Meantime Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Easter is early this year so extending the traditional hire season. Herbert Woods are reporting a 55% increase in bookings so far compared to the same period last year and they are building an additional 5 new picnic boats. So could this be a bumper year for The Broads? http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/herbert-woods-invests-350-000-in-building-new-picnic-boats-1-5365421 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadAmbition Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Probably due to the poor exchange rate of the Euro / Dollar to our wonderful £ Griff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meantime Posted January 23, 2018 Author Share Posted January 23, 2018 4 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said: Probably due to the poor exchange rate of the Euro / Dollar to our wonderful £ Griff The Dollar still has a way to go, but currently at 1.40 compared to 1.22 last march, although the Euro is still dire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Good news regarding bookings, although I will be there over the Easter holidays so it may be another week darn sarf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gracie Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 18 hours ago, Jayfire said: Good news regarding bookings, although I will be there over the Easter holidays so it may be another week darn sarf Do you need crew? I'll bring chocolate It's great to hear that bookings are up for whatever reason, long may it continue, it's part of what keeps our Broads alive Anyone thinking of a boating holiday, remember the smaller yards too, use em or lose em as they say Grace 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Without trying to be a killjoy but putting on my business hat:- Bookings are just that. They are prospects who have paid a deposit, it is the conversion at six weeks prior to hard cash that matters. We have seen this story told every year recently but have also seen the tellers offer huge discounts as the height of season approaches. I do wonder what folk feel when they see their holiday that they have paid for offered 25% cheaper. The time to judge a season is 31st October not January. Carillion used to count their chickens! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 4 hours ago, Gracie said: Do you need crew? I'll bring chocolate No thanks you are too unreliable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughan Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 3 hours ago, ChrisB said: I do wonder what folk feel when they see their holiday that they have paid for offered 25% cheaper. This is why the two letting agencies never gave discounts for either early or late booking and neither did Crown Blue line, until the "tour operators" came along. The price published in the brochure was what you paid, and it should still be like that, in my view. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londonlad1985 Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 I'm on Siesta for 3 nights easter weekend. Hopefully see you all out and afloat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Ricko Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 4 hours ago, ChrisB said: Without trying to be a killjoy but putting on my business hat:- Bookings are just that. They are prospects who have paid a deposit, it is the conversion at six weeks prior to hard cash that matters. We have seen this story told every year recently but have also seen the tellers offer huge discounts as the height of season approaches. I do wonder what folk feel when they see their holiday that they have paid for offered 25% cheaper. The time to judge a season is 31st October not January. Carillion used to count their chickens! we don't discount which is why we book early, if we discount a holiday you have booked we will give you 110% of the difference, we have only done this once a few years ago when we priced a boat wrong, the few customers who had booked were most pleased when they got the call! 13 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meantime Posted January 24, 2018 Author Share Posted January 24, 2018 30 minutes ago, C.Ricko said: we don't discount which is why we book early, if we discount a holiday you have booked we will give you 110% of the difference, we have only done this once a few years ago when we priced a boat wrong, the few customers who had booked were most pleased when they got the call! Seems a very fair policy. It must be hard to do a price match type policy such as high street retailers use, due to the difference in internal fit out of similar boats and also the quality of fit out etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broads01 Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 11 hours ago, C.Ricko said: we don't discount which is why we book early, if we discount a holiday you have booked we will give you 110% of the difference, we have only done this once a few years ago when we priced a boat wrong, the few customers who had booked were most pleased when they got the call! And you're spot on with that policy Clive. Anyway, you don't need to offer discounts because your prices are already better than everybody else's, especially when you take the loyalty scheme into account. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelsea14Ian Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 On 24/01/2018 at 05:49, Gracie said: Do you need crew? I'll bring chocolate It's great to hear that bookings are up for whatever reason, long may it continue, it's part of what keeps our Broads alive Anyone thinking of a boating holiday, remember the smaller yards too, use em or lose em as they say Grace You forgot the wine Grace! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBA Marine Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Easter being early just means I have less time to get boats ready for it! I had all winter, where has time gone!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughan Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 It's also bad for bookings and if you get a bad Easter, you never seem to catch it up, in the rest of the season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 If only there was some great publicity around how lovely the Norfolk Broads are, like a BBC-backed competition for the best NP. That would surely increase bookings. But since there isn't, never mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meantime Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 1 minute ago, batrabill said: If only there was some great publicity around how lovely the Norfolk Broads are, like a BBC-backed competition for the best NP. That would surely increase bookings. But since there isn't, never mind. Off course any such competition would also help bring the other National Parks to peoples attention and therefore possibly divert peoples interests to other areas of the country, to the disadvantage of The Broads. It's a double edged sword that one. I'm now thinking of a summer break in Snowdonia, which I wasn't until I saw the video. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Snowdonia is great, as is the Broads. The 'lager louts' image of the Broads portrayed on U-Tube is a hard one to live down, hardly likely to attract the real national park aficionados! There was no argument with the Broads being marketed as being a member of the national parks family. A departure from that simple truth and a justifiable lack of trust in the Authority is not helpful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meantime Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 The lager lout image is probably more closely related to The Broads than any of the National Parks. More effort should be spent on trying to correct that image and controlling the behaviour of some of those parties than worrying about trying to be something they are not. If the executive want to work in a National Park and help shape the future of a National Park, why don't they move to a proper National Park. Simple really. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wussername Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, EastCoastIPA said: The lager lout image is probably more closely related to The Broads than any of the National Parks. More effort should be spent on trying to correct that image and controlling the behaviour of some of those parties than worrying about trying to be something they are not. The lager lout image is not one that I recognise. It does no favours to The Broads whatsoever to focus on an issue which simply does not exist to any great extent. I hope that this does not act as a catalyst to start again on stag nights, they happen but they are contained and managed with the unfortunate exception of one instance last year. Andrew Edited January 25, 2018 by Wussername Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Andrew, the unfortunate lager lout image to which I referred is as regretfully portrayed by U-Tube and viewed by a huge amount of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Andrew, the unfortunate lager lout image to which I referred is as regretfully portrayed by U-Tube and viewed by a huge amount of people.Maybe if the Broads won a prestigious award it would help dispel the bad image. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist that one Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 What JohnK said. Sorry I’ll stop now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Ricko Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 is this topic going to descend into another NP debate? (or should I say AMOTNPF?) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxwellian Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 3 minutes ago, C.Ricko said: is this topic going to descend into another NP debate? (or should I say AMOTNPF?) Wise words Clive, I hope not please. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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