Cost of sites has gone mad

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  • Frank Gill
    Frank Gill Club Member Posts: 153 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #62

     That could put the cat amongst the pidgeon's.

     

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,040 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #63

    Amongst the pigeon’s what, Frank? 😁

  • moulesy
    moulesy Forum Participant Posts: 9,402 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #64

    I'm guessing the dogs would sort the cat out before the cat got to the pigeons!  🐕🐱🐦🐱🐕

  • ScreenName895186A904
    ScreenName895186A904 Forum Participant Posts: 7
    edited April 2023 #66

    I agree with Richharry193 . The C &M C site prices are exorbitant and so I have cancelled my renewal this year.  We have previously over the years used club sites and mostly liked them.  But I was shocked when looking at prices for spring  this year , I’m not prepared to be ripped off. I’ll take my business elsewhere. There’s cheaper options available. 

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,138 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #67

    I don’t think anyone disagrees with RH insofar as prices have gone up (inevitably so) but there are several anomalies in his recollection of fees in previous years.

    We all know there are cheaper alternatives and many folk here use them. No one is ripped off if they don’t pay so you’ve done the right thing by walking away if you find the site fees too dear.

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #68

    One of the issues in looking back / comparing prices, is that many of mine were artificially lowered by the VAT reduction. By July of last year this was no longer the case, so I can directly compare stays at Cirencester and Rookesbury Park with prices for this July. In the case of Cirencester the increase is 9.5% and for Rookesbury 13.5%.  Given inflation rates over the period, neither seem particularly exorbitant.

  • Oneputt
    Oneputt Club Member Posts: 9,144 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #69

    We have booked a CL close to sons for £40/night so we can attend his birthday weekend.  Expensive, but we consider it good value for money

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,667 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #70

    Club sites do not seem good value to us any more, this is the second year that we will not be using any.

    Prices almost  everywhere are up this year.   Using  mainly CLs, last year we came in at under £20 per night on average.  Our current trip, 19 nights, 4 CLs and 1 CCC site is averaging £22.92 per night.  2 sites have serviced pitches, all have hard standings.

    And strangely, now we have just finalised our June/July trip of 36 nights.....2 commercials, 3 CCC sites, and 3 CLs.....that will also average £22.92 per night.   4 sites have serviced pitches, 6 are hard standings, on the other 2 only grass was available.

    We would rather find small sites with serviced pitches than pay for facilities we would rarely use.

  • Mikenbike
    Mikenbike Forum Participant Posts: 43
    edited April 2023 #71

    We've just booked an 18 night tour, a mix of CAMC sites and CCC sites.  All club sites (no CLs).  Two adults; basic, non-serviced, EHU pitches throughout. 

    The average CCC night has cost £27.60, which we consider fair.  The average CAMC night turns out to be £43.71, which we consider a rip-off. 

    I was truly shocked how costly CAMC sites have become now.  For one particular CAMC night, 6th May, we've had to stump up £56.50.  

    A couple of years ago, we felt £30 a night was veering on the expensive side and suddenly the same sites have leapt beyond £50. 

    Sadly, we're seriously questioning whether to renew our membership this year. 

     

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,040 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #74

    Two CLs have been our only forays so far. £18 for HS, hook up, a nice clean loo and fantastic views, close to Harrogate earlier this week. We have another booked, again £18 per night, again with HS, hook up, great views, and this time a lovely eatery (with a loo, not that we need it). There’s still great value out there and it doesn’t take much effort to find it if you aren’t happy with Club Sites. No deposits, no up front payments. We booked the Harrogate one the night before going as well, so no need to worry about finding a pitch at short notice. There will be lots of others out there👍

  • Wherenext
    Wherenext Club Member Posts: 10,599 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #75

    There's an awful lot of emotive words knocking around with regard to club site prices.

    In my view the only ones that count are Value for Money. We've just stayed at Wirral CP site, about £35 per night. Normally I'd be happy enough on a CL but there are no alternatives in the area so the price of the site was Value for Money.

    I agree with both CS's and Ttda's comments, both valid and both that we follow. If members don't want to pay £60 and pitches remain unused then someone at EG is going to get a rocket. 

     

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,667 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #76

    Unless we particularly needed, or wanted, to be in a very specific area, I would not want to pay over £30 for a site.

    In June we want to meet up  with friends who are holidaying in the Cotswolds, which seems to be an expensive area for sites, very few CLs  with EHU for under £20, certainly none with serviced pitches and HS.   So we have had to up the budget there, though not to £30,  so instead of a CL we will be paying £23 on a CCC site on grass as HS sold out.  At least there are facilities, which will save on water fetching and disposal.

    Our first site of the trip is the most expensive, £32,  a commercial with swimming pool and various other facilities, chosen as DD and the boys will be with us for that week.  They particularly wanted to go back to that site, so will be contributing to the cost, and will be in charge of waste water disposal as, strangely, there is a tap on the pitch but no drain.

    Least expensive site is a no facilities CCC site, though we do get a HS, £16 per night .  
    Best value CL is £18 for serviced HS, toilet and shower also available if desired, one we use every year to visit friends.

  • richardandros
    richardandros Club Member Posts: 2,681 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #78

    We're off to Poole next month - to get our Omnistor roof awning fixed by a company who specialises in fitting them.  Our dealer made an absolute bog of it and so - after a "frank exchange of views", they have agreed to pay our travelling costs plus the cost of putting it right by this other company.  We are staying at a commercial site that's five minutes away from the company's HQ - and it's costing an eye-watering £49 per night - so it's not just this Club's prices that are through the roof. If it wasn't so convenient, I'd have been looking elsewhere - so I can't complain - it's my choice.

    Added to which, when I started to plan our trip back home, I suddenly realised it coincided with yet another Bank Holiday and couldn't find anywhere with vacancies - so we're having to stay there even longer.

    I've just been looking at the spreadsheet I have been running since we came back to caravanning in 2015.  Then, our average nightly pitch price was just over £16 - now it's £29!!

  • Fozzie
    Fozzie Club Member Posts: 550
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    edited April 2023 #79

    Last weekend we visited family in the New Forest,Black Knowl ran out at £166 for 3 nights.Yes it was the last weekend of the school holidays,ended up paying £99 for 3 nights at Setthorns one of our favourite sites.

    Whilst there we received a telephone call that our granddaughter had a football match on the outskirts on London,so rather than take the van all the way home I looked at Abbey Wood  for one night.

    This came out at £45.I took the van home and returned to see her play.

    Years ago I would not flinch at booking a Club site,but now I just cannot spend this amount of money with being careful withthe cost.

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,859 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #80

    Last year we spent some time at Lady's Mile campsite in Dawlish on a serviced pitch. I thought I would check the prices for this year. For the same time we went last year it looks as if daily prices have increased by only about £1.50 a night to £33.71. Interestingly in September the prices are £42 a night. Whether that reflects the likely increased cost of electricity the later in the year you get I don't know. 

    Our average site costs last year were £29.47 with the most expensive sites being CMC ones!

     

    David

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,040 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #81

    Sadly we are unable to tour at the moment as we wish, but when we do, we work on the basis of making sure any kind of stopover gives us exactly what we need on any given day.

    This can vary hugely, from a simple pull in to sleep, up and off early transit stop, to a fancy a day on site or cycling/walking stop where we need to know our outfit and more importantly our dog will be safe. Sometimes we might choose to be close to a particular place for a special visit, or an event. Having a MH that we use off site almost daily, we also prefer to actually tour around, rather than spend a prolonged time on one site driving out and back each day. (That said, if there’s enough of interest to us in a given radius, we will stay longer at a Site).

    So, based on our needs, we might pay nothing for a legal overnight transit stop, we might pay anything between £5-10 for a nice Aire type stop with hook up and waste/water. For a relaxing sit out all day, go for a bike ride but know the dog is safe day, we have paid up to £25 a night on a gorgeous CL. By mixing and matching our needs, we did 2 tours last year (D&G, and Suffolk, ten nights out each) and our average costs were £12.50, and around £13.50 per night. 

    When we can get back out, hopefully for much longer touring stretches, we aim to continue doing this, and know that what we save on not using Sites that don’t fit our desired criteria, we can afford to pay more on those that do. Some Club Sites, possibly the basic ones, might be useful as part of our mix, particularly if outside the peak periods, but the vast majority no longer fit our vfm desires or needs, so we won’t think of them except for a very special need. This is just our way of touring, others will have different preferences, but you just choose what suits your circumstances.

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #82

    Oh look, there’s a tree.

    I think £18 to park overnight in a field is the biggest rip off of all. Good luck to farmers who have the land, but I’ve got better things to do than go to sites like that.

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,667 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #83

    OH was just commenting yesterday that there are a lot of BHs coming up in May, I think she said there were 3.  

    We have to be home in May, so will miss them all, fortunately!

  • donevon
    donevon Forum Participant Posts: 2
    edited April 2023 #84

    I have been a club member for nearly 40 years,so know a few sites whether club or commercial,the club used to be good value for money and often their sites were of a higher standard than those of the CACC but that is no longer the case,both clubs do have high standards but with this club now prices are much higher than the CACC,and you visit any of the clubs sites off peak and Monday to Friday it 75% retired couples.If the club aren't careful they will be loosing members.And the CACC membership starts at £41. 

  • Rocky 2 buckets
    Rocky 2 buckets Forum Participant Posts: 7,101
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    edited April 2023 #85

    I paid that price 5yrs ago for the peace & tranquility with stunning views that you have there. I counter your post by saying it’s worth every penny. Monetary costs are not everything.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,138 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #86

    Membership is from £48 p/a.

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,426 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #87

    For the last few years of course midweek off peak will be mainly retired, who else would it be?

    But a case in point, I'm off to one of my favourite sites soon at Melrose, and yes having been there many times in all seasons of course it all retired off peak at midweek, but, and it's a big but, from now till mid August it's all lows and a significant amount of full (on normal pitches and even 'fuller' on SP). If the club were to offer a discount for these retired folk it would lose a significant amount of income which would have to be recouped somehow, by rest of the members subsidising and perhaps higher pitch fees. I would qualify for a discount but it's not fair on people who have to pay for me when I can certainly pay my own way. 

  • Mikenbike
    Mikenbike Forum Participant Posts: 43
    edited April 2023 #88

    Easily said, isn't it?  But when you've spent the hours I did planning a tour, navigating the maps and websites and trying to dovetail everything together across multiple companies, blissfully assuming the relative costs are going to be much as they used to be, you may think differently. 

    In the end I gave up the will to live and just stumped up the swingeing prices for an easier life.  I'll be honest, the booking became so frustrating that I was bordering on cancelling the whole idea and just flying off to the sun for a fortnight instead. 

    For several years, I have always favoured CAMC sites, with CCC playing second fiddle, mainly because the planning and booking process with CAMC was easier and more flexible. 

    I followed the same mindset for this week's planning exercise, but I'm afraid the exorbitant pricing revelation has taught me that those CAMC and CCC roles will now have to reverse for me.  With these prices, in the future I'll be planning primarily for CCC sites, with CAMC filling in the gaps. 

     

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,138 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #89

    "In the end I gave up the will to live and just stumped up the swingeing prices for an easier life."

    Your choice was to pay for the convenience. That’s a fair trade I think.

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,426 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #90

    Well when I'm planning any type of holiday then I do note the cost. And when you were booking the club site in question the price would have been clearly displayed so sorry I do not follow your reasoning. If it appeared a rip off then club sites why did you press book and then pay a deposit? Club sites are not the only ones on offer and there will always be alternatives nearly, it doesn't have to be a club site.

    Also, unless you are departing within the next 21 days why not cancel at no cost the club site and find another site more to you liking regarding cost? It might even prove cheaper to find a cheaper site and forgo the club's deposit.

    As to your future plans find what gives you the best value for money of course.

      

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,040 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2023 #91

    We paid it last Tuesday😁

    The fact that CL owners, be they farmers, business owners or just someone with a big garden are willing to put aside space, time and expenditure to provide pitches, welcome all and sundry onto their properties, and keep going despite things like rising costs, livestock health outbreaks, trespassers occasionally is to be praised. Lots of them are in wonderful locations as well. Responsible tourers use them.