Booking ahead is unfair at some sites

I'd be happy to lose £10 or £20 and would continue to book speculatively on those amounts.  I've always been in favour of deposits and have said in the past that I think bookings of two or three nights should be paid in full BUT, if cancelled at least a month in advance should be fully refundable or transferable to another booking.  Cancel within thirty days and lose it!

It might affect the way. I book or, at least, make sure I cancel within any time frame if it was refundable or able to be transferred.

I don't think a deposit of £10 or £20 would stop speculators- certainly not me.  In my opinion a small deposit like that isn't worth changing the booking system for.

Thanks for the reply

of course, they might have gone out into the world, had a long hard look at how 'everyone else does it' and bought a market leading package?

I wonder how many of such type of packages exist? There are very few other holiday  organisations of the size or complexity as the CC, so just where would they go to get one?

mbee1 said:-

I don't think a deposit of £10 or £20 would stop speculators- certainly not me. In my opinion a small deposit like that isn't worth changing the booking system for.

Interesting thought. I reckon the old £10 deposit (which incidentally was doubled from £5 some years earlier) ended around the mid 2000's, give or take a year. According to the Bank of England Inflation Calculator that £10 would now have to be £14.80 to reflect current value. Personally I can't see the Club going back to £10 and I am pretty sure they would be thinking of a figure more than £20, probably £25 for the very reason that some members would be willing to take the hit. They would probably save the £20 in fuel costs by not going?  The Club will have to judge it carefully to avoid the situation they had all those years ago when many of the no shows didn't bother to let the site know because they had paid a deposit. From that point of view I imagine the current system is better and could be tweaked to extend the cancellation period to say 7 days as some have suggested, or by limiting the number of outstanding bookings for any one site?

David

I couldn't tell you as I haven't investigated such leisure industry items... but, surely, the first thing the club would do if looking at 'how others do it' is to arrange to visit those organisations like TUI and other holiday type businesses where the product might be airline seats, hotel rooms or cruise places rather than pitches, pods etc and find out what and why they are using the systems they do...

following some recommendations, some supplier interviews take place, then a long list, short list and then....std selection process....

But none of those company have the same situation as the CC does, so even after an intensive investigation of what there is around any system would have to be modified, possibly drastically, to meet the club's requirements. All of that cannot be accomplished in the blinking of an eye without a huge input of cash, and we know very well who where that must come from....increased membership fees and further increases in site fees.

I cannot see the club introducing a deposit of just £15.00.  When you think of how much two weeks away in the summer costs at a club site and to stop timewasters or speculative bookings, the deposit needs to be at least £50 if not more and the time limit for a potential refund or transfer to another booking to be at least a month.

Likewise any booking of two nights or more to be paid in full at the time of booking.

Likewise any booking of two nights or more to be paid in full at the time of booking.

Didn't you mean two nights or less to be paid in full?

peedee

I can imagine the C&CC rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of the CAMC introducing such terms. Personally I can’t see it being more than £30 / 20%  which ever is the greater. Or payment in full if less than £30. Given peak prices, 20% would result in a £60 deposit for a family’s  week booking, which I think adequate. Initially I would hope that loss of deposit would be set at a week before. The club could monitor this and extend it if they felt it was being abused. Perhaps getting a bit complicated, but if it was only possible to move a deposit once before it was forfeit, that might help.

Two nights could be over £100 pounds at peak, so I can’t see that happening.