AGM Questions - Some relevant to CLs
Comments
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Or even those single nighters like us that arrive at 8pm and are gone by 9am☹️ That’s a very tasty £30 worth for the Club, especially as we never have our heating on overnight.
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I must agree with this one hundred percent.
If I wanted to stay in a field, I would have bought a tent.
I would stay on a CL if it was well maintained, had hook-ups, hard standing and an access road that was not likely to break my suspension. I am not concerned about toilet blocks. I am sure there are some CLs I would enjoy staying on, but if all CLs were "traditional", as some posters here prefer them, there is no chance of me going there. As for the little gem, the problem is finding it. How many muddy, potholed farm tracks and overgrown fields do you have to endure before you find the CL for you?
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You don’t have to endure any GJ. All you do is a good bit a research before committing, and then phone up to ask some questions. One man’s pothole is another man’s Club Site speed hump. There are lots and lots of nice CLs where each pitch has a good drive approach, right onto the pitch.
Yes there are others that might be down a farm track, but the clue is usually in the name, or if not as part of the description! 😂2 -
One CL we stayed on this year had serviced pitches, level hardstandings, a drive over MH empty point, picnic benches for every pitch etc etc and lots of green space icluidng a nature reserve and a beaver colony. It's great to have so much variety on CLs.
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We know that CL very well, having been there this year. Lovely family owners. Shhhh!
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Ooo😁 Beavers would do it for me👍Sounds lovely.
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You have hit the nail on the head 'hardly anyone goes there'..
If the CL Owner is seeking any form of income (or even to cover his or her costs) then occupancy (at whatever price point) is the key criteria in any tourism business.
Every night that my CL has an empty pitch in the season is £20 of lost income. To ensure I have high occupancy I have;
- Adapted my 'product' from a simple field with a tap, to a site with fully-serviced hardstanding pitches & WiFi.
- Listened to my customers and adapted according to the majority view.. we doubtless lost a few members along the way who liked a steeply sloping field at £10/night..
- Adapted my site to provide me with easier management / less stress (level hardstanding being the key issue). Implemented deposits to reduce no-shows.
- Ensured that customers can easily book (online booking) and pay with a Credit Card
- Marketed my site extensively, the result being that we are now booked up well ahead.
The net result is that the CL provides a good steady income for the farm in these times of uncertainty and we have well-satisfied visitors who return again and again.
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Welcome to the 21st century. I’d say you are truly fit for purpose with your finger on the pulse if not using a pulse oximeter, excellent to hear. The past should stay in the past re touring comfort👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻
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There is nothing shocking about narrow lanes David, it's a way of life for many and there are a lot of van users who discover, at the end of the narrow lane, is a place well worth visiting. Obviously, if anything is stressful it may not suit an individual. Some large sites are stressful, too busy, noisy and crowded which is why many prefer CLs.
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Devon and Cornwall lanes can be a bit of a challenge if you don’t know the area, other places as well. We have always found the effort more than worth it though. We actually prefer a caravan if staying in SW, then we can use Jeep for truly exploring (even if we have to pull wing mirrors in, as we did on Dartmoor😁). The best beaches, often almost deserted, are to be found at the end of lanes like this. We had to dismiss visiting some of our favourite spots this year down there, as we took MH. Didn't fancy being in the local news for getting stuck.
Our road at home, wall to wall, is only 3 metres wide. It’s a spectator sport if you are in the house watching folks trying to get back out, as it’s a cul de sac as well. Long, narrow and nowhere to turn. Residents soon hone their reversing skills. Walls are sent flying on a monthly basis.
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An interesting post. What you're saying is that to attract custom you have to offer fully service HS pitches and wifi. It's interesting because there are posters on here who appear to want the opposite (and let me say there is nothing wrong with that) and club sites offer too much - full fat as it's called. Yet you are saying you get more custom and return custom by offering more.
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We have left a bit of car paint on Cornish granite down the decades😁 Definitely solo or small campervan territory to get everywhere down there.
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+ 1 there Brue. Lots of choice is needed so people can choose what they want.
It is still interesting that to get enough business and stay afloat this CL had to almost become a mini club site?
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Ted knows his market, and caters for it beautifully. As do many other similar CLs. But the real beauty of the CL network is simply that it does offer choice. There is still (at the moment) a huge variety of provision. But the trend is towards the mini Club Site model.
The Club, which charges a joining fee, also caters for the prime demographic and likes of its market. However, there is isn’t the same kind of choice across the Club network as there used to be, as the Club is haemorrhaging its small, simple basic sites at an increasing rate. Ask a question about choice with regards to the Club Site network, and the Club’s reply is “use rallies and CLs”. 🤨1 -
We've stayed on Ted's site, before the recent upgrades. The Chilterns are beautiful and there is a lot of land to explore on the CL, roaming through the woods is a bonus. Not all CLs have so much space to enjoy. We like CLs because they're all so different. I wouldn't call these upgraded CLs mini club sites, they're really quite unique in themselves.
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I don’t mean it in any way derogatory,😁 just that many have most of the features of Club Sites. With extras👍
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It is still interesting that to get enough business and stay afloat this CL had to almost become a mini club site?
CS But that isn't what he said, was it? What he said was "that the CL provides a good steady income for the farm" which is certainly different from your interpretation of his sentence.
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Hardly a " mini club site" as there is no facilities block.
Many CLs provide serviced pitches, which are excellent, but not essential. We look on them as a bonus, and happy to pay a £ or 2 extra when they are provided.
They are appreciated, and IMO a good selling point.
The Club could well do with adding more serviced pitches to their no facilities sites, I think the occupancy would increase as a result.
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Actually if you look back I didn't say stay afloat either so take it up with who did
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There are clubs sites with HS and no facilities block though Kj as you have in fact posted so I'm confused at the point you're trying to make in saying it's hardley...
Also you've selectively quoting me K, not sure why, I actually posted 'It is still interesting that to get enough business and stay afloat this CL had to almost become a mini club site?'
- Adapted my 'product' from a simple field with a tap, to a site with fully-serviced hardstanding pitches & WiFi.
- Ensured that customers can easily book (online booking) and pay with a Credit Card
- Marketed my site extensively, the result being that we are now booked up well ahead
In my view that is going from a field to a mini (5 site) club site.
Also I think you're confusing no facilities with no EHU? No facilities sites are just as well used.
I'm also puzzled as you often state club sites are too expensive yet here you are advocating putting up the cost £4+ ?
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I am certainly not confused over EHU or not, give me some credit!!!
There is no need for anyone to book a serviced pitch, if they have them, on a Club no facilities site. Such pitches will obviously cost more. But families may well prefer them and wish to pay the extra charge, it will still be less expensive than a "full fat" site. If you look at Englewthaite Hall, the serviced pitches are very popular.You are saying that Cholsey Grange has had to become a "mini club site" to attract customers to survive as a viable concern, I am saying that this is not correct. They are not a mini club site as they have no facilities block, which the vast majority of Club sites do have. They have however chosen to attract more customers by offering serviced pitches.
Many of us who use a lot of CLs do appreciate a serviced pitch, especially as we approach 80 years of age. It makes life on site a lot easier, as you will agree as a very frequent user of serviced pitches.
We , and I am sure many others, will use CLs even though they do not have serviced pitches, after all, with only 5 vans on the site, it is unlikely to be a long walk to fetch water or empty waste.
A CL having serviced pitches, or not having them, would not make any difference to us if they were where we wanted to be. As I said before..........a serviced pitch is a bonus, not an essential as far as we are concerned.
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I can't imagine people really object to paying for what they use (metering) but I'm sure that it grates a bit paying for EHU that you don't need although this applies more to club sites rather than CLs.
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The problem with adding more facilities that encourage? More water usage not only would cost rise as the sites are mostly on cess pits for waste and effluent, ,would the cost of installing the add water and waste drainage. be able to see a return on the money spent?
One site some friends of ours ran was already having the tanks emptied weekly at over £200 a go and that was about 15years ago
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