Leaving the Club - finally had enough
Comments
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I have a lot of sympathy for geordie21. I have been back in the CC now for 17 years having left before in 1987 ( the result of a complaint about the behaviour of children on a Welsh site and the CC's reply which amounted to "if you don't like it, tough"). We usually use CL's, which suit us, but we have just spent 4 nights on a Club site out of necessity and the total was a few pence shy of £80! I have no issue with the site, it was clean and well kept and the Wardens were cheerful and pleasant but we were driven mad by barking dogs. I will stay in the CC purely for the CL's but if enough people decide to reject the Club sites and start using CL's there is going to be an ever increasing problem of booking CL's when you want to, unless of course more people with spare ground are encouraged to open them.
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Can the Club be all things to all men (and women) I somehow doubt that. At the weekend we were at Clumber Park which was full, we are now at Bridlington, it is also full despite being £32 a night, which out of school holidays I also feel is expensive. We booked both sites three weeks ago not six months ago. I suppose the point is that if a Club does not suit your needs then clearly it is sensible to consider whether it is worthwhile continuing to be a member. By all means give feedback to the Club but unless your views coincide with the majority it always will be attempting to push water uphill.
David
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sorry but it's been said before, I assume you knew the price before you went? so if you thought it expensive why did you go?
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But equally I am perfectly entitled to voice my view on the price a site, Its not a question of affordability but one of value. I think you are also missing the point of what I was saying. Despite not representing good value, in my view and others according the the comments book in the information room, the site full. So one of the reasons the OP was using as a reason for leaving the Club is somewhat undermined by the fact that the Club seems to be achieving occupancy rates despite the OP's concern so is unlikely to change.
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I suppose the only way things are going to change is if the Club gets competition. At the moment they are complacent and don't need to change.
Just returned from France - lovely sites, many municipal, for much better value even with the facilities that the main CC sites offer. Visited a couple in extreme heat that offered swimming pools for better value than many CC sities. It is clearly not that difficult 😉
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yes of course you are and that was not my point or indeed my question. Nor did I mention anything about affordability.
My point, or question is this, you have stated the site is expensive (and now not giving value), now as you have been around a few sites in your time so you know what to expect on a club site. You also would have known the price before you arrived. My question is why did you book and go a site, knowing what to expect and the price if you thought it offered not good enough value or was expensive.
I could take a brand new club member going to a club site not knowing what to expect, perhaps thinking they would be getting more for their pound than they did, but you have reviewed a large number of club sites and knew exactly what you were getting for your money?
maybe it's just me but I really haven't bought anything which I thought was expensive or offering poor value. I see the price for a club site (or anything else) and I decide that it is what I want to pay for that quality.
I completely agree with the point you made about how club site are usually full despite what the OP is saying. I've said it quite a few times, that despite all the negatives made on CT about the club, it still continues to draw in large numbers, and now getting more members in, and so why should the club change a winning strategy?
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I think getting extreme heat over here is quite difficult
. Again you can't compare the economy abroad with the economy here. I buy wine in France at 2 euros a bottle, why not here?0 -
not my point at all. However please let me know where I can buy a bottle of wine at under £2 a (70cl) bottle in this country?
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David
The club will always "achieve occupancy rates" but not necessarily high ones. What is the source of your "fact" which gives any indication of the level of occupancy rates?
I have spent some time browsing the booking system and have found that many of the "honey pots sites" have mid week mid and high season vacancies. The last minute vacancies section often shows Sunday vacancies which on further investigation also show vacancies until the following Friday. I would very much doubt, though dependent on the way occupancy rates are calculated, that the bums on seats rates are higher than 35%. This could go some way to explain increasing site fees.
I also visited Clumber park in the past few months which was full during the weekend I was there though by the time I was leaving on the following Tuesday the site was only one third full. I was told by one of the Wardens that on the following Friday they had to check in more than 150 outfits, most of which would be arriving between earliest arrival time and two hours later.
GeeDeeDee
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I'm sorry it must have been another AD who posted:
2 Euros a bottle will be rubbish wherever you buy it and I certainly wouldnt load the car down with it, €6 or 7€ is nearer the mark these days for bringing home, cheaper might do for sloshing down on site
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Well I'm not staying or leaving the Club because of the weather or the price of wine. But now as I near the end of a caravan and travel lifetime I can only look back and reflect on why I have enjoyed some campsites so much. The stand out list.
Some have given me aesthetic pleasure - landscaping, flowers, trees and beauty, Some impressed because of the personal warmth and friendliness of the owners or managers and the service they offered and the lengths they went to. Some because of the space and freedom they offered - the campfires, communal barbecues, the all comers drinks parties, and now and then a communal meal. I remember lots of interesting people along the way, and conversations in an evening. At one site I remember a boy with a guitar singing by an alfresco bar late at night. and at another a group of singers in the doorway of a big tent - and the spectators grew.
I have stayed at dozens of Club sites. None of them are in that list of sites giving any sort of pleasure. They were all about as much fun a supermarket car park. They were functional, clean, and soulless. And much more regimented than they used to be. I think they are catering for different people nowadays too.
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I think they have plenty of competition from other clubs and commercial sites.
I also think the booking system is simple and superior to most. Problems arise when people don't think ahead and book early enough or are not prepared to compromise. The complainers often turn out to be those who want to selfishly alter the system to suit themselves while disadvantaging the majority.
As I'm sure you're aware, comparing UK sites with those abroad is not a like for like comparison as operating costs are not the same, nor taxation. Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect any UK site, club operated or not, to provide similar facilities for similar fees.
Still, it's your decision, Geordie.
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the campfires, communal barbecues, the all comers drinks parties, and now and then a communal meal. I remember lots of interesting people along the way, and conversations in an evening. At one site I remember a boy with a guitar singing by an alfresco bar late at night. and at another a group of singers in the doorway of a big tent - and the spectators grew
Each to their own, but that sort of site is the exact opposite of what I need in a site, and rightly for you that is a good reason to stop coming to club sites, though I can't imagine club sites ever being like that.
For me the pleasure of a being on club site comes from within not from without. When I think back to the 'good times' it's about the pleasure of my caravan and family, the activities and time spent together. I also remember the area and the things we did from the site. As long as it was clean and tidy that's all that mattered, not the landscaping at all. But like I said each person buys the type of site they want.
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Have to say, I see the clubs offering as like any other leisure/holiday/travel provider..... I book when it suits me (sometimes early sometimes late) and if I can't find my requirements, I look elsewhere. It's a market driven environment. Some you win, some you lose, but to think one can have exclusivity in balancing supply and demand to meet ones own needs, is maybe at best hopeful and at worst deluded.
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I agree with the weekend dates being booked so far ahead that it is near on impossible to be able to book a week. I was told by the CC that some people can only get away at weekends making the system fair, but lots of us who work have to plan our holidays and book the time off work and this cannot be done in December when the system opens for the following year. I believe a percentage of site pitches should be made available for periods of 6 days or more and discounts given for longer stays.
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That is an example of what I said earlier. Someone wishing to tweak a system to their own benefit but to the detriment of others. The present system is fair and open to all on an equal basis. Reserving pitches for longer stay people would penalise some.
Why a discount? We currently have equality in pricing. Ah, would this be because you would benefit, KR?
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We are new to caravanning but have so far visited eight sites for various periods this year with another six booked up to October. These have been a mix of CC, CCC, CL and private. So far I've not had any problem booking any of them for the required periods but can sympathise with those that have to fit in with work holidays.
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We joined the club in 1990 so that we could take Red Penant cover and we used club sites rarely.
We made increasingly greater use of club sites over the following years especially in the period 2009-2013 when three Grandchildren came along and Alderstead became the official BBB location-that's Birth,Beer & Barbecue.
We now use one CL regularly, to visit said Grandchildren, and rally for about 4-5 weeks so, whilst not using sites or club insurances,we would still remain as members-even if not rallying or using CLs the benefits from ITX ferry packages saves the membership fee several times over.
I suppose that the clubs policies/procedures will always suit some, but not all, and that the 'some' will change depending their own circumstances.
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I can empathise with a lot of what you say EuroT, but interestingly, our experiences are solely UK based, rather than overseas. But not on Club Sites, our more relaxed memories are of small private sites, Club AS/MUC Sites and CLs.
Your last paragraph sums up our thoughts on Club Sites of today, with the caveat that we do enjoy them solely as a base in quiet periods, when there are few other campers around. Some such as Bolton Abbey are an absolute delight in Winter, full of bird life, with delightful walks direct from site. But they are just a sleeping base for us, we go out off site most days, all day. Not so with CLs, here we will sit out, chat with like minded neighbours, have a meal or a drink together, perhaps share a hobby interest.
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