New Booking System

Sorry you are struggling, but ten weeks ago it was announced at the AGM that 65,00 members had booked 250,000 pitches. I guess  it might be double that now so others seem to be coping, and most of the complaining has dried up.

We dont know what proportion of the 65K booked by phone. 

Also it was inevitable the complaints would dry up as those attempting to book/attempting to negotiate the site in the latter part of last year had been successful/unsuccessful.

It is clear from Trust Pilot that there are new complaints coming in as people now try to book breaks for this year. It seems many of those didnt know about the changes.  I seem to remember discussions when the new site was launched commented on the lack of meaningful  correspondence with members.  Anyone who has engaged in trying to correspond with a large of group of members knows that people dont read everything that is put before them.  So a few articles in the magazine, mostly fairly wordy and nonexplicit were never going to cut it.  It needed several very specific emails to members, and emails that did not look like the normal advertising.  They should have gone to all members irrespective of preferences - they are allowed to do that in some circumstances.  Then there needed to be stuff in the magazine that was brief in words, but dramatic in approach.  With headings like "important", "this will effect you", "please read".

I expect some of those now complaining on trust pilot will eventually find their way here (remember, as is frequently commented on this forum, only a very small proportion of members engage with CT) and will find that complaints have been ongoing.  They will, I am sure, add their contributions.

Whilst some have got used to a new clunky site, some have found ways round, and some have just gone elsewhere.  But until the site is much improved, then the problems are not resolved!

Hja

When I read about the initial number of bookings it implied to me that those bookings were made using the new online system as a way of illustrating that the system worked, or did in the eyes of the Club?

What appears to be the case, if what I read on Facebook is representative, is that people seem far less confident in changing bookings, particularly outside of the 21 days loss of deposit period and seemingly are inclined to phone to make those changes. I have not yet made a firm booking under the new system or tried to amend a booking so have, as yet, no personal experience of the new system. I am not expecting difficulties but who knows!

David

Not tried to change one with a deposit attached. However, added days to our May booking taking it into June. That went smoothly enough. It charged me a deposit of £0.00, which is what I understood should happen with altered migrated bookings. 

Has anyone noticed or is it that I am not looking at the booking system in the correct way. Or is it just another failure of our new fantastic high cost on line booking system?

Why can I not see the cost per night of a club site booking listed as:  

PITCH FEE + PRICE PER PERSON = TOTAL COST  - All I seem to see is TOTAL cost. The individual prices are hidden. In nearly 50 years of membership this has never been the case the prices have ALWAYS been transparent?

Can anyone help?

I know we have been used to that information for years now and the website used to give a breakdown of the separate costs. However is it actually meaningful to have that information listed separately? The reason I say that is if you always go away as either a single person, a couple or a couple with children and any other combination surely the only cost you are interested in is the total price per night? The minimum fee is always going to be pitch plus one. You could find that information by playing around with the numbers in the party. I am not altogether sure what the benefit would be to have that information listed elsewhere?

David

I think the only way to make your comments to the club on these things is to use the new booking system feedback area. I suspect the club are trying to avoid even more clutter on their over busy screen set ups! 

Here's the feedback link

https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90487485/Booking-Capability-feedback 

If you do the sums that's about 3.5 nights per person....I wonder how many have booked longer holidays or have they booked weekends with smaller deposits?! Looking at Trust Pilot it's a daily grind of complaints and the club rating has gone down from 5* to 3.4* It's a pity the actual site reviews on TP are nameless, they are meaningless to anyone looking for individual site recommendations.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.caravanclub.co.uk?utm_medium=trustbox&utm_source=Horizontal 

The real sum for the club  is 250,000 times whatever the deposits rate would have been. A nice little earner for the club, it can't keep it of course but will either help cash flow or some bank interest?

My average booking deposit is about about £40+ for a very long weekend stay which is our usual now.

The Club’s booking system for overseas sites, is exactly the same as the booking system for UK sites - but is attracting no comments and no complaints in the Overseas Touring section on here. It is never mentioned there.

It seems that those who go overseas are using the site booking system without any fuss, but those who book in the UK have been complaining endlessly - as they regularly do about any change.

Different people, different attitudes?