New Club Site Offer

I think with these offers you just have to see whether they work for you. The Club might not be keen on short stay offers as they could impact on availability which could prevent someone booking a longer stay, I suspect that is particularly the case with this offer in peak season. It is possible that offers on shorter stays will emerge in the low season, we will have to wait and see. Not all motorhomers stay for 2/3 nights, some will stay much longer and benefit from the current offer as much as caravanners. What would be interesting to know was how many members that don't generally use Club sites took advantage of the free night offer?

David

We used our free night. After over 35 years of being Members it’s the only freebie we have ever had. It luckily came along to attend an event, but it didn’t stop us looking at other options, and we still only stayed two nights. 

Tell a lie🤔 we might have had a free sticker at some point. 

I think with these offers you just have to see whether they work for you

They only work if it is somewhere I would want to be anyway. As an enticement to get out there they don't work for me on two counts.

1. The booking conditions are not favourable, I don't want to stay 5 days and as an enticement, the decision to go away would be taken at shorter notice only when the weather forecast was good.

2. There are better choices out there and I am happy to pay a premium to enjoy good weather.

peedee

I’m not against our club attempting to increase occupancy on sites, particularly on those sites in need of promotion but it’s how they go about this and how a chosen strategy could then evolve and impact on some members that concerns me. As I stated before I’m concerned that this ‘narrow’ strategy could be rolled out further to other sites and morph into something else. We often include those less frequented sites whilst on our multiple site tours, as many others do, that’s how we holiday, we enjoy doing this style of holidaying  as a ‘static’ caravan vacation is not for us. We rarely stay more than two, possibly three nights on any site whilst on our longer tours.

There have always been those sites on the network where occupancy is lower, many being in those more remote and beautiful areas, these we have been informed in the past are retained for the memberships enjoyment. The notion of a loss leader in business is a valid economic strategy in order to promote the company’s bigger picture and appeal and keeping less profitable sites on the network may just make sense in a membership club.

Good business sense, in my eyes, is to look at the customer/membership holidaying patterns and not just the raw site specific data . Good business sense is to find strategies which encourage all members to get the most out of membership , not to restrict, penalise or ignore certain holidaying behaviours or those observed developing behaviours.  It’s about knowing ‘your’ membership and seeing that bigger picture then acting in the interests of what the data is telling you about the present and future.

One of my biggest business strategy dislikes is that new customer discount where loyalty is penalised. Yes, the C&MC is not a charity but it is a membership club and ‘knowing’ and acting for its membership, is important to retention and ‘customer’ satisfaction in my opinion.

Now here is the crux for me, as I mentioned before I’m more concerned about that thin edge. Heaven forbid we will have, or will even consider, that absolute minimum night restriction that some commercials, and the other club employ on some of their sites,  rolled out to our club sites. That would have severe implications on my and many others ‘touring’ holidays.

Yes, we do need to get real, we do need  to appreciate and be mindful of what could be lost if ‘we’ are not careful.

Absolutely agree with you. 
I don’t think the Club really does know its membership. They have some raw data and survey post club site stay. But to what extent do they actively seek out the views of members who rarely or never stay on club sites?

These offers only seem to have come about since the new booking system was put in place which I assume is more user friendly (to the Club) in being able to apply such offers? Also because we now have a deposit system the bookings are not so impacted by late cancellation so the Club have a clearer idea of real future occupancy trends. The only offers we had in the past were mid week discounts on some sites and all in one prices for some non facility sites. 

I have no idea what proportion on one night stays there are, be it weekends or mid week. Very rarely do we now stay one night anywhere but it would be a shame if restrictions were introduced. I imagine if it was ever in the Clubs mind to put booking restrictions in place they would be able to back that up with some sort of evidence to support the change? I don't think they, particularly as they say they are a touring Club?

David

I think they are going down a path that is likely to result in less and less long term advance bookings at all but the honeypots.  The exact opposite of what I would think they want. They bring in all these offers and the only way you can access them if you already have a booking is through the rigmarole of canceling and rebooking. If they want to encourage advanced bookings and get all those deposits coming in they need to look at a you will never pay more strategy.

Yes, it would be interesting to know, but it would be more useful and interesting to have the data on whole tours which include one, two and occasional three nights stays on different sites. Looking at just one night stays at specific sites tells us little and does not give that bigger picture about holidaying patterns of the membership. As said before, the club is a network of sites, that’s its beauty!

I've posted this before when other offers are being dicsusssed but there are some points here.

One is that no one is forced to take up this offer if it doesn't suit.

Secondly while one can benefit from this offer they are not made for anyone's benefit, they are made for the club's benefit. The last free night offer was to get people usng club sites when they wouldn't and judging by what what was posted on here it certainly worked with people who wouldn't normally stay on a club site and it got their money. This one too will have a club-drven purpose. 

Peronally I think the club knows it's clients very well indeed and will have very detailed data. But why the club should seek out those who don't use club sites is beyond me, bookings have been good, and look very good when I'm trying to book sites ahead, so why should they? In my view it should concentrate of those who use actaully club sites.

bookings have been good, and look very good when I'm trying to book sites ahead,

My observations are the opposite. Of the 9 sites we advance booked at the end of last year, all but one has no shortage of pitches available  if I wanted to book now. The one exception is York Rowntree.