C & CC minimum no. of nights for bookings

[Lara_374353049]

Hi All,

I've just tried to book some dates for the C & CC site at Keswick for next year, as it tends to get booked up very quickly. Booked 8 nights for whit week (end of May) but when I tried for Easter weekend (Fri to Mon) and early May BH (Fri to Sun), it wouldn't process the booking. Checked the Brochure, and it states the minimum booking period for bank holidays is 5 nights!

Unfortunatley, I haven't got a never ending supply of leave days at work, and I don't want to take the kids out of school, so I think it's absolutely ridiculous they have put this restriction on!

I'm considering ending our membership with them, we only keep it up for the Keswick site, I'm sure there'll be other sites just as good.

So much for being the "friendly club"!!!

Does anyone else think this is daft, or is it just me?

Thanks, Lara.

 

[Alan Partridge]

It makes sense to get the best use of the site at a busy time, by favouring those who want nights other than at the weekend. If the club were to remove the rule, it would just be different people who lost out - those wanting a longer break, including nights at the weekend, who would not be able to book because of the weekenders. In addition, there would be more empty pitches outside the weekend so poorer use of the site and less revenue.

Whichever way the club goes there are winners and losers. I believe many commercial sites will only book a minimum period at Easter as well. Although the club is a not-for-profit organisation, there is a limit to how 'uncommercial' it can be if it is to maintain facilities.

Those of use who only want the weekend have the option of looking elsewhere, or booking 5 nights and leaving after 3.

To answer your question, I don't think it's daft - just inconvenient if you are on the wrong end of it.

 

[Oklahoma]

Hi, I've just booked Keswick C&CC at Easter for 5 nights. It's their most popular site and they can fill it up easily with people who want to stay for longer. It's been 5 nights for a long time now. Although I would prefer 4 nights I am willing to take 5 to be able to stay there and I don't think it's unreasonable. One of my other fav sites near Keswick is doing the same now because they can easily be filled with people wanting to stay for longer than just the weekend.

 

[JD6620]

I would suggest you leave the C&CC and join the CC. There are no restrictions on minimum number of nights at any time of the year, and in my opinion thats how it should be. It completly defeats the whole idea of the freedom of caravanning to impose such restrictions. At a stretch at Easter and Witsun we have 4 nights, so we would be excluded from the C&CC site as well. As you say we don't all have a limitless supply of leave from work. We were thinking of joining the C&CC but after reading all the negative comments on them over the last year, we will stick with the CC where we are more than happy.

 

[Alan Partridge]

Good suggestion from Julian - if a club doesn't meet your needs, find one that does. We use both.

I don't understand the 'freedom of caravanning' point though - you will always have to book ahead for the popular club sites, and freedom applies to weekenders and longer stayers alike. Where demand exceeds supply there will be winners and losers, and the club is sensibly making best use of the supply.

 

[Oklahoma]

Keswick is different to any other site because it is so popular. I think if you look at it another way Lara then you may not have got your eight nights at Whit week if weekenders could book 2 or 3 nights because the weekends would fill up first and very quickly I believe.

We are also in the Caravan Club and use them almost all of the time, Keswick being the exception and sometimes Culzean castle C&CC because you can walk to the castle and grounds from their site.

 

[SteveW77]

I left the Caravan Club for exactly the reason Julian gives for joining. We could never get on the best sites, because the weekends were always fully booked and as we have all the time in the world to travel about, we like to stay for more than a week at many of the sites we choose.

As has been said by other posters, you can't please every body, so if you don't like it, do what I did, leave.

Steve W

 

[Lara_374353049]

Hi all,

Thanks for your thoughts, I was a bit on my "high horse" when I first posted, so I appreciate some of the comments about others wanting a longer stay. It puzzles me however, how any families with kids could go away for the early May Bank Holiday, as it would mean taking kids out of school for a few days, as they only have the Monday off?

However, I do agree that you can't please everyone at the same time, and i'm sure there'll be other things that I agree with that others don't!

We're already members of the CC, so i'll probably book up at Troutbeck. One advantage of that is I won't be able to walk into Keswick each day and spend loads of money I haven't got!

Thanks again everyone,

Lara.

 

[peter_374367393]

Hi Lara, Stay on your high horse.The club would still fill those pitches on those odd nights on the Keswick site.After all remember the club is run by members for members.Still in 2008 do you really want to be told what pitch they think you should be on,at least with Troutbeck you will have the choice of pitches

 

[Oklahoma]

I agree that the CC are very good at letting you choose which pitch you want but I would just like to say that we have never ever been told where to pitch at Keswick. They tell you which pitches are available and then you can say where you would like to be. If you don't like the pitch when you get there you can move to another. The wardens are very friendly and try their hardest to get you pitched somewhere near your friends (though not guaranteed) Along with free stays for our handicapped son anytime and concession charges for older people out of high season I think it's a good deal.

 

[eckiew]

Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread Lara, but I believe the C&CC are now more interested in making a profit than to take any notice of its members. I was booked into the Kendal site last month but unfortunately it coincided with the flooding in that area. I phoned the site warden the evening before travelling enquiring about access to the site and he informed me that there was only one road into Kendal and may not be suitable for my twin axle van. I said I would review the situation next day and phone him back. Next day roads were still blocked so I phoned and cancelled.

I phone the club customer services on my arrival home and enquired about my

 

[Lara_374353049]

Alexander,

Something similar happened to us last year, we were booked into Windermere site for 3 nights, followed by 4 nights at Keswick. It was during periods of heavy rain, but we stilll enjoyed our stay at both sites, no problems at either. We got home after our break, to find a message on the answer machine form C & CC advising us not to bother going to Keswick, as there were problems with flooding! No mention of this when we arrived on site though!

If we had been at home and received the message, we would've been in the same boat as you, and I agree that if they are advising you not to travel, they should have the decency to allow you to carry your deposit over to another trip away.

I must agree with Oklahoma though, we've always found the wardens very friendly (2 of them used to work at the same place as me), and they do try to give you the option of any pitches that are free.

It looks like it's the organisation itself trying to make as much profit as poss, not the wardens.

Cheers, Lara

 

[alunhve]

The situation needs to be looked at in context. The 5 night requirement only operates for 2 sites in the CCC Site Network. These 2 sites are in in an extremely popular area. A similar situation operates in relation to certain Forest Holidays sites in the New Forest where the minimum booking for Bank Holiday weekends is more than at other times (and this operated before the Joint Venture with CCC).

Alun