Late availability

Problem is it’s difficult to please all of the people all of the time. Apparently members asked for deposits because they could never get a booking of 9 nights at this time of year due to speculative booking. Now there seems to be abundant availability. In practice under the old system bookings might have been cancelled at the last minute, particularly at the moment with the atrocious summer weather. The site we are on currently has been about 60% full, now rapidly filling as it’s Friday. Whether it would have been any fuller under the old system is debatable. Personally I think with this weekends forecast it is likely there would have been less arrivals, as now cancelling would mean loss of deposit.

Comparisons with the last few years are also fairly meaningless given the covid affect. I struggle to remember how full the sites were in 2019 compared to now, but at the ones we have used I don’t believe there has been a lot of difference and what difference there is may well be the result of belt tightening due to the current economic situation.

The new booking system seems to have met the objectives (suggested by many members BTW) of improving availability, so surely a good thing? The T&C's are no harsher than other organisations and in fact marginally better than the C&CC. OK it will take a bit of getting used to but used to it we will get! There might be the odd private campsite out there that will take a booking on trust but they are rare and most of them want full payment 4/6 weeks before arrival. So whilst the CMC might have lost some of its USP it is better than many. I think we will see the booking system evolve and I wonder if the introduction of a 10% deposit will actually become the norm for deposits rather than just an occasional offer? 

Pricing is a different matter. Personally I would prefer to know what the price of a site is without it changing depending on the number of bookings. I think dynamic pricing should end. 

David

Correct again YT as far as we are concerned.  We do not use  CAMC sites any more, have not used any in the last 2 years.

The hiked up prices are too much for us, we would rather go with more reasonable prices even if we have to pay up a bit ahead of  arrival.  Which is not always the case as it happens.

With lower prices and lower deposits there is anyway less to lose should we have to cancel, which fortunately has not been the case so far.

I cannot see that we will ever use a CAMC site again.

I don't mind the the new terms, as DK points out they are better than most. Whether it is the economic situation or the result of deposits, it has resulted in greater availability which as far as I am concerned as a member of a touring organisation, it is a good thing for those who like to arrive on site at short notice. The killer for me is price. Even before the new system came into being I was questioning the value for money of sites, more so for short stays, and using less and less C&MC sites with every passing year. With the latest increase and the lack of sensible offers, it is even easier to find better value elsewhere or to decide to accept a lower grade of site rather than pay for expensive facilities I do not need.

peedee

I do wonder sometimes whether the CAMC have actually come to terms with the change in membership.

Yes, they changed the name to incorporate Motorhomes but they still seem to pitch their prices and offers (no pun intended) at the caravan towing member, who doesn't usually tour on spec, well not like yourself YT. We certainly don't as I don't want to be carting around a caravan without being able to have a final destination booked.

Funnily enough we first saw the change in ownership in France a good few years ago. 20-30 years ago Municipal sites were full of Mom and Pop caravans of quite some age and then the Government started changing holiday times for schools across various departments. Suddenly younger families wondered what to do with their holidays and add in more retiring folk who didn't want a caravan and the Motorhome ownership blossomed. 

This is what has happened here, partly due to covid but also Campervanning now being cool enough for younger people to own and explore.

It seems that if the CAMC did fully embrace DP they would maybe attract more Motorhomers.

I speak as a caravan owner of 30+ years so hopefully provide an unbiased view.

changing the name and adding the odd drive over waste doesn't change the attraction for us, not without a serious reduction in prices for last minute arrivals..

I would change that statement to a serious price reduction in short stays. It is positively bonkers to pay £40 -£45 for a single night stop over perhaps arriving after 4p.m. and leaving the next morning. What facilities are you going to use in that time for that kind of money! I very often don't even need water but I do prefer to dump waste, no matter how little there is, before getting on the road again. I would have to be pretty desperate to pay that kind of money even for a two night stay let alone one night only or it would have to offer something more attractive than the majority of C&MC sites.

peedee

'It is positively bonkers to pay £40 -£45 for a single night stop over perhaps arriving after 4p.m. and leaving the next morning'

Shouldn't you rephrase that to it's positively bonkers for you? Others may see it as a very good choice using a better site with better quality. You're taking you view and applying it to all?

Seen it done many times (even on service pitches) in fact happened twice near us this week, and yes there's a few CL and CS nearby Why should these people be classed as bonkers as they don't conform to your preferred touring habits?

We are often told there are cheaper and better sites out there, if this is true why are there so many posts about club prices and alternatives? Surly just choose the site and prices that suits you?

Or is it that those that use club sites are making some mistake and club site users must be informed of this?

Flatcoat. I'm sorry but I think that the last paragraph of your last post shows a lack of understanding of the structure of the club and how it is managed. Also a little disrespectful to the Nonminated Members who give up their time and are not paid,  to engage with the Club Council on behalf of all members. If other members don't think that the current Nonminated Members are not doing a good enough job don't complain on CT put your name forward, give up some of your time and replace them.

Thats why I don't do Social Media JK. I was quite shocked when I used Twitter years ago to find that some people I had respect for were actually quite abhorrent.

We were at DB in June during the hot spell, and it was busy. All the CAMC pitches were taken.

Interestingly, non of the cheaper grass pitches without EHU were occupied.