Is the Caravan & Motorhome Club Going BUST?

[izwozral]

 

[guerdeval]

I let my membership lapse due to the high cost of pitches, the one at Bristol is even costlier than this around £70 from memory and that’s IF you can get on due to long termers block booking ,

 

[Firefox]

I personally think there is nothing in this story. The problem with You Tube Channels is that they rely on very sensational and clickbait type headlines as well as misleading thumbnails to get views, which all contributes to growing the channel or getting ad revenue.

Van life blogs are the same. Stupid, misleading headlines and fake drama such that many of them are unwatchable.

CAMC has a steady membership of well over 1 million and is very successful at charging its largely well-off members well over the odds for campsites. It does an excellent job of creaming off their disposable incomes into its own account.

I don't see that changing any time soon.

 

[GMJ]

This is how rumours start.

To my eyes he is over-reading that letter and looking at an interpretation of the words that I certainly didn't read into to them. The C&MC yearly accounts always look healthy plus sites always appear busy to me.

We are on one now - Pandy site - and it has been full this weekend (give or take) and at least 2/3rds full on week days too.

 

[Fisherman]

I to reckon this is hype, but on our recent trip to Wales we noticed that their sites were not full. The same applied to CCC sites on another trip. Also both organisations are constantly making offers of discounts.
But independent sites are not doing as well also. On a recent visit to Arran Seal Shores a small site in Kildonan normally booked out months in advance had empty pitches. Also it’s well known that many sites are not doing as well as in the past.
What I think is happening is in the past most bought caravans which were primarily used on sites, but today Motorhome and camper van sales are greater than caravan sales. And we don’t always need these sites. Also in the past caravan owners tended to stay weeks at a time, we tend to spend only a night or two.
Times are changing, and no doubt things are more challenging for campsites, so it makes you wonder why some of them alienate the very customers they depend on with some of their comments.

 

[Okta]

Bit of a leap to jump from reducing the deposit to going bust. They may be having a poor year financially but a marketing letter to members and going bust are very different matters.

 

[trevskoda]

Anyone paying 60/70 to stay on any site must need there head looking at big time.

 

[number14]

CAMC are so expensive now. We, and, I guess, most of us here, don't need EHU in the summer and, yet, they offer very few pitches without. We recently stayed on two CCC sites, grass, no EHU, for £11 and £12pn and about to stay on another for £13pn. This is with 10% wrinklies discount and 40% pitch discount, the latter for 3 night minimum. This gives the slightly silly situation that it's cheaper to pay for 3 nights even if you only stay 2.

 

[wildebus]

I to reckon this is hype, but on our recent trip to Wales we noticed that their sites were not full. The same applied to CCC sites on another trip. Also both organisations are constantly making offers of discounts.
But independent sites are not doing as well also. On a recent visit to Arran Seal Shores a small site in Kildonan normally booked out months in advance had empty pitches. Also it’s well known that many sites are not doing as well as in the past.
What I think is happening is in the past most bought caravans which were primarily used on sites, but today Motorhome and camper van sales are greater than caravan sales. And we don’t always need these sites. Also in the past caravan owners tended to stay weeks at a time, we tend to spend only a night or two.
Times are changing, and no doubt things are more challenging for campsites, so it makes you wonder why some of them alienate the very customers they depend on with some of their comments.

I would think the main reasons sites are emptier this year is the godawful weather for the entire year so far.
Every time I think 'ok, gonna go away' it starts to rain and rain and rain. And it is now mid-July and had the heating last night!
I'm not someone who goes for hikes or the like so what is the point of driving somewhere just to sit in a van watching the rain pour down when I could do that in the comfort of my own home?

 

[Fisherman]

I would think the main reasons sites are emptier this year is the godawful weather for the entire year so far.
Every time I think 'ok, gonna go away' it starts to rain and rain and rain. And it is now mid-July and had the heating last night!
I'm not someone who goes for hikes or the like so what is the point of driving somewhere just to sit in a van watching the rain pour down when I could do that in the comfort of my own home?

Strange David, we spent 24 days in the north of Scotland in April and apart from one afternoon we saw no rain apart from during the night. We then headed down to Wales for 14 days and had one days rain. Last week on Arran we spent a week there and had two days of rain. And during these visits in exceptionally good weather the sites were not as busy as usual. The fact is over the years campsites are not as busy as they used to be, there will always be fluctuations in the weather, but overall site bookings are down. I don’t think the clubs will go bust, that’s nonsense, but I do think times are changing.

 

[caledonia]

Clickbait.

 

[Debroos]

Strange David, we spent 24 days in the north of Scotland in April and apart from one afternoon we saw no rain apart from during the night. We then headed down to Wales for 14 days and had one days rain. Last week on Arran we spent a week there and had two days of rain. And during these visits in exceptionally good weather the sites were not as busy as usual. The fact is over the years campsites are not as busy as they used to be, there will always be fluctuations in the weather, but overall site bookings are down. I don’t think the clubs will go bust, that’s nonsense, but I do think times are changing.

I think all the new small independent and pop up sites are making a big difference, together with the cost of living.
I've noticed in Cornwall that since loads of landlords chucked out their tenants to do Airbnb after covid there are now way more vacancies for the same reasons.

 

[guerdeval]

Strange David, we spent 24 days in the north of Scotland in April and apart from one afternoon we saw no rain apart from during the night. We then headed down to Wales for 14 days and had one days rain. Last week on Arran we spent a week there and had two days of rain. And during these visits in exceptionally good weather the sites were not as busy as usual. The fact is over the years campsites are not as busy as they used to be, there will always be fluctuations in the weather, but overall site bookings are down. I don’t think the clubs will go bust, that’s nonsense, but I do think times are changing.

You’re really lucky with the weather, can you let us know when you plan to go away

 

[Fisherman]

You’re really lucky with the weather, can you let us know when you plan to go away

Yes we were, extremely lucky.
I will pm you prior to our next trip, we don't want the whole forum out at the same time.
During the North of Scotland trip, we managed to avoid the rain.
We would leave a place when it started to rain, then head to where it had been raining.
But I don't reckon the lower campsite bookings over the past few years have anything to do with the weather.

 

[korky]

I would think the main reasons sites are emptier this year is the godawful weather for the entire year so far.
Every time I think 'ok, gonna go away' it starts to rain and rain and rain. And it is now mid-July and had the heating last night!
I'm not someone who goes for hikes or the like so what is the point of driving somewhere just to sit in a van watching the rain pour down when I could do that in the comfort of my own home?

You're not wrong about the weather. Our local TV news had a report on how bookings are massively down in Derbyshire,they interviewed campsite owners and others in local tourism and it's hitting them hard. On a personal level, I visit mid-Wales every couple of weeks, May to September, to fish for grey mullet. I never use sites, but have only been once this year. Next week or two looks poor. Last year I never fished after June as it never stopped raining from start of July till I left for France in September.

 

[Fazerloz]

Click bait he gets paid for views

 

[1 Cup]

It's all advertising ! So good news for a few bad news for fewer. And wildcamping people in the middle love it.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

I think all the new small independent and pop up sites are making a big difference, together with the cost of living.
I've noticed in Cornwall that since loads of landlords chucked out their tenants to do Airbnb after covid there are now way more vacancies for the same reasons.

100%

Cost of living is a huge factor.

If not retired on a good pension, or don't have high-salaried employment, a lot of "ordinary" working folk budget for every penny (or borrow and get into debt).

Met a couple recently who have returned from living in the Canaries for many years. Their small tourism business suffered during the pandemic (no support from the Spanish government) and the big guys are cashing in expanding their all-inclusive hotel resorts (and more already being built). A lot of families want all-inclusive more than ever because they can work to a tighter budget. It can be the death knell for many of the small, independent local business that depend on tourism. Goes some way to explain the anti-tourism agitation in Spain recently.

The Spanish government is apparently as cr*p as ours at managing their "economy" (and just as corrupt, if not more so - if that's actually possible given the track record).

Who knew?!

 

[r4dent]

Better looking at the published accounts than a click bait headline based on the reduction of the booking fee.

They are in good financial health.

CARAVAN CLUB LIMITED(THE) filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

CARAVAN CLUB LIMITED(THE) - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

 

[korky]

Yeah,as Marie says,the economy is crocked as well as the weather.