Lack of proper CL site information

I agree.   If there is no photo I check reviews.  If no recent ones then it is out.

Some CLs give little or no detail, and a price from 2016 puts us off.

I do use Google Earth, and if that looks OK and there is an e mail address I will check prices.

Ideally I would look for....

A couple of photos

A decent description including info on access for larger outfits

Detail of exactly how many hard standings there are (if any) 

An up to date price, including whether deposit required

Amps on EHU

Recent reviews.....good ones of course

E mail contact.....I like things "in writing"

The site in the area we want which has all that will get our business first.

Once the initial details are in place, only the price needs to be updated annually, surely not that onerous?

As a CL owner and user I fully understand many of the comments that have been made. I have photos on my cl on this site and have tried to keep the fees constant throughout the time of the book, but I would ask those who comment that it is 2.5 years from submitting the information to the club from one edition to the next. In the past 2 years I have seen a 50% increase in the electricity used whilst the vans are on site, plus the costs from our supplier. 

Re email contact, yes I have an email address and I get bookings via Email. Sadly well over 75% of my no shows are email bookings. and there are a large number who enquire for dates to which I reply and nothing more is heard . I delaet after 24 hours. 

On the plus side I am a hobby CL owner and a retired farmer, the CL gives me the chance to meet some lovely people  and great caravaners that give me satisfaction to supply a service they enjoy. 

Wildemere

Thanks for commenting from the sharp end so to speak, always useful to get information from the cL owners. I think some have questioned whether the Club put enough resources into keeping the CL side of the Club website up to date. Perhaps it's not a priority as other than keeping members happy there is no financial return for them and clearly in other quarters they are struggling a bit at the moment.

On your point about checking by email for availability I suspect members are so used to going online for this information so quite possible they are checking availability at several CL's. Just out of interest have you considered a deposit system or would it make more work that it's worth?

David

I’ve stayed on more CL (and CS) sites in the last few weeks than the last 8 years combined. The reason is 1) they are often the only sites with vacancies at the moment, 2) I no longer care about not having facilities as CV19 means I’m only using my own shower/toilet and 3) They offer low-risk options e.g size & location. I have to say, I now realise what I’ve been missing and am converted They’re quite and peaceful and some are adults only and dog free - bliss! Now I’ve managed to convince my wife that hair washing & drying is possible on a CL, alongside a no2 in the loo, all the reasons for avoidance have gone! 

A plea for MH owners. My plan is always to stay 2 or 3 days. Explore everything of interest locally and move on. It’s often difficult to get information on CLs about location of shops, pubs and public transport. Many seem to assume you’re caravaners and will drive everywhere - we don’t, if we can walk it, we’ll do it, otherwise it won’t happen. 

Google is your friend SB, will tell you everything you need to know about a local area. There are a great deal of CLs that provide lots of information one way or another. Many offer loan of OS maps, provide print outs of local walks, lots have information huts etc...... we have even stopped on some that do book shops, dvd loans etc..... They do vary of course.

We almost never use the sites book, we look on the main website and use the App, so to us it is useful if the prices on the website are updated.  We always ask for confirmation of price if it is not fully up to date, ask if a deposit is required, and only enquire with one CL in the area at a time.

We do expect that if an e mail Is given, it will be monitored and a reply sent, but do allow a couple of days for that to happen.  Depending on how keen we are on a particular CL, we may then try phoning, or we may just move on to our second choice.

I am aware that we may not be typical, but it is good to remember that not everyone has calls included on their landline, or has a mobile phone contract, so phoning can work out expensive.  

We have a landline for internet, and to receive calls, but make few outward calls so have no calling plan.   We have only a small family in UK, and keep in touch on line, so we have PAYG mobiles which we use when necessary for making calls.

If we make a booking, unless there has been a big problem, we always turn up, and if we cannot, we would always make contact......why would anyone not do so, are people really so inconsiderate these days?

Having read about what is happening on the NC500, about fly tipping, about people not wearing face coverings when they should, it would seem that many just do not care about others.....very sad.  

I've been wasting my time this week phoning CL owners who turn out to be adding lots of extras which aren't listed - the worst one was an owner who would have charged £5 per night extra for each of my teenage daughters - adding £100 to a 10-night holiday -  despite nothing being listed on the website under "extras". Surely it's in their interests as well as members to be upfront with charges on the website? This seems to be a recent issue. Please could the Club have some mechanism for ensuring that charges are up to date on the  website?

Thanks for your input from" the other side". Great to hear that you do email replies to bookings and I agree with your policy of deleting emails from people but suggest say 36 hours as not everyone can get instant emails.

As a user i would not expect a booking to be held until i have received a reply about availability and then made a confirmation of the booking i want. At this time i would also expect to make a payement. Suggest that you request this and people can easily pay direct into a bank account now. When i had a holiday business i always told people that they had 48 hours to pay a deposit once they confirmed a booking and full payment 6 weeks before. This focused people and ensured i was not messed around loosing customers and money.

Unlike some it appears i have always thought (and done) replies to everyone thanking them. Some times i have been slow but always reply.

Keeping a site for someone who does not turn up also ruins it for the rest of us that then could have used the booking slot

Ref your feees updating by the club being 2.5 years. Does the club not change the online system for CL's that everyone can see? Either via the main web site or the app? If this is not done within a month for something that should simply be a couple of clicks on their computer system then you should complain.

Yes some people now are using an incredible amount of electricty but there are many of us out there that want to keep our costs down and go offgrid. Can you offer the option of no hook up and a lower price should you find your bookings are down?

The idea that the web site can't be revised as and when the changes are requested by the CL owners is out of step with the progressive membership fee we members pay. If we are having a web site listing CL's lets have it done properly please. Filters are needed by the members, so why cant the club provide this? When will the club come out of the dark ages with these facilities?

Is it simply due to the lack of cash income from CL's which creates the lack of enthusiasm from the club to do these things? What are we paying our embership fees for?

Getting the price in writing via e mail is a good idea. A few years ago I got a price from a CL at Fareham. When I got there he wanted more and denied saying the price he quoted on the phone. The price he quoted on the phone was the price in the book