school holidays you will always see the more mature person.
very good
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As people have said you bring what you need for your age group with you in the shape of a caravan/MH and everything in it. As you mature the jigsaws and crayons come out to be replaced with blood presure tablets and reading glasses
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More than one disabled toilet would be nice. Ray.
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It does seem to be true that the membership is slanted towards the older end but in svhool holidayd you will find many families. The problem as I see it though is that children wnat swimming pools and lots to do which is simply not what you get on most club
sites so families go where these facilities are and when the children have left the club sites become more attractive.There is alsothe question of costs as although a few club sites charge 1p for children most charge quite heavily particularly in high season and club sites get too expensive for them for what is there. The C&CC do a family rate which is discounted against
the total and seem to have more families in the mix so may be that is where the club should be going.They do seem to recognise the problem which may explain the slant in the magazine but are not tackling it head on and possibly that is where the problem is.
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I certainly would not want to see any major changes, such as the addition of social clubs. The sites are just fine as they are. Minor changes such as higher level taps at water points ( some are very low to the ground) would be nice, as it would save my
back. I suspect that those with motor vans would benifit from more user friendly waste disposal points. Also some of these very large rubbish bins are difficult for some folk. I have helped lift them for those who can't on a few occasions. Perhaps a smaller
hatch could be put into the main lid. As to discounts, as a lot of us older folk can holiday out of season and take advantage of mid week discount, I think we are well catered for already.0 -
30+ years when I joined the CC, my children were small and I wanted sites with play areas etc.. Now, I'm an old 'Crumbly' and the children have grown and flown, I'd prefer to stay on 'adult only' sites. I recon I've done my time and just want a bit of
peace and quiet. True, I can (and do) holiday during school term, but even then, things can get busy at weekends.The other thing I'd like, but outside the Club's scope, is a bus stop near the site. Having got a bus pass, I use it as much as possible and leave the van on site.
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I expect the unavoidable truth is that the Club know they have a reasonably captive audience with older members. What they are trying to do with the magazine is to encourage younger people to stay with caravanning/motorhoming. The more attractive it is
for younger families the greater the likelihood they will stay beyong the "children" years. Sorry to go on about an old hobbyhorse but the Club could speed up the replacement of covered motorhome waste water points, that would be a positive help to us oldies!!!David
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I've got to say I don't know what category I come into at around 40. However, I would question the statement that the club magazine is focused on a younger audience. Yes it has a update on a family caravanning but toher than that it gives facilities in
the area for all.0 -
I've just left a club site which had a lovely mix of ages staying on it and it was great I'm now at the stage where my children don't come with us
If the club does not encourage younger families to join it will die I joined when I needed family friendly sites without pools and bars. Not all children want pools and not all parents want a bar. If the club moves towards providing adult only sites and
aiming itself even more at the more mature customer I will leave.0 -
More mature members mostly have a choice when to take their trips, those with children do not and therefore school holidays always have more vibrant lively atmosphere on sites and to be honest although our children are now grown up we still choose to go away on bank holidays and in mid summer to meet up with family with children but also because we enjoy seeing people and chatting, each to their own I suppose; the facilities are great and the only one thing that I would want the club to consider are changing rooms for disabled adults and children using the changing places model in their flagship sites to start with. I agree, the club should be encouraging families, it is a fabulous holiday for youngsters. One thing is for sure you can never please everyone!
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I am unsure why the CC needs to change. If oldies are the mainstay of the CC, which I am far from certain, as younger family groups, paying peak prices and using little electricity, fill the site during the school holidays. Although us current oldies will
eventually cease to caravan, we will be replaced by future oldies. OK the days of early retirement on good pensions may become a thing of the past. However, this is likely to be more than made up for by an increasing older population as people live longer.0 -
I'm really not sure about this argument that 'the future of the Club is the younger generation' and that 'without children the Club would die'
The fact is that the Club make very little money from kids, because they discount the price for them so much.
The older generation go on holiday all year round - that is who the Club need to attract and retain. But they seem determined to put them off, with their reluctance to offer mid-week discounts or better out-of-season prices.
Just today we have booked a non CC site and will be cancelling our CC booking, because it is just too expensive.
To those who believe that the younger generation are the target audience of choice, take a look at SAGA's activities......
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Children aren't the future. It's the parents that are the next generation of crumblies that the CC does so well out of Ian
There's no guarantee that my generation will want to sit quietly in a caravan on a well manicured site as those before us have done.
In fact having spent some time on a CC site in off peak season I'm pretty sure it's not for me. So I'm unlikely to contribute to the CC coffers in my retirement although I'm ok with it at the moment because they are cheaper than commercial sites in peak
season now.That is of course if any sites remain
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I remember when the company I worked for (retail sector) started to use cutomer profiling and shopping habits surveys. It discovered the uncomfortable truth that one of our longer established branches was in the main supported by older people and in 20 years they would all be dead!!! This started a serious look at attracting younger customers which has been exceptionally successful but some would say at the expense of the more traditional customer. Perhaps the same is true of of the Caravan Club. Many things have changed since we started caravanning 35 years ago. The whole fabric of society has changed and there is no certainty that younger people will automatically follow in their parents footsteps. They also have much more access to different types on holidays which might not have been the same all those years ago. As I understand it membership has remained fairly static for some years and if that starts to fall its easy to see the consequences for Club finances.
David
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They also have much more access to different types on holidays which might not have been the same all those years ago.
David
As a result there is much more competition for their money and owning and using a caravan is not cheap especially for families who probably want more facilities than most of the Club sites offer. I was on a large popular site over Easter and I was amazed
how few children there were. I have seen more children on a 20 van rally site than I saw over Easter.peedee
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I can see cc sites getting smaller, all hard standing, used by motor homes, gated and private full of boring old farts
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