Club or Business
Recently we have been receiving emails to book a site close to where we live. Presumably this is because there is a shortage of pitch take up.
Today we received an email for a winter holiday abroad which had nothing to do with caravaning.
The Club is looking more like a business than a members' club.
When is the Club going to become the next Saga with investors rather than members?
Comments
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Opting out is so simple and saves all the frustration.
I opted out long ago and get nothing from the club other than booking confirmations and renewal literature.
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Today we received an email for a winter holiday abroad which had nothing to do with caravaning.
How do you work out that Winter Holidays are nothing to do with caravanning. It might be something that you and I are not particularly interested in but a large number of caravanners and motorhomes seek out winter sun each year.
Surely part of the Club's job is to provide services to the broad brush of member requirements.
I received the same e-mail which I had a cursory look at but almost immediately Deleted User it because when I realised if was on no particular interest to me. That all took two or three seconds of my life!!! Follow the advice above and tailor your preferences to suit your needs. However I would suggest you do that carefully as you could miss something that is important to you.
David
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Club or business?, business for sure, the usage of the word ‘club’ is just a nod to nostalgia. It’s a good business too👍🏻😊. I’d be happy to invest.
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I don't feel I'm missing out by opting out of e mails, it's easy enough to see updates in the What's On section on this web site, this includes release dates for booking etc.
Incidentally the "club" ploughs it's profits from the various enterprises it runs back into the business. A normal business model would give the shareholders part of the profits but as it's a club the money get re-invested into new sites and improvements to sites for club members to enjoy. Part of the ethos of the club is also to promote social interaction, hence the continuing rally section which it supports.
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My thoughts are for the future DD, with investments I never think-‘what’s good for me or what’s good for now’, it’s the going forward by years that pays. I bought BP after deepwater horizon, thinking future(decades). The name change wouldn’t have been just a single person’s decision but a series of brainstorming sessions to modernise the company’s platform. The stuffy image of a snobby club is restricting growth.
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If you Google "RAC Ltd" you can read the wikipedia article telling how tthe Royal Automoblie Club moved along the road from being a Club to becoming a Business. Other clubs have gone down the same road. We are just part way at present.
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Makes an interesting read ET.
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Its a relatively big business in the leisure industry, incorporated as such. The weakness is the amateur board of directors. They vote and re elect each other year in year out. NO change and a reluctance to look deeply at the club structure ( cosy affair). Monies are wasted on rebranding, very poor wifi system, web site. etc. Does not seem to be an in depth research for these items. The basics are being ignored, sites are deteriorating. The commercial sector is proving much more attractive, better value and innovative. As an investment there are much better leisure industry businesses out there for your cash.
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It might be better to read the ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION to get a good understanding of the club and the way it is run. "Objects and Powers" might answer the OP's question.
But I still don't want e mails, I'm happy to opt out.
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Fish.....(and btw good luck in your "retirement") I have to agree with your post as it seems the Club is decidedly wasteful with it's funds and some sites seem to be deteriorating. IMO I also think that the current board set up is a "jobs for the boys" situation and needs to be changed. A closed shop in an open market is unhealthy and undemocratic.
However, I would also like to sing the praises of the Club because they (rightly or wrongly) have set the benchmark against which all other sites aspire to.
Yes, it might be a travel company, Yes it maybe (in our view) mismanaged. Yes, some of the shower blocks need updating - but at the end of the day where else could you spend your leisure time in such a variety of destinations and all for a membership fee of less than £1 per week?
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I always think of it as a business, but with a quaintly unique British set up and history! How much you buy into the "Club" element may depend on which options, of what the Club provides, you choose to use! Some things are very "Club", others are very much business. Good to have options I suppose.
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I for one would be very concerned if our club did not operate in a business like manner. Thing is there are a very many different business models and the question is more about which business model one would advocate. Now that's political I reckon and we all know where that may take us! The question really is maybe not as simple as some may think or possibly even wish.
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As a limited company the club have no choice but have to operate as a business. If I didn’t like that I would turn in my membership and not post on the clubs forum
PS that doesn’t mean to say I’m happy with everything the club does, e.g. the name change and the amateur nature of the web site
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Many thanks for your feedback. With regards to your concerns about over-commercialisation, the essence of the Club has always been, and continues to be, to serve the needs of members in supporting leisure touring activities through the provision of relevant products and services. These generate revenue, which is re-invested in the infrastructure and ancillary services that hopefully make the Club experience special. Indeed we purchased two new sites earlier this year, released on the network, Cayton Village Club Site and Bridport Bingham Grange Club Site. If we relied purely on Membership fees and site revenues, the Member experience would very quickly be eroded hence we do mail members to encourage take up of our products and services. We do have to try to run in a business-like manner in order to compete with other providers and to ensure efficient use of your money. With no shareholder dividends to pay and no debts to service we are very much focused upon remaining a members’ Club rather than a purely commercial entity like everyone else.
However, you are able to opt out of emails and we have in fact developed a brand new communications preference centre, giving you more choice on what exactly you want to hear about from your Club, while at the same time giving you the choice to tell us what products and services you do not wish to hear about. You can find out more by visiting here.
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Rowena
There have been lots of comments about the Club being registered as a company.
It is true that any club should be run as an profitable and successful business. It is good that your comments reinforce this premise.
However, is offering Yurt and holiday cottages etc anything to do with caravaning or motor homing?
I was trying to indicate that old clubs, such as the AA, RAC and Saga started as membership clubs. As a benefit to their members, they started offering products appropriate to the membership but then extended and extended the range. Now, they are profit making organisations with share holders.
Is the Club going to go the same way?
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It already has Boltoncm .. Which is not a bad thing. As a retailer of a large range of goods and services the CMC has been successful. Their customers ( most of them anyway) seem to be relatively pleased with any purchases made from the CMC. That makes for repeat business. Like any decent retailer they are continually adding to their range of products to appeal to new customers and will continue to do so to survive
K
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The club is a company limited by guarantee which is a way of preventing the members being liable for its debts should it be wound up. At the same time it has to be run profitably to continue but with no shareholders it does not pay any dividend nor do the comittee get paid.
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In addition and very basically, if the club, instead of being a private limited company (LTD) where shares can't be bought and sold became a public limited company (a PLC which was floated on the stock exchange) the shares could be traded and the company would be vulnerable and profits could be taken by the investors. So the way it is run, as an LTD protects the independence of the company and profits can be ploughed back into it for the benefit of the members.
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