Booking difficulty for pre covid members
With the onslaught of the covid virus and the massive restrictions on foreign travel , it appears not only that the existing membership are filling up club sites , but I suspect also a large influx of new members are too . This is great for the campsites , as they have all faced a very difficult season this year . However , I am experiencing that finding pitches now is very difficult , and a great deal of the sites that could be booked a month in advance previously are full to the end of the season . This obviously makes me question whether membership is actually worth it now , as so far this summer after about 6 weekend breaks , I have realised that none of these were possible through the club .
This is obviously very disheartening , but there is a much bigger concern at play here , and that is next years bookings . No one has a crystal ball regarding the impact of covid , and we cannot predict what will happen next month , far less what will happen next year . We have the possibility of much of next years sites being booked up by people who would normally holiday abroad , and taking advantage of the booking system . If this occurs , and next year we have little or no travel restrictions , we will end up with a situation again where pre covid members cannot get pitches , and the sites will have a whole load of pre-booked vacant pitches .
Can I ask ; are other members here experiencing this as well ? And Also ; Does the club itself have concerns about the possibility of the above situation occurring , and how to address this ?
Comments
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I am no fan of the club booking system as my posts on here testify but this time it is not the club at fault.
I am trying to book a break and everywhere is rammed (clubs and others) up to at least October. Frustrating but after being cooped up for most of the year and no cheap weekends on Ryanair or eurotunnel etc. then the staycation is here for a while yet.
Good news for the club and the industry but not for people used to the flexibility of book and go.
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Perseverance and Flexibility are the keys.
We have a near 4 week September tour starting soon. I have managed without too much difficulty to book 4 CLs and 2 Independent sites. A couple of the CLs are just 1 night stops but I have at least 2 full weeks on 2 of the sites. By continuing to check availability I have switched one stop to a Club site when I saw the continuous nights I wanted became available.
You really cannot just hope that your first choice will be waiting for you. We know these are exceptional times both virus wise and for the club, as they try to accommodate more members with fewer pitches due to staff shortages so people need to be flexible.
I cannot see a difference between pre covid members or later ones. We are all members, treated the same with the same opportunities.
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My feelings are that the situation re Covid is probably going to continue for a considerable time. I'd suggest hedging your bets and if you can't find what you want just now think about next year and make future bookings.
On the the three recent sites we've visited we've had people alongside us who said they'd normally be abroad. This tells me something, there will be further pressure on pitches. Remember too that a lot of sites haven't opened this season.
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As far as I am concerned, I think Covid is making some of the ditherers and disorganised get their acts together. It isn’t someone else’s fault, or the Club’s fault, if you fail to get what you want at shortish notice. It’s simply about being pro active, being willing to compromise a little, and rather than moaning, getting on with things.
I don’t think it’s rocket science to realise that this year was going to be very different..........🤷♀️
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Absolutely David
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Even when we were working we used to plan ahead for both weekends and longer holidays. I think most of the reason folk are complaining they can get this or that, with numerous reasons put for the cause, are due to lack of planning. If someone leaves it till the last minute, possibly because they were hoping to go abroad, or perhaps just undecided, they are going to experience difficulties. We should have been in France this September / October. However, back in April we decided that the writing was on the wall and it would be better to abandon France for 2020 and get in early on bookings here. If we hadn't and we're now struggling for sites, I wouldn't blame anyone but myself. Certainly not newly joined members, who have as much right to book as I do.
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All depends on whether we get a vaccine in the New Year. If yes, we’ll quickly get back to normal as confidence returns. If not, booking in 2021 will be worse than 2020. Don’t think I’ll bother with CMC membership next year in that scenario, but maybe keep CCC as it’s proven easier and cheaper to book sites this year. Who’d want to pay membership for a club and not be able to use its facilities?
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We booked a 10 site,so far, trip over a month ago, starting next month, and got all the sites we wanted, including one CC site, and will be booking more en route. One just had to use a bit of imagination and be flexible if you can't get exactly that you want. There are lengthier alternatives out there if one has the inclination to search for them.
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We booked a series of trips this year and when many were cancelled (Due to the sites being closed) we held our nerve and were rewarded with being able to go on a scheduled trip on 5th July. We felt safe and the site was well run with folks being sensible. I know many have cancelled trips abroad, so if you are not going to use dates, amend or cancel as soon as possible.
As soon as booking became available again, we rebooked cancelled trips and a few later in the year. Again if there are problems or local lockdowns we will review and amend as necessary.
We have care duties, so book our respite trips in the UK and within a few hours drive. Going abroad will have to wait until we are fully retired and hopefully post Covid.
Good luck and stay safe
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It is about a degree flexibility or not at the moment for everyone. We are heading off in next couple of days, I checked a site yesterday just to make sure it had pitches, as I know it’s popular. It has, and our name is listed as turning up. No deposit, cancel if we want. That’s stop two on our tour. Stop one isn’t booked, neither is stops three four and five. It is possible still to head off and tour in UK, but not if you want pitch 25, in busy September, on a Club Site. You don’t have to go overseas to tour and drop onto a Site, you just need to mix up your site choices. I think it will be more difficult to get say a couple of weeks on a single Site this year, but again, not impossible.
This year is certainly unlike anything experienced before. Club has had thousands of new Members, has had to keep some Sites out of use for one reason or another, and there are thousands of regular overseas loving Brits out there making do/still enjoying being away. Small island, hundreds of thousands of folks trying to enjoy a holiday in the safest way possible in middle of a pandemic.
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If someone leaves it till the last minute, possibly because they were hoping to go abroad, or perhaps just undecided, they are going to experience difficulties.
Certainly likely to be so in peak season or Easter if you want somewhere particular.
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Yes, touring in the UK can be frustrating, even in low season and especially in ‘hot spots’ and weekends. With very few exceptions, I wouldn’t give a second thought to booking on the European mainland outside peak season...just the open road and the ACSI app!
I hope those days soon return. I’m finding the UK situation quite tedious this year, but hey ho, I woke up this morning and my lungs are still working! So far, so good.
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David, having read your previous posts about your holiday plans being thwarted, updated, altered, moved on, ferry ports changed etc I think it would be fair to say that booking UK sites at present is far less complicated.
I would also say to anyone, booking with CAMC it is easy, uncomplicated, with no deposits to lose or transfer!
The CAMC booking conditions are probably the most flexible around.
There certainly is another world over the water I expect that's what brings tourists here in normal circumstances.
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I'm sure booking this year for any sort of accommodation in the UK has been made considerably more difficult because of the unique situation we all find ourselves in. There are far more folk competing for a limited number of outlets. However, I have to say that in 40+ years of touring, first in a tent and then in a caravan, I have never found any booking conditions particularly onerous and I can rarely remember a time when we have not been able to get the location we wanted.
For balance, I'm sure what folk say about touring in Europe, away from high season at least, is true. But I've also read that if one wants a specific pitch on a specific site it is necessary to book and pay a deposit a year in advance!
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No surprises there, isn’t that the case the world over? Not sure if they still do it but a site near me runs a lottery each year (in November) for the privilege of booking a beach side pitch the following year!
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I think there are constraints in touring abroad as there are touring in the UK but perhaps not so obvious. When touring in Europe the upfront costs like crossing and insurance means for it to be worthwhile that you have to go for longer. No hardship of course. Where as touring in the UK it is easier to come and go, a weekend there a three week tour here. If people think of touring in the UK as second best as opposed to it being complementary it will be second best. COVID is not the only reason that prevents people touring abroad. Sometimes it is the lack of flexibility on some medical conditions that force that change and when that happens you either have to search around for alternative cover or reach the conclusion on whether it is all worthwhile. We have had wonderful trips to Europe between 1987 and 2016 but I can't say I feel disadvantaged because we have recently had to restrict our touring to the UK. In fact we are discovering parts of the UK which we have not been to before, so there is some payback as well.
David
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