Concessions for 60 +

So parents expect other members to pay for their children's holidays?

So should families pay for over 60s?!

Don't know what sites you use David, but the ones we visit out with main season are certainly not well used at all. For example we were on Southport early in December and there were only about 25 vans on the site during the week, on a site that has 171 pitches. This is pretty typical from what we seen. The sites may well have many more during the weekend but certainly not midweek, and a decent discount at this time could well encourage more visitors.

Can't have it both ways Ian. Can't argue for the club to follow the leisure industry standard model (deposits, cancellation penalties etc) and at the same time argue against reduced prices for children which is of course a fundamental of the standard model. Smiley smiley!

The charge per head is far more than the actual cost as the pitch cost is the real cost to the club. Families with children are paying well over the odds  on club sites so a recognition of this by a discount looks fair to me. In addition we need to keep younger families using sites to prevent the club dying off with us older members.

As itr stands parents are being overcharged for their pitch and subsidising the rest of us

I cannot see being able to encourage more uptake in December. There are four main situations for many/most couples as they travel through life. 

1. Couple with no children working. Maybe 6 weeks holiday and trying to build a home. Might tempt them out Christmas or New Year for 4 or 5 nights or even a week. The rest of their available time they want better weather and probably tour April until end of September at most otherwise and likely avoid school holidays in the main.

2. Couple with children. Similar to above except using School holiday periods and after October half term not likely to use the 'van much.

3. Working Couple with grown up children fall into a similar situation as group 1.

4. Retired couples. Most don't tour/holiday more than 100 nights I suspect and choose to use mainly the better weather. 

I personally do not caravan October, November, January, February, March. We are away for 120+ nights a year. We have 2 weeks at Christmas to break the winter a little but the time that we are not touring is a time for me to meet friends and family and to fit in medical appointments. I could easily afford to have more nights away but choose not to. If sights were £12 a night in October, November, January, February, March I would not take advantage. 

Very similar with us ET. We use the van a few times during the winter, just so it is not sat in storage for many months. We finish our main touring at the end of September / beginning of October. Have a week away in November, a few days in January, after the van service and a week at the beginning of March. Touring starts again late April / May. Cheaper prices would not entice us out more with a caravan. However, if we switch to a motorvan, we would probably take several short breaks when the weather looked nice. Personally I don't think the prices are bad at the moment, when you consider what electricity we are consuming.

very true. That's why all leisure organisations offer reduced prices for children to get the full paying adults to come to them. They know that lose the children and they lose the adults. Even if it is possible to get the same number of adults which is very doubtful you still lose of the fees for children. They (and the club) are not doing it out of compassion for families.

Imagine a site with 30 children on it. That’s either £30 or £90  (depending upon the kids offer which is not on all sites), you could wrongly think that is easily made by another one or two extra couples or three four couples coming. Firstly it’s quite an assumption that by being child free extra people would come to the site, you might get one? Secondly you actually need far more, as parents don’t come without their children you are losing all those adults. That could be 30 mums & dads, or taking an average of 2 children per van, that’s 15 couples. So in reality you have to attract 15 to 30 extra child free couples added to the ones needed to make up for the shortfall in children’s fees. Would that really happen? Is the club going to take a gamble?

I wonder if posters complain in Toby restaurants that they are paying for other families children, or on package holidays? or at the football match?

I think ET is just about spot on in his analysis above, and as a result I think that people will pay, within sensible reason, to use sites in accordance with that model regardless of "discounts" or "concessions".

I tend to agree also. There are hose who will go away in Winter whatever and those of us who will only do so if the weather is favourable. Our last booking though was for October rather than September ahich we thought was a reasonable risk. After that it is when we have nothing else on and the weather suits us.