Perennial Membership Fee Increase

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  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,303 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #92

     

    For these reasons, we will pay the extra £2 and stay members, but this does not mean that we are happy with the significant increase in  site prices.

    I think this will apply to most. We are fortunate in that we don't have to consider site prices too much. However, we decided not to pay £30 a night charge and are starting our May tour after the bank holiday on the 2nd May, when the prices come down. Other
    years we would have probably have included it.

  • InaD
    InaD Club Member Posts: 1,701 ✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #93

     

    For these reasons, we will pay the extra £2 and stay members, but this does not mean that we are happy with the significant increase in  site prices.

    I think this will apply to most. We are fortunate in that we don't have to consider site prices too much. However, we decided not to pay £30 a night charge and are starting our May tour after the bank holiday on the 2nd May, when the prices come down. Other
    years we would have probably have included it.

    +1.  We only stay on CC sites out of the main season when fees are more reasonable, and when we're not abroad.    Usually we set the limit at £20 per night (that's for 2 adults), and a few sites are coming very close to that!  But there are still plenty
    of sites at less than that, for example with midweek discount £14-£15 on some sites.

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,581 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #94

    The fee increase is high in percentage terms but at £2 is unlikely to put people off. The site fees look to be getting a bit steep compared with thye commercial market for similar rather than large commercial sites. We will still use mostly club sites but
    will be checking out C&CC sites and some commercial ones before booking this year. The problem is the club is short on pitches in many areas so they will probably always have takers unless the prices rocket even more.

    Not sure how many people are affected, but I have a company pension which is linked to inflation but needs a rise of over 1% and last year was 0.7% in September which is the month they use. So we get nothing which might mean a bit of economising this year.

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #95

    What concerns me is the Club doing enough to control costs or has its strength in the market place and its strong balance sheet gone to its head?

    peedee

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,670 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #96

    The fee increase is high in percentage terms but at £2 is unlikely to put people off. The site fees look to be getting a bit steep compared with thye commercial market for similar rather than large commercial sites. We will still use mostly club sites but will be checking out C&CC sites and some commercial ones before booking this year. The problem is the club is short on pitches in many areas so they will probably always have takers unless the prices rocket even more.

    Not sure how many people are affected, but I have a company pension which is linked to inflation but needs a rise of over 1% and last year was 0.7% in September which is the month they use. So we get nothing which might mean a bit of economising this year.

    Only about half of my pension is index linked, so I got less than a 1% increase overall last year, so we are looking more at the  prices of things these days.

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited January 2016 #97

    I think quite a few of us get pension increases that are fairly paltry, notwithstanding the apparent generosity of the state "triple lock"

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited January 2016 #98

    M   I think you have said is what the majority of  present members feel, and it seems the ones who on here  look elswhere are "off peak" users anyway, be it in the UK or Mainland Europe,as when going on line and checking prices in the peak there is very
    little to choose price wise or space anywhere, without the add cost of getting there

     

  • Spriddler
    Spriddler Forum Participant Posts: 646
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    edited January 2016 #99

    I really can't see what all the fuss is about.

    I don't even think about the membership fee. Surely it's pretty insignificant in the scheme of most peoples' annual living expenses. My phone/broadband costs about £18 a WEEK. At a pound a week (or whatever it is) CC membership is less than my various annual charitable donations. I could easily save much more by not giving to charity, shopping around for better rates on my 4 vehicles' insurance premiums or by changing my utility providers but hey! life's too short to faff about trying to save the cost of a modest birthday dinner for two.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited January 2016 #100

     

    For these reasons, we will pay the extra £2 and stay members, but this does not mean that we are happy with the significant increase in  site prices.

    I think this will apply to most. We are fortunate in that we don't have to consider site prices too much. However, we decided not to pay £30 a night charge and are starting our May tour after the bank holiday on the 2nd May, when the prices
    come down. Other years we would have probably have included it.

    ....and neither do most of the CT brigade, including myself.....but this (as Kjell says) doesnt mean continual rises are acceptable....theyre not.

    this thread only opened yesterday and already 100 posts...

    member costs is a serious issue and one that is being debated ever more regularly on CT....

  • nelliethehooker
    nelliethehooker Club Member Posts: 13,644 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #101

    I really can't see what all the fuss is about.

    I don't even think about the membership fee. Surely it's pretty insignificant in the scheme of most peoples' annual living expenses. My phone/broadband costs about £18 a WEEK. At a pound a week (or whatever it is) CC membership is less than my various annual charitable
    donations. I could easily save much more by not giving to charity, shopping around for better rates on my 4 vehicles' insurance premiums or by changing my utility providers but hey! life's too short to faff about trying to save the cost of a modest birthday
    dinner for two.

    If you can afford to run 4 vehicles and pay Whatever per week for your phone etc it's pretty obvious that you can easily afford a £2 increase. However a lot of us, who are on a fixed pension, are not so fortunate as yourself, and the fee increase along with
    the jump in site prices could well put a reduction in the amout of time we can afford to be out in the van, and to question if it is worth "Carrying on Camping".

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,303 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #102

     

    For these reasons, we will pay the extra £2 and stay members, but this does not mean that we are happy with the significant increase in  site prices.

    I think this will apply to most. We are fortunate in that we don't have to consider site prices too much. However, we decided not to pay £30 a night charge and are starting our May tour after the bank holiday on the 2nd May, when the prices
    come down. Other years we would have probably have included it.

    ....and neither do most of the CT brigade, including myself.....but this (as Kjell says) doesnt mean continual rises are acceptable....theyre not.

    this thread only opened yesterday and already 100 posts...

    member costs is a serious issue and one that is being debated ever more regularly on CT....

    BB as you are usually keen in pointing out the market will decide if they are acceptable, not us few on CT. If enough people continue to pay the prices then I guess they are. As I said, in the instance of the May BH we considered they were unacceptable.
    It remains to be seen in 2016 if the CC have over estimated what folk will pay.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited January 2016 #103

    Steve, you're right.....we (you, I and the members) are the CC market.....if youve baulked at CC prices, theres hope for the rest of usWink

  • Spriddler
    Spriddler Forum Participant Posts: 646
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    edited January 2016 #104

    I really can't see what all the fuss is about.

    I don't even think about the membership fee. Surely it's pretty insignificant in the scheme of most peoples' annual living expenses. My phone/broadband costs about £18 a WEEK. At a pound a week (or whatever it is) CC membership is less than my various annual charitable donations. I could easily save much more by not giving to charity, shopping around for better rates on my 4 vehicles' insurance premiums or by changing my utility providers but hey! life's too short to faff about trying to save the cost of a modest birthday dinner for two.

    If you can afford to run 4 vehicles and pay Whatever per week for your phone etc it's pretty obvious that you can easily afford a £2 increase. However a lot of us, who are on a fixed pension, are not so fortunate as yourself, and the fee increase along with the jump in site prices could well put a reduction in the amout of time we can afford to be out in the van, and to question if it is worth "Carrying on Camping".

    I'm not particularly well off as I'm 70 and on fixed pensions too. My point, that I should've made clearer, was that it all depends where you put your lifestyle priorities and your choice of activities. I don't drink alcohol, or smoke, or play golf, or go to the gym etc........all of which are expensive relative to the CC fees.

    Value for money as far as my (mostly CL and foreign) motorhoming is concerned  is all about flexibility, the freedom to explore, have my home comforts with me (especially my Gromit slippers!) and eat local market food, not whether the showers are weak or somebody was allowed onto a pitch at a quarter to twelve or an above inflation rise in CC membership of a couple of quid a year.

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited January 2016 #105

    Even if you forget about the magazine and the other advantages such as access to CC Green Flag recovery, or the CL network, it depends on how many nights you spend on CC sites. In our case it works out at just 44p extra per night.

    So it's increased by £2? That is an extra 1.6p per site night for me. Can't say that I am concerned in any way. Increases in site fees are far more relevant.

  • AndyNYorks
    AndyNYorks Forum Participant Posts: 144
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    edited January 2016 #106

    I find it hard to understand how people who are willing to pay upwards of £15 per night to site their £30,000 outfits worry and moan about a £2 per year increase. You could easily save more than £2 by spending one night on a CL or attending one rally instead
    of staying on a site. Personally I save more than the membership fee through attending rallies and the excellent Mayday recovery service.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited January 2016 #107

    Even if you forget about the magazine and the other advantages such as access to CC Green Flag recovery, or the CL network, it depends on how many nights you spend on CC sites. In our case it works out at just 44p extra per night.

    So it's increased by £2? That is an extra 1.6p per site night for me. Can't say that I am concerned in any way. Increases in site fees are far more relevant.

    the real point is, Alan, that all aspects of CC camping are just increasing above inflation each year....as you point out....sites and subs.

    it makes not a jot of difference what one pays for ones van (that might have been a stonking bargain) sites can still be 'blooming dear'. the two are values differently and separately.

    one is not compelled to by dear items in a supermarket just because you drove there in a expensive car....

    we all have our own odeas about what makes something 'good value'.

    IMHO, pitch prices and subs are moving away from this into the 'dear' region...

  • rogher
    rogher Forum Participant Posts: 609
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    edited January 2016 #108

    Now that the annual fee is close to £50, perhaps it will stay there for a while. It may take more courage to break through that barrier.

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,303 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #109

    Even if you forget about the magazine and the other advantages such as access to CC Green Flag recovery, or the CL network, it depends on how many nights you spend on CC sites. In our case it works out at just 44p extra per night.

    So it's increased by £2? That is an extra 1.6p per site night for me. Can't say that I am concerned in any way. Increases in site fees are far more relevant.

    Totally agree some of the site increases are on the high side of extreme. Because the start of the summer season has been moved back a week, that particular week now costs 19% more than last year. £28.70 on the site we stayed on. The increase in membership
    fee however costs us about the same per day as EasyT.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited January 2016 #110

    of course £2 on its own isnt a large sum of money, its the continual trend that is annoying (and getting expensive)....and a trend which is also being driven through site prices....

    steve's point about moving season boundaries is also valid....and a bit naughty in my book....

    Everyone thinks they know what high season is, yet in the cc we have high season for far longer (and on more occasions) than most members would have first thought...Sad

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #111

    The Club's policy is to increase subs little and often which as someone has already pointed out is far more palitable to the majority. However, the Clubs idea of little is considerably in excess of inflation and has been for some years now. With the hike in site fees this year it might have been more palitable if they had not made any increase at all?

    peedee

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  • Fisherman
    Fisherman Forum Participant Posts: 2,367
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    edited January 2016 #113

     I stand by my comments. When times are hard (especially for members) you cut your cloth accordingly. Get rid of the surplus and get back to basics. If it means redundancies so be it.It happens all the time in the real private industry world, but the CC
    seems to be run on the Local Authority  model. If staff are surplus find them another useless job.

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  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited January 2016 #116

    of course £2 on its own isnt a large sum of money, its the continual trend that is annoying (and getting expensive)....and a trend which is also being driven through site prices....

    steve's point about moving season boundaries is also valid....and a bit naughty in my book....

    Everyone thinks they know what high season is, yet in the cc we have high season for far longer (and on more occasions) than most members would have first thought...Sad

    The £2 Iis an irrelevance. I do agree however that on most sites pitch fees are expensive.

  • Fisherman
    Fisherman Forum Participant Posts: 2,367
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    edited January 2016 #117

    By surplusI mean non basic provision, ie things that are not relevant to us as CC members and users. eg Sponsoring a garden at the RHS show, Sponsoring somone to go to the South pole- never went - did they get the money back. Biodiversity projects etc etc.

  • volvoman9
    volvoman9 Forum Participant Posts: 1,053
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    edited January 2016 #118

    I would not disagree with that line of thinking Fisherman.The sponsering of anything outside the caravan industry does not always go down well with members and it does beg the question of who is decideing this sort of thing and how much time and money is
    being spent if any on fringe projects.

    peter.

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  • Kennine
    Kennine Forum Participant Posts: 3,472
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    edited January 2016 #121

    The CC says that being a member entitles you to free magazines worth £40. 

    So in effect if you were to choose not to take the magazine then it would be logical to expect that your annual membership fee would be reduced by the sum of £40. 

    On the other hand, it is claimed by some posters, that the magazine is being financed by Advertising which means that the value to the member is zero not the £40  as advertised. 

    Now both scenarios cannot be right -- Somebody is dealing in porkies. 

    A bit of clarification is required from Grimstead !!

    WinkCool