A Night Free!đ€©
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https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/uk-holidays/uk-sites/club-campsites/open-all-year-sites/
As mentioned in the magazine page 12
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Thanks, Goldie, but this just a list of those that are open all year, what I really was wondering is it there is a published list of opening dates for 2024, be it on line of in the magazine, or do we have to wait for the site supplement, should the club deem to publish one?
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No problem, Goldie.
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'Don't look a gift horse etc etc...
Yes..as an all year round tourer, I will be making use of the 'free night' offer, probabaly taking up the same pitch as TTDA after they leave (as mentioned up thread). I am however disappointed with the club for not making the offer available to the many members who do not begin their touring season, for whatever reason, later in the year. We are after all a 'membership' organisation and this offer could have been better managed for all....
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For all we know there could be other offers in the pipeline?
JK
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This isnât being done as a membersâ perk, GTP, but as a business move to fill more pitches during quiet times. Whatâs more, itâs working as the posts here showđ
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I thought, as I think I said on another discussion, that I would look at whether we might fit in a short trip to somewhere we had not been before, or where there was something to see/do in inclement weather, so had a look at what is open in January/February/March in Scotland.
Looking at the sites open all year up here I find 6 shown, plus one with extended opening (Stonehaven). Â Â However 3 of them are AS, and 3 we have visited several times. Â That leaves Strathclyde Park, however, Â we live in Glasgow, so no point in going there. Â Far too much road noise anyway.
Then I thought of Edinburgh, always things to see and do there, plus  we have 2 sets of friends we could meet up with.
Alas, Edinburgh, like many  Scottish  sites is next year closed until early March, so the window of opportunity will be small.  I think we will probably  just stay home.
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Nothing wrong in that, for us it is a perk as we were going anyway. That will be the case for many, many others. As to those that donât start there touring until later, they do have the option of going a little earlier and making a saving. After all it is available until almost the end of March. Itâs not as though they have to go away in the depths of winter, we often get some decent weather at that time of year.
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Itâs a business bit of marketing. As I said earlier, the Club have moved over to being a more commercial player in the holiday camp provision business, focussing more than it did on getting income in, filling pitches, changing T&Cs around bookings and deposit retention. Some of it might be about acting upon the gripes and groans of some who were forever moaning about not being able to get the dates they wanted, so called weekend block bookers, etcâŠ. Well, theyâve certainly cured that issue by the looks of it, but  given just how many changes have been made lately, reduced deposit %, this special offer, that special offer, they are still playing with trying to get the whole shebang right, before lots more folks do vote with their wallets, and go elsewhere. There are without a doubt other providers who can match, if not exceed what the Club has to offer, but itâs like anything else, itâs down to personal likes, dislikes and circumstances. One of which in this instance is whether or not you tour in Winter, and where you actually live in terms of the sites that stay open. Giving a free night to a select group isnât a monetary gamble. Giving a free night to the whole Membership is something different.Â
We are away shortly on an open all year site. We already know half the site is shut down. I will take some photos to show just how busy it actually is on the nights we are there. We arenât booking until morning we go, thatâs  how confident we are that pitches will be empty. If Club offered a good midweek discount, we might stay longerâŠâŠ..but, no.Â
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Would folk really expect CAMC to say "We're making a hard nosed business decision by offering members one free night at a quiet time in the hope that you will all book two, three or more nights"? Obviously they are going to emphasise the something for nothing and member benefit angle - itâs to be expected. Thereâs nothing at all wrong with trying to fill pitches in this way and boost take up. After all, itâs to the benefit of all members that CAMC remains financially buoyant.
With regard to inequality, surely CAMC canât be deemed as being biased simply because some members live in the 'wrong' place or donât want to go away early in the year? That is entirely the members' choice and the offer is available whether they opt to use it or not.
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The Club has always prided itself on being inclusive. For example, they don't make concessions to pensioners, as the view is that promtional pricing should be available to all.
Its the same with dogs. The Clubs view is that sites are open to members with lots of dogs, or no dogs. I agree with both of these positions
Yes, this promotion is also available to all, but I don't see it as being as inclusive as others. Its biased towards the retired and, other than one week in February, precludes working members with young families
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The problem there Steve is that one does not know what the weather will be like that far ahead, and this year we have had enough of sitting in the van watching the rain fall.........both at Easter and September/October.
Cold weather is not a problem, but I can watch the rain fall in more comfort staying at home, plus save the fuel for the car, save the cost of the non-free  nights, and indulge in my hobbies.
If it was not necessary to book by the end of the year, that would be much better. Â
If there was no need to book so far ahead, the Club might actually end up with more wheels on pitches in total, especially if the forecast was good.
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I donât believe CAMC should be looking at groups of people and their personal circumstances. If they did, that would surely lead to discrimination. A blanket offer available to all is as fair as it gets in my book but theyâll never please all of the people all of the time.
They're damned if they do and damned if they donât. đŻ
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Maybe with a tent?
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Surely everyone understands that in any offer from any business, that offer while it may benefit you it is not made for your benefit but for the benefit of that business?
This is what the club is doing here, it is designed to get more people using club sites when either they wouldn't use them either due to cost or touring habits and at a time when traditional club sites are not as full. Who knows after when people use sites in 'winter' they might find it's quite a good thing to do. There is no business sense is offering a free night when sites are full(er).
Most people I suspect will attach the free night to another. It is open to to all, those working can use it at weekends, those retired can use it whenever, families will benefit most as it's a free night for all the family members.Â
If one doesn't want to use the offer then that is not the club's fault. Sainburys often have offers on things I don't want but I don't feel let out.
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The problem there Steve is that one does not know what the weather will be like that far ahead
If there was no need to book so far ahead, the Club might actually end up with more wheels on pitches in total, especially if the forecast was good.There is of course the option of just booking the one night and adding to it just before or after arrival if the weather is fair. Probably not an issue if popular sites and weekends are avoided. You would have the option of canceling and just loosing the deposit if the weather was not favourable.
Â
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Given the cost of a nightâs stay on most sites, itâs worth using the free voucher just to get payback on Membership fees. I am sure a family of four,five, six would cover Member fees nearly 100% using free night. It will bring our two nights stay down to a very nice ÂŁ17 per night, rather than nearly ÂŁ34 a night. We wouldnât go at ÂŁ34 a nightđ
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It's a good offer and one I expect a lot will take up. It's a better offer than others, like say a mid week discount because you would probably have to stay the best part of week to reap the same benefit. With this offer you get a free night, simples! As JK said further back who is to know whether its an offer the Club might repeat again. If it successfully achieves the goals the Club have set it may well use it again. It might not be in quite the same form but I could see perhaps that it might be site specific as a way to encourage greater occupancy on quieter sites? We will have to wait and see?
David
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Repeat againđ That made me chuckle DK, itâs only our second freebie in 40 years. StillâŠ.if England win the World Cup again (menâs) you never knowđ€Ł
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Maybe this could become an annual thing. It would make it a club for the members. It could be an incentive included within the cost of your membership especially as they are reducing costs by encouraging us to use the digital magazine/digital membership cards. Potentially they could offer 1 night free every year as part of the membership package. They could also offer at particular milestones as additional nights as a one off benefit for long standing members every 10, 20 ,30 yearsÂ
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We used to get plenty of site night vouchers with the credit card a few years ago. They were sort of freebies as we were using it anyway. Sadly no more, although we do get M&S vouchers with the replacement but they take much longer to aquire.
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