Will Hoseasons / Blake's Be Changing

[Andrewcook]

Will Hoseasons / Blake's  leave the Boating  sector so they can be able to concentrate on  Holiday Homes and Caravan Parks and Lodges  as most of  Hiring of Boating Yard do their own Web  advertising now but they are all still in with the  Boating Association I believe .

[Broads01]

It's hard to say if they'll stick around or not. Although all the hire operators have their own website, some of the smaller ones such as Horning Pleasurecraft, Bridge Boats and Silverline rely on Hoseasons to handle their bookings. It saves them the cost and hassle of doing it themselves.

[andyg]

Talking of the future etc, I wonder if hoseason can tell from there data if many 1st time visitors that holidayed during the covid staycation bubble have returned. That would be an interesting snippet of info. As for hoseason staying around I guess that's all down to how much commission they can demand. Time will tell. I learned something new this year, I've always tried to book direct with the yard assuming they didn't pay commission on my booking, I was wrong. They still get there bit...

[JanetAnne]

I think that has always been the case. 

[trambo]

I'm sure the Awaze Group will still market boating holidays as long as it makes them money. A boat is something a little special to us. I strongly suspect to Awaze it is just another unit. That is not too negatively criticise them in what they do. Its simply the nature of the beast

Fred

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, JanetAnne said:

I think that has always been the case. 

In Blakes, you paid a reduced commission on an "owner's booking" and Hoseasons had a similar system.  This is fair enough as the agent is still handling the booking and in a lot of aspects, guaranteeing it.  Blakes had what they called a "hirer's hardship scheme" a long time before ABTA was invented.

[DAVIDH]

2 hours ago, andyg said:

Talking of the future etc, I wonder if hoseason can tell from there data if many 1st time visitors that holidayed during the covid staycation bubble have returned.

They surely will be able to tell that. My own data shows that in comparison to 2020 and 2021, the market is down. You only have to look at what's still available for the school holidays to see that. In the previous two years, these would have been sold out for months. It stands to reason that the windfall of bookings brought by the perceived closure of our borders, has now gone elsewhere (in part). Maybe some people are going for less expensive holidays this year too, with the state of everyone's finances. I saw that the West Country tourist associations were saying ther was still availability, and not to think of the place as full, like last year. My guess is that it will stabalise at what we were all used to before 2020, where the school holidays sell out, though closer to the date, and the shoulder months will still have availability.

[floydraser]

Interesting. There seems to be a fad for creative camping at the moment which has been going on for a few years. I refer to "glamping pods" and ready pitched "tents" which appear to made from lorry tarpaulins. We are members of the Camping and Caravan Club and as such have seen these spring up in various places. A lot of investment but mostly, they stand empty until high season. As I said though, probably a fad which may fade away. They are though, taking customers away from more traditional holidays.

[Paul]

Glamping is nothing new, it was huge in Victorian and Edwardian times, when the well-heeled would go off the beaten track to ready assembled camps with tents nothing short of lavish. Often they would tour during the day whilst a legion of camp hands moved everything and re-erected it somewhere new ready for the next evening. There would be palatial dining halls with dance floors, tents with crystal candelabra - all packed away and recreated for the next evening. Queen Victoria is credited with starting the "fad" 175 years ago 

[Vaughan]

18 hours ago, DAVIDH said:

My own data shows that in comparison to 2020 and 2021, the market is down.

BBC Look East did an interview yesterday on the NBD front quay at Wroxham, on the theme of how not to fall down and die in the street because the sun is shining.

Interestingly, you could see most of the basin behind, at only 5PM - all three big trip boats were in, what looked like almost all the day launches and a good long row of empty hire cruisers behind, in what is now mid July.

I have also been enjoying members' photos and drone images of their holidays.  There seem to be plenty of moorings available on the north rivers just now!

Sadly it has also turned out to be a dreadful year for tourism in general here in France.  I haven't seen Le Boat with any more than half their fleet out yet and it is normally only about a quarter.  On Sunday there was only one English car in the park out of only 11 others, mostly Spanish.

[YnysMon]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

There seem to be plenty of moorings available on the north rivers just now!

I can't yet comment on the Northern rivers, but it does seem very quiet here down south. Beccles was less than half full Saturday, taking into consideration that the wherry Albion was also moored there. As we cruised from Norwich to Polkey's Mill yesterday evening we observed that only half of Norwich was taken, only one boat moored at Whitlingham, and one at the Commissioner's Cut (both sides now open). I missed Bramerton as I wasn't on the helm, but there weren't any boats on the 'wild' moorings in Short Dyke Rockland, nothing outside the Beauchamp Arms, one good space at Cantley, but Albion was also moored at the pub,  only one boat at Hardley Mill and one at Hardley Cross. Reedham was full, and there was one space left at Polkey's Mill, but there is an early-ish tide at Yarmouth this morning. 

[Svenuk]

On 19/07/2022 at 06:36, YnysMon said:

I can't yet comment on the Northern rivers, but it does seem very quiet here down south. Beccles was less than half full Saturday, taking into consideration that the wherry Albion was also moored there. As we cruised from Norwich to Polkey's Mill yesterday evening we observed that only half of Norwich was taken, only one boat moored at Whitlingham, and one at the Commissioner's Cut (both sides now open). I missed Bramerton as I wasn't on the helm, but there weren't any boats on the 'wild' moorings in Short Dyke Rockland, nothing outside the Beauchamp Arms, one good space at Cantley, but Albion was also moored at the pub,  only one boat at Hardley Mill and one at Hardley Cross. Reedham was full, and there was one space left at Polkey's Mill, but there is an early-ish tide at Yarmouth this morning. 

I think you will see an increase this weekend. School term finishes this week .Thats a lot of families decending on the broads on and off boats. I will be on a boat with my partner and our daughters family out of Silverline in Brundall. Should be interesting to see if I'm right.

[YnysMon]

4 hours ago, Svenuk said:

I think you will see an increase this weekend. School term finishes this week .Thats a lot of families decending on the broads on and off boats. I will be on a boat with my partner and our daughters family out of Silverline in Brundall. Should be interesting to see if I'm right.

Yes, I'm sure that will be the case. We try to avoid school holidays, so when we were originally allocated the August bank holiday week we swapped for this week with syndicate members who have grandchildren.

[Tempest]

On 19/07/2022 at 06:36, YnysMon said:

only one boat moored at Whitlingham

Can you more here again? As I thought these moorings had been given back by the BA, so didnt know the current status

We always enjoyed mooring here as a visit to the park was always nice 

[Meantime]

7 minutes ago, Tempest said:

Can you more here again? As I thought these moorings had been given back by the BA, so didnt know the current status

We always enjoyed mooring here as a visit to the park was always nice 

The BA have handed them back to The Whitlingham Country Park Trust as well as the day to day management of the whole park and the visitor centre. Last time I was up that way the BA electric post had been removed and there were Black Do Not Moor signs on the edge of the quay heading which whilst quite small are difficult to miss. Not surprisingly there are a small number of Upper Yare cruisers who seem to think it doesn't apply to them.

[Meantime]

To update this, I have emailed The Whitlingham Trust and received the following reply.

"Thank you for your enquiry.

Were really pleased you enjoy visiting by boat but unfortunately the moorings remain closed at the moment while the Trust decide on its future management.

We were hoping to be open for the summer season but at the moment that doesn’t look likely, very sorry.

Best wishes"

So in short even if you see the usual suspects mooring there, the moorings are technically closed.

[YnysMon]

I didn’t spot the no mooring signs, but then I didn’t look very hard as there was a boat moored up there. 

[Meantime]

2 hours ago, YnysMon said:

I didn’t spot the no mooring signs, but then I didn’t look very hard as there was a boat moored up there. 

The signs are on the edge of the quayheading facing the river, so chances are the boats moored there were blocking the signs!

[ranworthbreeze]

I have never been able to moor there it has been full with boats including a Broads Boat, I tried to moor on what I thought was a pontoon extension only to see the canoe sign on the top of the pontoon.

 

[Meantime]

34 minutes ago, ranworthbreeze said:

I have never been able to moor there it has been full with boats including a Broads Boat, I tried to moor on what I thought was a pontoon extension only to see the canoe sign on the top of the pontoon.

 

The pontoon extension has been there for some time and has always been for the sole use of canoes. Likewise a little along is a very well piled and defended piece of quay heading which I think was used by work boats when Whitlingham was an active quarry. Again that has always had no mooring signs on it, although the same usual suspects think it doesn't apply.

I suspect the trust deciding on the future management of the moorings is code for how to police the overstayers, which off course the BA used to do when the whole park was managed by them. Since the refurb of Commisioners Cut the BA are probably meeting their target of distance between moorings and therefore have no need to lease the mooring from the park.

[YnysMon]

It will be annoying if the Whitlingham moorings stay shut due to problems with a few people who break the rules and overstay. It’s a great place to stop and take the dog for a walk.