Sites Directory and pitch charges
Like myself, I would imagine lots of members need to know the likely costs before they go through the ritual of choosing a particular campsite, and the best price according to time of season.
A good example is the 2017/2018 CAMC directory - look up the campsite and the pitch costs are clearly displayed. Not so now. To find out exactly what it will cost you means a laborious lowing through the system to get these important details.
I don’t know why this unhelpful change was introduced, but it is of no assistance to members and does not indicate any intelligence by the Club administrators when formatting the handbook.
Comments
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The introduction of Dynamic Pricing means there are no fixed prices, other than the headline 'from' price, so it is not now possible to show price details in the handbook or website. The price per night is discovered on the calendar when you use the booking system.
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I suppose it depends on how you chose a campsite. For us it's usually location first with price being a secondary consideration. Unless there are alternative campsites which meet our requirements regarding location price is a bit academic. I am not saying I would pay "any price" but if a campsite is where I want it to be the price not the most important factor. It may depend also how long you generally stay on a campsite, for us a week is usually the maximum and it's more likely to be from 3 to 7 days. Personally I find it only takes me a few keystrokes to establish the price per night I will pay on my PC. The truth be told I hardly look at the site directory much these days.
David
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It is helpful to have a tariff available to compare prices, it's now very difficult to find value for money places etc. I think you can compare things on the new booking system but it isn't as easy as having a straightforward sites price list with seasonal adjustments. The C&CC provide this on line and in their directory even though the prices can be subject to change but you get a good overall view from this list about comparative site costs and low, mid and high season charges. Other companies provide tariffs too.
It's unfortunate with CAMC that anyone looking for value in their searches can't do this without a big trawl through the over engineered booking system.
I call it obfuscation but it might also be lack of interest in what helps people find the right holiday.
I checked things out in the member offers section and apart from mentioning the very few non ehu pitches plus dogs and awnings go free etc there is nothing on offer or any guidance to compare prices which certainly vary over the whole network.
This has nothing to do with dynamic pricing it's to do with comparing the varying prices on offer.
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Dynamic Pricing means prices more than x days/weeks ahead are unknown so cannot be listed for ease of comparison. Therefore, it has much to do with DP but, as CAMC doesn’t shown any interest in helping members compare prices to obtain best vfm, DP makes it easier for them to hide fees from clear sight. Obfuscation, certainly!
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It wouldn't take much for this club to produce a simple leaflet giving 'from' prices for all the sites as C&CC do and publish it online for all to see.
As brue says its so easy to just look at the list and one can instantly see the 'from' price without having to do dummy bookings.
It would be helpful for areas where there are a choice of sites at differing prices.
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I suppose if you are going to confine yourself to C&MC sites and don't have any thoughts on where you want to go then then it might be long winded to decide a destination. We always approach our away time very much like David, the location comes first and then we hunt for a site excluding nothing and only then chosing a site considering how long we might stay and is the price reasonable/VFM for the purpose.
peedee
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I honestly can’t see the problem. If you want a rough comparison guide of base prices in an area, as has been mentioned, zoom in on the map. It shows you the from prices at the site locations. If you put dates in, it shows you the from prices at those times.
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I think that's an unfair dismissive comment Peedee, for instance, if you were new to the club would you be aware of the more value for money sites or that they existed? There used to be helpful promotions and visible tariffs, not now, it's a slow search through a very wobbly system. Incidentally map searches, mentioned previously are not easy on a smart phone. The map only appears on half the page and is cluttered with other information.
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Not necessarily, PD. You aren't making allowances for differing levels of computer literacy, amongst other things. Also, shouldn't it be easier to make choices of destination?
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+1.
It's a sad day when the problems others are having are dismissed. Not everyone has the experience or aptitude to cope with the system.
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We are where we are, David, and the clock can't be turned back.
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Whilst I agree that using it on a phone isn’t good, it’s far from impossible even with the restricted view. The photo shows the view on my iphone zoomed in to show the area around Bakewell, it’s then easy enough to move the map around at that level to capture sites currently out of view. They really do need to do something about all the buttons, which would make it much more user friendly.
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Not everyone has the experience or aptitude to cope with the system.
How difficult can it be? I don't see that it can be made much easier. As has been said, the clock cannot be turned back so learn how to use the systems whether you think them good or bad.
peedee
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Myself, peedee and others have been trying to help folk with problems since the 12th September. However, it is clear from some posts that there is an element who don’t want to be helped and don’t really want to try. For some of those it will be because the new system is beyond them, whilst others can’t be bothered to spend a bit of time getting to know the new system. For those the system is beyond there is currently the handbook and phone. For the rest, they will find it’s not actually as difficult as they thought after using it a few times.
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It matters not at all to me, PD, but I think it's a great shame that the concerns of others are dismissed out of hand.
You don't see how it could be made easier? Really, you can't be that shortsighted.
Some of you have helped but, despite that, not everyone is able to cope and I feel sympathy for them and certainly wouldn't use the unfortunate phrases Steve has to describe their troubles.
Why make folk feel worse when they're already struggling?
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I feel sympathy for them and certainly wouldn't use the unfortunate phrases Steve has to describe their troubles.
The phrase can’t be bothered is certainly true of some who have posted on CT, so just a statement of fact. As to because the system is beyond them, also a statement of fact. Nothing wrong in that, I freely admit there are several modern systems and processes that are beyond me and have no problem being put in that box where applicable.
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It matters not at all to me, PD, but I think it's a great shame that the concerns of others are dismissed out of hand.
They are not dismissed out of hand, just hard to understand especially now the systems have been in place for 6 months and there has been plenty of opportunity, along with the help offered both on CT and by the CLub and videos to become familiar with them.
peedee
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I refer you to your post of 6.23 and Brue's reply.
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I don’t have any concerns around navigating a booking on the new system, what concerns me is unless you drill down deep into all the new terms and conditions every time, it’s not exactly clear what you are booking! I think that’s where a lot of the issues are now, unexpected extra charges if you amend a booking etc….. It’s the camping equivalent of travelling with Ryan Air, how much more cash can be extracted from unwary punters🤷♀️
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I don’t think the charges for amending a booking within 21 days are any great surprise, they are clearly stated. Basically you will loose a proportion of your deposit for every day you move / delete. If you add days on an additional deposit will be payable for those days.
What is more concerning are the reports of charges when outside the 21 days (although these could result from price increases) and the £13 added to tent bookings for non members. However, when I tried I could not replicate that. Trouble is, as how the programme works seems very operating system / device dependent, it is often difficult to know wether reported issues are true ones, or down to the operator.0 -
You made an assumption and at least two of us considered it dismissive.
Not knowing where they want to go is certainly not the issue for the OP. His query concerns the lack of visibility of pricing which I attempted to partially cover in my first post.
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Peedee and anyone else who mentions using the new system this isn't what this thread is about! It's about lack of general easy to find tariff information, seasonal fluctuations, value for money sites etc. Previously the club provided this via the directory and via separate on line areas, some found this helpful before they even got to the booking area.
If C&CC can provide this useful quick check function why have CAMC dropped it?
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I'm a bit confused regarding the lack of visibility of pricing. I've just made a dummy booking at a random site, I chose Castleton, clicked on a week in July. That was one click. Complete the drop down boxes for your outfit and people, I chose 2 adults. Second click on the "check availability" box. The calendar of chosen dates comes up with a nightly price on each day. It took me 3 minutes. Tried it also on the wife's ipad, took a little longer to load pages but information there in 5 minutes. The bit that takes the longest is the payment. That's all very straightforward if you know which site you want. I've never tried the map search as I like to get the paper map spread out on the floor and go by that, I also plan directions at the same time and use the SDHB for the last bit to site.
I sort of understand peoples confusion and frustrations but as Tinwheeler says above, we are where we are. Ha, if you want confusion come and stand my side of the desk!!
JK
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