Campsite Price Rises

[Gromett]

If we charge £22 to include electric hook up and £18 a night for no hook up, we are charging £4 a night for the use of electricity

As we are not allowed to resell electricity at a profit if someone only used £2 worth of electric they could demand the difference refunded.

As Minxy Girl says you are not selling the electric. You are providing a connection to your electric supply.

However, with a site like yours, perhaps not offering it as an add on keeps things simple and avoids debates on how much you charge for it.

 

[DDJC]

That'll be because idiots bought motorhomes , decided they weren't big enough so bought an awning and left a fan heater running all night so the kids don't get cold

Many motorhome buyers either bought the maximum they could legally drive, or bought what they could afford. I have awnings for mine because we have two big lads and we like space.
Guess that makes me an idiot.

 

[GJH]

One of the main reasons we have a motorhome is that we prefer to use our own accommodation rather than hotels, finding it far more convenient and comfortable.
Many years ago we stayed at the CC sites at Warwick and Chapel Lane whilst going to shows at the NEC. On a visit to one of the shows at the NEC about 5 years ago we had left it to late to find a site so stayed a couple of night B&B at a hotel not far away. On the two subsequent occasions we went, we used the temporary site run by the CAMC because we found it so much more convenient and comfortable.

 

[SpeedyDux]

In part an update to my recent post about issues with large rallies being blocked by councils for many clubs

One site our local DA have used for a temporary holiday site for the last 25 years got blocked by the council with an objection based upon expected nitrate run off from waste (grey) water has had an answer from the council. The council insist on a number of additions, including ALL waste water be collected and tankered off site for treatment at our expense, not run down the drain as we do now. Totalling up the cost based on historical data of attendance, to cover this extra cost would add between £8 and £9 per unit, per night

This along with the current cost of rent and rubbish disposal makes it no longer feasible to use the site. They are extremely unhappy about this and have been told that there is no way to appeal the decision to the council. The site, a school will lose several thousand pounds per year by losing just this one rally. The local businesses are in the dark about the decision and are furious as the rally consistently increases footfall and money through their tills. The council are unconcerned about the decision and justify it as necessary based on the way other non regulated campsite are damaging the environment

Watch this space as the issue leads to pressure on established sites and the costs per night rising due to increased demand

Councils' anti-campsite agenda is also driven by government targets for new residential development. Schools have been selling their sports fields to developers despite rising pupil obesity. Priorities, eh.

 

[SpeedyDux]

10 days all inclusive 3+*** hotel in gran canaria january £440 ...that's £44 per day with all food and drink compared to £40 per night just to park


You wouldn't want to go in July though

I've been to Tenerife at that time of year and realised too late that I ought to have packed warmer as well as some waterproof clothes.

Edit - that was January, not July - also been there in July and had a great time. Pre-motorhoming days.

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[Minxy]

That'll be because idiots bought motorhomes , decided they weren't big enough so bought an awning and left a fan heater running all night so the kids don't get cold

Many motorhome buyers either bought the maximum they could legally drive, or bought what they could afford. I have awnings for mine because we have two big lads and we like space.
Guess that makes me an idiot.

No it doesn't, you bought your MH and awning for a specific, very good, reason, it's the ones who don't think about how they're going to use it who are idiots ... unless of course you want to be one of the 'group'!

 

[bobandjanie]

A little 5 van site we use regularly in the UK, he has put his prices up again this last visit, they have doubled in the last 8 years, but it's in a very good location for us to visit family, they are a lovely couple the site is immaculate and he knows we are not members of the club, so for us it's perfect regardless of what it cost.
Pitch £12 , electric £3 acceptable, the Joy's of having a little dog £1.

What really Pi$$ed us off was a site in Spain we had used for many years, choose our sunny pitch on Acsi €20, nice little town and site close to the beach first name terms in the office and all very friendly.
UNTIL ................ One day we go there and can no longer choose our pitch, where we went was no longer Acsi pitches, if you want one of those you pay extra.

Janie said we will have a look at our pitch they are offering, I said tell her to Open the barrier we are Off.

We moved down the coast a bit, found a site with a nice pitch €12 including electric.

We all have the choice you pay or go somewhere else. Bob.

 

[SpeedyDux]

And therein lies the problem. We have had friends come and stay locally to our chosen sites in the UK and it has been cheaper or very nearly the same cost for an AirBNB or even a lodge/caravan on the same site. You do begin to wonder at the sense in owning a Motorhome with sites charging £30/40 quid a night. Lots of Travelodge and Premier Inn rooms available at that price.

I would never go back to touring by car and living out of suitcases in B&Bs and budget hotels. It's why I bought a campervan. To paraphrase Dolly Parton: It costs a lot of money to [live] this cheap.

 

[eddie]

Are you not allowed instead to 'rent out' the EHU bollard so you're not actually charging for the electricity per se?

No its complicated and a small charge is allowed to provide the service and maintain the equipment, but as you can see from this and numerous other threads over the years, it elicits many many opinions, some valid and fair some stupid and pointless

So it is much easier for us as a small busy site, to say, you get electric with every pitch, use it or not your call, please simply don't bother coming if you intend to stand in the office and argue the toss as to why your right and we are wrong, the same as trying to argue that we should make a small charge for dogs or that now you have your MiFi you don't want to use our free WiFi so we should knock 50p off of your bill

I kid you not, this happens!

I have trained the wardens to look bored, raise their right hand to shoulder height, bend their fingers to 90 degrees from their palm and raise and lower their fingers 90 - 45 degrees several times whilst saying "Bye then"

 

[Minxy]

No its complicated and a small charge is allowed to provide the service and maintain the equipment, but as you can see from this and numerous other threads over the years, it elicits many many opinions, some valid and fair some stupid and pointless

At least they keep us entertained!

So it is much easier for us as a small busy site, to say, you get electric with every pitch, use it or not your call, please simply don't bother coming if you intend to stand in the office and argue the toss as to why your right and we are wrong, the same as trying to argue that we should make a small charge for dogs or that now you have your MiFi you don't want to use our free WiFi so we should knock 50p off of your bill

I kid you not, this happens!

I have to admit that we weren't happy when we were in the CC and they changed from being able to have a pitch without having to pay for electric (even if there was an EHU point) to their increasing the pitch price and removing the choice so you in effect paid for it regardless of use. We were miffed as the amount the increased the pitch price by was quite a bit more than the stand alone extra charge for electric had been and was way over what the actual electric would have cost if paid for separately, we didn't mind paying for it but not at the 'hike' they'd put on it.

Now with the solar and batteries we have we don't need it but if I booked onto a site with it included I wouldn't quibble with them as it would be my choice whether I went there in the first place.

I have trained the wardens to look bored, raise their right hand to shoulder height, bend their fingers to 90 degrees from their palm and raise and lower their fingers 90 - 45 degrees several times whilst saying "Bye then"

How many fingers would that be then Eddie?

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[Spriddler]

I'm not at all concerned about how the site owner breaks down the pitch fee.
They can charge at £10 for the pitch and £15 for electric for all I care. I just view it as 25 quid a night regardless of whether or not I want electricity or any other facility.
The cost to stay comes at 4th place after Location, Location and Location. If it's more than I want to pay I go somewhere else.

Anecdote:
A guy posted on my classic m/bike Forum asking if anyone could let him have a carburettor jet because he thought the supplier was trying to rip him off by wanting to charge £2.50 P&P for a new jet priced at £1.80.
In exasperation I replied asking why he thought £4.30 was too much to spend to be able to enjoy riding his m/bike again.

 

[Stoosal]

Went to a site near Whitby a few months ago. Pitch was £15 a night plus £5 for a ‘preloaded’ ehu supply point. Stayed three nights. Didn’t need to arrange to ‘top up’ electricity. At end of stay you have the option to donate any monies left from the ehu to local lifeboat or he will credit back to your card. I thought it was a great idea.

 

[EuroTrotters]

After 2 months in France and Spain I must admit I dread the thought of paying UK campsite prices.

I dread the though of UK Campsites, not the prices.

 

[hja]

We are low electricity users - we know from using metered sites. But what rankles is if prices rocket because of electricity price rises in order to allow those that are wasteful to use as much as they want. I entirely accept the logistical problems of meters, but when we should all be using less energy, I just feel it would be just and moral to pay for what we use.

 

[bobnick]

Looking forward.............sort of, to doing a night in the MH without electric.

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[Wack]

Many motorhome buyers either bought the maximum they could legally drive, or bought what they could afford. I have awnings for mine because we have two big lads and we like space.
Guess that makes me an idiot.

Only if you leave a heater running all night

 

[BusyBuilder]

I wouldn't dream of paying that for a site, unless it included breakfast and evening meals.. but it's your choice, as long as you're happy.

Our last site was £20 a night Inc. EHU at C&CC at Canterbury.

 

[Coolcats]

Reading about how in America, where they are experiencing a motorhome boom much bigger than ours, that campsites prices are almost doubling and so many are now using dynamic pricing, much like airlines do. As demand increases so do prices.

It's easy to shout "greed" but they defend the rises saying that their insurance has gone through the roof, business taxes are up, staff needing pay rises, all services like waste and water are being hiked. Coming to a campsite near you if it hasn't already.?

Probably inflation has something to do with it. A local glass company told me he has had 6 price increases this year. Building materials have increased in price.

 

[Jim]

Probably inflation has something to do with it. A local glass company told me he has had 6 price increases this year. Building materials have increased in price.

Probably has a lot to do with it, inflation in the US, as here, and most everywhere is rising fast and going to be a big issue for the next couple of years. Problem is, once prices go up, unless they are a traded commodity, it's rare they come down again.

 

[Coolcats]

I wouldn't dream of paying that for a site, unless it included breakfast and evening meals.. but it's your choice, as long as you're happy.

Our last site was £20 a night Inc. EHU at C&CC at Canterbury.

Just paid £47 for two nights at a C&MC site. Have a look at the prices for cottage rental you may be shocked if you have not done this for a while so costs are all relative.

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[CazPaul]

I don't see it being a problem chaser with the new minimum wage increasing to £11.05 per hour there will be plenty of disposable income floating around.

Minimum wage going to £11.05 which country is that in then?

 

[jessthedog]

Minimum wage going to £11.05 which country is that in then?

London, England

 

[Jim]

Minimum wage going to £11.05 which country is that in then?

London, England

£11.05 is the London Living not minimum

 

[Sandancers]

On "four in a bed" last night (not as exciting a program as I thought it might be) a "B&B" in Cumbria charges £365 PER NIGHT for the room. Now, the room is spectacular with real fires, jaccuzzi etc, but that is £2555 per week !

Compare that to the most expensive campsite we have ever stayed at. In Seahouses, just back from the sea and harbour, centre of town, with a big indoor swimming pool and leisure complex included in the price. £50 per night. All our own stuff to hand, way more than you could pack into a car.

 

[Coolcats]

When I was a lad inthe 70’s I remember the price of beer was around 30p a pint the older generation (us lot) used to bemoan the cost of a pint as when they were a youth it was 2p. I don’t get those who begrudge paying a reasonable site fee to keep the site in good condition, to pay the wages of those who work there and a profit (which is never as much as some imagine) to pay for future investment and the owners retirement.

Maybe I am wrong but to me that’s how the world goes around

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[Wack]

£11.05 is the London Living not minimum

From my experience of visiting london you'd need twice that to live in a hovel and never go out other than to work

 

[DDJC]

On "four in a bed" last night (not as exciting a program as I thought it might be) a "B&B" in Cumbria charges £365 PER NIGHT for the room. Now, the room is spectacular with real fires, jaccuzzi etc, but that is £2555 per week !

Compare that to the most expensive campsite we have ever stayed at. In Seahouses, just back from the sea and harbour, centre of town, with a big indoor swimming pool and leisure complex included in the price. £50 per night. All our own stuff to hand, way more than you could pack into a car.

Too right.
Most expensive I've ever paid is 99 euro per day, and that is for next year. Nine nights, beachfront (literally) on the Adriatic beach, five miles from Venice, 5 star site. Booked it early this year on the back of a cancellation from 2019!

Checked today and if I wanted to book it now, it would be more than 120 euro per day.

"Yikes" many of you are thinking. "Idiot" many more of you might be thinking! "Fool and his money are easily parted" you might even think.

I got curious with what Sandancers says, and he is completely right. It is proportionate. I looked at a villa and a hotel in that neck of the woods. Villa (not even the best) was more than five grand for nine nights. Hotel 3star nearly 4 grand. Plus flights. Plus car/transport hire. Plus sharing the plane/bus/train with infected strangers. Plus paying premium restaurant fees as you aren't self catering. Plus only going to ONE location (what about the leisurely journey down through the Alps and all the sights on the way?) Plus only having a single suitcase.

Absolutely no thanks. I'll pay the campsite charges. You get what you pay for when you motorhome, and if anyone wants to stay in a motorway service station simply because it is cheaper, they won't see me. I'm on holiday and I don't budget watch on me hols!!

 

[Jim]

I think anyone who compares motorhomes with hotel rooms should buy a caravan.

 

[DDJC]

I think anyone who compares motorhomes with hotel rooms should buy a caravan.

Been there.
Prefer our bus.

 

[busbuddy]

I think as more and more motorhomes/caravans become reliant on ehu then the choice of having ehu on a site or not will be taken away from us.
The sites will just make all pitches ehu and 'include' it in the price whether we like it or not.
If you look at how some cl sites have evolved over the years to have underfloor heated toilet blocks and ehu whilst others are still water/toilet empty only, it would seem there is a demand for a more luxurious pitch
I think more and more sites will open for longer as a greater number of people try and avoid the busy times to go away.
I use sites, with and without ehu.....I also do at least 12 weekends a year with only basic facilities parked in a field or at a racetrack..........I like to have the choice but for how long......who knows

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