Campsite costs
Is anyone else finding sites really expensive?
No hook up and a minimal toilet block seem to be £20. They were not always this price, were they?
Comments
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Welcome to 2022.
Colin
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I assume you are talking CL's here as you have posted in this section? Not sure I would run a CL for under £20 a night, hardly worth it? Would prefer to have electrics rather than toilet facilities. I think when CL's were just a grass field with a tap and an Elsan point perhaps lower fees could be justified but the demand now is for them to be bijou campsites which unfortunately means prices to match.
David
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I tend to agree that I am finding the average cost for an "average"CL has increased somewhat.
I don't know if CLs are trying to recoup some of the lost revenue after Covid or/and fixing in increased overheads, such as electricity etc.
I have been surprised at the prices that some new CLs want to start charging at when there are no "extras" such as toilet, shower, hardstanding, wifi, serviced pitch etc that might justify the £22 p.n. price tag.
There is a general squeezing of incomes at the moment and I can foresee some new sites closing due to lack of demand once the income squeeze really starts to bite.
I do understand the pressure that CLs are under to try to just break even. There has been much talk of it on recent threads.
As far as we are concerned, we don't mind paying a £22 pn if we feel it is value and value is the key word. I doubt I could justify paying that as an average over a years usage and still have the same number of nights away.
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I have returned from the ultra peaceful Broomfield Farm Club site.Minimum facilities and price was £17.00.
TBH I thought ths was remarkable good value.
This was cheaper than some CL's I have visited.
But on the other hand I am visiting a popular site in York and that is over £40.00 a night.I did not realise at the time of booking, part of it is school holidays.
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Diesel wasn’t always £1.85 per litre…….
It's life, Jim, but not as we’ve known it.
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I'am with Wherenext, I don't mind paying £20+ for a CL, if I feel it offers value for money. I can understand the extra cost for a hardstanding service pitch for instance, but then you find a basic grass pitch with just EHU is also £20 + pn
A CL we have used regularly has just increased their pitch fees by 50% and that doesn't include EHU,
I think like with everything you have to shop around. There are still some good CL'S out there for £15 pn Inc EHU.
The price pn for the CL is often nothing compared to the cost of the diesel to get you there!
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If someone with some land chooses to be part of a scheme which limits them to 5 outfits, and obliges them to turn away people with tents, and turn away people who don’t have the right membership card, then someone needs to take them to a quiet room and explain how they could generate more income by expanding their business. It’s called economies of scale.
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It really depends where one looks. We will have been away for 99 nights by Sunday night this year, having stayed on 16 Cls, 3 CC sites and 2 commercial sites, one twice, and our average cost is less than £16 per night, with the dearest just over £18 pn. The vast majority of sites had hardstanding, and all had EHU, so there are still lots out there that are not charging £20+.
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We have stayed on 6 CLs by next month - all with EHU. Most expensive was £22, which was a new site, hard standings, in an area where very few HS, and at their winter price.
Costs are creeping up, understandably. However, CLs provide what we want, cheaper than Club sites (especially as we use our facilities) and are, I think, still value for money.
I wouldnt pay £20 for no EHU unless it was a very special site for some other reason e.g. special location. There is almost always an alternative.
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We won't pay £20 for a site, be it a CL, club or commercial. As you say hja there are always alternatives, it only takes a bit of research and careful planning.
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Or Not
JK
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Very clever😂😂
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Right now T I’m afraid life itself is expensive. It’s only going to head in 1 way & that’s up🤷🏻♂️. True they weren’t always as expensive as now but everyone needs to make a living, their expenses are going thru the roof just as yours are. We all have cut our cloth to our situation. If it’s too much you cut down your costs as nothing will change until the cycle is broken. I’m afraid it is only worsening. Not good but true🙁
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When on the bus to visit OH every day we pass a Tesco with fuel station and the price was reduced to £1.71.9 when fuel duty was reduced but since then it has crept up it was yesterday £179.9
We get 5ltr bottles of water for drinking and hot drinks it has gone from from 98p to £1.40 in two months
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We don't have any set rules about what we'll pay for a site but costs don't always match the adverts. We used a CS on our recent trip, advertised at £18 but actual cost was £21. (To cover higher electricity rates, told by owner.) Has electricity gone up by this amount? I doubt it. The cost of living has gone up in general, businesses aren't getting any help so I feel it's going to be challenging all round. It's possible to find all sorts of cheaper alternatives but they won't suit everyone.
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There’s absolutely no doubt that the average price has risen, particularly in the last 5 years or so. But there are still some very nice CLs out there for under £20 per night. If you look around, vary your choices taking in a mix of providers (Clubs, CS/CL, small private, and new to us this year, overnight stops) then it’s still perfectly possible to tour and stay for a reasonable average price. We have just done a 10 night tour for an average of £12.30 per night, and based our choices on the locations as our prime driver, rather than the price. If you want swish toilets and showers, then expect to pay more.
A popular destination, (Cornwall in particular) will attract a premium price, much as it does with other holiday providers, so location, location is also a price driver.
We are on a nice CL at this very moment, dearest price we have ever paid at £24 per night. Means to an end though, we are at a wedding and the hotel has its own site. Site is beautifully landscaped, the two loos/showers are very swish, and it’s very peaceful and quiet. However, there’s no working wifi, and it’s hard to get levelled up in an MH (easier with a van). There are no other CLs in area, so it’s a captive market. We think it’s reasonable value for money for our needs, so happy to pay it. That’s the bottom line for us, value for money, meeting our specific needs, rather than quaking at every price. Our next pitch choice could be £10 a night, so we play on both the swings and the roundabouts to fulfill our needs.
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I've never paid over £15 a night for a CL so far. I don't look for or expect showers and toilets. I don't mind grass as long as it's firm and cut, H/S is nice if a Motorhome.
The thing is members are pushing the prices up by demanding more and more CLs act like club sites with all facilities, of course prices will rise to cover these costs. Be careful what you wish for.
New CLs I believe are advised by the club what to charge, again its in the clubs interest that CLs aren't to cheap or no one would use the club sites.
Where we spend most of our time, we can get a beach side pitch, 2 heated swimming pools, restaurant, take away and snack bar etc all for €20 a night. That was our most expensive site, the cheapest equivalent to a CL was €10.50.
Even taking into consideration the cost of the crossing our costs will be less than a tour in the UK. Fuel strangely is cheaper this year in France than the UK.
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New CLs I believe are advised by the club what to charge, again its in the clubs interest that CLs aren't to cheap or no one would use the club sites.
TG
I seem to recall the CMC denying that they suggested a price to charge for new CL's? I thought they suggested that the new owners look at what other established CL's are charging locally, and their facilities and and coming to a decision on what price to charge based on the information gathered. I could be wrong but I thought that was the official position?
David
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I read the same statement from CAMC, David.
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There is a new CL a few hundred yards from where we are. The new CL is large with elect, water and waste. The cost is £22/night compared to the £18/night we are paying for full facility including WiFi. Speaking to the owner of the CL we are currently on he told me the new CL spent £30k on setup charges including £10k on an electric gate. Owner complains about the lack of visitors
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David, the club has always denied that they advise CL'S what to charge, but having spoken to quite a few CL owners over the years it seems that is not always the case. One CL owner we spoke to said he'd been strongly advised to put his fees up as he wasn't charging enough! He did increase his fees, but only by a much smaller amount. As he said he was only offering a basic grass field with ehu, not the Ritz 😂
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Maybe there's a difference between the club recommending a price a new CL should charge and the local volunteer inspector saying in the course of conversation "Oh, I'd think you could charge £× for this". 🤷♂️
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Tbh, it must be true or CL owners will post to explain that C&MC dictate prices-they have not posted that🤷🏻♂️. I don’t have a set amount I’ll pay, I will decide by the area I want to be & facilities available. When away I live out of pubs & shops. I was paying £17/20 3yrs ago.
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Better lobby your MP then, DD.
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One could be forgiven for wondering at the point of posting such a statement in a thread in the CAMC CL section🤷🏻♂️
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