Far too expensive

The club has said many times that it has no intention of charging for dogs.

So you're suggesting that we dog owners should start to subsidise non dog-owners?

I never have - nor ever will, use a site that charges extra for dogs and if this club ever did that, I would leave immediately as a matter of principle.

I think it would have the opposite effect with the loss of income from dog owners who now staying away, pitch prices would have to rise to make up the loss.

You probably are indirectly paying for dogs and awnings. I don't have a dog and rarely put up an awning, that is what very often makes none Club sites cheaper for me.

peedee

I find it strange that the club does not charge for dogs. Just like humans they produce "waste products" that need disposal. A lot are also noisy, just like some caravan owners, but that is another issue. As such why are they or more correctly the owners not charged as this would put more money into the system which should result in lower pitch fees for those of us who do not own dogs.

Colin

To make a difference to lowering the pitch fees any charge for dogs would have to be substantial to make an impact on prices generally. Whilst there will be a modest cost to having dogs on site, waste bin and maintaining dog walks if they exist I can't  see how that would add up to more than 50p or £1 a night, if that? At that level of charging you would have to ask whether the return was worth the effort in the first place. Charging more than it actually costs would just be a punishment to dog owners? No doubt the club would be conscious of the fact that quite a proportion of members are dog owners so for many a different charging routine would just be a quid pro quo as no one would really benefit?

David

With your business head, EM, think about how many people use CAMC sites because they are dog friendly and I suspect quite a lot of folk are club members for that very reason. The dogs bring their owners with them and those owners buy pitch nights. 

As David suggests, a waste bin and a bit of otherwise unusable scrubland require very little input in terms of finance and manpower.

Afraid not. The dog owners are spending a small fortune on their animals already. My neighbour says it costs her over £1000 a year total - and the dog has lived for 14 years,  I don’t think we should ask her to pay more. Crazy money I think.

As a dog owner I am more than happy to pay for my dog. Plenty of sites charge, and in my experience sur le continent (where everything is apparently perfect) every site I have ever stayed at charges. If you have a dog then be prepared for it to cost you. I don’t expect to be subsidised and don’t expect to subsidise others hobbies and activities (including their children). Dog ownership is not compulsory, it’s a choice. Personally I would prefer it if the club did charge.

To get back to the OP, if the site fees are too expensive that will be evidenced by end of season occupancy data, income and profit. If the latter is down on the previous year and down against sector trends, then it may evidence the charges are possibly too high. anything else is subjective conjecture. My own view is I suspect this years inclement weather is adversely impacting on last minute bookings that would otherwise boost occupancy levels. 

 Using the Knaresborough site as an example, this weekend the charge for a child is £4.10 per night, I am wondering what justifies this cost?  -  Additonal caravan heating will be zero, a shower will be say 50p, additional cooking will be minimal.

So if the actual costs is around a pound, why are children and dogs not charged a similar amount?