Penny pinching ...

i think the pont is that, without deposits and no penalty last minute cancellations, it is possible to 'book' multiple forward slots for particularly popular sites as soon as dates are released.

once secured, the itinerary can then be decided and those extra bookings can be dumped...sometimes quite close to the arrival date.

if this were a popular practice across the membership, it might give subsequent 'bookers' the impression that the sites are fully booked yet a significant propoertion might be imminently dumped.

for example....Hillhead is extremely popular in the summertime with the pool etc...and i might 'fancy a couple of weeks in the summer....

so, if youre retired like me and not quite sure when exactly youd like to go, why not book several weeks to cover all bases, including weather....then as plans firm up, chop bits off the booking leaving the portion that fits the diary and has the best weather forecast....whats not to like.

repeat this for other honey pots at different times of the year and you have a lot of pitches 'provisionally booked' that may come flooding back onto the system at short notice....again, this might be good for those of us who can get away at the drop of a hat...

of course, not quite so easy if deposits are required and cancellation terms  are strict....and costly.

unfortunately, even with CC, working folk cant use this technique....they usually have to agree a commitment at work and stick to it...

yes, the CC system has advantages and is very flexible but it is most certainly open to abuse....whether what I described above is abuse or ,aling use of its benefits, i couldnt say....but im sure some could.

Others have said it all, PD. We hope to go irrespective of whether we pay a deposit but if paying such a deposit will ensure good health and no mechanical failure, I'm all for it.

Do you know, in all our years of touring, on both club's sites (and others) we had many, many conversations with fellow guests. But they were about places we'd visited, sites we'd stayed on, things we'd seen, pubs/restaurants nearby that we'd used, even our dogs and their various back stories. But not once did we ever get to discuss deposits, block booking, late cancellations etc etc.

How we must have missed out! Funny old world, ain't it?