Clubsite bookings 2021

well can't be sure but people upthread have said this is what they have done?

I suppose from the club's point of view it appears to work. Under the old system people who paid a deposit and for what ever reason didn't want to take it just didn't show but didn't let the club know, so a definite wasted pitch. At least this way there is a possibility that it will be then sold.

I am having a “think like a Tyke” day🤓

As most of you know one of my frequent flyer sites is Troutbeck Head. A few miles away is the Quiet Site (which is actually the first site we ever stayed at before we saw the light) and I always keep an eye on their prices and booking conditions.

For the last week in July 2021, for a couple the price per night with the club is £42.70 on a SP, no deposit, no cancelation charges, lose one night if you don't leave enough time to let them know and want to leave early...you know the rest. Children up to 18 are just a £1

For the Quiet Site the same pitch comes in at £50, 'deposit' is the full cost of the holiday payable now, and to cancel:

If you cancel more than 14 days before the start date of your holiday, you will forfeit an administration charge of £10 per night booked and the balance will be refunded. Alternatively, we can issue a full credit note for all monies paid. No refunds or credit notes will be issued where a cancellation is made within 14 days of the start date of the holiday. ...If you are unable to take your holiday due to travel restrictions imposed as a result of war, pandemic outbreaks etc we are normally unable to refund monies but will issue full credit notes valid for 2 years from the arrival date.

And if you want to leave early:

Monies will not be refunded should any members of your group fail to arrive or leave the site early, whatever the circumstances

Children over 15 pay full adult prices, dogs are extra too.

There are minimum night stays but these are usually two/three nights and hence weekends could still be taken at the 'expense' of longer stayers.

Do people who complaining about the club really think this is better and actually want that?

Seriously😉, the one thing I do know about is having a commodity of space, equipment and time to sell, (badminton courts, squash courts, tennis courts, 5 a side pitches, swimming pools for hire, sports halls for hire, events halls for hire, canoes, sailboard and sailing boats for hire). You only get once chance to fill that opportunity, and maximise its income and potential. Once a squash court at 7pm is either in use or not, by 7.40pm, that time and space can never be sold again.

Its exactly the same with Club Sites. Finite number of pitches, across several locations, time and space needing to be sold. That is the bottom line, filling those pitches, getting in the income. I was never interested in seeing that Joe Bloggs filled a squash court every Tuesday night come rain or shine. All that was required was that the time was filled, income generated, bills paid, staff kept employed. Justification that what we were providing was a successful product, the demand was there.

The other strand of course is Marketing, selling what you have, ensuring you get as much income in as possible (we had health provision and community provision in the mix as well, but it can get complicated). If something isn’t going as well as expected, you discount it, or set up special offers. No different with the Club selling pitches, MWD, offers of various kinds. The Club has a very well paid successful Marketing Director, probably has a good team set up to monitor performance across all areas, Site sales being one. But I doubt that they monitor Joe Bloggs and his holiday either, just look at how pitch usage and income are doing, making sure targets are satisfactory, perhaps concentrating on attracting different user groups where they think it is needed.

Thats the Club’s role in all this. A commercial enterprise looking to survive in a huge holiday provision industry. All Joe Bloggs has to do is make sure he understands how popular some aspects (Sites, pitches, dates) can be, how much he really cares about getting exactly what he needs, and then doing his best to achieve that aim. 👍

Excellent post

"Do people who complaining about the club really think this is better and actually want that?"

I should say I am not complaining re the club, if i want to use a club site and could not find one i would look elsewhere simple, I dont tend to use club sites simply because it it difficult to find what I would want, e.g. swimming pool, i like to swim everyday when away.

What you have outlined above are the terms and conditions applied by many commercial sites, some not quite as strict some even more strict, but if you use commercial sites, and i do, then the choice is yours, as is with the club.

So for me the club is ok as is, if i want to visit a particular area and there is a club site within the area that fulfills my requirements I might well use it if available, if not i would look elsewhere , simple.

I didn't say you were Ruffs at all, but others seem to want deposits?

Actually I agree with your post and it really echoes what I've said many times, that is find what suits you, or one, and use that. But then don't try and get one to be like the other, or say one is better, it really does come down what someone wants.

What I do know is that if the Club introduce a deposit system then I will almost certainly look at the alternatives for sites in that area. At the moment I tend to just book club sites if there is no CL in the area unless I have stayed at a nearby commercial site before and like it. 

Next year I have reserved pitches on 3 club sites on a tour with CLs making up the remainder. I haven't checked alternatives for the club sites because I was happy with the price and I didn't want to commit to deposits bearing in mind how this year's touring has gone. Only 1 of the CLs wanted a small £10 deposit and I was happy to pay this as it's exactly where I want to be.

So the club will probably lose some bookings from me if there is another alternative in the area that takes my fancy.

At this moment in time I'm happy to leave the system as it is particularly since the booking year has been extended to a rollover system.

what business manager would want to change a business model that clearly works, and it does or the club would not be so prosperous, and my guess is will be even more prosperous once we have put this covid thing to bed.

Yes +1