“What it means to be part of our Club”

Eurotravller, I'd agree with you.  The evidence of the the majority of the marketing that comes from the Club is around the money-making aspects of the "club" such as; Insurance, Foreign Travel, Club Sites and Membership. 

By contrast, Rallies, Centres and the CL network are rarely mentioned on the Club Social Media Channels, or in the out-bound emails sent to members. 

The coverage of the CL network in the Magazine has marginally improved over the past few years with three CLs being picked out each month.  I also noticed that Rallies were given a boost by the DG at the front of this month.

However, when I applied to become a member of Club Council (5 years ago), I went to a session alongside all the other new Club Council members at HQ to introduce us to the Club and it's ethos.  It was a whole day session.  We were very firmly told that this is a Club first and foremost and the Club (in effect the Executive Committe) sets the direction of the business.   Having sat on the Club Council for 3 years (CL owners are no longer welcome on Club Council - but that's a whole different story) my comclusion is that this is partially true, but in the end, money tallks and financial objectives come before club-type matters.

I am told that my involvement with Club Council and at AGMs has increased the 'awareness' of CLs among the Executive.  I hope this has been positive.

FYI The Company's objects are: (see Articles of association)

4.1 to maintain and conduct a club for the benefit of the persons, including mobile caravanners and those connected with mobile caravanning, who are admitted to Club Membership in accordance with these Articles;

4.2 to encourage social interaction between such persons;

4.3 to promote caravanning generally; and

4.4 to carry out or promote leisure and travel related services and products, including but not limited to caravanning and related pursuits.

Whilst this state-of-affairs could certainly be improved, and no doubt CL owners like myself would like to see CLs recognised more for the contributions we make to the network and Ralliers and members of Centres would like to see more coverage, it is vitally important that the Club remains profitable and can invst in the assets and infrastructure and staff necessary to run a sucesful and growing business.  We all know other clubs that fare a lot less well, because they are not run as commercially.

Perhaps the Marketing team and Editorial team of the Magazine could be reminded that (according to the Club's own research);

• 22% of members join the Club 'mainly or only' to access the CL network
• 22% of Member Subscriptions equates to £3,364,020 in 2017
• 44% of members (about 154,000) use CL's at least once a year (Spring 2017)
• Around 21% of members nights away are spent on CL's (Spring 2017)
• 60% of new members say that access to the CL network influenced their decision to join the club
• Over 40% of available pitches on the network are provided by CLs

Perhaps you should put yourself up for election and exercise your right as a member of 'The Club'!

Run for the members by the members!

As a CL owner and a member,I am not allowed to put myself up for election as I have a commercial interest in caravaning.This applies to all  new CL owners who have to join the club,to have a CL. bit of a catch 22.I invested alot of money into the basics for my CL and have found the support from the club/business sadly lacking.It is a business who puts its own concerns first.naturally.But as Cholsley Grange has pointed out Cls are one of the main reasons some members join the club/business.

The club/business did offer extra advertising to Cls in the magazine but it was almost the same as the handbook and we would have had to pay for the pages printed,so we would have been paying to advertise to the people we already advertise to.A good business plan for them,but not for us!