Is it fair for clubs to charge more for pitches in the school holidays?

• Wednesday, 9 July 2008
• Heather Newby
• 1 Comments

Should you have to pay more for pitches in the holidays?

YES says Geoff Goodrich

I always paid increased pitch fees when my children were at school, to comply with school holidays. So I can?t see anything wrong with the idea. The flip side of the coin is that parks offer discounts in the low season. This, of course, encourages caravanners who aren?t tied to school holidays to visit ?out of season? and therefore helps to make more pitches available during the school holidays.
Clubs do experience a shortage of pitches, especially in the summer holidays, so we shouldn?t be surprised if they increase fees during periods of high occupancy. Importantly, as they are non-profit-making organisations, the surplus they make is ploughed back for the benefit of members. One excellent example of this is The Caravan Club?s recently opened site, Burr Country Park, at Bury, developed from scratch at a cost of over £2 million. This year the club will open at least two more parks, again costing millions. And let?s not forget that The Camping and Caravanning Club also reinvests profits for the benefit of its members. If neither club had variable pitch fees they might have to increase their subscriptions substantially to expand their networks of sites for us all to enjoy.


NO Says Gerald Butler

Surely the point of a club is that it is run for the benefit of the members, and isn?t driven by a commercial profit motive. So what motive can there be for charging more at times of greatest demand, other than to extract the most cash out of members? Running costs are not increased simply because schools happen to be closed. The site manager still has to be paid, grass cut, facilities cleaned, and shops manned, whether or not schools are on holiday. Peak times might mean extra work, but more people means higher revenue, easily covering any extra costs, without any need to impose a premium rate.
Members not restricted to school holidays don?t need a financial incentive to be tempted out at other times. Roads are less congested, sites more peaceful, and the weather is often better! Who in their right mind would join the school holiday scramble, unless they have to?
Every club member pays a membership fee and should get the same deal. By charging more for school holidays, clubs penalise individuals who, through no fault of their own, do not have freedom of choice on timing. It is iniquitous, and clubs should review their policies.