Caravan Club improves booking service ahead of annual rush

by Chris Jefferies
They say the early bird catches the worm, and whilst this has never been comprehensively proven, what we at Caravan Times can confidently tell you is that the early booking gets you the best spot with the Caravan Club.
Each year in December, the outdoors organisation opens up its booking system for the following year to its one million or so members.
This invariably results in a hectic scramble to bag the perfect pitch for that all-important summer family getaway, and with some sites booking up quickly for peak season, it’s important to move fast.
Proceedings will get underway at 9am on Wednesday 7th December this year, with the bookings processed the following week.
This time around, the Club is making a real push for members to book online and several improvements have been made to the booking process on their website to make the whole experience easier to complete.
In addition, there will be plenty of money-saving offers available across the 200 sites and 2,500 Certified Locations, such as ‘Kids for a penny’, midweek discounts and ‘Only eleven’, which gets you a pitch for two adults and two children for just £11 per night (at selected sites).
For help picking your ideal caravan park, the Club will also be sending out the Essential Guide to The Caravan Club Network 2012 booklet alongside the December 2011 edition of the Caravan Club magazine.
When searching for your favourite site, don’t forget that the Caravan Club has recently changed the names of 13 of their most popular parks.
On your marks…
As always, Caravan Club members will be able to reserve their spot without paying any deposit, but this year a new ‘three strikes’ system will be in place for those who do not give enough warning that their plans have changed.
The Club said in a statement: “The minimum notice required for any pitch cancellation is 72 hours. Members who cancel inside 72 hours, or fail to turn up at a booked pitch, three times during 2012 will forfeit their ability to book for 14 days – any forward bookings will also be cancelled.”
What’s more, anyone planning to leave a site earlier than planned must give 72 hours notice, or they will incur a charge of one extra night’s stay.
These changes are clearly intended to stop frivolous bookings, but nonetheless it’s safe to predict a flurry of eager and highly organised caravanners booking their 2012 getaway next week.
Are you preparing for the annual caravan site bookings rush? What do you think of the Caravan Club’s online booking system? Share your thoughts in our community forum.