New Booking System

In the "improving your booking experience" area there are updates on additions and information about the next fixes.

I think the new booking system was signed off too early but yes it's now possible to book and pay deposits but the actual site is not fully functioning and this has been a challenge for users. 

 

I wasn’t annoyed with you PD, but you did sort of ask why I am fed up. I rather get the impression that you aren’t wholly satisfied with things as they are, but are muddling through as best you can, which is all we can all do one way or another. 

T&Cs have made Club Sites difficult for us beyond simply turning up on the day, which is no great issue as we use so few. No great shakes, it’s how we tour in in the UK with no issues. 

No amount of moaning, complaining, hopeful wishing is going to change things now. The Club has decided it’s direction, taken it’s stance, some will love it, others grit their teeth or walk away. 

https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/booking-experience/

Link to updates and fixes. Scroll down for info.

I thought also thought that might be the case. However, it would be so easy to put a link below the accessibility guide, site plan and activity guide. At the moment the link would take you to the old site pages, which I suspect will be discontinued at some time. It could then be modified to take you to whatever replaces it.

Sorry JVB I just don't understand the context of your response as it doesn't address the question asked. If the club hasn't stated that it is reviewing the use of dynamic pricing then your statement that it is, is just pure speculation and rumour mongering.

I rather get the impression that you aren’t wholly satisfied with things as they are,

Indeed that is true, some information is incorrect i.e numbers of pitch types and the biggest glaring error is the lot is lack of a link to directions which I have said all along is very surprising but the functionality is there, not in the same way a before but you can book sites, check availability by pitch type and are immediately presented with the price for your chosen type and number of occupants, both of which are easy to change.

CL search does work even if you haven't the faintest idea of where you want to go. So you only get a list of twenty if you search the whole of England but you only have to zoom in on the map to narrow down your search and update the list or use the filter to find types to suit you. True the filters are lacking but hopefully filters like hardstandings available and no EHU will be added.

It all works much better if you are more precise at what you want.

I too am a member of long standing and in recent years have been using Club sites less and less, mainly because I changed to a motorhome and Club sites don't offer the value for money that I got with a caravan. With the introduction of the rolling booking system and the speculative booking that resulted,it was not easy to get pitches unless you booked way in advance or gambled on last minute pitches becoming available. Neither really suited me so I am hoping the new system will improve pitch availabilty if not value for money.

peedee

 

I understand what some people are saying re making it work, but having only just discovered the change a couple of days ago and from reading some of the comments we now understand that it has been up a month, so much is still not working which should have been resolved in testing before going live. 

 So to be positive the following is not working:-

1. If you search for late availability and type in an area of the country it gives you sites all over the place!

2. When you try to look at UK sites you get a pick list including sites outside UK!

3. The availability option for site has gone from site page so you have to start on a booking before you know what's available when.

4. No price list that we can find anywhere on the website so you have no idea which sites are more affordable.

5. The terms and conditions are very much changed and not clear especially regarding deposit, 

6. Having to put in a 1 hour arrival slot is stressful as on the day anything can happen and this may result in the club having to field so many more calls from people delayed for many different reasons.

Additionally it’s a PR fail, as the club are constantly sending promotions via email, but not important information such as a major change to site booking and the terms & conditions. Something like this needs handling with clear information, communicated effectively to members prominently in the magazine not vaguely with a mention of a deposit, with clear and fair T&C's, and also emailed.

Having read some of the Club responses to members I looked back in magazines and eventually found some references to changes planned but it doesn't explain it and its fairly tucked away. 

The other thing that strikes me is that I now expect the club will be selling holiday insurance, so that people can cover their deposits when circumstances change!

This is really going to affect people who can least afford the cost of a lost deposit if you make a change to a booking within 21 days of travel - high winds, Covid, accident, hospital appointments etc. 

The other major concern is that members who kept to the rules of making changes or cancelling a booking in the required time are being made to feel guilty for sticking to the rules, if it was really costing the club in empty pitches perhaps a tweak of rules would have been better. I am not convinced it was the problem that is being made out, the real problem might have been solved by only allowing so many bookings in advance per member, the site availability is obviously a problem due to increased holidaying in UK and more ownership of caravans and motor homes.

Final point, do we really want people on sites with Covid so they don't lose their often quite sizeable deposit?

 

 

In reply to Peedee. If you look at the next fixes planned there is still a problem with pitch searches. CL searches aren't functioning well at all, a list of twenty isn't good enough when the map is difficult to access for some devices. Typing in a county search and only finding 20 CLs on the list isn't a working system.

However I'm glad to see the improvements and fixes being listed. People need to report their difficulties in the improvements section although this thread has been useful in alerting problems to other users.

I understand what some people are saying re making it work, but having only just discovered the change a couple of days ago and from reading some of the comments we now understand that it has been up a month, so much is still not working which should have been resolved in testing before going live. 

I agree and so would most.

 

 So to be positive the following is not working:-

1. If you search for late availability and type in an area of the country it gives you sites all over the place!

Zoom in to narrow the area of interest and use the filters to exclude that of no interest.

2. When you try to look at UK sites you get a pick list including sites outside UK!

Hide the overseas sites, the default is to show all sites except CLs

3. The availability option for site has gone from site page so you have to start on a booking before you know what's available when.

Agree but it helps to be as precise as you can when checking availability

4. No price list that we can find anywhere on the website so you have no idea which sites are more affordable.

Using the "Compare" option helps

5. The terms and conditions are very much changed and not clear especially regarding deposit, 

In what way, I don't have a problem with them

6. Having to put in a 1 hour arrival slot is stressful as on the day anything can happen and this may result in the club having to field so many more calls from people delayed for many different reasons.

Was this not the case with the old system as well?

Additionally it’s a PR fail, as the club are constantly sending promotions via email, but not important information such as a major change to site booking and the terms & conditions. Something like this needs handling with clear information, communicated effectively to members prominently in the magazine not vaguely with a mention of a deposit, with clear and fair T&C's, and also emailed.

Agree

Having read some of the Club responses to members I looked back in magazines and eventually found some references to changes planned but it doesn't explain it and its fairly tucked away. 

A lot of the help was added on the web site as an after thought,

The other thing that strikes me is that I now expect the club will be selling holiday insurance, so that people can cover their deposits when circumstances change!

Perhaps it is to come?

This is really going to affect people who can least afford the cost of a lost deposit if you make a change to a booking within 21 days of travel - high winds, Covid, accident, hospital appointments etc.

The Club it has said it will view incidents sympathetically

The other major concern is that members who kept to the rules of making changes or cancelling a booking in the required time are being made to feel guilty for sticking to the rules, if it was really costing the club in empty pitches perhaps a tweak of rules would have been better. I am not convinced it was the problem that is being made out, the real problem might have been solved by only allowing so many bookings in advance per member, the site availability is obviously a problem due to increased holidaying in UK and more ownership of caravans and motor homes.

This has been discussed  ad infinitum many times

Final point, do we really want people on sites with Covid so they don't lose their often quite sizeable deposit?

No

peedee

 In reply to Peedee. If you look at the next fixes planned there is still a problem with pitch searches. CL searches aren't functioning well at all, a list of twenty isn't good enough when the map is difficult to access for some devices. 

Its not that bad as to be unusable but I do acknowledge that if you have a very slow internet connection you can have problems. I have used the 4G mobile network at 10Mbs download without any difficulties. Devices without processing power may also be a problem but I would have thought they would have to be very very old to cause significant difficulty.

I have not noticed any ommissions on my trial searches of locations. I would have thought they would be using the same database as the old system but there may well be some. It does help to be as precise as you can in making searches.

peedee