Caravan Club Sites.

[Tiz]

I have just tried to book sites via the computer for 2010 with no success as their site is very busy, no surprise there.

We wanted to book Seacroft, Cromer for New Year 2010 thinking an early booking should secure a place. I finally managed to ring the site direct and was informed that this site could not be booked for the New Year until March when it reopened and to ring then to see if there were any spare places. I queried the "spare places" comment only to be told that people who were booked for this year had first refusal and pitches where the option was not taken up would be released in March.

Effectively this means the members within the Club are operating a closed party where you have to wait for a vacancy before other members can attend. No first come first booked service, no waiting lists or random pitch selection, just a privileged few operating a cartel at the expense of other members. Am I alone in finding this unacceptable?

 

[AnnM1]

I, and many other CC members, will be surprised at this response to your booking(s). I think the Club should get this sorted out - and QUICKLY.

Ann

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

peter ive never heard of that before. you should be able to book on line when it calms down. who told you this?.

jo

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

i would phone head office if you can get thru?.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Very slow and sometimes it timed out but I kept at it and booked the 2 I wanted.

From past experience wait until this afternoon and you should have no trouble.

I wouldn't have bothered only I needed to book a complete week at 2 popular sites and after the weekenders had booked I would have been buggered :O(

 

[newton_374355356]

I think Peter has raised a very important issue and as the information came from the site warden i am suspicious of the truth. I think david should check with Head Office ( when he can get through) and then post the reply for other members to take action,,,,I have been trying all morning to book 2 sites got 1 bUt not the other (what a farce)there must be a better way ( cant think of one at moment)

 

[Lee4]

There's one VERY simple way.

The club divides it's sites into different areas, Yorkshire, Wales, South West etc.

Instead of releasing each area on the same day at the same time, release different areas on different days, starting on Monday and going through until Friday.

It wouldn't take too much intelligence to sort the areas out so that more or less the same number of sites were released on each of the five days?

Regards,

Lee

 

[AlexC]

Hi,

I wonder if Seacroft is an ' affiliated site ' ?

They may have slightly different rules, No ?

Alex.

 

[AnnM1]

Seaview is a Caravan Club Site, so club rules should apply.

Ann

 

[Zafiral]

The CC website states that only sites that are open year round can you book direct with the site currently. I am not sure why this is if the site has not yet closed, but I found calling the call centre I 'only' had to keep trying for 5 mins - try that method.

 

[Zafiral]

As a 2nd thought, perhaps all the standard pitches have now already been booked for the new year, and the site's discressionary allocation (spares for emergencies etc) can only be allocated nearer the time.

 

[dwebbie]

What a joke, all this technology and it still doesnt work. No wonder people go to other sites!

 

[Zafiral]

Darrell

Obviously quite a few people still want to go to CC sites, or we would not have this problem!!!

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Read Mikey's post in the other thread.

Why spend mega-bucks of club funds to cope with a problem that will probably, if the past years are anything to go by, last until later today.

All are to blame for sitting there with fingers on the meeses waiting to click on the site at 9am. I don't think many sites could cope with that. Even sites like Google have crashed through overloaded traffic.

In the past couple of years I've tried late afternoon and have had no problems logging in or booking the sites I required.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Compare it to Harrods New Year sales with everyone crushing against the doors and suddenly they open at 9am.

Chaos and mayhem. If people queued up in an orderly fashion this wouldn't happen but we can't queue up because this is the internet. Come to think of it I don't think people would queue even if we could, queuing and manners is something this country is losing. It seems to be all self, greed and survival of the fittest these days :O)

 

[Tiz]

Have tried to book by web but shows site full. I have e-mail club HQ and post you of their reply. PS the warden also said system applied to Hillhead CC site. the only two in the network where this applied.

 

[Fenester]

What a joke, all this technology and it still doesnt work. No wonder people go to other sites!

This is a classic case of I.T. people not talking to business people.

In normal use the website would probaly be fine the excessive demand caused by this silly scramble for places on one day is overstretching the performance of the web server and hence the failures.

If they managed the demand by sensible business rules then the expenditure on I.T to handle this excessive demand would be saved.

It is the business policy not the I.T. at fault here IMHO.

 

[Fenester]

This is a classic case of I.T. people not talking to business people.

In normal use the website would probaly be fine the excessive demand caused by this silly scramble for places on one day is overstretching the performance of the web server and hence the failures.

If they managed the demand by sensible business rules then the expenditure on I.T to handle this excessive demand would be saved.

It is the business policy not the I.T. at fault here IMHO.

Sorry Parksy for double posting but I am getting used to how this forum works I didnt realise a post as a comment to a response didnt join the main thread.

 

[Alison_374530624]

I have just tried to book New Year at Seacroft and found the same problem. I think it is disgusting. We all pay the same membership fees and there should be no preferential treatment just because you were on site last New year. My friends and I are wanting to use the club house to meet up in and enjoy the evenings rather than crowd into one van. The lady on reception is obviously not to blame and is just following club rules but she did say that she didnt agree with the way this is being handled! Can't disagree with that!!!

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

10.35am and to see what you meant I had no problem, logged straight on. Maybe you should have done it last night Alison, I had no problems whatsoever booking six sites.

Perhaps it was easy last night because everyone was ogling the gogglebox. I get my priorities right :O)

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

This year and next year booked up Alison. I accessed the CC website with no problems. Sorry.

 

[Surfer]

Same old boring moaning thread on this and other caravan forums. How many of the moaners have written to the CC. Do you really and honestly believe that the CC should spend their money on installing a super duper system for 10,000 poopers to login at the same time once a year? Not commercially viable so cry your eyes out!

 

[Parksy]

Ian if the thread is too boring or full of moans for you then I suggest that you skip to something that you find more to your taste instead of insulting members of this forum.

 

[Guest]

If there are 10000 members then things are better than I thought.

However, hidden beneath the 'brickbats' there are some 'pearls' of wisdom possibly.

The advance booking service was introduced by both main Clubs to give people opportunities to book desired sites through the comfort of their own home and also relieve wardens from answering telephones all day long. To that end it is to be applauded. However, the CC, unlike the C&CC felt that requiring a deposit, minimum stay or some form of booking tracking system was not necessary as they probably believed that people would not abuse the system. That was probably not a smart move. In the current world we live in, abuse of any system is taken as the norm, unfortunately.

Some liability has also to be accepted by the various carvanning/motorhome Forums, and their members, including myself, in that by highlighting perceived issues, they have in fact exacerbated the situation by 'encouraging', although not directly, people to try and book as early as possible, and as many sites as possible in order to get what they want. We are continually being told that the number of caravanners and motorhome owners is increasing and that more and more people are deciding to holiday at home, so demand is potentially exceeding supply. I personally do not subscribe to the first comment as it seems to be contradictory to manufacturers going bust, or reducing their range of models, and the 2nd is I feel only a 'blip' until people realise how expensive the UK is to holiday in, even compared with low exchange rates. However, if people feel that a commodity is going to be in short supply, then they will panic buy and stockpile. Campsites are no exception.

The CC have recognised that their advance booking system is not working as it should as even on their web page today they are offering a different link to the booking system, which in mycase worked well I may add, for the one midweek night I wanted in April. Whether they elect to change it for next year remains to be seen. It is also noticeable that the C&CC do not seem to be suffering similarly, so either people are so desirous of a CC site that they will ignore just as good alternatives, or the lack of a deposit system offers the opportunity to 'get something for free'. As many of the popular locations have excellent sites from both Clubs in the area, there seems to be little to choose between them, so there must be other reasons at play. Possibly there is still a mistaken belief that the CC is 'superior' to the C&CC as it has mainly caravans and motorhomes, and not 'riff raff' tents. As the CC does allow tents on some of its sites and it most certainly is not 'superior' I cannot fathom that one out at all, after many years of membership of both.

Maybe others can enlighten us. As for me, as I am 'lucky' to be retired I am heading for Spain in April and not coming back until October. So at least I will not be clogging any sites for anyone. I need heat in my old bones.

 

[Parksy]

On another caravan forum I read of somebody who was using three different servers to gain access to the CC booking system and another member of the same forum boasted that he was prepared to sit there all day repeatedly pressing F5 on his keyboard in order to book his preferred CC site.

If that sort of 'panic buy' mentality is more widespread no wonder caravan forums have many posts complaining that the CC booking system has crashed.

The CC can't be expected to spend money to upgrade their system just for a couple of intensive days so it would seem that the club is a victim of it's own success and there are just too many caravanners chasing too few pitches.