Club AGM 2020
Comments
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Yes, it will be bad, they said that so, a big challenge (no doubt the same for all connected with overseas travel.) The overseas travel section is separate from the UK one so I can't see one propping up the other.
They stated that Brexit possibly caused the initial downturn maybe it affected all overseas travel last year?
A double whammy for Brits wanting to travel to Europe, Brexit and Covid.
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I suppose we won't really know until the 2021 AGM when hopefully we might be getting back to more normal circumstances to find out what the real damage has actually been. When the UK sites have been open they have been pretty busy and hopefully that increased occupancy will offset, at least in part, the shortfall from when they were closed. The UK site network has been in deficit before and it has not necessarily lead to a big increase in fees. However as pointed out at the AGM costs are rising faster than indicated by the inflation figures, The New Living Wage was mentioned as a particular pressure on costs. I don't think many would deny people being paid a reasonable wage but we have to accept that has a direct impact on how much it costs to run a campsite.
Overseas travel is also not easy to predict. As I have said some will go regardless but there will be many that are "thinking about it" and perhaps feeling a bit unsure. There will also be those, probably in the older age group, who having taken two or three years out of European Travel will be questioning whether it's something they want to do again? Everything is so up in the air it's not possible to say with any confidence what will happen next!
David
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I believe the use of travel agents was in decline even before Brexit and COVID. Why would the use of the Club as a booking agent be any different? Brexit was just a further factor.
It wasn't only the Living Wage putting pressure on site costs, I did note that electricity was the single most cost.
peedee
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With the "announcement?" that in the next 12/18 months a new booking system could be in the pipeline? is it the reason some parts of the club website ,do not appear to be getting any where near sorted,as the cost has been found to be too high and would be overtaken by the new system so not finacially viable at this time?
Just my musings
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Deleted User User, the results for 2017 in the 2018 report (just had a look, thanks for the link) show a net contribution from the travel section at 2,780 and the net membership contribition at 12,625.
Yes, many are waiting to get going with Euro travel plans even those who appear less enthusiastic, chance would now be a fine thing!! In the meantime businesses have to remain stable in Europe to accommodate everyone.
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I got the impression the the new "Booking Engine" was there but not introduced? Probably 2020 or 2021 are not the years to start a new system. Having said that it does seem that it will be a more flexible platform, as hinted the ability to be able to book pitch type? The trouble with many of the answers was that they were not always clear cut, so you could read all sorts of things into them. One of the questions at the AGM was about charging for dogs which was skirted around a bit but the answer did mention they do charge for dogs in the fixed accommodation because of the extra cleaning involved which all seems very sensible but the question wasn't answered directly so perhaps the "New Booking Engine" will have options to charge and book all sorts of things which currently it can't?
David
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There certainly wasn't much in the way of strategic vision that was shared!!!
David
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It seems that it will be able to cope with booking pitch type, something I, along with others, have argued for, for some time.
Am I missing something here DK...The facility to book a 'Pitch type' is part of the booking process....unless you mean 'specific pitch number'...which according to the warden on the site I am currently visiting....says cannot work,
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I think David is probably referring to surface type.
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It will work if the Site has spare capacity, and options for those not getting their first choice.
If the Club adopts the “you must choose a pitch” approach, then I hope it also gives the leeway of changing that choice as well. I cannot imagine booking pitch 25 on a Site, turning up and finding pitch 26 has a very noisy family on it, and pitch 24 has a hard of hearing couple with two yappers on it, and having to spend a fortnight sandwiched in my idea of holiday hell. We have driven away from Sites like this, and never been back.
Members need to be careful what they wish for........giving up choice is a backward step sometimes. I don’t have any problem choosing between HS or grass, that is fine, but not a designated pitch without the option to move.
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Yes, that works. We used to book a preferred pitch on our favourite CL, but they were huge individual pitches, and it was ok at first, but not always possible as it became more popular. But with only five to choose from, you couldn’t always get what you wanted, although we did sometimes move pitch for a change. It always felt like a different holiday then😂 Easy for us, we travel light. Like you, we used to see same folks over our month away, so seldom encountered anyone noisy.
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In the UK its the last thing i would want to do ,even if as we are familiar with the layout of quite a few sites ,and as posted it may well be ok for those who tend to have long stays at off peak periods , but not when in the UK many sites are busy, and may well get even more so for a longer touring season in the future
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There's a big difference between trying to let two families have adjacent pitches and pre-allocating all pitches. Giving members a free choice of pitch is a clear differentiator for the Club so there was no indication in the answewr given that there are any plans to change this approach.
Another unnecessary hare set to run as a result of a CT debate??
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As TW mentioned It was pitch surface that I was referring but to me a hardstanding pitch is a pitch type
As a motorhomer I have no wish to use a grass pitch except maybe in a dry summer when other options are not there!Going slightly off your main topic but to answer some of the other questions regarding being able a pitch number. Somebody at the AGM raised the issue of being able to book several pitches together to allow family and friends to be on adjacent pitches. It was confirmed that the rule remains first come first served. However the Club did give a bit of a nod towards this because obviously they have had some feedback on the subject. I didn't get the impression that they were going to introduce this but got the impression that they were looking at it so if or when it became a reality whether it would be a formal or informal approach we don't know. Nothing may come of it!
I don't think the ability to be able to book a specific pitch would work on Club sites. It can work on sites where people are booking pitches of seven days at a time or multiples of seven days. But on Club sites where the number of days booked is infinitely variable it could lead to gaps that didn't match what people wanted. I don't think many of us would be happy to use a pitch for three days and then be told we had to move to another because someone had booked the same pitch?
David
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Another unnecessary hare set to run as a result of a CT debate??
It wasn’t my intention YB. I am perfectly happy for family and friends to pitch together on Club Sites, but glad I won’t be the one trying to organise it. 😉
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Or to be there when it happens!
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YB
It is correct what you say in that at the AGM the Club gave no indication that pre-allocating pitches would ever be a reality. However I sensed that there was a degree of sympathy for families/friends that wanted to be together. The only way I could see that happening was if site staff were able to make the arrangements on the day of arrival. The downside for the participants is that they would have to accept where the warden put them!!! Probably best to leave it as it is!!!
David
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