Our Future Weekends - Costs and Commitments
19th July 2024
In: News, Members' Articles
The Future For Our Weekends
A Heads-Up! From Tony Tarlton - Conference Organiser
You may very-well ask “Where is the April 2025 Weekend Meeting going to be?” A good question.
It is proving harder to obtain hotels on similar terms to those we have been used to. Kegworth was a possibility but some central staff lost my enquiry and then the new costs were sky-high.
The most requested, named hotel in the questionnaire put out at our last weekend was the Cedar Court Hotel in Harrogate. When I phoned to make the initial enquiry, I discovered that I was speaking to someone in a central administration unit, not even in Harrogate.
We are finding it difficult to speak directly to hotels as they are now owned by conglomerates. Prices have been fixed centrally and are much higher and terms are less flexible. For example, the small room for the eight members of the council to meet, is generously offered for £100.00 for the two hours that we need it for!
To pre-book accommodation requires us to give a specific number of rooms with a 25% deposit, paid immediately, in order to place the dates in their diary. Previously we gave the hotel our required dates with the promise of giving them concrete figures about six or eight weeks before our weekend, having paid a £500.00 deposit. In the past, if there had to be a cancellation, which occasionally there has been, then we found that the local hotel management would be very accommodating. Now it’s all fixed in the small print of a large number of Terms and Conditions, which, of course, we have to commit to! This could mean that there is no reduction for any cancellation by members.
The only privately owned hotel that we have used in the past, I believe, is the Diplomat in Llanelli. It is still privately owned by Mrs Jenkins and is run by her son and daughter. I discussed our requirements with Tracy Saunders, their long-standing manager. She could offer us the weekend in April 2026. She discussed the finances with her boss, Paul Jenkins and they gave us very favourable rates.
This general situation makes the Council think that we are all going to have to be prepared to pay more for our weekends and make binding commitments to our required rooms. It is not just the cost of bedrooms but the cost of the function rooms can be £1000 per day.
The result of this is not just that cost of the weekend will increase but if you’ve signed up and have to cancel you may well have to pay the whole cost of the weekend.
The council is monitoring the situation and we must have some time in Tiverton to discuss the way forward and I hope that this might persuade more members to sign-up for Tiverton.
If you can’t come to Tiverton then please leave a comment about your views on this situation.
Tony Tarlton
A Heads-Up! From Tony Tarlton - Conference Organiser
You may very-well ask “Where is the April 2025 Weekend Meeting going to be?” A good question.
It is proving harder to obtain hotels on similar terms to those we have been used to. Kegworth was a possibility but some central staff lost my enquiry and then the new costs were sky-high.
The most requested, named hotel in the questionnaire put out at our last weekend was the Cedar Court Hotel in Harrogate. When I phoned to make the initial enquiry, I discovered that I was speaking to someone in a central administration unit, not even in Harrogate.
We are finding it difficult to speak directly to hotels as they are now owned by conglomerates. Prices have been fixed centrally and are much higher and terms are less flexible. For example, the small room for the eight members of the council to meet, is generously offered for £100.00 for the two hours that we need it for!
To pre-book accommodation requires us to give a specific number of rooms with a 25% deposit, paid immediately, in order to place the dates in their diary. Previously we gave the hotel our required dates with the promise of giving them concrete figures about six or eight weeks before our weekend, having paid a £500.00 deposit. In the past, if there had to be a cancellation, which occasionally there has been, then we found that the local hotel management would be very accommodating. Now it’s all fixed in the small print of a large number of Terms and Conditions, which, of course, we have to commit to! This could mean that there is no reduction for any cancellation by members.
The only privately owned hotel that we have used in the past, I believe, is the Diplomat in Llanelli. It is still privately owned by Mrs Jenkins and is run by her son and daughter. I discussed our requirements with Tracy Saunders, their long-standing manager. She could offer us the weekend in April 2026. She discussed the finances with her boss, Paul Jenkins and they gave us very favourable rates.
This general situation makes the Council think that we are all going to have to be prepared to pay more for our weekends and make binding commitments to our required rooms. It is not just the cost of bedrooms but the cost of the function rooms can be £1000 per day.
The result of this is not just that cost of the weekend will increase but if you’ve signed up and have to cancel you may well have to pay the whole cost of the weekend.
The council is monitoring the situation and we must have some time in Tiverton to discuss the way forward and I hope that this might persuade more members to sign-up for Tiverton.
If you can’t come to Tiverton then please leave a comment about your views on this situation.
Tony Tarlton
Comments
By Ken Davis: Tony,
this is obviously a major source of extra research for you to try to obtain the best possible costs.
However, we have all seen costs increasing greatly across all areas. The concern is lack of flexibility about cancellations. This will increase the likelihood of members not being able to claim back any of the prepaid amounts. It might also mean that when members sign up to come they will have to pay the full amount?
We could look at whether we continue with the day out on the coach to limit total costs. By Don Morley: Jo and I certainly sympathise with Tony and Sally as we know this is happening with Hotels all over, also the fewer members there are booking or going the less our bargaining powers are to get a good rate. We love gong to Llanelli for instance and would not mind if it were twice a year, but accept it might not be as good for everyone, also could we cut costs by our providing our own internal speakers? Likewise do we still need coach trips? (We don't) and couldn't the Council hold its meetings in one of the council members rooms? Not ideal I know but better than spending as much money as being asked. Beyond that although it is about Fellowship and our all having the chance to meet up with each other again, it is also about Photography and hence I suspect more of our Members book up whenever and wherever the chosen Hotel is also in a area with the most Photo opportunities, and this in turn probably means they will not wish to keep re visiting places where they there are few, or they feel they have previously exhausted such. Beyond that Jo and I agree with Tony and Sally in that if we as a Fellowship wish to carry on our meetings in the traditional way then we are going to have to bite the Bullet and pay more EVEN though this could finish the Fellowship off in terms of visits. Best wishes to all Don and Jo By David Askham: Why not approach regional tourist boards directly and specify your preference for privately owned hotels? Depending on the responses, you can then refine your requirements. Aim for off-peak times and specify your interest in lesser-known locations with yet-to-be-discovered photogenic opportunities. You might be surprised by what you learn. You might consider selecting counties lacking tourism hot-spots. By Alan Humphries: I would like to added to earlier comment sent directly to Tony and Sally. In this earlier piece I suggested that if we were unable to secure e a variety of venues that we pick on say 2/3 hotels who welcome us and alternate.
Tony and Sally have done sterling work in try to keep prices down, however, I think the time has come where we need to grasp the bullet and be prepared and accept the reality of the current situation. We should be prepared to pay more rather than enter into costs cutting ex exercises e.g no longer having coach trips.
Some members are quite happy to repeat destinations in the name of fellowship, others are more photographic centric and are looking for new and different challenges and experiences. As our title suggests we are a photographic fellowship, formed around photography and the Leica marque., to which many members are dedicated and have made substantial financial investment.
Should the reality of the world today not be grasped, I fear for the future of the LF weekends, indeed the very existence of the organisation.