Pitch availability
Hi All,
Late last night I tried to book Broadway site online but no pitch was available for my dates.
1st thing this morning I rang the site direct to see if they had a cancellation list I could put my name on, to my surprise they had a number of pitches available so I booked a full serviced pitch. My question is do sites have pitches that they "keep back" from the online site. I'm not complaining in fact I'm chuffed because we can now go on our tour.
Comments
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Apparently some keep a couple of pitches in case of emergency but it’s a practice that's being phased out.
Are you sure you scrolled to the bottom of the page as there are a surprising number of options to choose from at Broadway?
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Even if you scroll down to the hardstanding pitches, one of the quirks of the system seems to be that each month comes up showing yellow (full/closed) for a few seconds before becoming blue (pitches available). Might that have been what you saw?
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Perhaps they had not got around to putting the cancelled pitches back on the system? I also thought they were phasing out set aside pitches. Perhaps with the increasing number of hardstandings they are not required?
David
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I don't know what dates you wanted, fatbelly, but I've just now looked at the web site and it is the all the grass pitches that are blanked out, there are certainly plenty of mid week hardstanding pitches available although the last weekend in November and the first 2 in December are showing as fully booked.
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Hi, As DK has suggested I think the most likely is that the booking system has not been updated.
I called in at a club site in the Lakes a few years back to have a quick look and when I called at the office said , jokingly,it was to see if it was worth the trouble to get a pitch as they were always full. The warden was quite clear in his response to the effect that whilst some may think that he has all day to sit and update the pitch availability on the 'system' that is not the case and so most off the time it may be out on what is actually available.
His suggestion, and repeated by the warden at Baltic Wharf, was to always ring if a site is showing as full. I have done this three times at Baltic and been able to get a pitch.
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We were having difficulty booking in here over this last w/end, and a call to the site confirmed, they were full on the sat night and no longer are they permitted to keep pitches back for any problems that could arise,but to keep checking, as the weather forecast can very often alter the pitch availability,,two days later we got the full 6 days wanted,
,when we arrived I queried what happens if there is any sort of problems that means they do not have enough pitches,and was "advised"that EGG are not in the "real world"and that on site staff have to "improvise" with the figures
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I assumed that if I booked a pitch on the system and then had to cancel using the system, then the system would automatically update itself.
If there are so many cancellations that wardens cannot keep the system up to date - noting that the warden in Reception seems to have a bit of free time - then there is something fundamentally wrong.
Sorry, JVB, don't know who is EGG.
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If you cancel yourself online then I am sure that pitch goes back online immediately. Its possible a lot of the pitches that are cancelled on site, so perhaps a shorter stay than planned might be one reason and I imagine wardens have to prioritise their work and perhaps putting pitches back on the system is not one of them?
I imagine JVB is talking about some mystical department at East Grinstead
If "set aside" was previously set at 5% of pitches that is a lot of pitches not to be available online. The Club probably realised they were losing money by such a system. The only people who benefited from it were those members willing to phone the site at short notice which could of course be a bit hit and miss. I am sure site staff are more than capable of overcoming the odd difficulty it sometimes throws up.David
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Just had a look at Broadway and 'grass with awning' and 'grass without awning' pitch availability comes up first. I didn't realise there were any grass pitches there. Must admit that at times I've been caught out by the grass pitch availability coming up first, as in winter of course they are all blanked out and so showing as not available. Perhaps that's what happened to the OP?
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Hi
I've mentioned before that set aside pitches are being phased out, that's still the case. Not sure what our wardenista chap means by wardens having to juggle the figures? If someone cancels a pitch by any means, that pitch is immediately put back on the system, (don't forget our system isn't that rapid), unless the warden has to remove the pitch for whatever reason. Quite simple really, if it's for sale it will be online. Those days of "phone the warden he'll sort you out" will be long gone by next spring. Fact.
FYI, there are 3 grass pitches at Broadway.
JK
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I guess you can't please everyone all the time. Many airlines operate a 'bump down' policy by over booking knowing that on many occasions folk don't turn up for their booked flight. Trouble happens mind when all turn up as booked and no one is willing to be bumped even with the usual incentives.
Even booking down to that very last pitch could be problematic, what if that emergency, tragic event, or breakage causes a bollard or pitch to become unavailable on that otherwise fully booked site. Someone would not be very happy and some would be instantly on social media.
Oh what then?
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We had a faulty bollard on arriving at Exeter. Did without first night, as we arrived late. But we told Warden next morning and pitch was out of use. It happens.
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Often at non refurbished sites there is a spare bollard that can be used. Although an extended EHU may be required. As 6 metre spacing has resulted in the loss of a pitch. (happened to us) Where sites have been updated and have new bollards, I have not noticed any spare.
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The site wasn’t full, and already has eco pitches, but that wasn’t my point. I was just pointing out bollard failures do happen, and if it happens say somewhere like YRP, it will become an issue.
It wasn’t something the Warden could have fixed. Prime pitch though, marked out for disabled, right next to loos. Probably required Jockey Club to sort it out.
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Indeed, we have been that emergency, our towcar suffered total gearbox failure on our way to Chirk towards the end of a long tour. We should have been there a week then going to Snowdonia and the Lakes before returning home.
We were taken to Chirk, and the van sited, by Mayday, then the next day the car was taken to a dealer in Shrewsbury. A new automatic gearbox had to be ordered from Sweden, meantime the dealer loaned us a car to use, though not one that could tow the van.
We therefor had to cancel all onward sites and remain at Chirk until the car could be fixed. Due to various delays/bank holidays/staff shortages, we were there for almost 3 weeks!
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