2021 pitch prices
Interested in hearing other members views regarding the way pitch prices have increased over recent years.....we have seen our local sites increase costs very dramatically in recent years .....well over the rates of inflation.
We take our van over to Europe and travel extensively and noticed very little change in site fees over there in past years.
We are becoming concerned that our 'club' has greater interest in its profits than providing value to members.....?
Comments
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You'd get response to this on the forum, rather than posting it as a story.
Site fees have been discussed again and again and........
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We are becoming concerned that our 'club' has greater interest in its profits than providing value to members.....?
Any profits are ploughed but into member benefits usually by refurbishing campsites to an even higher standard or buying new sites. Personally I have not checked next years prices but as we tend to go by location it does not play that much of a part in our decision. Generally I have found equivalent quality commercial campsites to be of a very similar prices and I usually have to pay a deposit and the balance before I arrive so there are many advantages to booking a Club site.
Comparison with European campsites does not make much sense as it's a different market. France for example has a very high number of camping pitches which are only used in any volume for six weeks of the year. It is to their benefit to offer them at knockdown prices just to provide some extra income. What you need to do is the compare peak time prices July/August with CMC prices for the same period.
David
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It largely due to cost of wages. Club sites are staffed by two or four people all day long, with relief staff also paid when wardens take days off, plus regional managers and head office staff. That all costs. The municipal sites we use across France are often only staffed for two hours in a morning and two hours in an evening, and just by one person too.
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Gadgie, at the end of the day only you can decide if the club site you want to stay at represents value for money. You do this by comparing with similar sites in the same area, not those overseas that operate in a totally different economic structure.
If the club is found wanting because a commercial site down the road offers similar facilities at a more favourable price, then the answer is obvious.
David has explained that any operating profit is used for the benefit of members. With CAMC there are no shareholders to pay dividends to or owners looking to boost their coffers.
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I have no idea what sites you have been using in France but our near 50 years of experience is quite different. Aires, even those of the recently introduced Camping-Car Park are not manned. Sites are normally fully manned through the working day with cleaning staff etc coming in as extras on the small to medium sites, even municipals. Of course the larger sites have extensive staff numbers.
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I think any comparison with "over there" site prices is always a red herring ,when very many sites that are not part of large organisations as this country with both major clubs,
Also in this country to mitigate the rise in the blame society where it seems "can we claim some money for our "poor holiday etc"
Most jobs are now carried out by the rise in "out sourcing firms"who have staff with the "appropriate qualifications" which pushes up costs when in the past on site staff would do most of them,
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eurotraveller did say the municipal sites.
That has been our experience also, especially at the beginning and ends of the season. We have occasionally resorted to posting the fee into the office letterbox, as nobody has shown up at the office. Although the facilities are aways cleaned.
However, as others have said you can't compare sites in France or other European countries directly with ones in the U.K.
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My perception over the years is that the gap between the price of a commercial site pitch and one on a Club site has narrowed considerable. It is now possible especially out of peak season to find excellent commercial site pitches cheaper than both Club sites. I can only think this is because the commercial sites do not have the overhead of regional and head office costs to cover. It is difficult to believe site costs are very much different.
peedee
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We are becoming concerned that our 'club' has greater interest in its profits than providing value to members.....?
We holiday here and over there on about a 50/50 basis. When holidaying here, there is little point in comparing to over there, as our choice for that 50% was the UK. We quite like visiting our own country.
We find the CAMC provides a flexible offering that we like at a fair price. The nature of the sites, ease of booking and the T&C's particularly appeal. We do use other providers, but our choice is location based rather than cost and we would first look to a club site even if it was dearer, only considering others if none was available.
To me value, whatever I am buying, means so much more than the absolute cost.
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Numerous late and all year comercial sites in the UK seem to have holiday homes as their main income ,and as one we have used,off peak is cheaper than some both clubs sites ,but as Haven etc use loss leader prices to give at least some business in the lean months when families are not there at the high prices they normally have to pay
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I first pick a location and then look around to see what is available in that area. A Club site might not be my first choice. A third of my nights away have been on Club site this year, roughly twice as much as normal years because of the risks of Continental travel.
How do you compare prices of Club sites? If you use the non member price, they are outragously expensive and if you apportion the membership fee on the costs it can bump up the nightly fee quite a bit depending how many nights a year you use Club sites.
I have averaged £17.32 per night away this year and the average I have paid for a C&MC night including subscriptions is £20.82. Both costs are very reasonable in my view but I do tend to use non facility sites if they are available and suitable in the area I want to be.
peedee
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Our use of sites this year is fairly limited but last year we had 71 nights away our average nightly cost was £23.48. That ranged from £15 a night for a CL to £28.90 a night on a Club site where we chose to have a serviced pitched to guarantee having a hardstanding. We only used one commercial site during that year and it was £24 night. Like others we look at the location first and then select a site that meets our needs which is usually based on access to places within easy walking distance, or with access to reasonably public transport. So price is far from being the main deciding point.
As to Europe I will give one example. We have stayed a couple of times on a site in the South of France with direct beach access. Using ACSI it probably cost around €16 a night which is really excellent value although in facility terms it did not match the standard achieved by Club sites. However if I used the same site in July it would have cost me in the region of €54 a night. That is one of the major differences between here and Europe, much cheaper in the low season but higher in the peak.
Another point perhaps to take into account is the Club structure, CMC or C&CC. A massive pool of members who are encouraged to use the sites all year round. Because of that long season the Clubs have no need to discount out of main season prices as they do on the Continent because of the demand.
David
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I think that you would have to include the £12 non members supplement that we as members do not pay when costing out if club prices are reasonable 🤔
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No, I disagree because, as members, we don't pay that supplement. What we do pay, though, is £54 p/a membership fee so perhaps a proportion of that should be included if you can deduce how much of it goes towards sites and what goes to other benefits you may enjoy such as insurance or this website.🙂
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Agree. Do those who visit sites overseas factor in the price of tunnel or ferries and extra insurance when comparing with holidaying here? Not usually in my experience.
It really is simple. Given the huge choice nowadays in terms of Sites, here and overseas, you simply make a decision on what to use based on individual needs and preferences. If something is not what you consider right for you, for whatever reason, then don’t use it.
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Like others, our nights away this year, have been drastically reduced...especially the months we should have had 'over there'....However so far we have managed 76 nights away at an average of £28.03....using mainly club sites having purchased £2000 of vouchers in support of the club and to reduced site fee costs to ourselves. This was further helped by the 12.5% VAT reduction from August...and an additional reduction of £35 was also made at Seacroft due to the pool being closed..
We only stayed at one CL for a week...which I might add was excellent value at £17pn with 16amp, fully serviced pitch, excellent sea views and coastal walks from the gate...the remainder were on serviced pitches (with exception of Chester Fairoaks)...
Take away the 12.5% VAT reduction and Voucher discount....the actual average cost would be nearer £40.pn ( eg..Seacroft £303.10 / 7nights = £43 pn ).
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If I do three weeks away in this country, using CLs and small private Sites, I can half that. And with loos, showers and on one Site an indoor pool. Cornwall, a couple of years ago, no vouchers, no VAT reductions involved. It’s what we prefer.
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Tinwheeler, I totally agree with your point of the £54. But I also think that the £12 value comes into play, when calculating/ evaluating the cost of nights on club sties to others ones.
Please don’t get me wrong, I like the benefits that come with being a club member, and think it’s very good value to me.0 -
Sorry, I can't see how the £12 comes into it if we don't have to pay it.
If you look at the Haven site down the road for a cost comparison, you'd look at what it would cost you, not what it would cost others.
Oh well, that's just different viewpoints. 🤷♂️
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We have found many decent commercial sites at the same or better standard as CMC sites at a lower cost as many offer discounts if you stay 7 or more days. Plus many have more facilities like a swimming pool, restaurant or bar. We do not mind the bar as long as there is not loud music pounding out until the earlier hours of the morning.
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I personally don't see how the additional £12 has any relevance. Nobody is going to pay it if they are spending more than 4 nights a year on CC sites. It's a bit like Go Outdoors with their £5 a year card. Who is going to pay the full prices. Agree with TW all you can do is factor it into your costs. In our case it would generally represent well under £1 a night supplement.
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I can see how you are thinking, but if you are canny enough to use lots of the other offers the Club provides, such as discounts on places to visit, percentage off goods bought in certain retail outlets, not to mention any travel discounts, then the canny amongst us make sure we get the £54 back in such offers. So, in essence, we don’t pay a Membership fee, yet get all the Club Site £12 discount🤷♀️👍
Its all about getting the full value from what you are paying for, which is slightly different to looking at a price for price comparison. No right or wrong, just choice.
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I'm not sure why we are concerning ourselves with site costs, particularly this year and probably next. If I was worried about anything it would be the site night cost of running our 1 year old MH. I'm not going to calculate it as it must be horrendous.😂
However, again like the membership fee it normally offset by use.😀
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Others as in other sites not other people!
I thought this discussion was about the cost of club sites compared to non club sites.
If I wasn’t a member and had to pay the £12 pound supplement, would I think club sites were value for money, possibly not some!
But as you say, different people different viewpoints 🙂
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Hi we are new to motor homing and are having trouble finding sites that allow dogs to be off lead nearby to the site, or at least have a dog walking area. We visited Haws Farm in Suffolk which was very good so our dog could run free. He will only do his 'business' off lead.Suggestions for South East / East Anglia please.
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I would agree if they were only looking at a night or two. However, I find it hard to believe that anybody would not consider it if looking to stay a week £30 saving or two weeks £114 saving. Bit like joining ACSI and the saving there is not as great.
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