CL Deposits
Recently went to book a CL for a trip in May. When I got the booking form the owners wanted 50% of the total cost as a non returnable deposit. Needless to say that I binned this on principal. Whilst understanding that CL owners need to protect their investment I do think 50% is taking the wee wee. If the deposit had been up to 25% I would have paid and probably enjoyed the trip
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I have noticed that more cls are asking for a deposit, which is fair enough but agree with you that 50% is a bit much.
I have just booked two cls for a trip in the summer, one asked for the first night as a deposit which I was happy to pay. I offered to pay a deposit for the second but was told it wasn't required.
If cls are asking for larger deposits, I must assume some are happy to pay them, but if paid do they then phone to cancel if they cannot go, or just think they will lose the deposit anyway and not bother.😕
Hope you find somewhere else and enjoy your break Oneputt.
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I have just booked six CLs for a break in June/July. Three asked for a deposit of one nights fee, fourth asked for two nights and the fifth & sixth just required Membership & telephone number. We are happy to pay 25% if required. Two of the CLs are close to City's and I do not blame them for asking for deposits. Probably had a few no-shows.
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I suppose it depends on length of stay and commitment.
I have just booked a CL near the tunnel for two nights and although asked for one nights fee as a deposit I paid for both. I had no problems doing it this way as barring illness/breakdown I'm committed to going because of tunnel fare and insurance cover paid.
Maybe just a visit to the area for longer and having paid nothing in deposit, would deter me from going if the weather forecast took a turn not to my liking.
It's a difficult one for CL's and it's also one where asking too much could be deemed as being over greedy in protecting their interests. I think one nights deposit is reasonable and would hope they are notified quite a few days in advance if that person is not coming.
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Hello Oneputt. As a CL Owner (of some years) that has asked for a 50% deposit from our lovely visitors I am well attuned to your post.
As you will know, if you cancel a Club Site more than three times in a season, you can have your membership suspended. As yet there is (unfortunately) no similar system for CL's.
The impact on a CL of a late cancellation or 'no show' is at least 20% of the revenue of the CL. In fact it can be more, because if you cancel a weekend and another member wanted to book the whole week, the CL owner will have lost out x3.
As a case in point; last year I had an instance where on one bank holiday weekend I had 2 pitches (out of 5) that cancelled at the last minute. In both instances, the visitors lost £32 each (a 4 night booking), but I too lost £64 (2 pitches @ £32 each balance) as I was unable to re-book the pitches. In actual fact I lost more than £64, because I had to turn away at least one 7 night booking enquiry for that weekend because we were (in theory) full...
I'm sorry you feel 50% isn't a fair amount. If you look at some commercial sites or at the Holiday Cottage industry you'll find that you normally have to pay up front at least 3 months in advance.
After a number of years of running CL's I have heard every excuse you can imagine about why people can't come.. maybe we should publish a list here on CT.. The excuses tend to come thicker & faster when the forecast is lousy..
However, we here at Cholsey Grange are fairly flexible and have certainly moved bookings, refunded deposits (if given notice or the pitch has been re-sold) and delayed the full payment of a deposit for a 'far in advance' booking when requested.
Of course It's entirely your choice as to whether you accept these terms. I know that for our CL it seems to work, (our occupancy is pretty high) and keeping it at 50% is an extremely simple way of doing it.
If you can think of a better way for CL's to reduce their risks, we are open to ideas, but seasonal CL's don't make a lot of ££, so we either reduce our risks (by taking a deposit), or put up our pitch fees to remain viable.
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I think Cholsey Grange explains very well why some sites want a 50% deposit and I sympathise. One night's payment isn't much good if you have lost a further three or four nights booking fee because someone cancels at the last minute. We caravaners probably don't like it because we have not been used to being asked for it but other holiday lets have been doing it for years.
The trouble is, as usual. the minority have spoilt it for the many by not turning up.
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I'd certainly charge a good size deposit if I ran a CL.
Otherwise people will treat it like they do CC sites and just cancel at will. Worse, there is no restriction on duplicate bookings for the same dates with CL's.
On the point about suspending membership for three late cancellations.......I'd be very surprised if this has actually ever happened.
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I think it was reported that it had but you could count them on one hand.
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Thank you for your support and understanding. Just to reinforce the points made above, I have now looked out the CL Owners Survey conducted in 2015. Over 1,000 CL's took part in the survey.
The Survey asked "What frustrates you most as a s CL Owner". the top 2 answers were;
1) [Members who] Don't show up
2) [Members who] Cancel at the last minute.
In the report the Club said "We're listening to you and are already looking at ways that we could help you with no shows, late cancellations and member behaviour".
Source: Page 6 of the CL Owners Survey Results Booklet.
The Survey also asked CL owners about deposits. The results showed that 50% of those responding take deposits. Of that 50%; 30% take 1 night fees, 27% take a fixed sum and 28% take a Percentage. About currently 2% ask for the full amount.
Source: Page 13 of the CL Owners Survey Results Booklet.
As yet, the Club has not implemented any policies to assist CL's with No Shows or Late Cancellation (to my knowledge) but I hope it is still part of their long-term strategy.
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As yet, the Club has not implemented any policies to assist CL's with No Shows or Late Cancellation (to my knowledge) but I hope it is still part of their long-term strategy.
I am not sure how they could. CL's are basically private campsites and are therefore free, within reason, to make their own rules. It's the same with AS sites. I very much doubt the Club have the means to impose the 72 hour cancellation/no show rules as the bookings are done completely independently of the Club. It's only when you control the booking system that you can put such rules in place. The best way forward for CL's is to put in place a deposit system that is fair to both the CL and members. I assume that if CL's start charging too high a deposit the occupancy rates will fall so the situation is in the hands of the CL owners to set the best for their business model.
David
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I book no earlier than 1 week before traveling so I'm happy to pay in full. I realise that the impact of me not showing is heavier on the CL than it is on me. If I cancel & have paid in full then that is my decision & my loss.
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...... and how far in advance of cancelling a booking at a CL, for which a deposit has been made, would you expect your deposit to be refunded? Joe Public has no way of knowing if that cancelled booking had been re-booked.
I now phone days before I want to use a particular CL ..... if it's full, there'll be another close by
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We have paid deposits for CLs for a very long time, in one case happily paying the full sum for a four week stay in advance, glad to know that our pitch was secured for the Summer. In twelve years of using that particular CL, sometimes four or five times per year, we only had to change our dates once, and cancelled once due to my father almost dying. It was short notice, so we let the CL know we wouldnt be there, and once the panic had subsided, I rang and was more than pleased to know that the CL had managed to let some of our dates, and they were happy to refund for those dates. It would have been a huge loss for the CL had we had all our money back, but they were very fair. We could have course have taken out insurance, as we do for cottages and overseas breaks. We still use the CL.
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It's all about "trust". The CL owners trust that the customers will do their utmost to turn up, honour their booking. If a late cancellation happens, then the member has to trust the CL owner to honour any refund system they may have in place.
Sadly, trust is one of those commodities that gets rarer each year. If I ran a popular CL, that gets more requests than pitches available, then I would charge a deposit. Some folks lack commitment when making a booking, and others suffer as a consequence, either the CL owner, or those more committed who are turned away. We have taken late cancellations at many sites due to other folks crying off at bad weather or changing their minds. Emergencies can and do happen, but some folks tend to have more than others!
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One of the CLs we use is fully booked from mid March to mid October and they never ask for a deposit. It is really good value with full facilities including free Wifi at £14/night. If someone does cancel at short notice then the owner will phone a few regular visitors to see if they are available to take up the vacant slot which I think is a brilliant idea.
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Agree OP, we have benefitted from a phone call as well. We like doing repeat CL usage, have our favourites we use at least once a year. If they know it is us, they don't always ask for a deposit, because they know we will honour the booking. For our big holiday, I always liked to have it all paid up front, then we just got on enjoying things. Sadly we haven't been able to go away for long periods, so we do tend to leave it while last minute to book nowadays, and take pot luck. There is always somewhere nice!
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We once had to cancel a 1 week stay at a CL due to an urgent hospital appt. I sent a cheque for the full amount to the owner as it wasn't his fault and to lose 20% of your potential fee because of a no show is hard to swallow. Owner sent the cheque back saying he had a last minute taker.
Do CL owners keep a note of persistent no show/cancellation membership numbers and refuse to take future bookings r maybe charge them a big deposit, non refundable of course?
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