Deposits yes / no
Comments
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'book earlier'....stock advice.
however, this isnt the answer for those who dont/cant know their holiday arrangements for the coming year until (usually) around March, as it was when i was working...
'book earlier'....stock answer
yes, for those above, the only answer is to book, book, book, as early as possibly to cover all possible bases....and then cancel what you dont want at your leisure...
perhaps this is whats happening now and folk call it speculative booking, but they are only doing what the 'experts' are tellling them is how to get what they want....'book earlier'...
as i said in another thread, i dont generally do frenzy day as ive no idea where i will be going or when, however i think this year ill try and get some Chatsworth/Baltic Wharf/Rowntree Park weekends in, you never know....
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Chatsworth/Baltic Wharf/Rowntree Park weekends in, you never know....
You are welcome to them for me BB. With any holiday booking (not necessarily caravan site booking) if you want to be sure of a specific accommodation at a specific time you have either to book ahead or simply take your chance nearer the time. Frenzy day does not come into the equation in reality.
If sites for April, for example, could be booked in November or not until end of January the same would apply.
'book earlier'....stock advice. Do you have a better idea or do you really believe that everyone paying deposits would mean that those that can't get the dates tha they want would magically have a better chance without booking earlier?
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Alan, i dont want to use those bookings, i just wanted to book them...
you know, test the system out, find out how everyone else gets to go to these places....
without adding any other constraints, the best way to get these sites is to 'book early'....and if you cant beat them....
the point being made by many is that those who wont know their holiday arrangements till (say Jan-March) cant really book in December, can they.....unless they block book and then cancel once their work schedules are known.
this seems to be whats being encouraged by the advice 'book early'...
as Sigourney Weaver said in Aliens.....'only way to be sure'
the thing is, if everyone adopts this approach, it really helps no one..
there has to be a better way than just booking more and more....
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retired folk?
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the point being made by many is that those who wont know their holiday arrangements till (say Jan-March) cant really book in December, can they.....unless they block book and then cancel once their work schedules are known.
I suspect most who have submitted leave request at first opportunity will know by start of Feb. Because there are a number who have this problem why should the rest be penalised? My experience has been that those tied by school hols for example usually get what they have asked for since many not tied prefer to pay lower prices. If you plan to go away April then Book in December and get your leave cards in January. Don't get the expected leave then cancel. Somebody will use the dates. Most will probably get their desired dates however.
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Your statement very much depends on the holiday year used by employers. When I worked our holiday year ran from the first of February to the end of January so the current method was fine from that point of view. However I realise that some holiday years run from 1st of April. To this end, as I suggested much earlier in the thread, I can see no disadvantage to moving the initial booking day to some time in the New Year although it would have to be in advance of when the majority of sites open which is some time in March. I am not sure I understand the need to do this in December? People who know their holiday dates before Christmas are not disadvantaged by the booking date being in the new year unless of course they feel that competing with more members is unfair?
As far as I am concerned the only change I want to the booking system is the ability to book a hardstanding pitch as mentioned by DSB, he is a caravanner and I am motorhomer so it would suit us both. I certainly don't want to claim any preference over other members, I want us all to be able to book hardstandings.
David
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yes done that too. There's always a coffee shop willing to take my money to while away the time
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+ 1
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People who know their holiday dates before Christmas are not disadvantaged by the booking date being in the new year unless of course they feel that competing with more members is unfair?
We don't all use Club sites All of the time David. I certainly wish to book at least 4 months ahead. As I said how do the 99% of the working community that are not caravanners and that have to pay significant deposits manage?
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My son and daughter work for a living (as opposed to teaching) and can book their holidays two years in advance, Most of their friends have similar arrangements.
The thing is apart from Hp sites (a few) there are plenty of sites with spaces. Or peoplel who are really stuck could book all they can in December then cancel around March, which I calculate in more than 72 hours. Within the rules.
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'book earlier'....stock advice. Do you have a better idea or do you really believe that everyone paying deposits would mean that those that can't get the dates tha they want would magically have a better chance without booking earlier?
Yes, they would. If a £25 deposit were required with every booking, there would be a lot less bookings placed in the hope they can be fulfilled because of the simple fact, most wouldn’t want to part with their money on a whim.
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That is what the "club" allows its member's to do, and as a paid up member I will be doing just that, book, book book, does not cost meanything ,cost to the club nothing.
They seem to quite happy with the system, personally I think the system stinks,if you want to attract a wider membership families ect they must be able book 7 nights how they achieve this is their problem but although they give this problem lip service they seem to be happy with grey pound member with two dogs,what we need is a club.
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Does not mean I use them,depends on weather ect ,but the system is there and I use it to the full.
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no need to be amazed, M...
one doesn't need to be desperate for a club pitch to be able to see the flaws in a booking system.....nor to pass an opinion on it
In his opinion, hooker is just pointing out one of the (gaping) flaws in the system
despite comments that 'the system is fair to all' its fairly obvious that there are a number of posters who dont feel that way and that there is a bias towards retired members...
the timing of the annual booking opening and the tiny period in which to snap up cancellations are (IMHO) the two most glaring examples.
just (simply admin) sort these two things out by changing the FD day and by extending the 'no penalty' cancellation period to (say) three weeks and we'd be on the way to eradicating much of the bias by allowing working families more opportunity to book in the first place and to pick up cancelled pitches.
not really rocket science
IMHO, of course
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I'd go along with that to some extent. Scrap frenzy day and replace it with a rolling 12 month booking system and extend the cancellation period but to just 1 week I think is fair.
The thing which surprises me is how folk who claim not to like club sites and to know so many apparently superior alternatives get so hot under the collar about a system they rarely use.
At the end of the day, whatever system is used, it will suit some folk better than others. The club has a system which they clearly consider is most fair and suits the purposes of the most members.
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So agree with your middle and last paragraphs. Who should the club listen to? the thousands who fill up the sites or those who hardly use club sites but seem to have so many opinions of what is wrong with the club and how it should change? I could say for their own interests and to suit them but as they don't use clubs sites and claim they won't no matter what, why they do it is a complete mystery.
It wouldn't bother me if they did as you suggest in your first paragraph either
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I am never sure what the rolling 12 month solution solves.
If people do not know when they can take June/July or August holidays in December how are they going to know the previous June/July or August? Also, how do they book a 14 day holiday?
if the days are released a day at a time, to be sure, you would have to log in on 14 consecutive days. not a very practical solution.
If the days were released a month a time you would not be able to reliably book a holiday spanning a month end.
There is no perfect solution but a rolling one seems to me to hold more problems than it solves.
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If this Club had a rolling system, they would probably see a portion of the £1000+ bookings I’ve placed with the C&CC for next year.
I can’t wait until December to secure bookings, I’ve paid to enter running and mountain bike races that fill up very quickly when their entry opens which is usually 11 months in advance. I need to be sure I can park the caravan within the vicinity.
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I think the rolling programme would mean that, say on June 1 you could book any length of stay (up to the maximum allowed) starting on the following June 1. The point being that you wouldn't have to wait until December 8th to race against anyone else if you know you want a particular site on that date.
As for the problem of booking a July/August break (or any other month come to that) I'm afraid no system will solve that perfectly for everyone's wishes. You are correct in saying there's no perfect solution!
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Nigel yes can see that if you are making a 1 day booking it could work for you.
So we come back to the eternal problem it solves a problem for some and causes a problem for others.
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Moulsey - but on the 1 June you would be in the same race, against the same people that wanted the same days as they would if they waited until December to book. You just spread out the competition (agony) over the whole year rather than having it all on one day.
I suppose it just depends how you want your pain
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True, but the point made so often is that frenzy day is unfair to some members who can't be sat at a computer on that particular one day. A rolling programme might (stress the word might) give them more chance of getting the booking they want.
It's just an alternative suggestion - I don't use frenzy day and I can't remember the last time we failed to get a site we wanted when we wanted it, but apparently it happens and for some it seems to be the end of their world!
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You're assuming that other members aren't also waiting to book the very same site & dates as yourself on June 1 or whenever the rolling period starts .
With limited pitch availability at the most popular sites , booking is always going to be difficult , with any increase in membership & no new CMC sites in the pipeline it's going to get worse .
We are also members of the C&CC & this year alone couldn't book a couple of sites because of no availability .....swings & roundabouts 👍
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I think to start with change booking day extravaganza to a Sunday at 16.00 hrs or something similar, do something to help most of the membership if not all the membership, perhaps a non returnable booking fee at the HP sites,but if they are seen to be trying would help,
if it does not have any effect scrap it and try something else, the 72 hr cancellation is too short they could extend it 120 that might have an effect but not trying it they will never know.😌😌
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