The Caravan and Motorhome Club: comments and questions

[popotla]

"Club" is a nice warm word. It's for us, we belong to it, it's for people with similar interests who through the club are able to pursue those interests better or more effectively, and is run, perhaps, by selfless individuals who work in their free time for the benefit of others.

How about the UK's Caravan (and Motorhome) Club? Does it fit this pattern?Is it primarily for us, to enable us to better pursue our interest? Or is it in fact something different (perhaps a profit-making rather than "break-even" enterprise, with profit its essential goal and fat rewards for those who run it)?

The 2019/2020 handbook prices Club Sites using the "from" format. E.g. Borrowdale "from 10.10 pounds per night for pitch and one adult". At the time my wife and I stayed there, the cost was 23.70 a night (pitch 8.70; adults @7.50). We stayed three nights. There is no toilet/shower block, not that we need one, being self-contained. What it was that required a payment of 7.50 for the "second adult", my wife, I haven't been able to ascertain. More electricity? No. More water? Yes but 7.50 buys a lot of that, even today.

In my view (and yes, I do understand that others have other views - and needs) 6 to 8 pounds a night is plenty to pay for a parking spot, water and disposal (and lots of farm owners around Britain apparently share this view). Where CL sites charge 13, 14 or 15 pounds or more there is normally EHU (which we very rarely need, so we don't use such sites). I presume that their owners wish to recoup the capital cost of installing cables and plugs etc.

Why a maximum of five visitors on any one CL site? My own idea on this (I might of course be wrong) is that it protects the Caravan Club's business (sorry, club) model. The CL site we're on now, a massive field (where we're alone), would comfortably accommodate fifty or more vehicles. I exaggerate not.

 

[Mikeco]

The Camping Club are just the same, their highlighted prices are for a grass pitch with no electric and for one person. I wonder how many times they take a booking with only one person.
Currently on the Scarborough site and paying £16.50 a night for a patch of grass with no electric, our choice but it’s only for two nights.

 

[Mickthemove]

Can't disagree with any of that, I suppose it is a bit like a sports club, you join, and they make their profit as long as you keep joining and using the sites and they make their splash. But they need to keep upping their game to ensure renewals keep rising.

 

[pappajohn]

It is a 'for profit' organisation and they do very well thank you.
I believe the 5 van ruling is for the benefit of the major clubs but they also allow tent campers without restriction.
There is also a 21 day rule which is law to avoid having a commercial caravan site/park licence..... 21 days and you have to leave.

 

[grumps147]

Motorhome Fun also has its own CL awarding status.

It too is limited to 5 units on site.

This is a legal requirement of licensing conditions for a CL (or the Camping and Caravanning club’s CS facilities), no doubt someone will be along with the precise details.

Lots of people on here comment on both clubs pricing policies.

Try and get on some of both clubs sites on many occasions, clearly lots are happy as they wouldn’t keep booking them up.

Have you seen some private sites charges? Now they do make your eyes water.

Just as with hotels when conferences are on, fees go up with high demand at times of peak demand, and of course this includes school holidays.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[TheBig1]

the big clubs are purely businesses with shareholders and little interest in campers. but cl's are limited to 5 vans by law, actually their exemption certificate

 

[jongood]

Imho its outrageous that the caravan club now describe themselves as the caravan and motorhome club, they do nothing for the majority of motorhomers in the UK unless they're happy to stay on overpriced often badly located gulags dedicated to caravanners. If they were to forward the interests of the average mher who want Aires/stellplatze why it would be different.

 

[HandyAndy]

You sound a little bitter there Jon.
I've been a member of CAMC for over a year and have been to mostly CAMC club sites.
Most have been around the £90 mark for a long weekend. All my fellow campers were in MH's rather than caravans, in fact the ONLY place I've seen caravans by their bucket load, has been a non CAMC site called East fleet (was reported to be "brilliant" and one of the largest in the country) and I think I have to say the facilites were way under par compared to 90% of the CAMC sites I've been to. (I go away once a month on average) I didn't rate it at all. Too many dogs, too much dog shit, errant kids all over the place with no apparent guardians on top of the dressed up advertising used to get us there, It was a big let down..... anyway.... (It wasn't meant to be a moan about east fleet lol)
On the flip side my favourite camp site so far has also been a non CAMC site (Pentewan sands).
That being said I fully realise ALL these sites are there to make profitable business. No one is in this game for the goodness of their heart now are they. While they might be polite, friendly, approachable, helpful and you may feel "part of the family" at some of them. At the end of the day they are in the business of being IN business and for it to be sustainable, you need to make a profit. Plain and simple.

 

[Off da Grid]

Caravan and motorhome Club sites are a bit to regimented for me although the facilities are nearly always top notch. Good for the winter as they generally have be a lot of hard standing. The site locations are sometimes a little out of the way.
Camping and caravan Club sites tend to be less formal, again the facilities on the whole are also pretty good.
We use pitchup.com a lot to find sites. They list sites all over Europe as well as the others.

 

[Podney]

If you don’t like it,don’t join,simple.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Beltie]

The difference between the clubs and commercial sites is that they have no external shareholders. Essentially they are owned by the membership.

The only way in which they can raise funds for capital investment without borrowings, is to generate annual profits or more properly surpluses. They could, of course, borrow, but then charges would have to reflect the loan servicing costs.

Having said the above, I think their 'from' headline pricing is deeply misleading and does them no favours.

 

[AXO66]

The difference between the clubs and commercial sites is that they have no external shareholders. Essentially they are owned by the membership.

The only way in which they can raise funds for capital investment without borrowings, is to generate annual profits or more properly surpluses. They could, of course, borrow, but then charges would have to reflect the loan servicing costs.

Having said the above, I think their 'from' headline pricing is deeply misleading and does them no favours.

Quite Agree.
And as we are the shareholders aka members maybe we should write to them to be more transparent in their pricing?

 

[Loveshack]

Hi Popotia; are you thinking of joining?

We’ve been members of both clubs, for 10 years, mostly travelled in EU, but also UK , a mix of commercial and club.
Personally not motivated to get involved, just like a warm shower and c$ap.
Don’t understand the post?
Sorry

 

[Loveshack]

Imho its outrageous that the caravan club now describe themselves as the caravan and motorhome club, they do nothing for the majority of motorhomers in the UK unless they're happy to stay on overpriced often badly located gulags dedicated to caravanners. If they were to forward the interests of the average mher who want Aires/stellplatze why it would be different.

If you want to use onboard facilities I understand your frustration, but there’s no money in minimal facilities. Many of us want a safe site and a warm fac’s Block.
No interest in staying on a rubbish, unsecured parking lot: even if it’s got a decent view. I’m not that fond of some of the wardens, but campers come in all varieties too!
Just a personal view.

 

[Sucoz]

We've been members of camc for a few years now because the Abbey wood site is close to our relatives. However, coming from the Isle of Wight, the money I save on the ferry through the club pays for the membership in no time.
The sites are always extremely clean and tidy and well organised - sometimes too much so, but the choice is there for those who want it, cheaper and varied options are available in the CL's which we have also used, but they are completely different.
I've not really noticed a problem being a motorhome, but agree about the pricing additions.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[romany]

let my feet do the walking years ago there are better and cheaper sites around and now more and more land owners have realised its not that hard to get an exemption certificate some cl and cs site prices are looking pretty sick, shame 20 years ago when I was a member they were both reasonable clubs but both have lost their way as far as I'm concerned. Although the C&CC may be beginning to get it with their new short term use of facilities to allow waste emptying, showers and washing machines a step in the right direction

 

[Cal54]

I am a member of both the clubs and agree with a lot of the sentiments expressed - however as a ‘singleton’ both clubs suit me re the pricing. The C&CC more so due to the ‘old farts’ discount. My major gripe is the need to book so far in advance for a lot of the sites, which doesn’t fit with my ethos of going away on a whim.

 

[Mikey RV]

At the end of the day it’s your money. No point in moaning about this and that, prices etc and then staying there. It was your choice to join a club and use the sites etc.

 

[jongood]

If you want to use onboard facilities I understand your frustration, but there’s no money in minimal facilities. Many of us want a safe site and a warm fac’s Block.
No interest in staying on a rubbish, unsecured parking lot: even if it’s got a decent view. I’m not that fond of some of the wardens, but campers come in all varieties too!
Just a personal view.

My big issue is that the caravan club actively hamper efforts to create aires in this country so we dont get a choice.

 

[Southdowners]

"Club" is a nice warm word. It's for us, we belong to it, it's for people with similar interests who through the club are able to pursue those interests better or more effectively, and is run, perhaps, by selfless individuals who work in their free time for the benefit of others.

How about the UK's Caravan (and Motorhome) Club? Does it fit this pattern?Is it primarily for us, to enable us to better pursue our interest? Or is it in fact something different (perhaps a profit-making rather than "break-even" enterprise, with profit its essential goal and fat rewards for those who run it)?

The word ‘club’ does not in itself mean that it’s run on a non-profit basis. If it were a small community venture run by it’s members for it’s members then it would be feasible to exist on a non profit basis but they would still have to make some profit in order to cover running costs.

I’d say that neither of the caravan clubs fit this criteria - they are way too big to function in that way. As in any other business they have to make profits in order to run the company.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Jim]

but they would still have to make some profit in order to cover running costs.

Profit can only be calculated after deducting running costs

 

[Southdowners]

Profit can only be calculated after deducting running costs

True.

I should have said they would need sufficient capital or the financial resources to sustain and run the company.

 

[wasp]

We in both, but we only do rallies and temporary Holiday Sites with the C&CC the most we paid was 14 quid a night, that was Porth Beach with showers and hookups. If you are savvy then you can get some bargains.

 

[Spriddler]

I understand that the '5 pitch rule' for CL's and CS's is a local authority planning regulation and not a rule imposed by the Clubs.
I have never 'toured' in the U.K. and have belonged to the CAMC for seven years to use a couple of their sites twice a year for one or two nights solely to attend family events nearby.
I always tour/wander abroad, being just 14 miles from the ferry port and thus a mere 30 minute drive from France. I find touring in U.K. usually means booking sites ahead and having a rigid itinerary - anathema to me - whereas 'over there' it's totally relaxed as there is always space at aires, town squares, riverside land or commercial sites.
Plus there's no risk of pitching next to grumpy Chris

 

[Shrimp]

We were talking about this the other day & I reckon if ALL the members of the club(s) got sorted we could get the price of the sites to come down to a reasonable level!
Wouldn’t that be nice!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jdk62]

Everybody has a choice...

We used a CL for the first time over the August Bank holiday. 5 nights cost us £55.. included water, electric hook up, chemical toilet disposal. Fantastic. Lovely little site, great location. So it isn’t alway expensive at CAMC site, affiliates and CL’s.

 

[Emmit]

As an aside to this thread, SWMBO and I are appalled that, after 10yrs or more, neither of the two 'Clubs'? have taken the lead in providing electricity at metered prices.
It's now getting to the stage where sites are demanding £5 per night, in Summer to plug into their system.

It is actually illegal to supply electricity to a third party at a profit but they get away with it.

As the supply has to be checked at a regular interval, we would like to see a return to the Legislation that was made and enshrine in Law that all supplies of electricity be metered.

 

[Southdowners]

As an aside to this thread, SWMBO and I are appalled that, after 10yrs or more, neither of the two 'Clubs'? have taken the lead in providing electricity at metered prices.
It's now getting to the stage where sites are demanding £5 per night, in Summer to plug into their system.

It is actually illegal to supply electricity to a third party at a profit but they get away with it.

As the supply has to be checked at a regular interval, we would like to see a return to the Legislation that was made and enshrine in Law that all supplies of electricity be metered.

I wonder if it’s covered under the same legislation that deals with landlords charging tenants for electricity? Landlords can charge for power if it is written into the contract between themselves and the tenant.

Another downside would be that It would be costly to install metres at each pitch and would also require extra admin work to read the metres and bill each customer separately for power used at the end of the stay.

 

[Loveshack]

My big issue is that the caravan club actively hamper efforts to create aires in this country so we dont get a choice.

If you know that for a fact, then I think it is against the interests of many or most of the motorhoming members.
If you are a member, then maybe you could propose a change of policy to the next AGM?

 

[Potty]

Several years ago, when both the clubs removed the option to not have EHU, they quoted the legislation quoted above. The Clubs got round the legislation by changing the description of pitches, to Service Pitches, ie hardstanding and/or EHU. The CCC now charges an extra £1 for a hardstanding pitch!

When asked, OFGEN stated that the legislation did not apply to the clubs!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}