A Night Free!🤩

This isn’t being done as a members’ perk, GTP, but as a business move to fill more pitches during quiet times. What’s more, it’s working as the posts here show😀

I got the SMS, hadn't realised there was a code in the lower part of the message!

Agreed, but thats how its been sold to the membership

Yes.  CAMC claim to be a fully inclusive organisation but they have effectively excluded a very significant number of members, i.e. those that don't tour during the winter season. 

The message from Nick Lomas certainly reads as if they are offering a perk to help members with the cost of living!

I thought, as I think I said on another discussion, that I would look at whether we might fit in a short trip to somewhere we had not been before, or where there was something to see/do in inclement weather, so had a look at what is open in January/February/March in Scotland.

Looking at the sites open all year up here I find 6 shown, plus one with extended opening (Stonehaven).    However 3 of them are AS, and 3 we have visited several times.  That leaves Strathclyde Park, however,  we live in Glasgow, so no point in going there.  Far too much road noise anyway.

Then I thought of Edinburgh, always things to see and do there, plus  we have 2 sets of friends we could meet up with.

Alas, Edinburgh, like many  Scottish  sites is next year closed until early March, so the window of opportunity will be small.   I think we will probably  just stay home.

Nothing wrong in that, for us it is a perk as we were going anyway. That will be the case for many, many others. As to those that don’t start there touring until later, they do have the option of going a little earlier and making a saving. After all it is available until almost the end of March. It’s not as though they have to go away in the depths of winter, we often get some decent weather at that time of year.

It’s a business bit of marketing. As I said earlier, the Club have moved over to being a more commercial player in the holiday camp provision business, focussing more than it did on getting income in, filling pitches, changing T&Cs around bookings and deposit retention. Some of it might be about acting upon the gripes and groans of some who were forever moaning about not being able to get the dates they wanted, so called weekend block bookers, etc…. Well, they’ve certainly cured that issue by the looks of it, but  given just how many changes have been made lately, reduced deposit %, this special offer, that special offer, they are still playing with trying to get the whole shebang right, before lots more folks do vote with their wallets, and go elsewhere. There are without a doubt other providers who can match, if not exceed what the Club has to offer, but it’s like anything else, it’s down to personal likes, dislikes and circumstances. One of which in this instance is whether or not you tour in Winter, and where you actually live in terms of the sites that stay open. Giving a free night to a select group isn’t a monetary gamble. Giving a free night to the whole Membership is something different. 

We are away shortly on an open all year site. We already know half the site is shut down. I will take some photos to show just how busy it actually is on the nights we are there. We aren’t booking until morning we go, that’s  how confident we are that pitches will be empty. If Club offered a good midweek discount, we might stay longer……..but, no. 

Would folk really expect CAMC to say "We're making a hard nosed business decision by offering members one free night at a quiet time in the hope that you will all book two, three or more nights"? Obviously they are going to emphasise the something for nothing and member benefit angle - it’s to be expected. There’s nothing at all wrong with trying to fill pitches in this way and boost take up. After all, it’s to the benefit of all members that CAMC remains financially buoyant.

With regard to inequality, surely CAMC can’t be deemed as being biased simply because some members live in the 'wrong' place or don’t want to go away early in the year? That is entirely the members' choice and the offer is available whether they opt to use it or not.

To go away in winter - is that a Lifestyle Choice?