Online Booking System - choice of pitches
We own a motorhome and would like to use the Caravan & Motorhome Club more often.
However my biggest bone of contention is with the club's online booking system.
I select the site, choose my dates and the search begins. Assuming I'm successful, I am offered a 'Standard Pitch Without Awning'. That's not specific enough.
The club's first come first served system does not work for me. I don't want to arrive at a site, after days of heavy rain, to be shown to a muddy grass pitch in a 3.5 ton vehicle. Incidentally, my insurance company informed me I'm not covered if the onsite tractor damages our motorhome when pulling us off the pitch. I must call one of the emergency services.
I want to be able to BOOK a hardstanding pitch online, not book a standard pitch then have to ring the warden to see if, out the goodness of his heart, he'll reserve the pitch I want.
The Camping and Caravanning Club's booking system offer both grass or hardstanding pitches. I am given the choice.
Regards
Realtennisman
Comments
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I completely agree with you,
Last year a few sites did a trial where you could book hardstanding pitches. I thought it was brilliant and couldn't wait for it to be opened on all sites but instead it was removed completely
We arrived at Bladon Chains following heavy rain only to be told there was only grass pitches, the warden did lend us some mats to put under our wheels just in case we might get stuck. Our motorhome is over 4t and was very expensive (well it was to us) so sinking in a muddy field is not something we want to do.
Changing the name to include Motorhome doesn't really mean anything if nothing else is going to change to assist the motorhome section which does seem to be growing each year.
Maybe a better idea would have been to use the cost of changing the name to increasing the motorhome friendly pitches
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As the owner of a large and heavy caravan, I do not want a soggy grass pitch either!
In fact I would very much doubt that anyone wants a soggy grass pitch.
Like others, we were very disappointed when the withdrawal of the booking trial for hardstandings was announced.
Even worse was the claim by the club that there was no advantage to members of being able to book a pitch surface.
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This is one of several reasons why we joined the Camping & Caravan Club, you can pre-book a hardstanding........
That and their vastly superior deposit system which means I can usually find a vacancy when I want one....
The club trial of prebooking hardstandings ended in a "whitewash" when they realised nobody wants a grass pitch, sure, people come on here saying they do, but watch what really actually happens on a site....!!
Best advice is book a commercial site or join the C & CC.......
9 -
Most 'old hands' on here will know that I have been pushing for this for years. We managed to get the Club to trial this on 4 sites, but sadly, they decided not to roll this out over the network and to discontinue the trial as the trial concluded that the disadvantages were greater than the advantages.
I was really disappointed in this decision and didn't really feel that we were given any substantial reasons for the decision that was made. I will bide my time before bring up the subject again. I am making notes......
David
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I agree with everything that has been said, I did contact the club when it was announced that the trial would not be implemented. The reply I received said it was because it caused confusion but didn't specified how and to whom.
As I would never consider a grass pitch I have decided to only book serviced pitches or go to commercial sites in future. In fact my first venture to a commercial site last year was so successful that I booked again and will go to more commercial sites in the future. So in the longer term the club will lose some of my custom.
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I have to say, I do the same, by booking full serviced pitches. I do tend to use standard pitches on CAMC sites only out of season when sites use hardstanding exclusively - and I always check with the site.
Thee are also some sites on the network that are completely hardstanding sites. See HERE
Incidentally, I have done a complete list of all sites that have serviced pitches in the UK Sites section, which I hope folk would feel the same might find useful.
David
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They've lost loads of bookings from me and that will continue 'going forward' in my 'journey'
I'm only a member for the insurance nowadays which is still cheaper than the alternatives.
Grass pitches and facilitation for my engagement with the great outdoors is not my thing. Sort it out CMC.
4 -
Have you looked at the insurances offered by the other club? They mirror the CC offerings almost exactly in features and I find the prices one year are bit below the CC and in other years a bit more but always within a few pounds.
The CC needs to listen to what it's customers (members?) are asking for if they want to mimic the recent increase in C&CC membership.
3 -
This is a thorny subject, for long time members particularly. At risk of upsetting them, the idea of being able to book as many pitches at multiple sites on opening dates in December without deposits is really not on. We all know of members who book up popular sites on opening day for many weekends in the year leaving mid week bookings to struggle. And other members not so inclined to struggle. The pitch bookings need to be specific hard standing or no hard standing no awning or with awning. More importantly a 50 % deposit non refundable unless proof of legitimate and specifically explained and club acceptable reason is put forward. Simple really!
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Like others I to was disappointed when the trial to book a h/s pitch was not taken forward by the club. I had written to the club previous to the trial and suggest they should allow booking of h/s pitches but was told the usual first come first served spiel, which is about as much use as a chocolate teapot when the conditions are wet. This is one of the reasons we rarely use the club sites between April and Oct when the grass pitches are in use, preferring to use commercial or C&CC sites, that's when we are not abroad
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And it is only £37 to join!
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There is no reason at all this cannot be taken on board and made to be the norm. Computer bookings allow for this without trouble. What is not acceptable is multiple bookings at opening day, also without a deposit. A limit on the number of weekend bookings without mid week followups is a must as we all know that the current system is just not fair to all members.😀
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"We all know of members who book up popular sites on opening day for many weekends..."
Do we all? Well I don't although I know there are folk on here who claim to know them. Frankly I find it a rather spurious claim.
Having said that, I do think that frenzy day causes unnecessary problems but I don't agree that deposits are the solution.
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The outcome of the trial was much as I suspected. When advance booking my sites I am generally happy to book on an all grass site as such sites I have found to have fairly well drained ground. However on mixed sites I consider the percentages and my arrival day. If a site was 50/50 grass/hard standing and I was arriving on a Saturday I would not use it.
Hard standings seem most popular choice. If I were about to book a pitch on many of the sites and saw that all the hard standings were booked already I would go elsewhere. Otherwise I would probably take a chance on most sites. If all hard standings are booked I suspect that many would do the same leaving unused pitches.
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If the club is serious about modernising and providing what members want then this would be the ideal place to start.
As I recall the trial was discontinued because some members were confused. That says an awful lot about those members to be honest.
Not being able to book a HS puts the club way behind its competition
3 -
"the usual first come first served spiel, which is about as much use as a chocolate teapot when the conditions are wet."
Presumably this is one reason why people arrive as early as possible (too early in many cases) in order to have a choice of pitches.
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Unless there was a bold heading on the trial site booking forms when online then it would depend which pitches were shown first. If it was the grass pitches many would have read as far as 'pitch with awning' and not realised that it was grass and that lower down was hard. They would then have been surprised.
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We certainly prefer hardstanding and would book if it was possible. However, with a caravan I am prepared to take a chance. As we generally holiday away from the main season, travel on a Sunday and don't arrive late, we have only very rarely ended up on grass. If the site has service pitches we book one of those anyway, and they all seem to be hardstanding. However, if we move to a MH, as we are considering in the next few years. I will certainly also be joining the other club, as there is no way I want to put a 3.5 tonne MH on grass. So unless the CAMC changes its policy, for any sites with grass that did not have service pitches available, they would loose my custom.
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It was pretty clear as I recall. Grass pitch with awning etc. I suspect they just booked a pitch then grumbled about it when they got to site because they wanted HS.
Whatever the reasons it's not going to happen during my membership lifetime
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Indeed Jay. I have reversed my caravan onto a hard standing at Shawsmead - Aberaeron using the car one June or July. As the access road was not that wide one of my front car tyres went onto the grass pitches opposite. I was was surprised, upset and embarassed by the damage that I caused and yes those pitches were still in use when they should have been closed due to their condition in my opinion.
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