10% deposits at all UK Club campsites

I got an email yesterday about the 20% off offer at certain Club Sites. Includes Ferry Meadows, so I thought aha, maybe one for OH. You can get offer from 1st July onwards, so I thought maybe next week for him? But no, offer only applies if you book a minimum of 14 days in advance. Quite how you do this to get the offer for next week isn’t computing with me at the moment.🤔 

OH solved the problem. He’s booked a CL just South of Grantham😁

It would be interesting to see if at the end of the season the new rules have benefitted, or not. Unfortunately I doubt if the true answer may be forthcoming as no one likes to admit to mistakes. One thing we did notice after 6 weeks on various sites is that ones that were full last year were much emptier this year. For example I booked the Norfolk Broads site early this year, and was advised that pitches were down to ‘5 or less’. Yet during our stay there were a good number free and a sign at the gate asking you to extend your stay if you wished. Similarly Ferry Meadows where during the week I estimate the site was 2/3 ‘s empty, last year a similar stay showed the site almost full during the week. This was after a discount (with conditions) being offered this year which basically returned the site fees to the rates asked for last year.  Weekends were still as busy as normal but I suspect many members are not booking ahead as much and just booking a few days at a time. Whether that has resolved the ‘block booking at weekends’ I do not know. When we look at rates of nearly £38 for a pitch and 2 adults, that can get quite expensive for a long’ish stay. Some may say compare it to hotels, but that is not really the same. I tend to compare a long stay in the UK against travelling to the Med and here the costs now are pretty much equal even adding on ferries etc. So you can compare a ‘pitch’ and a toilet block at £38 against a pitch, pool, bar/restaurant and of course a better chance of sun at an ACSI cost of 23 euros.  Of course everyone has their own ideas of what is best for them but it does start to make you think a bit more.

Many have commented that it's not just the level of deposit required that is impacting site occupancy....the high pitch prices themselves must be a major contributor.

Then, as you say, the worse terms for getting a deposit back has certainly changed booking habits. The club wants folk to book early to 'get the best prices' but perhaps fewer members are prepared to commit until they are sure they can meet the date..

yes, £38 a night is a level we're not used to paying...and remember ACSI has a range of prices starting at €13, with €23 being the top end of the scale.

Would think it mainly to do with the cost of living crisis ,last year you could not buy a new  caravan, this year the yard are full of new unsold vans and motor homes etc

It’s probably a combination of things to be honest. No one factor affecting pitch take up, but different things impacting on different clientele.

It’s the overall cost of a pitch that puts us off, and little choice in terms of what you can have if you are interested. The deposit scheme only impacts us as we currently cannot commit to long term bookings because I am caring, and we only tour a few days in advance. Certainly not going to book anything and risk losing a deposit because of the 21 day cut off when there are lots of other no deposit options out there. If it was a reasonable 7 days, we might be more tempted, but not at these prices.
The Club, and some CL’s hiked their prices vastly because of the energy costs early in the year, and might well be still tied into those expensive tariffs. We are finding places giving plenty of pitching choices though at the moment, next week is £20 per night with hook up and a tap on HS, in a nice quiet location a few hundred metres from a beautiful canal and pub, almost under Belvior Castle. 

Good to see the club uses common sense for genuine issues

There are a number of factors affecting pitch prices electricity being just one. Rates, wages etc have all risen far more than many of us expected (unless you are in receipt of the wage rise!!). Electricity prices are supposed to be dropping but I doubt that will result in any decrease in pitch rates. What I suspect we will see is more 'discounts' such as those introduced this year. Shopping around may give you deals more attractive to your wallet. As mentioned we have jsut completed a couple of months on various Club sites and enjoyed them, but later in the summer we are off to Spain for a month using our old caravan which is stored there. We will check prices of many things while there and if we still see the price advantage we have seen in previous years (Campsite costs/ local costs/fuel etc) then I suspect we may just do a longer trip to Spain next year and cut back on UK sites. The 90 days I am allowed as a tourist is more than enough for a great time on thebeach etc. Obviously if we do not see any cost advantages then we will ignore that factor when making our plans.

I know this has already been discussed, but the huge hike in price negates the deposit issue for us as we are simply voting with our feet and camping elsewhere.  For the past 25 years only using CC sites, but now only using CL, commercial sites and European sites (£20/n).  Come on CAMC, listen to the sentiment and do more than lower deposits!

Glad to hear they are sympathetic in some cases..... we were booked to visit Seacroft for 4 nights 20th - 24th July with our 10 year old grandson who broke a bone in his foot last Friday.

He has to refrain from any form of physical activity apart from trying to walk on it normally as soon as possible as it's the ball of the big toe & heel that is weight bearing but can't run around, cycle etc for 4 - 6 weeks so would be a complete waste of time for us to go, not to mention it being torture watching other kids enjoy themselves but our deposit has been retained.....

That does seem a bit harsh, especially as it is very unlikely they won’t be able to resell it at such a popular site.