Just recieved the latest Caravan and Motorhome Club magazine (1 Viewer)

[Headrush]

the club has just bought a expensive parcel of land near Bridgewater to use as a site with camping and storage with intention of closing and selling off the site we were on, only for them to find the new Bridgewater land is on a flood zone so not suitable, perhaps the high prices are to try to reclaim money lost from unwise investments.

Perhaps they could sell it on for housing!
Plenty of other building going on on the Somerset floodplain levels.

 

[Snowflakes]

Binned the C&MC club 18 months ago, no value to us at all. I do however miss a couple of sites that were really good, but no longer available to us Nomads, but it pushed us to find some real gems around the country that more than made up for us NOT paying some administrator's salary, who to me just sat there making rules to make us angry.
We are now Chilled, Happy, and living a freedom lifestyle, add to that we have been away seven times this year so far, all venues 14 days or more, with another batch starting mid August until Mels knee op in November.

 

[Gellyneck]

Why would a deposit bother you? surely it would only be a problem to habitual no show's?

Unless you've got multiple bookings so tying up £100's (OK, when it was a minimum £20/booking).

 

[Rickp123]

My reasoning after receiving the recent, thin 'special edition', was that CAMC are trying to up their site occupancy rates, which are probably down this year - for several reasons, including pricing, competition and deposit scheme, as mention above - but also to try to introduce the less adventurous members to sites and locations that they may not be aware of.

I suspect that booking levels are generally holding up at the popular sites that most members are familiar with, but they are down across the CAMC network as a whole, particularly at the more 'off the beaten track' ones, which the special mag seemed to be featuring more prominently.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Are UK sites over priced? Without a doubt there is the occasional one (we stayed down near Bradford-on-Avon in a field with a single composting toilet and no other facilities and paid what we would normally have paid for an all singing all dancing site - that was a rip-off) but generally they are what they are. Pricing, it seems, reflects demand in most instances and who would blame site owners for making money while they can - just one bad summer could be the difference between them being there or not.

Back to the topic of the CAMC sites, a few days ago I was able to book one of their prime sites for the August Bank Holiday weekend. In the past I would have expected the website to say it was FULL. That indicates to me a problem caused by combined high pitch fees and the new booking system with deposits, having the consequence of too many unsold pitch nights. Late availability seems plentiful even in high season. Hence the minimum deposit now only £5 and some discounts. I wonder what the Accounts will look like in the October Club mag. Will there be an admission that these changes were a mistake?

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[Montezuma]

I have a vague recollection, that apart from the regular monthly editions, there used to be an extra Summer edition issued, during the , . . . . . . . . . erm, summer.

Maybe this 'special' edition is this extra summer edition, and as summer is late, then so is this edition of the magazine.

Having glanced through them, they are put aside, and at a suitable time, taken to the local surgery or dentists, where they make casual reading for patients who have been lucky enough to get an appointment.

 

[roadwarrior]

I have a vague recollection, that apart from the regular monthly editions, there used to be an extra Summer edition issued, during the , . . . . . . . . . erm, summer.

Maybe this 'special' edition is this extra summer edition, and as summer is late, then so is this edition of the magazine.

Having glanced through them, they are put aside, and at a suitable time, taken to the local surgery or dentists, where they make casual reading for patients who have been lucky enough to get an appointment.

good idea, when you are desperate enough to want to distract yourself from your environment ( doctors, surgeries, dentists ect) the CAMC pamplets just about cut muster

 

[Tony50]

£55 for 2 people per night Seacroft site at Cromer Norfolk !!
We have been at Motor Caravans Club Rally at Sheringham Norfolk at a High School, entertainment, Saturday night big school hall , inside toilets , grey and waste disposal, £16 a night.

 

[Gellyneck]

Will there be an admission that these changes were a mistake?

Don't hold your breath otherwise we'll need to get the emergency services around!

 

[JohnFX]

Yup the August mag is crap, only rejoined CAMC to use aCL in an area we needed to visit

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[Dave and Jan]

Got the mag and all it has in it is site promotion. Sites that have been upgraded, sites near National Trust places, sites near to the beach etc etc. Even the number of adverts has decreased considerably.
On the subject of deposits I’m all for having to pay a meaningful non refundable one if you book a site. Any other holiday company you have to pay a hefty deposit then the balance weeks before. Decide not to go and try get your money back!
All that said I won’t be renewing next year, only did this year to go to Stonehaven at new year for the fireball festival.

 

[TheMachMan]

There’s a recent FB post showing all the upgrade work at Totnes. We loved the simplicity of this site. Now is going fully serviced I believe. So it’s using our profits & subs to enhance a site which they will then charge us considerably more to use! I really don’t get fully serviced pitches. The worst job is emptying the loo, which you still have to do.

 

[SpeedyDux]

But C&MC introduced deposits to try and minimise no shows that us motorhomers were moaning about!

As you've noted above £5 is not a sufficient deterrent and goes very little way to compensate for a £30-40 pitch loss no show.

We were, and still are, against the deposit scheme as we, unlike others, did not abuse the system. So, the £5 deposit appears, taking onboard your comment of "if it goes wet and you dont go, im happy to donate 5 quid as compensation" just impacts those that previously followed the rules.

This is going over old ground, but I recall that the tuggers were mainly the ones complaining about the old booking system. In their view, it was parvenu MHers like us, who booked 2 or 3 nights (especially at weekends), preventing tuggers from booking 1 or 2 whole weeks on the same site whenever they liked. At that time, the tuggers were still the majority of the membership. The Club ethos was (and to a large extent still is) more caravan-oriented. Now they are forced to recognise that MHers and campervanners have overtaken the tuggers in terms of membership, but old entrenched attitudes are slow to change.

The no-shows issue could have been more about loss of pitch fees for the Club. The rules provided a penalty for repeat late cancellers /no-shows (less than 72 hours' minimum notice) to have all their other site bookings on the system cancelled. That should have been enough.

 

[SpeedyDux]

There’s a recent FB post showing all the upgrade work at Totnes. We loved the simplicity of this site. Now is going fully serviced I believe. So it’s using our profits & subs to enhance a site which they will then charge us considerably more to use! I really don’t get fully serviced pitches. The worst job is emptying the loo, which you still have to do.

Fully serviced pitches are aimed at long-stay caravanners. Not the likes of us who can rough it on a basic grass pitch with awning.

Ah, the joys of cassette emptying! I was on a French site that had no water for rinsing out. The reason being that it filled their septic tank too quickly.

 

[MichaelT]

There’s a recent FB post showing all the upgrade work at Totnes. We loved the simplicity of this site. Now is going fully serviced I believe. So it’s using our profits & subs to enhance a site which they will then charge us considerably more to use! I really don’t get fully serviced pitches. The worst job is emptying the loo, which you still have to do.

They are closing several other no facility sites due to low occupancy so obviously most people want facilities.

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[Dave and Jan]

They are closing several other no facility sites due to low occupancy so obviously most people want facilities.

To be honest if you’re paying more than £10-15 per night it should have facilities. They have sites without them and still want £30+ per night. They charge £40+ for pop up sites such as Holkham Hall.

 

[Gellyneck]

This is going over old ground, but I recall that the tuggers were mainly the ones complaining about the old booking system. In their view, it was parvenu MHers ike us, who booked 2 or 3 nights (especially at weekends), preventing tuggers from booking 1 or 2 whole weeks on the same site whenever they liked. At that time, the tuggers were still the majority of the membership. The Club ethos was (and to a large extent still is) more caravan-oriented. Now they are forced to recognise that MHers and campervanners have overtaken the tuggers in terms of membership, but old entrenched attitudes are slow to change.

The no-shows issue could have been more about loss of pitch fees for the Club. The rules provided a penalty for repeat late cancellers /no-shows (less than 72 hours' minimum notice) to have all their other site bookings on the system cancelled. That should have been enough.

I think it was a bit of a two way street with motorhomers not being able to book pitches at short notice due to lack of availability.

Agreed, it should have been enough but......

I did suggest that as they were now having to securely hold credit card details they should implement a penalty of 1st pitch fee if no show or late cancellation rather than deposits but fell on deaf ears.

 

[Scotsblood]

I think the move toward a totally commercial, profit generating business model and reducing interest in the values and processes that made the “club” are the real root of the problem. The move to attracting a higher net worth customer, lack of interest in the CL element and pandemic profit opportunity are now all catching up with them. An experienced hotel manager will have no idea of the difference a camping environment and attitude has in comparison to hotel occupancy and room rate management and the changes to booking and pricing models are reflecting that. Unfortunately old attitudes are slow to change and the lack of realisation that MH’s and campervans have now passed caravans as represented units is all too obvious. Entrenched ideas, a change of business model, unrepresentative management and revenue chasing are all evident and causing problems. A poor volume saddle stitched “magazine” also shows the spectre of cost cutting has also arrived.

 

[SpeedyDux]

I think the move toward a totally commercial, profit generating business model and reducing interest in the values and processes that made the “club” are the real root of the problem. The move to attracting a higher net worth customer, lack of interest in the CL element and pandemic profit opportunity are now all catching up with them. An experienced hotel manager will have no idea of the difference a camping environment and attitude has in comparison to hotel occupancy and room rate management and the changes to booking and pricing models are reflecting that. Unfortunately old attitudes are slow to change and the lack of realisation that MH’s and campervans have now passed caravans as represented units is all too obvious. Entrenched ideas, a change of business model, unrepresentative management and revenue chasing are all evident and causing problems. A poor volume saddle stitched “magazine” also shows the spectre of cost cutting has also arrived.

Good post.

"The move to attracting a higher net worth customer" is quite perceptive of you. That might explain why one of their "towcar of the year" recent awards was won by a Bentley Benteyga. Quite a significant signal to the mere Range Rover / Disco tuggers to raise their game!

I have seen one Bentley Benteyga outfit on a Club site. I suppose for a wealthy member like that one the high pitch fees are loose change.

 

[Tony the Manc']

Fully take on board the moans about CAMC pricing however, when compared to the cost of a moho or caravan, they are insignificant.
Just on a CL in Chickerell, Weymouth. Tiled toilets and shower. 2 WCs ( Toilet with soft closing seat and lid, loo brush, toilet paper and spare, wash hand basin, hot and cold running water, hand paper and bin for it, hand soap...... and 1 shower (cubicle in its own room) plenty of hooks, a seat, dishes for soap and paper bath mats to stand on when drying ones self and a bin to put it in when finished. Also in the same amenity building there is a free to use washing machine!!!!!! Outside, there are the 5 pitches, 2 on hardstanding and 3 on grass, and all with views across fields for approximately 5 miles +. Now all this comes at a price of course.....£30.00 per night....inc' electrickery.

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[Camper634]

After 26 years membership we have decided enough is enough.Over priced club sites and military style rules and regulations is not worth nearly £60 IMO.We will continue with C and CC as I feel it is certainly the more friendly club.

 

[Dave and Jan]

Fully take on board the moans about CAMC pricing however, when compared to the cost of a moho or caravan, they are insignificant.
Just on a CL in Chickerell, Weymouth. Tiled toilets and shower. 2 WCs ( Toilet with soft closing seat and lid, loo brush, toilet paper and spare, wash hand basin, hot and cold running water, hand paper and bin for it, hand soap...... and 1 shower (cubicle in its own room) plenty of hooks, a seat, dishes for soap and paper bath mats to stand on when drying ones self and a bin to put it in when finished. Also in the same amenity building there is a free to use washing machine!!!!!! Outside, there are the 5 pitches, 2 on hardstanding and 3 on grass, and all with views across fields for approximately 5 miles +. Now all this comes at a price of course.....£30.00 per night....inc' electrickery.

Not sure they are insignificant? I would agree if you’re an occasional user doing say 20 nights a year, but if your’e up in the 100 night plus range as I would suspect many are, £30 a night mounts up. Sounds a nice site though!

 

[JulianC]

I have also just received my monthly mag. On the first page it states "Welcome to a very special August issue" Could not see anything special, but glad of the fewer pages. Only took about two minutes before ir went into the bin.

Geoff

Funny, I also noticed the mention of "special issue". Maybe they should give a prize if someone guesses what's special about this, issue! It was an easy read though, you're quite right. Crazy how thin it was.

 

[Dinosaur]

Why have I got all my facilities on board and solar panel then pay ridiculous prices on site for stuff I dont need but still have to pay for them , we dont get choices even CLs are getting overpriced you cant even say you dont want electric and get it cheaper its all one price so tuff.Gone are the simple days of sitting in a nice field with peace and quiet and wildlife with just waste and fresh water.

 

[JulianC]

i agree gelly, i never did either, you might remember me saying it was a sad day when deposits were taken, not because i resent it, but because it marked the end of the gentleman " we trust you " concept but as always rules are made because of the few not the many. as you say its no compensation, but you look at the worst case scenario, that nobody replaces your empty pitch, i dont recall anybody every phoning up and saying its ok - someone is now on your pitch. You dont go into business with both eyes closed as a rule and all this is taken as part of the risk of a campsite. Farmers have been drowned out this year i doubt if supermarkets will compensate and pay more for the low yeald this year - but they will CHARGE more you can be sure. Whatever the situation uk sites are over priced and that we all resent, like the trains and buses, if they were cheaper they would be used. France trains are cheap and reliable - spanish transport is cheap and excellent - what is wrong with this country ??

I agree Roadwarrior. Club pitches are far more expensive than in Europe, as are trains and buses. We took an hour train ride to Bari in Italy for €3.50 each. I hate to think what it will cost here.

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[Dinosaur]

PS not pleased with C&MC magazine feel cheated at price we pay for membership.

 

[JulianC]

Why have I got all my facilities on board and solar panel then pay ridiculous prices on site for stuff I dont need but still have to pay for them , we dont get choices even CLs are getting overpriced you cant even say you dont want electric and get it cheaper its all one price so tuff.Gone are the simple days of sitting in a nice field with peace and quiet and wildlife with just waste and fresh water.

I just don't understand why the UK sites don't offer ehu as an option. We recently stayed at a super P4N pitch with hedges and trees with ehu, grey and black water for €8 a night. We didn't need ehu, but at that price I felt it was a steal anyway. In Montenegro a few weeks prior we paid €15 for modern ablutions, ehu, grey, black and fresh water. The only extra, happily paid for, was the option of the use of a swimming pool for €5 for both of us. What a pleasure. Charming couple and spot.

 

[JulianC]

Binned the C&MC club 18 months ago, no value to us at all. I do however miss a couple of sites that were really good, but no longer available to us Nomads, but it pushed us to find some real gems around the country that more than made up for us NOT paying some administrator's salary, who to me just sat there making rules to make us angry.
We are now Chilled, Happy, and living a freedom lifestyle, add to that we have been away seven times this year so far, all venues 14 days or more, with another batch starting mid August until Mels knee op in November.

Well done on finding some gems for your 14 day stays. Vote with your feet. That's, what I do because the main "chestnut" for me is paying a price per person. A total rip off. I have been using the club for ferry and shuttle tickets though.

 

[JulianC]

Fully take on board the moans about CAMC pricing however, when compared to the cost of a moho or caravan, they are insignificant.
Just on a CL in Chickerell, Weymouth. Tiled toilets and shower. 2 WCs ( Toilet with soft closing seat and lid, loo brush, toilet paper and spare, wash hand basin, hot and cold running water, hand paper and bin for it, hand soap...... and 1 shower (cubicle in its own room) plenty of hooks, a seat, dishes for soap and paper bath mats to stand on when drying ones self and a bin to put it in when finished. Also in the same amenity building there is a free to use washing machine!!!!!! Outside, there are the 5 pitches, 2 on hardstanding and 3 on grass, and all with views across fields for approximately 5 miles +. Now all this comes at a price of course.....£30.00 per night....inc' electrickery.

Pure luxury CL that one! Sounds fabulous. Unlike some sites (not CL's of course) in Italy recently with no seats on the loos, forget about paper for hands or the other, no soap, no plugs in the basins (my real pet peeve ) , just bare bones. Not all, but a number. The washing machine is worth usually €5.

 

[Beltie]

Well done on finding some gems for your 14 day stays. Vote with your feet. That's, what I do because the main "chestnut" for me is paying a price per person. A total rip off. I have been using the club for ferry and shuttle tickets though.

I guess lone travellers may have a different view!

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