Club support

I've just been reading the updates on the C&CC web site and the income loss could be around 25 million (at present.)

I wonder if it is all down to the present problems ? they have been trying to drum up biusiness with some very generous? offers for a couple of years

No JVB, I didn't mean that at all, companies like the two clubs know how much revenue (in good times) they receive each season. It was just an example of the potential losses involved.

At the end of the day the Club is not a charity, it's a business.  Unfortunately, it's in the leisure sector and that will be one of the hardest hit of the current situation. Clearly they're trying to get income in, vis-a-vis the voucher scheme but that fell flat when they advertised it then changed the terms and conditions.  I was considering buying some but, compared to say a M&S Gift Card or suchlike, they have a very short shelf life and you pay £2.50 for postage!  

We have a UK site booked for next year for two weeks that is costing north of £800 so there would have been a saving but you only need something urgent to crop up meaning a cancellation, and you could end up with a useless pile of paper.

My membership isn't due until October. Much depends on what will happen over the rest of the summer as to whether I renew but we need to see some action from the club.  They can't rely on subscriptions and, probably, hugely increased site fees, to cover their shortfall. Strategic business decisions will have to be made and that means head office and site cost cutting.  I've always thought it seemed overstaffed particularly the number of wardens at some sites. 

Come on 'gaz', you are really Nick Lomas or Grenville in disguise, aren't you? 

The cost of a warden is minimal, and they are productive. Unlike the cost and effectiveness of the senior management team.

 
IMPORTANT NOTICE - Club statement following the UK Government announcement on 10th May

Will you be pausing, refunding or cancelling memberships while campsites remain closed?

We have thought long and hard about this scenario and believe that the best thing we can do for the longevity of the Club and the membership as a whole is to ask that members continue with their membership and support the Club by renewing their membership when it is due if they are able to.

Although the Club has put in place prudent measures over the past number of years and also taken advantage of the financial support provided by the Government, neither can make up for the loss in revenue the Club has experienced in the past few months.

By supporting your Club, and maintaining your membership, you will play a vital role in safeguarding its future and ensuring our wonderful Club remains wonderful for the next 100 years.

We have thought long and hard about this scenario and believe that the best thing we can do for the longevity of the Club and the membership as a whole is to ask that members continue with their membership and support the Club by renewing their membership when it is due if they are able to.

Although the Club has put in place prudent measures over the past number of years and also taken advantage of the financial support provided by the Government, neither can make up for the loss in revenue the Club has experienced in the past few months.

By supporting your Club, and maintaining your membership, you will play a vital role in safeguarding its future and ensuring our wonderful Club remains wonderful for the next 100 years.

Salaries, in most businesses, are one of the biggest expenses so the cost of a warden, or pair of wardens as they seem to come in twos, are not a minimal expense. All sectors of the business (and yes, the club is run as a business) should be examined be it management, HO staff, site staff, etc. 

I've been to the NEC shows each year and cannot understand why the Club has so many staff manning the stand all in their corporate uniforms. I, for one, won't be happy with a membership fee increase by more than a £ or so and will definitely won't tolerate larger than inflationary increases in site fees which, in my belief, are high anyway.  There are plenty of sites around that are just as nice and better value.

I agree about salaries, but given Wardens renumeration wouldn't even meet minimum wage when their true working hours are added up and given they are now being expected to clean the facilities more than once per day, I'm surprised you think a pair of wardens are surplus?

It depends on the site,  be it location and size. There was another thread recently about automatic check in.  The club seems to be still run on "old fashioned" lines and should be investing in technology that works to make it more streamlined and more efficient.

I've said it many times before but why do the wardens need to clean the toilets? Why do they need to cut the grass? These jobs should be outsourced to local people to boost the local economy. I'm sure a local gardening contractor could be engaged to look after a few sites, say, in a particular county.  Likewise a team of cleaners.  Reduce the number of wardens so that they're largely "front of house" and only attend to to a toilet if there was an emergency.

When I tell friends we're in the CAMC they look at us in disbelief as, to them, the Club comes over as staid and fuddy duddy and, sometimes, i can't disagree with them.