Price Overkill
Comments
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Not sure about this one as whenever I have looked at the cost of nearby commercial sites during the times that we are away (generally not school hols) there seems little difference generally. Often less than a couple of pounds either way with CC sometimes dearer and sometimes cheaper.
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I'm not sure it's the prices per se, K. On a like for like nightly basis I don't think there's a considerable difference between club sites and nearby commercial sites in many cases. What is undoubtedly true is that there are commercial sites that give special offers for stays of, say a week or more out of peak season and that does make them better value at those times. ( Unnecessary to re-open the debate about how they make up for it in peak though!)
Having said that, it's certainly the case that we use more CLs than club sites these days because they are good value.
(Posted at same time as ET above, obviously!)
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It's not sad-it's life, is it not sad that many can't afford to go to the Cinema?, no it's life. Traveling around the Country in/with an LV isn't a basic Human right it's a past time.
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But do you know this to be a fact? I don't recall hordes of retirees decrying site prices, only the odd few.
It's well known that a large proportion of CC's membership is of retirement age yet they still seem to be members and, out of peak season, CC sites are well used by those of us of a certain age. Many of them with new MHs/cars/cvans as well so I really can't go along with the idea of many retired members not being able to afford CC site fees.
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I never said I couldn't afford to pay CC site prices but I do not find them good value at all.
Why would I want to pay £25 to £35 per night to be surrounded by lots of other caravans. I would much rather pay £15 and only (hopefully) have 4 neighbours or visit a Haven type and again pay around £15.
Some people are happy to pay £100 /head at a "posh" restaurantbut I am not - Yes, you can call me tight and I am happy to agree
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I retired from a quite stressful job,in 1994 and then did a much more life enhancing job,with little money ,and have always managed to keep up with our hobby,and hope to keep going for some years yet,until the money runs out, but the sprogs all say do what we want as they do not need our money its ours, Besides they can have the money from the house when we pop our clogs
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It's personal choice whether to pay or not to pay but it's not the same thing as not being able to afford CC prices in retirement.
I have never paid £25-£35 on a CC site but I would rather pay that than endure the hell of Haven again.
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-together/discussions/sites-touring/uk-sites-touring/haven-never-again/?p=7https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-together/discussions/sites-touring/uk-sites-touring/haven-never-again/?p=7
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Rather than CC sites with facilities, we are now more frequently choosing CLs or no facility sites, we try not to use a site costing over £20 per night.....yes we are "tight" too.
We have in the past used a Netherlands Caravan Club site, they charge 11 euros per night....around £9.....plus metered electricity.
Holland is not a particularly cheap country, or a large country, how come their Club sites are so much cheaper than ours? Sites have full facilities, free wifi, play areas etc etc. More grass than here, but otherwise comparable.
And we were invited to the weekly get-together, with free coffee and buiscuits provided by the wardens, presumably funded by the club. They were very friendly and hospitable.
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except when they want a new car?
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the thread has drifted away a little into the realms of of the clubs actual price levels.....
my OP was questioning whether the club needed 51 (or 80 or more) different variations of price in one year....
however, it seems that the constant changing of price is along the lines of penny pinching and this constant maximising of prices (even to the tune of 10/20p variance) os certainly squeezing the pips from the more recent comments.....
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When the fee for what is basically a "parking space" is more than one has to pay for a hotel room that provides clean sheets etc. is does prompt the question "What am I actually paying for?"
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I have no idea, but even more perplexing is if you really think that why are paying it?
I'm paying for a safe and reasonably secure place to pitch my outfit and leave it there during the day, clean and cleaned daily toilets, consistently good standards of the campsite and toilet blocks. paid staff who live on site, lighting on site, paved roads, EHU, toilet paper and soap. If I had young children I would pay for the play area and play room, and if a dog owner the dog walk.
Also when I stay in a hotel, its about £40 per night if I'm paying for it myself, and over £70 when on expenses. A night on a club site is about £20-30, and that would be for 2, not one
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how come their Club sites are so much cheaper than ours?
I have no idea why Holland is so cheap and really don't care. It is of no relevance what so ever as its the prices in this club we are discussing.
Oh and how much does the added cost of getting there (ferries) affect the overall cost?
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The comparison with hotels has been made before CY, but can you give me an example of a hotel in say the Peak District, New Forest or Cornish Coast that would let the two of us and our two dogs stay for anything like the price of a CC site?
(That's supposing I want to stay in a hotel in the first place - if I really want a room with clean sheets etc I could just stay a home!
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The most expensive site we have ever stayed at was (obviously) a Club site in Devon on the 27th August 2014 at £24.00 per night for two people - that site this year will be £28.20 for the same date.
We stayed on Haven on September 18 2016 for £12.10 per night - again only the two of us but would not have mattered if we had children. WIFI was included/free
I would not consider late August ( not a Bank Holiday) to be peak and certainly not September 18 to be so late as to explain the massive difference in price.
We would not visit Haven in peak for the same reason we would not take a foreign holiday in peak season - being retired gives us the ability to pick and choose.
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I'm definitely not going to start defending club prices but you're comparing a club site in the school summer holiday (and even if not a BH, certainly in the week with a BH) with Haven after the school holiday. A fairer comparison would surely have been to quote the Haven price for 24th August - I bet it would be considerably more than the club price!
Or better still - why not state which two sites you are quoting and their prices for 24th August this year!
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Ovals, it would have been more expensive if you weren't members
I'm with M, not defending prices, location, location, location is my first desire after that I will pay what gives me what I want regardless of what company owns the site.
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FYI the Haven price would be £75.00 per night on the 24th August
BUT as I said previously we have the ability to pick and choose.
Obviously some people believe that it is worth it but others like us would rather wait until the prices drop. The fact of the matter is that at Peak times CC may be good value but at other times competitors can be IMO far better value.
I cannot understand the reasoning that the CC believes it is better policy to keep off peak prices high with sites not full whilst Haven ( for example) have sites full at lower prices. I can accept that drastically lowering prices in mid winter may not result in much increase in usage but it would surely work in September
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Well I think we can agree on ne thin - we're not going to pay £75 a night, anywhere, ever!
I think the point is that the club adopts a different, more family friendly price policy than Haven and other commercial chains which are often mentioned. They admittedly offer excellent deals out of peak season and if that's when you can go you'd be daft not to take advantage of them. But the club, whilst being more expensive and not offering special deals at those times, also doesn't mark up its prices spectacularly in August - it's just a different policy and one which many of us think offers a fairer option for families whose choice of holiday dates are more limited.
At the end of the day we all choose whatever suits us, club sites are not the be all and end all of the caravanning world.
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it's just a different policy and one which many of us think offers a fairer option for families whose choice of holiday dates are more limited.
A big +1 for that M, maybe even a +2. I would rather have the club prices we have now all year rather than this price hike over the school holidays. Maybe that is the true nature of a club. Making sure that most can access the club all year round and not penalise those who can only go away at school holidays.
But also £75 shows you (or one) that the club is quite cheap at these times.
I also wonder if there is a forum for Haven goers to complain about these high prices?
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Edinburgh CC site from 3rd to 29th September £23.30 for two adults
Nearby Morton Hall. Hard standing, EHU 2 adults £27.00
Just two sites at random but when looking at commercials and CC I see little difference for the times I tour. either can be a pound or two cheaper.
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CC Henley on Thames two people most of June £20.30
Swift Farm (nearly next door) HS and two people same period £26.50 plus a £1.95 booking fee.
Again at random from sites I shall use this year. So where does the myth that CC is so dear spring from?
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Agree with you ET, the club is really middle of the road.
Of course you'll be accused of, what was the phrase used one by poster whose name escapes me, oh yes scouring the internet to find higher prices than the club.
I too only look at sites near the ones I shall be staying at.
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Well I obviously missed something in the OP. I've just looked to book Moorhampton for Easter (under £20 a night - very reasonable I thought) and out of interest took a look at the pricing matrix. And yes, there are a lot of price bands, but only because they list each individual week and midweek throughout the year. So if the same is true for Hillhead, it's not 51 different prices at all, it's possibly 51 separate indicators. So in fact, not so very different from previous years, just laid out differently, though I agree it does seem an unnecessarily complicated way of showing the prices.
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