Non-electric pitches

Yes, like spending £5.7 million on a new booking system………

The Club had the opportunity to include some new metered bollards at recently refurbished Clumber Park. But they opted for Premium pitches instead. It’s all about raking in as much money as possible, and they have a Membership happy to endorse this if it means they can park up bright shiny new top of range outfits with little or no effort. It was full of huge top end MHs when we stayed, hadn’t seen that many £100,000+ models outside of a show. All plugged in, humming away merrily. 

Lithium batteries are also now available for caravans as the are lighter so so not eat up so much load margins 

Good post GJ, and I think that those that use club sites, both MH and caravans, are like you (and me) who want EHU, if they didn't I can't see why they come to club sites when there is almost always an alternative nearby.

The 'green' issue is a different matter and to me may have a more important role to play with meters, but, and I've said this before, do people have the same view about all inclusive holidays, or hotels, B&B, and holiday lets... that have inclusive chagres for energy? I often wonder which uses the greater amount of electricity a campsite or a large hotel?

Yet I haven't seen anyone asking for meters in individual rooms or in such places?

And that is the rub  where do the club's invest money ,?

Catch 22. The money is with its ageing, utility/facility dependent, happy to sit around on site a lot Core membership, mainly in expensive outfits. So that’s where the money goes. But is it future proof, particularly given how the economy is heading at the moment?  Younger potential members might not need so much, and hence are looking elsewhere and making their money go further. Certainly that’s what our younger family tell us. In fact, it’s actually what we do. 

Here is an heretical out-of-box idea for us on CT To discuss (The Club will, of course, take absolutely no notice).

Simply, we devise a way that each potential site user provides their own meter (and up-to-date certificate of accuracy).  We already have to provide the hook-up cable anyway.

Using wireless (not necessarily wifi) technology the meter unit could register with a central control box on site and provide consumption information.  The Caravan Club would have to fund these control units but that would be a mere bagatell compared to the money wasted on rebranding and the current (non)booking fiasco. Biggest issue I see is people trying to defraud the system but you chaps out there may see a way to control that.

I guess you could cut the grass and clean the facility block as well to save the club money, Nav.

Yes but the new booking system, although useless/difficult/complicated/... (delete or insert as appropriate and I'm not a fan) could be said to or justified by

a) give people what the have been asking for in terms of pitch choice and deposits?

b) every so often things like this have to bought otherwise we'd all be using outdated and slow software. I've not really looked into the costs but was it all on the software? 

It could also be said that the new system is actually a nice little earner for the club, not up to paying for itself but I've paid out about £150 in deposits this past week, that is money upfront that the club has in its bank account which I assume they'll get some interest on or use it for cashflow?

I think I'm pretty average so I wonder how many people have done the same over the last few weeks especially for a long two weeks summer holiday? I've just looked at Seacroft and from 1st July to 25th August  it is practically all 'lows' (and I assume that still means five pitches or less left) so a lot of deposits paid up front.

Personally I can't see anything wrong with the club making as much money as possible from those willing to pay it. If the demand is there, and it is, then go for it. Yes I know shame on me for being such a capitalist but I'll just have to live with that.

To be honest Nav, I find it personally irritating that you cannot be offered an existing pitch at a reduced rate if you don’t hook up. The cry will go up that “people will thieve”, but we know this model exists and we have happily used it down the years.

It’s only on here that we would be considered as potential thieves, no matter that a bright coloured cable would be a dead give away.

A simple designation of certain pitches (another coloured post🤣) as “choice” and staff walking the site as they do would solve most problems. Anyone found transgressing, instant kick out of Club with no refunds.

In May I stayed on a commercial site near Buxton. Whilst the hardstandings were all inclusive of electric, the grass camping pitches were not. If you wanted electric you purchased a pre payment card to put in a meter which would then allow you to use electric. At the end of your stay you put the card back in and it was credited with whatever hadn't been used. This was refunded by the site. The site was on a farm and it was clearly cost effective for them to install. Maybe not as expensive as CMC claim.