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campsparkle2010-01-14 11:07 am
nopseud) wrote in campsparkle2010-01-14 11:07 am
Entry tags:
Camp Sparkle 2010
First of all, some general info about why it's taken us a while to get rolling with things this year.
Last time, several people weren't happy with the standard of the cottage. The truth is, it's proving pretty difficult to find somewhere large enough *and* low cost *and* sufficiently nice. (We're also establishing 'a shop within walking distance' as a new rule :-) For somewhere better than last year, with reasonable access to transport links, we're very probably going to have to spend more money.
Also, rental prices have gone up generally since we started Camp Sparkle. For example, when we rented The Old Stables, the charge for a week was £87/person. To book exactly the same week this year would be £110/person. Little Brampton cost £850 in 2007, and in 2010 the same weekend would be £1250.
Finally, in 2009 we rather seriously underbudgeted for food, which left us a shortfall in expenses. Luckily, there was a little bit of reserve left in the Camp Sparkle account from the last two years which covered some it, but the account is now completely empty. So we're also going to have to increase the amount we charge for food up front (probably somewhere in the region of £45 for the week), or come up with a system for collecting more during Camp Sparkle itself.
With this in mind, we want to run a poll to see what kind of places we're able to look at for this year. Please be honest about what you'd be willing to pay -- if we book something and no one else comes, we are going to have a rather expensive and lonely holiday for two :-)
[Poll #1511429]
It also makes a difference to price as to how closely we can tailor the size of the house to the number of people coming. Basically, most places charge a flat rate rather than per person, and so generally the better the match the better value it will be. Otherwise, we're paying for beds we don't use. *Please* fill in this poll if you want to come this year, because we'll be basing the size of the houses we look at on it.
The time we're looking at is somewhere in April/May.
[Poll #1511430]
Last time, several people weren't happy with the standard of the cottage. The truth is, it's proving pretty difficult to find somewhere large enough *and* low cost *and* sufficiently nice. (We're also establishing 'a shop within walking distance' as a new rule :-) For somewhere better than last year, with reasonable access to transport links, we're very probably going to have to spend more money.
Also, rental prices have gone up generally since we started Camp Sparkle. For example, when we rented The Old Stables, the charge for a week was £87/person. To book exactly the same week this year would be £110/person. Little Brampton cost £850 in 2007, and in 2010 the same weekend would be £1250.
Finally, in 2009 we rather seriously underbudgeted for food, which left us a shortfall in expenses. Luckily, there was a little bit of reserve left in the Camp Sparkle account from the last two years which covered some it, but the account is now completely empty. So we're also going to have to increase the amount we charge for food up front (probably somewhere in the region of £45 for the week), or come up with a system for collecting more during Camp Sparkle itself.
With this in mind, we want to run a poll to see what kind of places we're able to look at for this year. Please be honest about what you'd be willing to pay -- if we book something and no one else comes, we are going to have a rather expensive and lonely holiday for two :-)
[Poll #1511429]
It also makes a difference to price as to how closely we can tailor the size of the house to the number of people coming. Basically, most places charge a flat rate rather than per person, and so generally the better the match the better value it will be. Otherwise, we're paying for beds we don't use. *Please* fill in this poll if you want to come this year, because we'll be basing the size of the houses we look at on it.
The time we're looking at is somewhere in April/May.
[Poll #1511430]
no subject
If any of these years my house happens to be unrented at the time, it could probably be used if it's big enough. No beds, though. (It's cheaper council tax if there are no beds when it's empty. British taxes are weird.) Still, I guess if the house was free (sans maybe the cost of a cleaning company coming in after?) it might be possible to rent some furnishings for a week for less than renting a whole cottage.
no subject
sans maybe the cost of a cleaning company coming in after?
Judging by the last three Camp Sparkles, you might actually end up with a cleaner house than you started with, anyway :-)