Camping Cheques - The Future
Welcome back to HQ staff and a happy New Year. A question for you
Over the latter weeks stories have been circulating on caravanning groups about the future of camping cheques. Without any authoritive direction a lot of what is being talked about will be conjecture.
We are now at the start of a new year and many people will be starting to plan holidays and may be wanting to use camping cheques, the sale of which seems to have been hidden behind the birth of Site Night Vouchers. The club as a main agent for camping cheques must be aware of what the future holds. What seems to be a demise in camping cheques does not happen over night and in the eye’s of members needs clarification. Is it not time to answer these stories for the members with a more definitive approach.
Maybe someone from HQ can answer this.
Comments
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Harry - Maybe this is something that would be answered on the Facebook page for the CMC? Facebook seems to be where questions are answered quickly.
Interestingly I've had a look at the 'Camping Travel Club' Facebook page which seems to have been started up in September 2016 but there is nothing added after June 2017.
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I have not use Camping Cheques since 2012 if I recall correctly and I don't seem to get any communication from them trying to encourage me to buy any cheques.
David
BTW I have highlighted this discussion to Rowena.
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Hi Harry and Happy New Year to you too.
I've spoken to the travel team, who have advised, as stated in a previous discussion, Camping Cheques is still operating and the Club is still selling the paper cheques. We are in contact with Camping Cheques regularly and are currently awaiting updates for 2018. In the meantime, we are continuing to sell the 2017-2018 paper camping cheques.
For members, there is also the option of purchasing our own Overseas Site Night Vouchers which are valid up until the end of 2019 and can be used on the campsites in our Venture Abroad brochure (apart from Beau Rivage D26 and Duinrell H13).
If there are any new changes to the Camping Cheques scheme they will be communicated to our members as soon as possible.
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We bought our last Camping Cheques just a year ago - but haven't had any communication from 'The Camping Travel Club' since. Normally as Gold Card holders (still with some 'valid' cheques) we receive the new brochure in December. The website is unhelpful in that none of the searches work. This is for two reasons: because the site hasn't been updated and it's now prime time for researching holidays for low season this year but also because there are no date boxes to search in!!!. Searching for all sites in France brings up sites and a map, but also the message 'Aucun hébergement n’est possible dans ce camping
pour les dates demandées...'. This is hardly likely to encourage current users, and definitely won't attract new users.If this is the new 'corporate way' of running a business then I can't see it lasting long as a viable proposition.
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Val
Perhaps it's not clear to them what sort of business that want to run? Maybe they want to concentrate on the static accommodation side of the business as so many, French campsites in particular, are installing a lot of "non camping" type units.
It's interesting that the Club have invented their own camping cheque type scheme. Are they hedging their bets? Or is it a way of providing a best value holiday package that may not longer be available via the normal route of camping cheques?
David
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I think you're right David - the original concept of Camping Cheques which paid for one night on a touring pitch was then joined by Holiday Cheques which bought a night in static accommodation at approximately twice the price. Now the emphasis seems to have moved over to the static side - and your 'Camping Cheque' purchase basically seems to be to pay money in advance which can than be used towards the cost of a pitch (it doesn't always cover the whole cost apparently) or towards the cost of accommodation. However, the main complaint from campsite owners, and the reason we were given for sites dropping out, was the slow reimbursement of the value of the 'cheques' from Camping Cheque. I can't see that the recent changes have done anything to address this.
Of course ACSI came into the equation after the first few glory days of Camping Cheques, when they were going from strength to strength and at one time gaining many new sites every year. Now it seems to be ACSI who are gaining sites, with many new sites this year.I imagine that in 2018 Camping Cheques will be down to just over 400 sites, and many of these won't be offering touring pitches.
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It seems to me that Camping Travel Club is almost trying to destroy its own business !! We understand that there will be an "announcement" on or after 15 January. As ValDa says that's too late for many now planning their 2018 holidays.
We used our last paper cheques in June, 2017 at a site where the price listed for cheque users was 17 euros. We weren't asked for any additional payment
However, the slide downhill for Camping Cheques has been long in its gestation. (Some years ago there were several other similar cheque schemes (e.g. Touring Cheques) but they have all fallen by the wayside.) Camping Cheque has been the author of its own misfortune by being too greedy. Not only do sites have to wait for their money (as Val says) but they only used to receive 11 euros even though we were paying up to £15.95. its hardly surprising that sites have left the scheme in droves as ACSI has risen to prominence.
I predict that the business will cease to exist for touring caravanners/motorhomers beyond 2018.
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Perhaps it it all part of the grand demise of the cheque worldwide. Look out for a new application for your smart phone anytime soon!
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I suppose we could all speculate that it's 'progress' and I wonder whether it's just part of the move towards 'sustainability', ecology and removing pollution, along with the projected demise of petrol and diesel cars. It's likely that this will mean none of us can tow anything other than a very small paper bag - so perhaps in future touring pitches just won't be needed, except for people who are exceptionally 'eco-friendly' and go back to walking holidays with backpacks again! What goes around comes around....... as they say!
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i have 10 paper cheques left over and if it goes the last thing I want to do is get involved with the clubs scheme to get a ferry deal.
When I booked our ferry last month, David, I was offered Camping cheques or Vouchers. There was less than £1 between the 2 offers but 1 voucher less so I guess that when CCqs finish the club will move onto the voucher scheme for ITX.
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Could someone explain (in simple terms please) what this ITX term means. I have asked before but no one responded. I thought it was when a bonded travel company offered a travel and accommodation package and protected the purchaser. I don’t think this can apply to the Club because I can’t see anywhere they belong to any organisation like ABTA. Am I missing something. I know the Club run a client fund for deposits but that’s different.
Ken
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Ken, as far as I'm aware it means Independent Tour Excursion and applies if the travel agent arranges the travel part and includes some sort of accomodation at the same time. I am not sure if it is correctly used for this club but in general members on here understand it to include Camping Cheques or Vouchers.
David - I have the same "problem" insofar as the vouchers will be useless for me this year as they can be used in so few places in Germany, particularly in those areas we hope to visit.
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A direct comparison with my 2017 trip, Ply-Ros May/June with a cabin, shows a saving for 2018 of exactly £300 so even if I did not use the club vouchers, costing £87.50,I would still save £212.50.
When news of the vouchers surfaced the fate of Camping Cheques did not look so bad as it does now.
Unless the news on Cheques is better than we seem to feel it will be then having to buy 4 vouchers to access an ITX package is looking more favourable now then it was.
KofK-An ITX ‘package’ can be obtained in a number of ways when travel and accommodation are booked together. The accommodation was always Cheques or a site but now vouchers have been added.
The savings tend to be greatest on the longer crossings and BF in particular seems to be attracting large discounts as I have found above.
It does surprise me that there are still many members who are unaware but I think many people see the ‘full’ price and assume that it is not possible to get a significant discount so look at shorter crossings which are now around the £300 mark even on the short Dover routes.
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I have used the camping cheque over the past few years, the website has been helpful, but getting less user friendly over the same time. Went on it in the last few days, shows sites but the map doesn’t work very well, you can move it around. Also tried to put some credit on my silver card but again the website doesn’t work. All in all doesn’t inspire me confidence for the future if they can get it right at this busy planning time. Haven’t tried to ring them as at this moment not confident my cash will be safe even if the system is owned I believe by the Kawan group. Will await any update from the club.
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I will not be using any cheques this year just my ACSI card, i do think we will still find many a site who take the ACSI card so we are happy with that.I did find out from the taking to the Caravan and Motorhome staff over the telephone that many sites are not using them this year .
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Spoken to the Club Travel Team today. They have had no contact with Camping Cheque in 2018. They still have paper cheques available for 2017/2018, that still have 12 months before they expire.
I looked at the Campingtravelclub website, and only 12 sites have been uploaded for France, although most of the Uk ones appear tio be present. Whether any of this relates to 2018, is not obvious.
I have 20 cheques still on my Gold Card that expire in 2020, but I fear the Campingtravelclub might expire before they do. Hopefully I will use them all this year!
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Me too, LagerorWine! We have quite a few cheques, still, both paper ones and on our Gold Card, and I feel like they may be not worth the paper they are written on!
The sites were previously all on the website - but on different maps and you could move from one map to the other - much like the way UKCS shows sites on their website. As you say now only 12 sites appear for France, and there appears to be details for 2018 for just one or two of the 12 shown - Chateau du Gandspette, for example. Even there the details show the date many many times over. But it does appear as if some work is taking place, as no dates were available when I looked a week or so ago.
From another forum someone has commented that they contacted the Camping Travel Club in France and were told the guide books have been discontinued and the person spoken to didn't know when the website and App information would be updated - and speculated that perhaps it would be mid-February!
So for those who use Camping Cheques still - watch this space but I don't think we will try to buy any more cheques at the moment.
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Val, I'm glad you have spotted some progress on the site. Hopefully it will continue!
The book was part of the GoldCard benefits we paid for, so its dissappointing if its been dropped. Perhaps we have to be glad they are honouring the 16 euro night vouchers already loaded last year, but I guess the sites accepting them probably aren't happy, unless Camping cheque are making up the difference in price - unlikely
To get a cheaper ferry, I need 5 camping cheques or 4 CMC vouchers (at £21.95), so torn whether to gamble on camping cheques, as the CMC vouchers are overpriced for low season.
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They are, but if like Deleted User User, you get a net reduction on the price which makes a ferry and vouchers cheaper than a ferry without vouchers, then they are an advantage. And if you can use them of course then it's an extra bonus because (unlike Camping Cheques) it isn't going to be a gamble as to whether the site will accept them when you actually arrive.
A couple of years ago we had a site refuse to accept our Camping Cheques even though they were still in the current brochure, which isn't a pleasant experience.
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At this rate, Camping Cheques will be dead before the date which I predicted (up thread) of the end of 2018. I am glad that I used my last Cheques in June last year.
For this year, I have made my booking with four site nights from those available from the Club. These can be as many as four different sites if you so wish. So, I have booked my first and last nights (at Riva Bella - not my favourite site by any means but OK for a stopover near the port) and two nights at La Hallerais - near Dinan. A pleasant site as I know from past visits.
By this means I have obtained the ferry discount which purchase of Cheques usually gives you without the risk they will shortly cease to exist.
They are continuing to destroy their own business.
er site
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I've looked at the website this morning, and they have loaded many more French sites, but like the Spanish sites, virtually all contain the phrase - Aucun hébergement n’est possible dans ce camping pour les dates demandées...
Which google translates to - No accomodation is possible in this camp for the dates
Chateau du Gandspette has acceptance dates listed - 30/3/2018 to 06/07/2018 (about a hundred times!)
I think they have employed all the rejects from Alan Sugar's 'Apprentice' to update the website
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The website is now back to how it was a week or so ago, with all sites loaded (including some which definitely aren't accepting cheques for 2018 such as Riva Bella) but most don't have dates, and those which do are still in the 'repeating down the page' format!
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I contacted the european holidays part of the club today by email today, questioning how much contact they have with the CampingTravelClub, since it was 'reformatted' early last year.
I have pasted their reply below ----
Just to confirm that we are in constant contact with Camping Cheques, we are however waiting for confirmation from them on their plans for 2018.
I understand your frustration and concern - I have been advised that the Club have a meeting with Camping Cheques in Paris on 31st January, therefore we hope to have some more information after this date regarding which sites will be in the scheme, exchanges on Cheques and so on.
When the scheme changed in 2017 unfortunately we lost access to viewing/loading Silver and Gold cards.
The reason we are currently offering our Overseas Site Night Vouchers is so that Members can still get their ferries booked at the cheaper package rates. We have a working relationship with the sites that are taking part in the Overseas Site Night Voucher scheme and we are confident in offering these for 2018 holidays
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At least we have another part of the jigsaw.
Mike
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Hi all
At this moment in time, please note that the Caravan and Motorhome Club is pausing sales of Camping Cheques for 2018/2019. This is because it is not currently possible to purchase Camping Cheques direct from their head office. Any 2017/2018 Camping Cheques already bought or money loaded onto a Gold or Silver card can still be used (until the stated expiration date) and can be used on participating Camping Cheque campsites. For details of these campsites, please visit www.campingtravelclub.com. Please note though that not all of these have 2018 information at this point in time, so if you can’t find the details you need please telephone 0033 3 85 72 29 90 . In place of Camping Cheques, the Caravan and Motorhome Club is happy to recommend its own Overseas Site Night Vouchers which are valid for 2018 and 2019 and can be used on any of its 300+ accredited overseas campsites (some exclusions apply). For details of these sites, please visit www.camc.com/overseas and for terms and conditions please visit https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overseas-holidays/special-offers/overseas-site-night-vouchers/.
Further updates will be posted on Club Together and the Club’s social media channels as soon as information becomes available.
Many thanks
Caravan and Motorhome Club
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I note sales of camping cheques have been suspended. I booked a September crossing this week including 5 camping cheques. Presumably the club have an obligation to exchange these for club vouchers as I was not due to receive the cheques until July.
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