Adding partner hikes up price?
Hi,
Another pricing question from me, again because there is nothing on the Club website to help.
The '£15 discount' per night for members is plastered everywhere, and one of the main reasons we joined. But when trying to book through the website, adding a second adult (my partner) adds at least £10 per night. Is this right? The £15 discount only applies if you holiday alone?
I'm so fed up with the club already and I've only just joined. What I thought would be a worthwhile membership fee that we could easily recoup with several holidays is now turning out to be far more expensive than just searching for private sites like we used to.
Have I got the wrong end of the stick somewhere?
Thanks.
Rob
Comments
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When you book a pitch, you pay for …..
1. Pitch Price
2. Number of adults staying @ £ per person
3. Number of children staying (if applicable)
This is how the Club have offered their pitches for at least the last twenty odd years. If you are a Member you pay £15 less per booking no matter how many persons stay, as the £15 is in essence taken off the Non Member pitch price. Hope this makes sense.
Five nights stay on any Club Site will easily cover your Membership costs. The other way of getting your £63 per year Membership back, is to make use of whatever discounts you might like, where the Club have negotiated with partnership companies, for example Mountain Warehouse.
As a new Member, what you really need to do to get the most from your Membership is have a good look around the Club’s website and cherry pick the offers, and discounts. Good luck😁
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Hi Rob...if you're logged in the website prices (believe it or not) are already 'discounted', non members will pay £15 more.
also, the prices are 'from' and only include the pitch and one occupant, you can see what happens when you add your partner.
bit of a blow if you expected the price to be £15 less than what you saw but it's actually £10 more.....👎
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Thanks all. Now I've calmed down and thought about it it makes sense, of course.
Before we joined we had 4 or 5 caravan breaks a year at non-club sites and it cost £30 per night at most. Now as a club member I'm paying at least £30 a night + membership fee! And I thought we'd save money....
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If you are ok with mobility and doing a few chores, then I would suggest you look at the CL network. You can find all inclusive (pitch + 2 persons) prices here, and some are very cheap, £12 a night if you search carefully.
However…… make sure you do careful research around each CL, as they are all different, and provide varying aspects of provision. Some are all grass, some have no loos or showers, some are remote, most are on farms etc…. Many Members (us included) stay Members because of this Member only network of tiny independent sites, inspected by the Club, but not managed by them. Don’t expect a Club Site on any of these, some are very basic, some far exceed what is provided by Club Sites. This, if you can compromise, like to plan, enjoy a bit more adventure, is where the real benefit of Membership lies in terms of pricing. Club Sites aren’t cheap (anymore), but there are real jewels amongst the CLs.
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Well, with all due respect, it might have been prudent to check actual prices on a few club sites you might have been interested in before paying for your membership rather than assume club prices were the same as non club sites?
This from price has been discussed before and like all others the club bases it on the lowest possible price on the lowest possible date, seen this done with many others, rail, ferries, hotels...
On the other hand those single travelers have posted to say they like it as it works out cheaper than other providers who charge per couple.
Now as a club member I'm paying at least £30 a night + membership fee!
Again you don't have to pay that at all, just don't use club sites? And there are cheaper than £30 club sites too at times. And it has to be said the club's prices are still middle of the road, there are cheaper and more expensive sites out there.
As alluded by TDA I've yet to 'pay' any membership fee in 25 years as I get that back with all the offers, some are routine like outdoor shops, (although I did once the whole year's fee back in one shop at Cotswold Outdoors) and some very good ones on savings on buying cars and accessories.
personally I think the quality of club sites is far better than other providers, but you'll have to judge that for yourself.
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Many have hook up. Some now meter their electricity. Some include a certain amount in the nightly price and meter the rest. The beauty of CLs is that no two are alike. Our membership is retained for the use of CLs Have a goo mooch through either your handbook or website to see the variety of location and facilities.
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Don’t forget that the price of everything has increased in the last couple of years. Just look at the cost of your weekly supermarket shop! Caravan sites are no different. Some sites will be cheaper than club sites and some dearer and with far more restrictive T&Cs. You might also be surprised at some of the CL prices.
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RobGodd,
I think my approach to the club is fairly typical as I'm a member not because of the main sites. Whilst the facilities are good, to my eyes they look like manicured car parks with some grass and are generally more expensive that independent sites. I use them as a last resort.
The magazine is variable, usually arrives about 10/14 days after it should have and the content biased towards dog baskets, bird watching etc. A better balance on content really would be nice.
The club equivalent of caravan insurance will make your eyes water when you get a quote. My renewal with the likes of Lifesure, Cover4Caravans and Grove & Dean [underwritten by Aviva], is coming in at £190-£250 compared to the clubs £650+.
However, the CL network is excellent and the Mayday Recovery Service run by Green Flag perfect for our needs, as is the Red Pennant Continental cover.
For these reasons I will continue to be a member.
Colin
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I can understand, as a new member, the OP's confusion. The £15 is not a discount but an additional charge for non-members. As YT pointed out all the prices quoted on the Club's website are member prices. If you added £15 a night to the member prices Club sites in those circumstances would be grossly overpriced compared to the competition!
David
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Hi RobGodd
You will find using forums like this and other social media the phrase "I only stay a member for the cl's" quite a bit and lots of other comments like that. Some people thrive on negativity. The cl network is great and diverse. Club sites are great (I'm a club site manager!).
You mention saving money, it's already been mentioned above some ways of saving money and yes you can easily recoup your annual sub with discounts on offer. Also what a lot of people forget is as a member you have access to free legal advice not just regarding your outfit. That alone is worth more than your £63.
We have a number of sites dotted about called non facilities sites. They are sites with access to your basics like water, black and grey waste, rubbish etc but no toilet or shower facilities, you bring them with you in your van. They represent good value as well, this year my site in North Devon is around £21 per night for 2 adults, no charge for pets or awnings etc.
Hope this is of help
JK
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I don’t find the fee for additional adults / kids particularly surprising for full facility sites. However, do find it odd they have adopted it for sites like Altnaharra, which when we visited in 2022 was a fixed fee. Now there is a charge for every person. The charge £7.10 in June is the same wether you have EHU or non EHU. 4 adults non EHU would now cost £32.50.
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The charge £7.10 in June is the same wether you have EHU or non EHU.
Steve, the cost for a non EHU pitch at Altnaharra is about £3 pn cheaper than an EHU one. For example, £18:30 compared to £21:30 for a pitch and 2 adults on the 10th June. With 4 adults on EHU it would cost £35:80 compared to £32:50.
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JollyKernow,
"You will find using forums like this and other social media the phrase "I only stay a member for the cl's" quite a bit and lots of other comments like that. Some people thrive on negativity"
I think that is a little unfair. You will find many members have such views for good reason. Whilst they are an opinion, something which we are all allowed to have, they are also unfortunately based upon fact.
At the end of the day we are members of the club for our own reasons. These differ between members and I see nothing wrong with that.
Colin
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I would suggest the 'facts' those opinions are based on are personal preferences rather than concrete facts.
There is nothing at all wrong in staying a member (or not) of the club for particular reasons but I think JK has a point about negativity when you read some posts. A few people only ever post negatively and never acknowledge the positive.
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I perhaps didn’t put it very well. The point I was trying to make is the lack of logic in the pricing. Why is an extra adult £7.10 what ever the type of pitch. Surely as you are likely to use more water heating with more people, the cost should be higher on an EHU pitch.(Or less on a non EHU one) Although there is a charge for electric, this is fixed however many are in the van, therefore that does not cover any extra use.
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JK wrote:
You will find using forums like this and other social media the phrase "I only stay a member for the cl's" quite a bit and lots of other comments like that. Some people thrive on negativity. The cl network is great and diverse.
As someone who has expressed that opinion on CT before now, I don't agree that that opinion is borne out of negativity at all. What is negative about being a member for using CLs?
I also don't quite understand the next sentence in relation to the previous one: The cl network is great and diverse. So then why define those of us who are members for using them as "thriving on negativity"?
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You're right, it doesn't read very well. The reason being is the bit when I said "lots of other comments like that" which I didn't give examples of because that would break the community guidelines.
I think TinWheeler explains in his post above what I was trying to conve
JK
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+1
There was also a full stop between your sentences, so I wouldn't link them in the way some have.
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I read between the lines, JK.
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Rob, at the end of the day you'll make your own mind up about Club sites and whether they do it for you RE: VFM.
Similarly, the membership itself.
we don't get much from the membership fee, we don't spend money in the places they partner with...
however, like many others, we use it as a gateway for the use of CLs and, again, as others mentioned, these provide a huge diverse spectrum of sites in all areas, many at good prices.
sometimes locations of CL sites crop up far closer to (say) a town centre than a normal site would be allowed, making them great for easy access.
EHU or not, toilet/showers or not...the choice is yours.
FYI, the other club also has 'club' sites and many of us have found them to be a bit cheaper, especially if you qualify for their Age Concession Rates.
it also has its own tranche of 5 van sites called Certificated Sites (CS) giving an even broader choice of these little gems.
good luck with your touring.
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There are probably a lot more CLs with hook up than without nowadays. Some will let you choose if you want to be hooked up, often in Summer you don’t always need to be, but that’s a personal choice. Some with hook ups will use a metered system. Some without hook ups might have somewhere to recharge certain items, or will be happy to charge up batteries for a small fee. So you can see why it is important that you check out what is on offer at each individual CL.
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Now I get where you are coming from Steve, and agree with you. There seems very little logic in many of the price differences, some as little as 30p per night!!
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Steve and Lynne P posted this on a closed tread.
"I am looking to book sites for this year but am surprised to see that they are for 1 person. I have to pay extra for a second person, yet my wife is a joint member with me. Why pay extra for another person. They don't use extra of anything. And how many people travel solo."
Are you saying the extra person will not use any water? washing, drinking, using the toilets etc. and not generating any additional waste? I very much doubt it and this all has to be paid for.
I think you might be surprised by the number of people that travel solo, I'm one of them. Why should i have to pay for a pitch and two people when alone.
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Agree Whittaker, of course an additional person will generate some costs. It’s why it’s sometimes cheaper for solo tourers to use a Club Site rather than a CL.
We do miss the “all in price” that the Club used to use for some of it’s no facility offerings though. They were superb value, particularly for families. But, costs have risen sadly.0 -
It could be that members asking this question are new to the Club where they have been used to inclusive prices for up to two guests. This question sometimes comes up on other forums. As Wittakerr has pointed out the club method is the much preferred one (same method used by the other Club as well) if you camp on your own. I suppose what people have to do is look at the overall price in the round so they are comparing like for like.
David
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Pitch + number of occupants is more the norm nowadays certainly, CLs tend to be based on a couple, or sometimes your average 2.2 family base. But that’s why a Club Site can sometimes be cheaper for solo travellers.
All folks need to do is simply read the basic T&Cs, particularly before joining either Club. Nothing should be taken for granted.1
