Booking pitches
Comments
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Surely by far the most straightforward solution would be to be able to book the type of pitch you wanted?
Not something I crave for but, presumably, If I booked a hard standing I would not be asked to take grass to make way for a MH as the unfortunate grass booking motorhome would either take grass or be turned away. I was asked to take grass in the middle of the Shawsmead site, near Aberaeron. There had been several days heavy rain and I refused - thankfully. When pitching up I (unusually) reversed the caravan onto pitch. In so doing my front wheel ran about 18'' into the grass opposite leaving an ugly deep trenched scar - no wheelspin and just the car's weight.
Why the warden expected anybody to use that area I have no idea.
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JVB
Not doubting that this was the flimsy evidence used to end the trail but it makes no sense. When those "confused members" booked the site they were surely well aware that they had the option of either booking a hardstanding or a grass pitch? Having made a decision to book a grass pitch, presumedly, they were annoyed they couldn't move to a hardstanding when they arrived on site. If the hardstanding pitches were not all booked there would have been no issue with them changing as I have done in the past changing from a serviced pitch to a standard one or changing from a standard pitch to a non-awning pitch, the only issue is availability. Surely we wouldn't expect someone arriving on site having booked a standard pitch then getting upset because they couldn't change to a serviced pitch because they were all booked. What was wrong with the initial experiment was that it should have done it nationwide. This would have stopped any confusion because of different booking practises between different sites which was probably the reason for the upset?
David
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It is availability of what the type of pitch is on sites that is quite,evident when looking at "late availability",as we have noted when thinking that we could book a weekend,
Ps and yes a hardstanding for some means any ,as noted at Black Knowl this year even though advised they are looking for a white peg
pps especially when already set up before advising site staff what pitch they were on
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...and thats your prerogative...
its also great for those who may not be able to be waiting outside the gate at arrival time, so as to be virtually guaranteed the pitch type they booked.
can you imagine the same scenario with awning/non where you couldn't book, yet all those who could arrive fairly early 'always got the pitch type they wanted' (just like you) and the late comers had to take their chances.
thankfully, for those who require a specific awning type pitch, they can book it and be confident thats what will be waiting for them.
i dont see the booking of a HS/grass as any different.
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in your thoughts
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Earlier in this thread BB I did make the point that the present system suited me personally since in the last 15 years and possibly 200 CC sites I have never been unable to obtain hardstanding on sites where it was available.
If I was a 'weekender' arriving after work I would appreciate being able to book HS. If booking of HS as available I would book elsewhere if they were all taken. Whilst I am happy to use some all grass sites my experience of 'mixed' pitch sites is such that if HS were bookable but non available I would go elsewhere. I doubt that I am alone
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When those "confused members" booked the site they were surely well aware that they had the option of either booking a hardstanding or a grass pitch?
I don't think we can be sure because of the way the web-site displays pitch types in blocks one after the other. It would be so easy to have a row of boxes showing the types available for the user to click upon to take them further down the page to the right bit.
However, many will just scroll down until they see what they think they want. I have missed out on Service Pitches simply because they were at bottom of the page.
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Surprisingly EasyT, when faced with non availability of the pitch type we want but with some other pitches types still available, if we really want a site and it's part of a tour route we book another type of pitch.
Recently I'd totally forgotten that I'd booked a grass non ehu pitch due to lack of other pitch types...we got to that particular site late and I said to OH "well at least we've got a hardstanding" so someone was not best pleased. However we were fine and it was a lot cheaper just for a night!
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We used one of the trial sites, in Lincolnshire, OH had quite a long chat with the warden on booking in.
She was asked if she was aware she had booked a hardstanding, which of course she was, and the warden commented that many members could not remember what they had booked, especially if they had booked many months previously.
This had lead to some of those who it transpired had actually booked grass asking to change to a HS as they saw some empty, which meant the wardens had to explain that the HSs were booked from , say, 2 nights hence, so were not available for a , say, 5 night booking.
Apparently some members could not understand this concept and argued with the warden about it. Wardens therefor spent a long time trying to explain this to those members.
Members were not "confused" but rather forgetful.
As DK said, it would have been better if the trial had involved all sites.
Like many others, if HSs became bookable and there were none left where we wanted to be, we would go elsewhere, which no doubt was the result of the trial and the real reason it was dropped.
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Possibly because they have tent campers who prefer grass, and maybe those who have gone from tent to caravan also prefer the grass?
I also think the proportion of HS pitches on CCC sites is smaller in many cases than on most CAMC sites.
Having used quite a few of their sites this year, booking a HS, we were quite surprised just how many caravans and MHs were using grass pitches when the HSs were sitting unused.
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Surprisingly EasyT, when faced with non availability of the pitch type we want but with some other pitches types still available, if we really want a site and it's part of a tour route we book another type of pitch.
I never so much want a site Brue as a location in an area.
it was a lot cheaper just for a night
The cost of one site during a year is not that important to me.
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She was asked if she was aware she had booked a hardstanding, which of course she was, and the warden commented that many members could not remember what they had booked, especially if they had booked many months previously.
Indeed K. We arrived at Battle Normanhurst Court during the trial and whilst waiting in a queue of 2 or 3 caravans, one of the wardens walked up and said 'you are booked on a hard standing'. I had no recollection that 6 months earlier I had booked hard standing!
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Kj
I wonder if the real problem was not that members had forgotten what pitch they had booked but the fact that it was causing the wardens too much grief trying to calm people down? I suspect that it was the fact that the wardens couldn't cope that over influenced the Club to abandon the experiment. I appreciate not everyone books online but a fair proportion will and the pitch you have booked is clearly marked on the email confirmation.
David
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As far as I am concerned first come first served is a much simpler solution that has worked for a long time, If it is such a problem use The Camping and Caravanning Club. I certainly do not want to be told where to pitch on arrival at a site.
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Yes, I think the hassle the wardens got had a lot to do with it!
However, it seems a lot of members do not keep the booking confirmation e mails, so may have noted which site they booked but not the fact they had actually booked grass or HS, and with only 3 sites in the trial..........
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Why do so many think that you are told where to pitch by the CCC?
We have used quite a few of their sites in the last few years and have always been asked if we had any preference, been told which pitches of the type we had booked were free, and discussed which one we would prefer.
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yes, it's the magician's trick, pick any card...
If the information they told you was real? Did you check? I think this would suit you better?
I think the reason that so many think that is because that what people, including myself, have actually experienced, and that is being shown to a pitch.
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Having been a member of C&CC for 45+ years, I think the approach has softened considerably in more recent years. It used to be the case that you were taken to a pitch and that was your pitch with no variables.
These days it is more as you describe, Kj, with preferences sought and options offered. The warden still escorts you to your pitch, makes sure you’re happy with it, directs you onto the pitch and helps if necessary then points out where the services are.
I don’t have any problem with their system other than sometimes having to wait for an available warden to act as escort but that act of escorting rules out people taking the wrong sort of pitch or pitching inappropriately.
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I’ve not come across that one yet, Brue. Perhaps it was a local initiative. I’ve been asked to tell the escorting warden my pitch type and/or possible pitch numbers but not encountered the techie approach.
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We've seen phones in use a lot TW, it works well when things are busy.
On one big site this year we were handed a "ticket" with our chosen pitch type printed on it which we had to hand to our "escort" so no mistakes about that either.
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Phones or walkie talkies were certainly in use at Boroughbridge C&CC site a couple of weeks ago. Because I always book a hardstanding I must admit that I had not given much thought to what WTG has just posted about the different pitch types and how easy it would be for people to take the wrong type of pitch. So perhaps escorting people to their pitch is an essential rather than personal service?
David
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