What is going on?
Comments
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DTR, I think it’s a culmination of the squeeze on finances, everything is so expensive as general costs rise without any compensatory increases in income. Something has got to give & it’s usually leisure as that is not a necessity. It will bounce back in time👍🏻
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That is the case throughout the leisure industry and is nothing new. It impacted on us when we took holidays with our kids 30 plus years ago and nothing has changed since.
In that respect Garlieston isn’t bad. For two adults and two kids over 5 it is only £6 a night more in the summer holidays1 -
The practice you describe, YT, is common within the leisure industry. If you look at renting a static van on a (shudder😵💫) Haven, Parkdean etc site you’ll see the same sort of pricing pattern. CAMC is keeping up with the big boys.
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We love D&G, had a fantastic 10 nights away last year, touring around. We did drive through Garlieston itself, but heading elsewhere. We have only stayed once, back in the 1990’s with a caravan. Enjoyed it, but it’s a fair drive out to places. Can’t recall price, but it wouldn’t have been much as it was the last week before it closed for season. We passed New England Bay last year driving back to our CL, very nice looking site, great for ambling around on beach.
Last year visiting D&G was a bit of an experiment for us with MH. We used lots of legal stopovers as we were moving around touring. Had four nights on a lovely CL, dearest we have ever used at £25 per night. Even with that though, we averaged £12.50 per night, and saw a lot more of D&G than staying on one site. Scotland is really good with a MH, local community set ups are great, Forestry sites for a night are either free or a nominal parking charge, and many places have good MH facilities. We paid £10 per night for HS, hook up, water, CDP point and drive over waste in Kircudbright. And fabulous views, short walk into town on riverside footpaths.2 -
“Whilst I realise this thread is in the uk section I think you should still have emphasised that this is a uniquely UK trait....”
It is what it is and no amount of comparing UK ways to those elsewhere is going to change things here.
With regard to the topic of the OP, I think R2b probably hit the nail on the head with cost of living. All sorts of factors make up the general cost of living pinch and result in a cut back in non essential expenditure.
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it's that there seems to very few days in the calendar (let alone weeks or months) that aren't some form of 'peak'...
That idea is totally incorrect and easily disproved.
Looking at my next three sites Garlieston is now a steady £35 for the July and August, it drops down to £30 for all of September and then £25 for October.
Melrose is now steady at just under £42 for July and for all of September drops to £36, then under £32 for half of October (yes it goes up for the two half terms in Scotland and England but that's expected) then it's £30 all the way to the start of the Christmas holidays.
Also those two are Scottish sites which and I'm pretty sure their schools have either started their summer holidays or will do so very soon.
Troutbeck Head is currently at £40 till a week Friday when English schools have their holidays, then £47 all the way through through till the end of August then down to £40 for all of September then £35 in October till the half terms then down to under £35 all the way from then to the Christmas holidays.
Black Knowl (not going but is often quoted for prices) follows the same pattern. Steady till the English school holidays then actually slightly cheaper in August but steady, goes down mid September, again in October and then stedy from November to Christmas after the half terms.
As said it's just a misconception that prices changes every few days, they appear to be very steady for a number of weeks/months.
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I know this is way off topic and irrelevant but the idea that european sites don't put their prices up is also in my view wrong, certainly in Italy. From first hand experience prices go up at every opportunity and especially when there is a feast day on a weekday and the higher prices will exist all that week as it's common to 'make a bridge' with the nearest weekend. And yes people complain there as well.
Sorry back to Garlieston.
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I'll be at Garlieston in a few week's time so I'll report back to see if one snapshot of one Friday night is representative.
For many sites we go back many times but this region and site is not one of them, not because it's isn't a fantastic site and location, it is, but as said it's out of the way and what we call a once every few years site, although I'm already looking forward to seeing the places around there,
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Being members for nearly 30 years, we have recently retired (very early) and were looking forward to many trips in the UK this year. However, with pitches at £50 for a night, we are opting not to use club sites. Concider that for Europe you can have a pitch at €19 per night. Maybe others are doing what we are?
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Those prices there are as I said are pretty steady BB and more to do with DP than peak periods. The others three sites I discussed are very steady indeed, apart from one date all the same, so again it's not every few days as you claimed
But leave it to those that club sites I would say? You appear upset by them but as BN has very good occupancy it doesn't appear to deter those staying there?
But as said we have to live with what we have here not what happens abarod.
No it was in a motorhome (a Carthago now) as I've posted before, even with pictures, done quite a few over the years and we always do when we go over, actually probably started before you! 1978 I recall.
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Sorry didn't fully answer your question, last September, another two trips planned this year.
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I assume you do appreciate that if there were not for peak prices then prices at other times of year will become more expensive if the Club, as seems likely, has a set level of income to be achieved by each site. Now if you only holiday at peak times I can see that you might find that an attractive proposition. However for those that camp all year round it would become more expensive at what is now considered off peak. Things are only a rip off if you are unaware of it. If you are aware of prices you can make a decision not to pay peak prices.
David
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If you use CCPs you can certainly find their Mon Village sites, at around 12 or 13€ all through the summer. Very good value for money, we've used some that open in early June right through until October. If we were of a mind to travel through France in high season I would certainly look to using them.
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But why do they want to keep up with the big boys, the big boys are not a club that charges for membership this to me is being greedy like most things today, if they want to join the big boys do away with the membership fees
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I can’t answer that, Cman 🤷🏻♂️
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The prices would then go up even more? At the moment about £20 million comes in yearly through memberships fees. Would any big boy company want to throw that away? It's just not prudent?
This is the way the club operates, it's been said but people voluntarily join the club and hand over the fee, it's not mandatory and equally if one thinks the club is greedy or a rip off then simply don't give the club your money.
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I was rather hoping that "club" management would come back with some figures from previous years so that a like for like comparison could be made but I still wait for actual figures.
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You’d need to ask them directly, Dave, and it is the weekend with few folk at work.
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Do you honestly think the club would respond to a thread like this on CT, it would serve no purpose what so ever. In my opinion this thread has just turned into another club bashing based on personal views on VFM which will be different for every single member. Just my view, happy for you to agree or not.
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Almost every thread is taken the same way GE, first overseas places are better which is Off Topic then attacks on CAMC. Some folk have an odd idea of entertainment on every weekend.
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Well two things there Dave, firstly you posted your OP on a Friday night after office hours at 8:30pm so perhaps expecting an answer from the management by Sunday night is not in any way realistic?
Secondly your question in the OP wasn't aimed at them and in fact you posted an hour or so later to make it clear who you did want an opinion from:
I am asking what other members opinion is,I have my own suspicions
so again why should management post a reply after you've written that?
This is a discussion forum for members and I've never known, or can recall, club management to post anything on CT about such things like individual sites' occupancy rates.
I wouldn't expect, perhap incorrectly, the community managers to know such data and in any case why should they post what could be termed commercially sensitive information?
But what does it matter? Are you worried this site isn't doing well? Or may have to close?
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I’m still waiting for Dave to tell us his suspicions. I received no reply from him to my request 🤷🏻♂️
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