Just adding some poundage to the weight of prevailing thoughts - keep your existing policy for known, regular campers - stick the deposit up to 50% for newbies, until they prove their trustworthiness, otherwise there is an element of the populace who will take advantage of you - let's face it what's a few quid here or there to them? Nor is it to you - unless it prevents you renting a site at its full economic worth.
Sorry, but time to toughen up (except for your returners of course)
Mols
My e-mail to a no-show!
LOVE IT!e-richard wrote:I'm reminded of a local restaurant who always takes a phone number when confirming reservations.
For no-shows, he simply calls back and very politely ask why they deprived others of a table that night.
The punch line: He calls you at 3am in the morning !
Although we're usually too knackered to see the other 3 o'clock!
It just says it all.
I feel that the important thing is to say/email something - don't let them get away with these bad manners. I'm really big on manners, one of my guests complained(she was a snooty cow!) that if anyone had to teach her son manners it would be her and not me (he had not said thank-you for some strawberries I had given him and I politely reminded him when he grabbed them!).
I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on I go into another room and read a good book.
Oh Fibi(he had not said thank-you for some strawberries I had given him and I politely reminded him when he grabbed them!).
..I do that with kids..I was helping in my friends cafe and they never got served without a please or a thank you[it was in a Bowling Alley so lots of the little darlings] but it didnt take long before they were all doing it
...and when I did get some really polite children come in I made a point of praising them and telling the Mums what a credit they were....Even my little ones at toddlers[all three and under say thank you when I pass drinks out now...well only the ones that can talk of course
I let the others off 
and they all still think Im the bees knees ]-
Rosbif
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Stu adding to the 50% deposit thing, which I think is great and you should implement, do you usually find out what time people will be arriving? You should maybe ask them to phone you if they are going to be later than they say, stating that if they don't arrive by that time and don't phone you will re-let the pitch.
Then if they dont turn up by, for example, 3pm and haven't called to say they will be late you can let to someone else if they turn up unannounced looking for a pitch?
I was also quite amazed when we booked a gite for 2 nights down near Pau, they didn't want a deposit or security deposit, just payment when we left!
Then if they dont turn up by, for example, 3pm and haven't called to say they will be late you can let to someone else if they turn up unannounced looking for a pitch?
I was also quite amazed when we booked a gite for 2 nights down near Pau, they didn't want a deposit or security deposit, just payment when we left!
You mean II believe there are a number of theories, my own favourite is that it's a corruption of "business", as in "it's the business".
didnt just make it up
..shucks back to the drawing board. Maybe its was something said by bees when they were asked what they knelt on
..just a thought...Thanks Kathy
Ive had soo many nice comments this weekend Im really surprised 
..and chuffed of course ..-
The Moles Mother
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- Location: Burgundy, France
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I suppose it has to be regarded as a hazard of the job in B&B but we've had a sprinkling of no-shows over the four years we've been doing this.
It's usually the one-nighters, so we now ask them for a deposit of 50% and so far this season they've all turned up.
Most annoying one this season was a last minute family who also booked dinner then blithely phoned up at 5.30 pm to say they weren't coming as they'd had trouble with the traffic. Of course, since they'd only booked a couple of days previously there'd been no time to get a deposit. Hubby told them they had to pay the full amount and the guy said he'd send a cheque. Of course we've had nothing. We have his mobile phone number so the plan is to keep phoning him up at inconvenient times until he gets fed up and pays just to get rid of us - hopefully!
In future any last minuters get told we want a 50% deposit via Paypal.
MM
It's usually the one-nighters, so we now ask them for a deposit of 50% and so far this season they've all turned up.
Most annoying one this season was a last minute family who also booked dinner then blithely phoned up at 5.30 pm to say they weren't coming as they'd had trouble with the traffic. Of course, since they'd only booked a couple of days previously there'd been no time to get a deposit. Hubby told them they had to pay the full amount and the guy said he'd send a cheque. Of course we've had nothing. We have his mobile phone number so the plan is to keep phoning him up at inconvenient times until he gets fed up and pays just to get rid of us - hopefully!
In future any last minuters get told we want a 50% deposit via Paypal.
MM
A vegetarian oasis in the heart of Boeuf Bourguignonne country
http://www.lesbattees.com/
http://www.lesbattees.com/
We camp quite often on the Atlantic coast and most sites there won't take bookings for less than a week, you just have to turn up and take pot luck. We've been considering camping in the next couple of weeks, just for one night near to Nimes. The sites I looked at there ask for 100euro deposit when booking, regardless of the lenght of stay - you get the balance back afterwards if your holiday costs less than this (at 17 euros a night, a lot would) and I suppose it also serves as a damage deposit for shorter stays.