New Site Booking System
Comments
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Will I be able to book all types of pitches, including hardstanding or grass standard pitches as current members have to choose upon arrival?
Yes. When the new system is introduced all guests will be able to pre-book all types of pitch as part of their new booking.
If the above is the case, I am unsure how it works. All those turning up having booked under the old system are free to choose pitch type. However, those turning up on the same day, who booked using the new system will have selected a pitch type, which in the case of HS might all have been taken by earlier arrivals. Or are the wardens going to have to cone off a certain number of Hardstandings for those who have booked them?
Although running the two systems alongside each other isn’t a bad thing. It would make far more sense to initially restrict it to deposits / payments and start pitch type booking from April 2023.
Hopefully if we are going to be entering credit card details and making bookings using real money, they will give us advance notice of when they are taking the web site down. I went to post the above just after 10 pm yesterday, only to be met with essential maintenance.😡
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I agree it could cause issues. Just glad I booked service pitches where I could for next September. Otherwise you could turn up at a site with mixed HS / grass, find 20 HS pitches free, but not available to you as you booked early. Now that not going to cause any ill feeling towards the club is it.😂
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That is just what was happening during the trial
If the new booking system needs those looking for pitches to scroll down as now to find other than the first part of screen, it will also have some complaining that sites are full as they do now
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They do seem to have missed an opportunity to simplify things. As I have posted on the other thread, a "no deposit" system with card details held. No shows/late cancellation subject to a penalty which is totally separate to any payment for pitches. Payment for stays to be taken automatically which removes the task from the wardens and speeds arrival.
The £1 differential will, as suggested, produce little incentive to pre-book grass. A £3 reduction might do it.
About the only thing they've got right is the extension of the cancellation period.
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If the club really wants to speed things up it should allow you to book a specific pitch the day before arrival when you pay your money and have a membership card which operates the barrier so you can drive straight to your pitch. No delays at all.
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To follow on from the above, although you might have booked a year before, it makes it more likely that in the event of bad weather putting grass out of action, you would be bumped, rather than someone who had booked a HS a month or week before. Not good if it’s in the middle of your carefully planned tour.
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Hardstanding and serviced pitches will be very popular for those who book early.
Another booking aspect has hopefully been considered is th,at grass pitches are not normally a ailable from about October onwards untill about March or April the following year
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On that score I think it's advisable to join the new system when it becomes available and rebook as soon as possible rather than cling on to old style bookings.Would it be possible for the club to suggest this early on?
I'm thinking aloud but if you put a deposit on a grass pitch on a mixed site you could still be "bumped off" in poor weather conditions.
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As it seems you would have to cancel the existing booking first, according to the Q&A’s, there is a fair chance you could loose it, particularly at popular times.
If there is currently a lot of speculative booking, I see the real problem occurring as bookings get cancelled, for whatever reason. These would be picked up under the new system, with a pitch type assigned to them. If speculative booking is as bad as some think, a considerable number of the HS pitches could be assigned, leaving little or none for old system bookers to go at.
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That is as I posted earlier with ref to altering bookings from both systems,,
And as I understand there is quite a lot of tweeking still to be done.?
Even as far as club staff wanting to book a pitch,? When they get time off, ;the system has yet to be able to recognise that,
In the past nearly all sites had what was called "offset " which did them a bit of "wriggle room" in case of problems ,but that has now been recinded in the chase for more money,,which has given another headacre,for site staff
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I broke the news to Mrs C and she said that will people just now book for one person and one pitch fee to reduce the size of the deposit and then add the other people on when arriving🙂
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It appears that the club have tried to address a number of problems with their new policy. Personally, I am very much in favour of being able to choose the pitch type during the booking phase. The certainty of getting a particular pitch type is important to me and I won't have to worry that someone before my arrival on site has bumped me off my preferred pitch due to weather or whatever reason. Also, if the club site suffers adverse weather, it is less likely to cancel my booking in preference to someone who booked prior to me but now fancies a different type of pitch.
EasyT does make a valid point that there are too many people chasing too few pitches. Should sites that allow non-members now only insist on member bookings? Maybe sites that allow non-members should restrict non-member bookings?
With regard to deposits, until the Ts and Cs are confirmed, it is difficult to fully assess the impact of the policy on reducing speculative bookings. On the face of it, I am struggling to envisage how taking deposits will alleviate the problem. Perhaps more detail from the club will reveal all?
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Already been suggested Corners😂 You can simply sort things out on arrival. We used to have to do it regular back when I was caring for Dad, never knew when or where I might get to join OH sometimes. A legitimate “ruse de guerre”. You still pay the same ultimately.
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Disagree with this idea of being able to book a pitch type, many a time we don't know what pitch we want till on site, it all depends on space, surroundings, light, views, weather, convenience etc, should leave it at first come first served
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It won’t be a £25 deposit for one night though JV. It will be the total cost if less than £25. Eg, one night at Exeter, stopover, might be £14. So you pay the full £14. That will be your deposit.
It doesn’t say if three consecutive Club Sites might be linked? New system is going to allow you to book more than one site, so presumably link them up? Will it be one deposit for the total cost over the three sites, or individual deposits for each site? We await details like this. We have linked Bolton Abbey, Leyburn and Hawes in the past. We linked Exeter, Marazion, Exeter last year.
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New booking system to include refundable deposits, is that not defeating the object of introducing them, hotels, air travel etc all manage to deal with non refundable deposits why can't the club, its not exactly a new concept .
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Too late for that now, the deed is done. You will get what is left when you get there. There’s little in the way of spontaneity and choice going to be left now once you have decided and paid up front. Certainly at busy sites and at busy times. The queues to get in early are going to get longer.
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I might have got it wrong then JV🤷♀️ It thats the case then whoopee. Makes one night bookings a bit more viable.
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Sorry, haven't had chance to read all. Traveling to the lakes for a well earned rest
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How much will a deposit be?
A deposit will be calculated for each individual campsite stay within a booking and will usually be 20% of the total value of the stay. If several stays are booked together, one payment will be taken to cover the sum of all deposits. There is a minimum deposit value of £25 so if the total value of a stay is less than £25, the deposit due at the point of booking will be full amount.As I read it, it’s 20% if more. So on a £400 two week stay it would be £80. It would seem from the answer £25 is the minimum deposit, unless the total is less, in which case you pay all of it. More or less what the C&CC do, although I think they use a 25% figure.
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Have a good time. I trust you are cottaging, if not, keep safe with the van, as Eddard said “Winter is coming”
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So I did get it right, thanks Steve. It made better sense really. However, that’s another bit of spontaneity removed for anyone touring☹️
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