New Booking System
Comments
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As you say many things will not affect the cost of a pitch. However, overall inflation is highly influenced by the price of gas, electricity, fuel for the tractors, wages for the staff. Increasing cost of outside services such as electricians the people who empty the medical waste bins in the facilities. The cost of collecting commercial waste, emptying the septic tanks etc etc.
The price of fish doesn’t have a lot to do with it. Although our local fish man has had to up his prices. A tank of fuel for his van is now over £100 and fuel costs affect the boats as well.
Personally I think increases which are at or below inflation reasonable. Look about DD there is much that isn’t rising in price.
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Lots do use CL Bookings DD, us included. But we also like to go back and use CLs that we have used for lots of years as well, and some of these don’t have websites, etc…. CL Bookings send out a monthly newsletter that always has some points of interest included, along with new Sites on their network, featured Sites, Sites with something of particular interest, and bits of other relevant information.
The latest newsletter includes information relating to metered pitches, and how they are allowing CLs to pass on the metered costs to visitors, so that frugal users can benefit, and those who want to spend more can do. All the Club offers mainly is a pitch price, hook up charges included, like it or lump it. Our week’s tour of Suffolk was very interesting, based on something similar. We used a lovely CL with HS, hook ups, and a loo and shower (very nice one) for three nights of our week. We paid £16 per night for this CL, and if we chose to use the shower, rather than our own facilities, then it was £1 for a good 8 minutes of red hot shower water. (We did share a shower, both of us having short easy washed hair after a cold bike ride). So that’s another way some CLs are keeping a basic pitch price reasonable, but giving those who want extra facilities a bit more for a small extra payment. Our week’s tour came in at an average of £13.20 per night, that includes hook ups, HS and nice clean toilets for 5 nights. The other two nights were a Britstop (free), and a basic CL.
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Well done David for making a positive suggestion to move things forward. It's a great shame that some people get pleasure from knocking those suggestions down. I suppose it's the easy option to be negative than to give it some thought and suggest some solutions themselves.
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The Club would like to thank all of our members for their patience and support following the launch of the new booking system.
We know we’ve had a bumpy start and we are dedicated to fixing the known technical issues and improving the member experience. This of course wasn’t the launch or experience we had in mind for members, so we really appreciate you bearing with us while we continue to get everything the way we intended it to be.
A number of members have been asking why we replaced the old booking system. First and foremost the old booking system could no longer be easily maintained and wasn’t capable of meeting the needs of the members for the future.
After feedback from over 100,000 members and several focus groups the new system was designed to deliver a number of member benefits:
- Improving the availability of pitches across our UK Club Campsites
- The ability to book multiple campsites at the same time
- Booking the pitch type of your choice before arrival
- Faster check-in
- A new interactive map
- New Club App
We would also like to thank all of those members who have made a booking through the new system. In fact, since the new booking system and app went live, 55,000 members have booked over 200,000 nights away on our campsites.
Check out the details on the latest technical fixes that we're making plus video guides and frequently asked questions here: Help and Advice on Making a Booking.
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Good to hear from you, Ro. Might there be a chance of regular updates for those who are finding the system less than satisfactory?
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It would be of no benefit to the "club" to produce that app, as it would cost them ( or should I say us, as members) another amount of money and time that could/should be spent sorting out the new site booking system. They could of course revert to the old app and admit that they got it wrong, but hell will freeze over before they admit to having made a mistake or two.
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There are only a relative few CLs that are members of this, and it cost them to be a member of it. Some are already operating at a very small profit margin which the costs associated with this system would erode, and so won't join. Tda has also highlighted other reasons some not being members. It is just another commercial operation that those using it have to pay for in increased site fees, just like the CC's new booking system.
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Ok so 200,000 nights away at, say an average nightly deposit of £15 (a bit low but just to give an idea) is... a nice little earner and/or to help cashflow, and just in a few weeks.
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It's difficult to think that CAMC want to have CL owners on board and take membership fees from those who want access to CLs but then relegate them to the backwaters of the search system.
The CL Booking app set up by CL owners is an example of how good things could be if CAMC provided something similar. A lot of people have signed up for it. However it doesn't look like an integrated booking system will ever happen for those who pay the CAMC membership fees to access CLs.
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Don't forget that anyone wishing to use CLs whether they access the info via CAMC's website/app or any third party listing needs to be a member, so the membership fee still has to be paid.
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Maybe because certain outside providers charge CLs?
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On the list of technical fixes still to be made there is no mention of improving the operation speed to make the system useable so is this it then, the figure of 55,000 bookings is meaningless unless you give a comparison against previous years I suspect this figure would be much higher if the system works, you give the impression the system is now running successfully I would disagree.
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Following on from Rowena’s latest post can the club tell us when we are going to get easy access link to site directions instead of having to go through Google or even the clubs own search system, they can put links on to site information and layout, even links to cycle routes, all of which are no good if you can’t find the site
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Still isn’t the “member experience“ the Club wants.
And it is even further from the Club experience the members want!
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I had a glitch this morning.
It meant I could not use the online booking system for my Sister. My camper tows her caravan and I need to make a separate booking for both camper and caravan but the system now will not let me do that.
No problem, ring up and make a telephone booking, well - bookings, as we are doing yet another long distance charity bike ride next year and need to book 9 sites.
I gave up trying to make the very first booking after 31 minutes of hanging on the telephone for "a team member to become available".
I have now made 2 bookings at 9 different sites in less time than it took me to try and make one booking with the club.
I have made the technical issue known in correspondence this morning but seriously, what an example of trying to fix something that wasn't broke and breaking it in the process.
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First look at the new system today, and all I can say is it`s a complete dogs breakfast.
Trying to find a potential site for next weekend was a nightmare and after a couple of attempts I was no further forward so just gave up. The old availability system was easy to access, easy to understand and you could tell at a glance what was available where.
Being a member of `both` clubs I now have to question do I really need both, and can I justify the expenditure? My membership renewal is due in December and after 33 years I think it`s time I called it quits, the new system being pretty much the last straw. It is in no way the `club` I first joined back in the 80`s, and if not for the wonderful CL`s and their owners I would probably have left earlier.
The club magazine is filled with self-congratulation, back-slapping and little else, and whilst the majority of site staff remain pleasant and helpful doing what is quite likely a difficult job there is a definate growth in those with what I call `the Hitler Complex` - perfected by the couple I encountered at Longleat this year.
It seems the `club` is too big to care anymore.
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My first attempt at your new system and a TERRIBLE 'experience' when amending a booking.
A UK booking more than 21 days away, yet your system declared that a cancellation fee was applicable.
After an enquiry with Live Chat, I was told that the amendment was done with no cancellation fee.
ie as it should have done online !
I got an e-mail regarding the Chat implement amendment, vague detail not confirming dates etc.
Sadly the change is still not reflected in my bookings either !
The Club appears to be relying on customers to 'fault check' your prematurely, badly implemented new system....
You have wisely referred to these changes as an 'experience'....but with no definition of the quality of that experience !
The Club should have paid professionals to 'fault check', not rely on customer 'feedback' like this after a bad 'experience' !
Customers time is money, just like with you....
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I am re reading page 105 of the October club magazine under the heading - Investing in club sites and capabilities - and I quote “ the Club invested a further £5.7m on central IT infrastructure, including the new Booking Capability system going live in 2022” in quote. And this £5.7m spending has not worked well at all. The app is almost unusable and finding CL content, in particular prices and directions to a CL have been really degraded. So who could say that’s £5.7m of clubs money well spent?
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Down for maintenance again last night, but nothing seems to have changed. Perhaps they have improved the functionality on various devices, however materially it appears the same. Late availability still does not work properly, no links to leave a review or directions to site, no colour coding on calendar, locations is cluttered with places and sites around the world and dates of birth still required.I would have thought after a month the odd enhancement might have started to filter through.
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One must presume that, when the software was written, the DOB is required to ascertain the fee rate for the occupants. It was only necessary to have a numeric box for adults/children to achieve this. It just shows the level of incompetence of the IT team that was employed. If this presumption is correct, is it any wonder that the system is rubbish and is unlikely to improve.
Anticipating the chaos that has proven to be the case, I hasten to add that I have avoided anything to do with this new "system" like the plague. I wonder how many members have done the same or because of the poor experience have given up and gone elsewhere.
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I have tried looking for a CL to play a touring visit.
I have found the NEW website very slow and not easy to view the county I wish to visit and found the old method much better, therefore I consider the change very poor.
The website found no CL in the location I wanted on 2 occasions but did find on the 3rd attempt
The site fees are not shown which I think will increase the telephone calls to the site owners to enquire what their fees prices are.
I hope the new site directory does not follow the same pattern Why did the site directory number not be included as a search method because this could have been incorperated so that search by the club map could also be used instead of the digital map which is so slow to load. I wish the system had not changed as I think this is not easy for the mature members !!!
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