Cost of sites has gone mad
For about 13/14 years we have stayed at North Yorkshire Moors Site. Its one of our favourite sites on the network and perfect for our family.
Ive just been looking for the end of May as its half term for our kids and was almost floored when i saw the price.
This is a site which is lovely but has no toilet block. 2 Adults, 3 Children £36.70 per night!!!! When we first stayed there it was £18 i believe.
I then checked scarborough west ayton which we also like and stayed there last year - £60.20 per night
We thought the price we paid at easter at Gwern y Bwlch was bad enough but this is now a complete joke.
We have stayed in a lovely small site only 500 yards up the road, with the best views in whitby and a toilet and its only £18-20 per night.
Do the caravan club actually want anyone to keep with them. We've been members for 15 years and i am pretty close to leaving now as its just unsustainable.
Do they want families or are they actually just want older couples with dogs to visit their sites and create an exclusive adult only and dog club?
Im aware the cost of electric etc is rising but not surely by that much!!
Anyone else think the same or am i just going mad
Comments
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What others think is irrelevant really, some on here will agree and others won't, but as always there are cheaper and more expensive sites out there.
I personally think club sites are good value for money, and see plenty of families using them depending on the time of year and site, but you have to decide what's best for you.
As to your questions, my view is:
Yes
Yes
No - older couples with dogs or without won't bring in as much, although why are dogs an indicator of wealth? And having a dog won't cost more to have on site anyway.
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You’ve obviously not read similar threads, RH.
It's life I’m afraid. I was shocked at the supermarket bill today🙄
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You disprove that theory, David. 😀
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I think Gwerm y blch site has the same pricing as mine here so 2 adults and 3 children as mentioned above is around £26 per night., good value in my book. May half term will be peak season prices but I think the quoted £36 also to be good value. There's always cheaper and there's always dearer sites, it's been that way for years and will continue so. There's a large commercial site near to us that has a nice sea view, that comes in at £91 per night in August and there's a cl around the corner that's £25 per night at the same time that's nothing but a field with a tap and a view of a hedge, all about peoples perception of value.
JK
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I’ve recently booked 2 non facilities sites, one in Wales and one in Norfolk. I will be travelling alone and the costs per night are £15.10/night and £15/night. Compared with many non facilities CL’s that’s a snip so you won’t see me complaining. On the odd occasions we stay on full facilities club site we rarely use the facility blocks
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But the point is that you are a pensioner without a dog (unless you’ve recently acquired one) so it can’t be a club for pensioners with dogs😀
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We disprove the theory as well, but it’s also been my impression when using club sites out of season and midweek. That’s right from when we started with a caravan back in 2005. Although then we were amongst the youngest on site, now not so much.😂 Weekends and school holiday periods have a totally different demographic.
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+1 In term time I find during the week I'm one of the youngest on site, at weekends I'm one of the oldest!
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well, I'm a pensioner with dogs and I've given up my membership after 15 years. They are just too expensive. As for some of you who are still paying your membership fee and not using the sites, why not save yourself £59 . Plus they are now trialling electric meters and giving back £1 in the summer, after telling us the electric costs £4 .
I see the CC is doing a 20% reduction on some sites, not enough bookings , maybe, however for those of you who booked a while ago so that you could take advantage of not having to have the dynamic booking increase, are you now going to cancel your booking to re-book to have the 20%, what a palava....
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not that i use CAMC sites very often but my perception is that there are too many OAP's moaning about OAP's with dogs but have never been on a site where OAP's with dogs out number OAP's without dogs, as for prices, yes they are now very expensive, and yes i could save £59 by cxling my membership, but you do get good discounts at outlets such as Mountain warehouse, and quite recently i think Volvo cars, if you are a member, so discounts + maybe 2 visits to a CAMC site and you quickly recover your £59, the club can also be competitive on caravan insurance depending on your circumstances, and lets not forget those lovely CL's although some of those now seem to be jumping on the band wagon and hiking prices.
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but have never been on a site where OAP's with dogs out number OAP's without dogs,
Staying on sites a lot my perception is that they do, out of season midweek. That has been the case since we started. OH even joked back then, we will have to get a dog to fit in.😂 Not sure where the moaning comes from. As far as I can see folk are just posting their views.4 -
I agree about outfits with dogs outnumbering those without dogs, whether OAPs or not. It is similar but not as marked on the CCC site we are currently using. And on the 2 CLs we just used, we were the only outfit out of 5 which did not have a dog.
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I’m stumped by the whole ‘more Pensioners with Dogs thing’🤷🏻♂️, a lot of the CAMC Dog walks are sans woods & real walks, not many folk want a small grassy area to walk around with Dogs. My past experience was-quite a few Dogs but not more than without Dogs.
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Seems to me there are few other travel options for dog owners - they can’t go on cruises, can’t fly anywhere, find it hard to find holiday houses or hotels which will accept them, and even travelling by train is difficult - so they get a motorhome or a caravan. I feel sorry for the limitations they have chosen to face.
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Are pensioners who stay on club sites with dogs doing anything wrong? , the answer is NO ! , on the site we are on at the moment one caravan has 6 , yes 6 , good luck to them
back to the price of club sites , if you don’t like the price then jog on , have you seen the price of fish !!
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The Club sets its own target of business. Six children of school age would be about £20 a night. . Six dogs are free of charge.
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Yes, I saw the price of fish in West Bay this morning!
I've also seen the price of caravan sites and they vary more than fish....I'm opting for lower prices and value for money.
Although I like some of the vfm CAMC sites some like Gwern y Bwlch are a bit out of the way and can rack up fuel bills.
I suppose we are an "older couple with a dog" but we won't be the ones using the sites as suggested by the OP.
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Value for money for us is more about location than cost, particularly since getting a MH. A CL at £20 up a lane 2 miles from a bus stop might not be particularly good value for money, where as a CAMC site at £35 to £40 with one outside the gate might be. It would all depend on what we were intending to do with our stay.
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Actually, that's quite wrong. We have found little difficulty in finding cottages and hotels which welcome dogs, many free of charge. I think hospitality providers have long been aware of what a lucrative market it is. In the next two weeks we will be in 2 cottages both booked direct with the owners (in one the dogs go free on the second they are charging £15 but only because it is a bank holiday week). Later this year we have 2 hotel bookings, in both dogs are free of charge.
🐕🦺🐕🦺6 -
Actually you are wrong EuroT about cottages, hotels, Airbnb, B&Bs, it’s very very easy to take dogs, has been for last 15 years we have been doing it, and that’s with three dogs sometimes, not just one. Dogs can travel by train as well. One of our Airedales did Eurostar for free, and not in a crate I might add.
I don’t disagree about flights and cruises being not canine friendly, but I wouldn’t expect them to be to be honest.
The fact that dogs can stay for free on Club Sites has no influence over our choices. The overall costs are higher than we want to pay, hence a CL with a lower price, but that might charge a small fee for our pooch is preferable to a Club Site.
The Club is like any other holiday provider in this country, top loading prices during school holiday periods, so folks do pay more if they have children. But both having children, and having pets are lifestyle choices, and there will be an appropriate price tag on certain things to cover the costs.
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Agree Rocky, a lot of Club Sites are very dog friendly because of where they are located….Clumber, Ferry Meadows, Yellowcraig, Bromyard Downs, etc.
But responsible dog owners don’t rely upon some of the pathetic dog paths on one or two Sites, (Castleton springs to mind) but take their dog for a proper exercise walk. It makes for better behaved dogs back on site as well. Too tired to be a nuisance to others.
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I know we have had this conversation before, but buying a vehicle for £60-90k plus that leaves one relying upon public transport and dearer Site fees was never part of our VFM considerations. (I accept things might be different overseas, but hope we can avoid that conversation😁)
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