New Booking System

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I received my email today allowing me to vote and ask a question at the agm I would urge all members to use this vote and ask a question in protest.

What a sham, what a shamble, its disgraceful, and at a time when costs are increasing day to day. 

 

Will have to think seriously about renenwing membership, may even try the dark side C &CC, or try more commercial; sites and are cheaper. 

 

NOT Ideal. 

 

If the club want to bring themselves in line with the rest of the holiday sector generally then what is the point of being a member.  Surely the club needs to have something that sets them apart from the rest of the holiday sector in order for it to be worthwhile paying an annual membership fee.

We have been members since 1976 and the old booking system and the flexibility it offered was probably the main reason we stayed members for so long.  Now I am seriously questioning what benefit there is in continuing our membership especially with the likes of pub stop overs and aires being readily available for motorhomes and camper vans.

We will at present keep our CAMC membership, but for the CL network.

We are considering joining the ccc, partly for their CS network, but also because they seem to have more non electric pitches than this club.

Others will remain with the club for a myriad of reasons e.g. insurance.

Whatever aspect of the new site people dislike, hate etc what gets members most, I believe, is the way members have been treated. This surely makes people less committed to the Club. Hence the many declarations of intent to leave. These may or may not come to fruition in numbers sufficient to register with the club. What is more likely is that because the club has given away its usp ( for good or for ill) people are more likely to look around at other sites. Yes, some charge deposits, some won’t. But that now becomes less of an issue if the club is charging deposits. So perhaps a better measure of member dissatisfaction is not the number of non renewals, but the occupancy rate of club sites.

As I have said before the credibility of the club is shot to bits. It will take a lot to reclaim. given the lack of communication to date I am not hopeful. I was told recently that each department of the Club will definitely have reps at the forthcoming NEC show. I do hope those members able to attend visit the stall and make their views known. And then let us on this forum know what was said!!

The new booking system we are told was introduced to try to reduce the amount of late bookings by some not giving enough time to fill the pitches?

Which when the question was first asked of the club it was stated there was not a problem as most pitches were filled

Then after the club's bright? Idea of allowing members to book up to twelve months in advance there was a change in this clubs response to late bookings (shooting in the foot comes to mind)

So instead of extending the cancellation period  it seems was a good idea?to spend how many millions? in trying to "bolt?" the UK booking system onto a system designed and used for continental holiday bookings 

Which has ended even after several false starts the shambles that we the members have had to endure and it seems no light at the end of a long tunnel 

 

 

The C&MC justify the introduction of their punitive deposit scheme by saying, and I quote "almost half of all members who made a booking each year made at least one amendment or cancellation". Really - shock horror! That's exactly my point - the touring lifestyle means you need to make last minute adjustments to schedules (especially when you are a Motorhomer or Campervanner). But don't they realise that for every day cancelled there is another booked at another site. Its swings and roundabouts. In the big scheme of things, on average, they don't lose out!

Please C&MC answer the following:

1.Why don't you cap the membership, so that you can improve pitch availability to your existing members?

2. You have allowed a never ending stream of new members to join, now we all have to book sites many months ahead, some even into next year. What exactly are you planning on doing with our deposit money, and the huge amount of interest it will earn you? When are you going to give members ’interest’ on their deposits if you hold them for a period longer than say 3 mths?

3. When are you going to start acknowledging the needs of the biggest (and fastest growing) segment of your club - namely us Motorhomers and Caravaners?  Show willing and adjust your punitive cancellation policy so that a deposit is only required when you book 5 or more days. That at least would be something to show you care and understand the needs of all your members!

4.  The 21 day cancellation deadline is unacceptable - we’re campers for goodness sake and you now ask that we book many months ahead (sometimes even a year in advance) and set our plans into stone for at least 21 days before arrival! Here is what the Savoy Hotel in London does: "Guests can cancel up to 72 hours prior to arrival, free of charge." – this is the SAVOY hotel and they will allow clients to cancel up to just 78 hours before arrival. What makes you, the C&MC so special that you want to start taking our hard earned money from day 20?

The C&MC used to be run BY the members FOR the members. They have sadly become corporate and are chasing profit. A sad day!

Good post, RR, and I’d love to see the reply but there’s unlikely to be one🙁

However, although I’m not anti deposit per se, you’re right about it flying in the face of spontaneous touring.

I agree. We are pretty tech savvy and can recognise a "clunky" website when we see one. We gave up trying to make a booking, joined the dark side, "CCC", and all was well, albeit their website is not perfect. Our website used to be fine. They are suggesting the changes are for the better! They clearly aren't! 

The new booking system will soon be water under the bridge. What members should be more concerned about is the rising cost of C&MC sites.

peedee