We've been touring now for approx 16 years.
At least 3 of our regular haunts have stopped taking tourers and filled the touring field with either more statics or lodges.
I'm currently on a Hobourne site in Somerset and hear say that it too might be going tourer free. Incidentally 2 of our old haunts were Hobourne sites that stopped tourers.
Are there many other incidents of this? I'm assuming statics and lodges are more lucrative than tourers so it's a real shame that some really good family touring sites are letting profit sway policy.
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Unfortunately we have noticed a similar theme over the last couple of years. On one site there were one or two statics in place, last year over half the site was static, I reckon next year it will all be static and lodges with hot tubs.
I guess it’s a financial decision, you can open all year round, not weather dependant , don’t need a toilet block to clean and maintain, can charge more. Hopefully it doesn’t gain in popularity and we will have places to go and stay and enjoy the great British countryside.
Looking at it from the sites' point of view, statics are guaranteed money all year round. Static owners still have to pay their ground rent whether they are on site or not. Sites also make money out of siting and un-siting statics, and from the commission on sales, whether private or their own. If the site is full, they can't lose.
Tourers on the other hand come and go, and at times sites may be practically empty with little or no income but still need to be maintained. I can see why many may want to go down that route, but I hope not too many of them do it.
Being retired we always try to go with our tourer during term time, and for short breaks we tend to go on weekdays. This is partly because of cost issues, but also because sites tend to be much quieter then, so it helps us and hopefully helps the sites by giving them a little bit more income during the week and out of the main season.
I think a problem for some of these sites from a touring perspective is that outside of the peak holiday times they are not busy enough to justify all the facilities. Changing to Lodges etc extends their season and ups their financial reward. Sandy Balls in the New Forest has this year stopped taking tourers. Perhaps its a clever move as our hobby of caravans and motorhomes seems to be facing an uncertain future in the coming years?
David
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Yes. C&CC sites are going over to statics too - frustrating at Scone (Perth) when we were put on a track as there were no hardstands left, but none of the statics on the former touring area were occupied.
And Forestry sites are going over to log cabins - one of our favourite sites at the head of Loch Long is all chalets now.
We have friends who owned a static on a site, had to buy another one from the site owner when theirs was 5 years old & get the "old" one off site. When that was 5 years old, the friend looked up how much the same static would cost & found the owner's markup was 100%. Plus site fees. Friends bought a holiday flat instead.
The Loch long site has been gradually moving over to statics for years. I saw them building every year when I lived up the road. I passed it every day.
It is becoming a problem in France. A lot of sites are moving over to chalets. So many French have invested in motorhomes as well and the tent campers have been almost pushed out of some sites.
I like statics, but I'd never buy one even if I could afford it, which I can't. I don't think I'd even have one as a gift for the reasons Fiona mentions above.
If I want to stay in a static, which we did in Dawlish a few years ago, I would rent one. However, not all statics or chalets allow dogs so that would be no good for us.
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Topic: Touring sites going static / lodge only?
via mobile 28/5/2019 at 5:51pm
