Exploiting the members

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I find it extraordinary that some people still view the higher prices at peak times in hotels. let cottages, camp sites and such like as "exploitation". 

This is just fundamental, Janet and John level, supply and demand.

Camp sites have a fixed capacity. In the short term the entire supply of pitches over the entire country is fixed. If you cannot change supply the only thing you can change to allow supply to meet demand is the price.

In the longer run if prices rise more people are persuaded to enter the industry and then supply rises and prices may fall. But this takes a long time and, in any event, recently there have been sharp increases in demand as more families have purchased leisure vehicles. This just puts more pressure on prices.     

Of course, anyone could set a fixed price all year round. Alternative plans to reach desired income are possible of course. It might even work in the sense that it covers costs and provides a profit. The price would probably need to be pitched relatively low and it would probably be a more basic site or a site that is part of a diversified business; you could do that and fill or nearly fill the site in low season, but it sure as heck means that it will be over subscribed in peak season. The owner can't react to that because he has only a set number of pitches. That would be very altruistic, but I think most people would consider him slightly mad. To increase the price in peak times is just common sense. It has nothing to do with profiteering or exploitation.

I would leave this by saying that I accept sometimes the free hand of supply and demand can lead to exploitation and then controls are needed - children sweeping chimneys, market sellers quadrupling the price of sanitisers during COVID etc. We can all think of examples, but higher prices in the school holidays on camp sites is not one of them.

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Fortunately most years the site network makes a surplus (rather than a profit) but there have been years in recent memory where the site network has made a loss. This often can't be predicted in advance. Its difficult to predict long periods of bad weather which impacts on people using sites and who could have predicted COVID? So whilst, I am sure, the Club set out to be in surplus each year there are events that can change that which no one foresaw. In the years when the network does end up in surplus it just means there are more opportunities for that surplus to be reinvested in the network, either for buying new sites or upgrading existing ones. I suppose I should point out that we are living, it seems, in inflationary times, so its likely that costs will be rising, often in excess of the inflation rate, which need to be recovered. It may sound a bit gloomy but for the Club to continue to provide us the members with the service we want it needs to be financially sound.

David

With more & more caravan /Motorhome punters joining the membership every year, with pitch availability being snapped up at the most popular club site, the club are just following the market tread & pricing leisure time periods at premium rates.

Please tell me a hotel chain or holiday provider that doesn't take peak holiday period in their stride & adjust prices accordingly.

The market will always dictate what we all pay high or low .....simple.

Except at the site the OP talks about children can stay for £1, every day of the season. Also children are children up to 18, while for many other sites it is 14.  

If you live in the north of England, and are also a CCC member, come to Scotland.  Easter is not a peak period here.

Even if you are not a parent, or have younger or older children not at school, you can still get caught up in the peak price business.......teachers may not have children at school, but they can only take school holidays off.

Both our children are married to teachers, so as they say......"are doomed to have to pay peak period prices until we retire", not just while the children are at school.

As you quoted me I assume your remarks are for me, for your first paragraph I do but I'm not, and don't like CCC sites anyway.

Second paragraph, get caught up? that implies a trap or net? Don't understand the reference to trap at all? The prices are clearly displayed, and yes been there too.

Third, yes did that all my working life, and didn't really begrudge those prices as the time not working (remember teachers don't get 'holidays') I considered a good recompense.

But now I can't believe how cheap club sites are in school time, actually all holidays appear cheap now. 

 

Looks OK for oldies with dogs, forest and moor walks on the doorstep and NT properties nearby, but I'm not sure Cardinham would be the Cornish destination of choice for many families would it?  

Why not? Cornwall is packed with campsites like that and they’re all full in summer. Nearby Cardinham Woods is extremely busy with families all year. There are plenty of independent campsites with very modest tariff variations over the course of the year, some in holiday hot spots like St Ives and the superb Hellesveor Holidays