Camping and Caravanning Club - out of touch? (1 Viewer)

[sdc77]

I see the problem as more and more people buying MH who don't have the expertise or the knowledge of many of us long timers so use the club sites as the easy way of "getting into it". I'm sure as the more you use your MH the more you will see the injustice of "The Clubs" attitude. Why they cannot see the potential of welcoming MH's instead of alienating this section of our population seems to me to be a lack of planning. I'm sure Graham is right that to set up MH only sites would not be a viable business. but I think the clubs, and to some extent the licensed sites, are missing a potential market.

It will take time but eventually they might see the light.

I think you're wrong...
Once again.. Its all about choice... If you don't visit club sites then so be it.
We do.. We know we can get cheaper but we like them. Same when we're abroad.. We use nice sites which charge per vehicle and per person.. Per EHU.. Per dog etc etc.. Its a choice. We could stay on Aires but we often don't.
Mh only sites just aren't going to happen are they.. Same as UK Aires aren't really happening yet

Hmmm having read that I sound like km defending the clubs.... I'm not

 

[GJH]

Whether it's a motorhome or a caravan or a tent ....theyre still too expensive in comparison to a b&b

Depends how much one dislikes B&Bs I hate using B&Bs and hotels. It's one of the reasons we have a motorhome so a full facility site is never too expensive in comparison to a B&B

As regards welcomes, we've never stayed on a C&CC main site but have always felt welcomed on CC and private sites.

I don't buy the "rip off" argument either. As I've said often enough on several threads, market forces dictate that if people charge too much they will alienate customers but if they continue to attract customers their prices are obviously set correctly. A thought just struck me writing that - I wonder how many people who cry "rip off" would volunteer to take a cut in pay so that the goods they produce or services they supply could be reduced in price I can't really imagine a stampede to volunteer

 

[tambo]

Depends how much one dislikes B&Bs I hate using B&Bs and hotels. It's one of the reasons we have a motorhome so a full facility site is never too expensive in comparison to a B&B

As regards welcomes, we've never stayed on a C&CC main site but have always felt welcomed on CC and private sites.

I don't buy the "rip off" argument either. As I've said often enough on several threads, market forces dictate that if people charge too much they will alienate customers but if they continue to attract customers their prices are obviously set correctly. A thought just struck me writing that - I wonder how many people who cry "rip off" would volunteer to take a cut in pay so that the goods they produce or services they supply could be reduced in price I can't really imagine a stampede to volunteer

Actually in the recent climate many did and do take a reduction in pay to keep there companies in business .......mine included.

They do still attract customers but as the op and many others said ...not as many as they did or would if they were priced better.

Most things in Britain we're ripped off with is because there are few or no alternatives , people use the sites because there's no aires and south of border little wildcamping .....

People pay rip of fuel because they've no choice .....as somehow Britain managed to get a law past where if you protest to it its classed as terrorism

Try that in france ... They know how to protest .....Britain just bend over and take it

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[TheTwoOfUs]

Variety is the spice of life and long may it continue. We prefer CC sites (yes, I'll repeat that, we PREFER CC sites) to wild camping, aires etc. We may be unique but in 15 years of membership, with the exception of one, we have found that the wardens are friendly and helpful. The pitches aren't cramped and the facilities are very good and clean. We are close to the limit weightwise and so don't want extra weight in the form of solar panels adding to the highest point on the van nor do we want to have to do a quick calculation on which appliance we can switch on without draining the batteries down. You may get away with a quick flick with a comb but hairdryers and straighteners are things of necessity in our humble abode. And if it costs a couple of quid from the site fee to have someone else take care of the results of our ablutions, then so be it.
We see no great virtue in sitting in what amounts to nothing more than a car park within a couple of feet of the neighbouring van just because it's cheap. Neither do we want to have to move on in 24/48 hours because the aire rules say so. If we have found somewhere we like we might just stay for a week or two.
You see everyone uses their vans in different ways and for us this generally means driving to a site with good sanitary amenities and using the van as no more than a kitchen and bedroom as we tend to be out and about in the day on the motorbike exploring the local area. Having worked out that it costs us approximately £900 to get as far as northern Spain we are cetainly not going to scrimp on site fees. But that is our choice and there are others who do it differently. Neither is right or wrong, just different. And as I said before, long may it continue.

 

[GJH]

Actually in the recent climate many did and do take a reduction in pay to keep there companies in business .......mine included.

Totally different situation from responding to "rip ff" claims.

They do still attract customers but as the op and many others said ...not as many as they did or would if they were priced better.

Businesses are there to make profits. It doesn't matter if the number of customers falls as long as they make more profit.

Most things in Britain we're ripped off with is because there are few or no alternatives , people use the sites because there's no aires and south of border little wildcamping .....

There are plenty of alternatives. As many of us have said, we use rallies, THSs and CLs rather than main sites. Our full timing colleagues show us that there are plenty of places to camp off site in England. It is only more prevalent in Scotland because there are more open spaces between the urban centres. There are few aires because most people can't be bothered to make a substantive economic case for more aires - they are just content to leave it to somebody else and moan when it doesn't happen.

People pay rip of fuel because they've no choice .....as somehow Britain managed to get a law past where if you protest to it its classed as terrorism
Try that in france ... They know how to protest .....Britain just bend over and take it

Which law is that then and how many prosecutions have been mounted under it?

 

[joner8888]

Best ridiculous quote i have had this year---£155 for x 2 nights at Twitchen house Dawlish
We stayed at Unity Farm for x2 days for £50 with all the amenities

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[7735]

We belong to both the CC & CCC and I agree that in general their sites are expensive but not any dearer than other sites in the UK. C.S. & C.L. sites have started to creep up in price and can be £12-£15 per night with EHU but no other facilities. I can only compare these prices with what we paid in France this year, admittedly not peak season but 12- 14 euros per night with EHU, free wi fi, immaculate toilets, shop and very often a swimming pool. This was using an ACSI card but even without the card it would have only been slightly dearer. Also bear in mind the clubs are charging annual membership of approx £45.00 per annum.

spongy

 

[wiljoy]

We must remember that both the CC and the C&CC are just money machines. Profit, profit then more profit. We pay subs, can never get booked and if we do receive insults from MANY of there little hitlers,
charge a fortune for electric and proclaim to be a club for people, crap. The bosses are doing very nicely thankyou so sod the members. Just keep renewing your subs and let them all get richer.
It's about time we started to build a petition for Aires in the UK.

 

[GJH]

We must remember that both the CC and the C&CC are just money machines. Profit, profit then more profit. We pay subs, can never get booked and if we do receive insults from MANY of there little hitlers,
charge a fortune for electric and proclaim to be a club for people, crap. The bosses are doing very nicely thankyou so sod the members. Just keep renewing your subs and let them all get richer.
It's about time we started to build a petition for Aires in the UK.

Nobody is forced to join the CC or the C&CC. Anyone who doesn't like them can soon leave.

As far as petitions for aires go, there have been several in recent years. Of the approx 250,000 motorhomers in this country they attracted about 600 or 700 signatures each.

Of course, anyone who is really passionate about aires could always buy some land, obtain a license and planning permission and invest a few tens of thousands of pounds.

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[Deleted member 29692]

We stayed on sites when we were away last time because they happened to be where we wanted to be - 2 C&CC, 1 CC & 2 private. The 2 private ones were more expensive than any of the "club" sites by some margin and one of those is the only place I have ever stayed where I can categorically say I will never return.
The club sites were (IMO) priced OK, the wardens on all were friendly and I would be happy to return to any of them.

 

[rangi]

We decided to not renew our C&CC membership last month. Before this new pricing scheme they were affordable, now they are just taking the Wee Wee.
An example, the price charged for 'lectric.

We have just stayed at Woodville Park, Adults only, just outside Newton Abbot, Buses at gate to Torquay Totnes Paington Brixam Exeter Total cost for 3nights £46 plus £5 on a chip, for 25kw of 'lectric, refund for what you don't use! We used it as we normally do, result we got a refund of just under £3.
C&CC charge over that for 1 night!
They are just taking the Wee Wee!

 

[sally47]

Getting out of hand changed this year from low-mid-high to low-mid-shoulder-high and raised concessions from 55 to 60 wanted to stay in lake district for one night not allowed 3 nights min -cost 86 pounds direct to whiskey land for us

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[oldun]

......gross memberships have risen in (both) clubs by about 60,000 in the last five years.....

If this is true is seems to imply that more and more campers are finding the prices OK and not too expensive.

Many campers are prepared to pay high fees for a certain type (standard?) of campsite whereas others are happy with a noisy car park. Surely that is one of the benefits of camping - we can all fund something that suits us.

 

[Cobweb]

We have been with the CC for over 10 years and some years due to European travel we have only used them for ferry bookings and maybe 2 -3 nights on our way . Not good value . This year we will need to book a few sites and CL s for our Norfolk and Scotland trip . It has been a tedious process making many calls and leaving messages for CL bookings as well as sending deposits etc. Looking on a google maps to see if the sites are anywhere near the places we want to be ....and so on . I have come to the conclusion that in the UK you are best off being a tugger or having a tow car since very few sites are within easy distance from towns . One good thing from the Caravan club is the magazine which I keep by the bedside ... works better than sleeping pills and usually I am yawning and fall asleep after a few pages !

 

[The Wino]

Thats the way it works in France and most are happy with that in England there isn't the option of the noisy car park (and meeting people) for nothing. Just returned from France blew the budget this year 16 euros in total for 9 nights last year 13.50.

David

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[GJH]

True that many sites are not within easy distance from towns but that is the result of how vehicular camping has evolved in this country, as opposed to the continent. Unfortunately, as in all matters, we can't do anything about history and the situation will remain the same until somebody decides it is worthwhile building sites closer to towns.

That "somebody" is unlikely to be a private company which needs to make a profit because otherwise they would be falling over themselves to get into such a lucrative market already. That leaves the public sector, i.e. paid for by taxpayers in general. The only reason the public sector can justifiably get involved is because they can be sure that the public interest (probably economic interest overall) is served by the spending of taxpayers' money. To enable the public sector to do so we - that's we, not leaving it to somebody else - have to show that such justification can be achieved. We can't expect aires to be paid for by taxpayers in general just because a few thousand (out of 60 million) people want them, we have to show that the investment of somebody else's tax payments is worthwhile.

 

[tambo]

If this is true is seems to imply that more and more campers are finding the prices OK and not too expensive.

Many campers are prepared to pay high fees for a certain type (standard?) of campsite whereas others are happy with a noisy car park. Surely that is one of the benefits of camping - we can all fund something that suits us.

Not necessarily all that means is that in the last five years people who normally went abroad decided to stay at home and do what they thought would be a cheaper holiday......They were wrong

 

[scotjimland]

I suppose though these clubs are actually "caravan" clubs and never set out to be motorhome clubs and we are not really in the right place, they are catering for those that have to park up for a week with no on board facilities , not for us who have already paid for our own services,they are ok when you are just starting out in a mh but not much use once you have found your feet

Yes, they are caravan clubs, your motorhome (an Americanism) is also classed as a caravan, .. but yes, you essentially correct.. caravan sites were built and designed for caravan use .. not motor caravans.

As for on-board facilities there is little if any difference with a caravan, apart from a grey waste tank.. but then again, some camper vans don't have them either.. modern caravans are just as well equipped as motorhomes... many far better, with huge en suite shower and toilets ..

Not much use ?? That's like the fork saying the knife is not much use.
They are two different modes of camping .. one is not better than the other.. just different.. camper van ideal for travel.. caravan for staying on sites.. but both can do both.

Haven't read the whole thread so sorry if repeating.. 'club sites' , like private sites will charge what the market supports .. and with the ever increasing popularity of caravanning and motorhoming (there is over a million caravans in the UK compared to about 120,000 camper vans, who have little choice but to use sites ), they are unlikely to ever come down in price..

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[DBK]

I don't think it is all rosy in France. A consequence of the growth of aires is campsites must have lost business. I don't think it is a simple relationship as the aires themselves have probably encouraged MH ownership, but many sites now seem to have reduced their number of touring pitches and replaced them with plastic sheds. This has changed the character of sites and in my experience has left the loo facilities pretty tatty in many areas as the sheds have their own facilities so there is no pressure on site owners to improve the communal ones.

 

[Wildbill]

How much?!! We did not go to St andrews site, kinkell braes, as they charged £30. loch Lomand site was charging £50 during commonwealth games...

These clubs in recent years hav just become to expensive I cancel my ccc member ship last year after not using the any of there sites of two seasons

 

[chaser]

I don't think it is all rosy in France. A consequence of the growth of aires is campsites must have lost business. I don't think it is a simple relationship as the aires themselves have probably encouraged MH ownership, but many sites now seem to have reduced their number of touring pitches and replaced them with plastic sheds. This has changed the character of sites and in my experience has left the loo facilities pretty tatty in many areas as the sheds have their own facilities so there is no pressure on site owners to improve the communal ones.

Don't know where this fits the discussion but camp sites in Europe are even far dearer than here, is that because they are getting less takers , if so would aires here also make campsites dearer

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[GJH]

We retain our CC and C&CC memberships for access to the CL/CS networks and, in the case of the C&CC, access to meets and THSs. We've never used a C&CC main site and hardly ever use CC main sites.

 

[denisejoe]

We retain our CC and C&CC memberships for access to the CL/CS networks and, in the case of the C&CC, access to meets and THSs. We've never used a C&CC main site and hardly ever use CC main sites.

We're the same but only have C&CC membership for the DA meets, THSs & CSs. Have only ever used the main sites twice in 20+ years of membership.

Denise

 

[The Wino]

I don't think it is all rosy in France. A consequence of the growth of aires is campsites must have lost business. I don't think it is a simple relationship as the aires themselves have probably encouraged MH ownership, but many sites now seem to have reduced their number of touring pitches and replaced them with plastic sheds. This has changed the character of sites and in my experience has left the loo facilities pretty tatty in many areas as the sheds have their own facilities so there is no pressure on site owners to improve the communal ones.

But last week we were able to fill with water etc and empty for 3 euros fill with diesel (for quite a bit more!!) and head off without booking ending up at 10 pm roughly where we wanted to be stay for nothing with a nice river view on hardstanding and set off to continue to explore at will try doing that in the UK. The french have motorhoming sorted much better than in the UK .

David

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[GJH]

But last week we were able to fill with water etc and empty for 3 euros fill with diesel (for quite a bit more!!) and head off without booking ending up at 10 pm roughly where we wanted to be stay for nothing with a nice river view on hardstanding and set off to continue to explore at will try doing that in the UK. The french have motorhoming sorted much better than in the UK .

David

That may be but (as mentioned earlier today - post #76) that is the result of how vehicular camping has evolved in this country, as opposed to the continent, and something we can't change.

 

[JJ]

I have never "vehicular camped" in my life!


JJ

 

[GJH]

I have never "vehicular camped" in my life!


JJ

Just trying to think of a concise phrase to encompass the whole range of caravans/campers (powered or towed)

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[scotjimland]

Just trying to think of a concise phrase to encompass the whole range of caravans/campers (powered or towed)

yanks have it sorted.. = RVs .. Recreational Vehicles.

everything from a trailer tent, to a 40ft motor home.. is an RV

 

[scally]

We won't be renewing next year. Far too expensive.

I quit last year cos of the then price rises

 

[The Wino]

That may be but (as mentioned earlier today - post #76) that is the result of how vehicular camping has evolved in this country, as opposed to the continent, and something we can't change.

We can't go back but it would be nice to go forward. Our local council waste cash on lots of half-brained plans 500k is nothing to them they just need to realise that the half empty park and ride they spent a bomb on could attract lots of motorhomers to help fill the expensive Richard the third visitor centre theyre wasting money on next!!

David

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