Pricing in the directory and online
Comments
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I do not like the way the new sites directory handbook is now set out the old book was far better you could get the price with out all the effort of going on line and from what I can see the price has gone up a lot I to will start to look at other sites would the CLUB like to comment on this?
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Depends where and when you go Steve. We use Club Sites mainly in Winter.
I’ve just spotted variable pricing for dogs on one site. Not clear how it works, could be based on dates, or dog size, or breed, or whether the owners look well behaved...........🤣🤣🤣
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Some mug'll buy it😋
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I would also like to know how they work it out!!! I suspect they have a cost/benefit target a for each site which throws up these anomalies, perhaps further complicated by sites not being in the same region and under different regional managers? There is clearly no overview or one person taking responsibility for what is happening. Perhaps its complicated by sites having different lengths of peak popularity. However it would look more professional if they had a set number of site price bands (I previously suggested four) and perhaps no more that three seasonal date bands across the network. The mid week saver could be applied as an adjustment mechanism of those sites that justify a higher price at some time of year but not at other times. If this was put in place all price information could be contained on one A4 sized piece of paper, either sent by post or emailed to members - everyone happy
David
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They are clear to see, but it’s how they are calculated and proposed that is the mystery, something rather different.
You might be happy to accept and use Sites no matter what the cost might be, anywhere at any given time. I on the other hand might see something different, for example, a half full site priced on the expensive side, when a busier site offered at a reduced rate (to some) could actually give the Club more income. It’s how the majority of holiday providers, be they airlines, b&b’s, cottages, cruise ships, packages etc.... all work.
Some aspects of a Site are unvarying, such as the staffing. Have to be paid regardless of how many pitches are in use. Same with an element of the energy costs, the loos, showers, reception have to be heated, cleaned, lit, regardless of how many are there. So, you could actually obtain more income by reducing late booked prices and having more pitch take up.
The Club appear to be doing it the other way, which is shortening the season of some sites, which saves on staffing and energy costs, but is not beneficial for members. Not forgetting of course, that Members pay a fee to access these sites that are offering reduced seasons. Perhaps they have tried reduced Winter fees, but the take up just wasn’t there, certainly outside of weekends.
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You might be happy to accept and use Sites no matter what the cost might be,
I don't just use CC sites TDA. I use non club sites and also, this last year, C&CC sites. However the times of year that I use sites for touring is between mid(ish) April and end of September. During those times I see little significant pricing difference between CC sites and non-club sites. The sites are busy enough in that period for my liking.
Most of the CC sites that I used this year were between £19 and £23 which is cheaper than the non club sites that I used.
The CC site that I used at Southport for 15 nights though averaged £27.09.
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That's because the "from" price is there because there are additional charges listed for such things as awnings, extra cars etc. The basis price is also for a pitch and 2 adults.
We've just booked two CLs for the next couple of weeks and price per pitch is as shown as the "from" price on the web site, and the 2019 price is the same as the 2018 price.
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As far as we are concerned, the from price for 1 person means very little, it tells you nothing about the price for, say 2 people, at the time of year you actually wish to travel.
A from and to price, as per CC&C would be slightly more useful.
Far more useful would be the actual prices for the various dates.
And , yes, there are far too many price bands through the year.
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Showing the price for a solo tourer might just attract a few more people, letting them know that some Club sites are actually a lot cheaper than a good many CLs. I know we found this the couple of years I spent commuting to sites, often leaving my OH on his own for some nights. Some I seem to recall came in under £10 when the midweek discount was applied. Granted, I am guessing the most popular scenario is likely to be a couple, certainly for most of the year. There is a huge range of prices involving children as well, from £1 per night, up to £7 per night at some sites. Others show an all in price for occupants often up to six persons, but then have add ons for other requirements such as awnings, dogs, boats, cars, gazebos etc.......
If you are familiar with the whole network, Club Sites, AS sites, MUC sites, CLs, it’s not too hard to calculate which might provide best value for a particular holiday. But to anyone new, the pricing information alone is not that easy to understand. Especially when separate from the handbook. You have to be pretty cute and on the ball to make your funds go further, which the vast majority of families will be looking to do.
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Right, after reading all the comments on this thread I have taken the bullet and looked at prices on the website.
To take one example, White House Beach on p129 of the directory shows prices for pitch and one adult as from £11.40. Fair enough you might think, that doesn't sound so bad. For a couple that works out at £16.80. Again, doesn't sound bad, but in truth that price only applies to the last week of that sites season.
In reality, for a couple most nights work out at between £21.00 and £26.90 per night so, whilst claiming site fees from £11.40 is technically correct to my mind such a claim is covering up the real cost to most caravanners/motor homers in a devious and underhand manner.
If the C.C. is not prepared to print full price lists on each site page then at least a more realistic price guide than pitch+1 adult, valid for a single week, should be printed.
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Underhand is defined as:-
If an action is underhand or if it is done in an underhand way, it is done secretly and dishonestly.
Given that the club publishes the full price list on the web site, a copy is available to download and a hard copy available on request soon, this is perhaps overstating things a little.
If they are going to show any prices in the book, they should indicate the min and max, prefereably for standard pitch with EHU plus two.
However, as the prices may now change twice a year and it is a two year book, I think it would be best showing none and publishing them separately. Then the only argument would be over wether these need sending out automatically, or on request.
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Steve, do the prices change twice a year? I thought it was still on Dec 5th as in 'book now for lower prices'....
it's bad enough with many getting wrong prices at the till (any news CC on the underlying fix....?) but if the club is changing prices twice a year, there's even more chance of a member booking before an increase yet arriving after it....hence price wrong on My Bookings and at till.
as mentioned above, CC seem to be obsessed with tinkering with prices, giving a headline price that is rarely likely to be acheived and some bands (certainly last year) being just 10p more than another...
theres certainly another groundswell of pricing issues and while I agree the prices can be found if prepared/able to look in the right place, there's plenty of sneaky stuff going on....
instead of messing about at the edges, wringing the last few pence out of customers with an extra band, surely the club needs to sort out its IT system and cure the ongoing wrong prices issue and be far more transparent in its core pricing (2 adults and a pitch).
i agree with Kjell and others, there are way too many bands with prices flip flopping sometimes 15 times or so in a year......
simple, it ain't.
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Steve, do the prices change twice a year? I thought it was still on Dec 5th as in 'book now for lower prices'....
Fair point BB, I suppose it's really 3 times in 2 years. The life of the handbook.
We have 2019 prices now through to the beginning of 2020. As bookings come on line for 2020, these I assume will be different to 2019. Then if they get it wrong again there will be a revaluation of 2020 prices on December 5th 2019.
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I am tending to agree that no prices should be shown in the directory as they are next to meaningless for all but a tiny minority of solo travellers. Unless the Club are always going to maintain the from price for the two years of the life of the directory the from price will become obsolete after a year anyway?
It would be good to get some insight into how the Club decide on individual site prices and why they don't try to consolidate prices and bands into fewer options. One could be forgiven in thinking that its a close your eyes and stick a pin in list method at the moment as the logic seems hard to find?
David
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yes, Alan agreed....it's what we the customers are prepared to pay and weigh that up with regard to value and our own ability to comfortably pay..
some are in a better position to do this than others and some good honest transparency wouldn't go amiss...
as DK says, the from price for a solo is just headline grabbing stunt...for couples and families (surely the core of the club) this is way off beam.
...but it's the myriad bandings that really grates, tweaking a price by a few pence, often for a few days, then back again or changed fractionally to squeeze again...
why can't all the peak prices be set at the same level (at least for the same site....)?
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I agree about the bandings and pence here, pence there BB. I have just looked at one site, it has five different adult charges, four different pitch prices, and that’s before you even start adding variables such as children, service pitches, etc.... and I suspect there are Club Sites with more variance, I just chose one at random. For a three week stay, that could be an awful lot of maths to arrive at an overall price. Not customer friendly.
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I know that when ever I see the words from in front of a price from any source I am never going to get that price. It will be for the cheapest week of the year if a holiday or, say for a car, the basic model that really you don't want. I suspect many people think like that and know that.
Having said that I do feel it is sad that the club has taken it one step further in terms of what the from actually means by using a pricing model which most will not be a part of, I think it is taking the from thing almost into fraud? And the club should be better than that.
But having said that (again) I just book the weeks I want and look at the bottom line, like ET, and that's is what I go by. Likewise the different pricing bands do not bother me at all. Also do people do their sums using them or look at the price just before the end of the booking process?
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Which Site TDA?
I know that when I look at site prices I occasionally encounter two bands. At Southport from mid December for 15 nights part was off peak and part Christmas peak. No problem.
Sometimes encounter similar on other sites and sometimes there is a mid week discount. Again, not a problem
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Alan, when we discussed prices (always?) a few weeks back, I found one site at random and that had 17 (from memory) changes of price.
im not saying it was 17 different prices (I think around 8) but just the number of consecutive increases/decreases throughout the year...
just as an example, checked Henley (as we were there last year) and 15 charging periods, with 6 different possible prices...
two of the bands are as follows....
adult 5.90 child 1.40 pitch 6.80
adult 6.00 child 1.50 pitch 6.90
so 10p difference for each component...
no doubt replicated across many other sites.
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I just chose Hawes at random ET, not sure if it has MWD, which if it does, adds to the maths lesson.
It’s not a problem, easy enough to sit down and work out, and of course if you do complete the booking online it’s all totted up automatically. But it makes comparing sites that much more of an effort. And frankly, from a Marketing viewpoint, it is unattractive to members and prospective members.
We use mainly CLs, most offer one price, maybe two if they are open all year. There might be the occasional extra, but rare the kind of CLs we choose.
I might just have a look and see if I can find the most complicated Club Site, outside of AS and MUCs. If I get bored.......
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Alan, ...nor none for me, I just pay...or go elsewhere
i think the issue is more about how the club is coming across in this latest 'pricing' saga....
incorrect prices on My Bookings and paper corrections at the till (ongoing)
site books that don't contain pricing info (many posts citing this as a step backwards)
headline prices shown for solo travellers ('fraud' mentioned upthread..) which bear little resemblance to what the core membership is likely to pay
complex site-by-site pricing matrices with multiple charging periods and tiny price increments which give the impression of penny pinching...
no, there's no problem as such, but the situation has sparked some discussion, most of which is not complimentary.
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