ExCeL rip off!

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seacock

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No sooner has the London Boat Show finished at ExCeL the Motorhomes and Caravaners are set to move in for their big show in Feb.

Adult entry is £10 (children FREE!) and parking is FREE! and their show guide is FREE!

How come we pay £20 for an adult, car parking is £10 and the show guide is £6?

Why that then?

Who's ripping us off - The BMF? or ExCeL?
 
I'm certainly no fan of Excel, but to play Devils Advocate for a moment, I'd think it much easier to get caravans & motorhomes to the show on their own wheels & propulsion than boats, most of them large & some humungous, on low loaders etc.

Still does strike me as a rip-off though.
 
seacock said:
No sooner has the London Boat Show finished at ExCeL the Motorhomes and Caravaners are set to move in for their big show in Feb.

Adult entry is £10 (children FREE!) and parking is FREE! and their show guide is FREE!

How come we pay £20 for an adult, car parking is £10 and the show guide is £6?

Why that then?

Who's ripping us off - The BMF? or ExCeL?
Click to expand...

Its a launch show but I agree about the parking, they (the organisers) will have to pick this up like they did when it was at the NEC (diff organisers though)
And yes things with wheels are somewhat earlier to get in and out than things that float...

And of course they have much larger crowds......
 
Seajet said:
I'm certainly no fan of Excel, but to play Devils Advocate for a moment, I'd think it much easier to get caravans & motorhomes to the show on their own wheels & propulsion than boats, most of them large & some humungous, on low loaders etc.

Still does strike me as a rip-off though.
Click to expand...

I suspect the exhibitors pay to get their boats there, not the organisers who set the entry fee. So the ticket price has nothing to do with boat transport costs.
 
My Charity (www.mvs.org.uk) is looking to get a small display stand at Southampton Boat show, RIBex and London next year....no free stands, exhibators have to pay! Would like to think how much Sunseeker and co had to pay however while I suspect it was discounted to get the 'big names in' am sure it was not a cheap exercise....
 
[mind of an ExCel executive]

Average shiny new caravan/motorhome = £50k (I'm guessing here)

Average shiny new boat = £150k (guessing again)

ergo... rich boaty folk's pips start squeaking at three times the level of grungy caravaners...

[/mind of an ExCel executive]
 
seacock said:
Who's ripping us off - The BMF? or ExCeL?
Click to expand...

Suspect BMF.
It's been stated in another thread that the boatshows are the BMFs only source of revenue.
Why we need the BMF or why the boatshows need to make a profit is beyond me. Does the 'High Street' make a profit?
IMHO, boatshows should be organised on a 'not-for-profit' basis. Break-even: nothing more, nothing less.
 
Guapa said:
IMHO, boatshows should be organised on a 'not-for-profit' basis. Break-even: nothing more, nothing less.
Click to expand...

Joker said:
Why?
Click to expand...

Why not? :confused:
The purpose of a boatshow is/should be to get an as large as possible numbers of exhibitors in contact with an as large as possible of potential clients. And hence enable these exhibitors to do good business and make a profit.
 
seacock said:
How come we pay £20 for an adult, car parking is £10 and the show guide is £6?

Why that then?

Who's ripping us off - The BMF? or ExCeL?
Click to expand...

Well, in short, it's the BMF, who own National Boat Shows Ltd, which stages the London show. They set the prices, based I suppose on what they think visitors will be prepared to pay.

The Motorhome Caravan and Camping Show is run by NCC Events, owned by the National Caravan Council (another trade body like the BMF).

The London Boat Show attracts about 110,000 visitors each year, whilst the Motorhome Caravan and Camping Show had about 93,000 visitors last year, so it's fairly similar in size (though last year it was at the NEC). Interestingly, whilst Boat Show attendance is fairly static, the MCC show last year attracted about 30% more visitors than the 2010 show! The reason - they virtually halved ticket prices.

But it's not just visitors who pay through the nose for the London Boat Show, exhibitors pay dearly for the privilege too. Stand space is more than twice as expensive as for the MCC show. Again, I imagine it's based on what they think boatbuilders will pay to be there.

As long as people keep going to the London Boat Show, the prices will stay sky-high. If visitor numbers start dropping substantially, or if boatbuilders stay away, the prices will come down.
 
pvb said:
As long as people keep going to the London Boat Show, the prices will stay sky-high. If visitor numbers start dropping substantially, or if boatbuilders stay away, the prices will come down.
Click to expand...

For the last 3 years LIBS attendance has been dropping by about 10% each year.
This year, some large volume boat builders stayed away - and they made a point of telling people they wouldn't be there.

The writing is on the wall.
 
Guapa said:
Why not? :confused:
Click to expand...

Guapa said:
It's been stated in another thread that the boatshows are the BMFs only source of revenue.
Click to expand...

Because if your contention about sources of revenue is correct, the boat show must make a profit in order to fund the other activities of the BMF (have a look at their website if you need a reminder). The assumption presumably being that that is a better way of funding it than a bigger levy on all federation members.
 
Also, I have known a few caravan types; it's actually quite a snobby activity with distinct factions such as manufacturers and towed versus motorcaravan ( amazingly to me, the tow-ers think themselves superior even though their kit costs a lot less ), and a lot of the people involved have plenty of money - a great many managed to retire on very good terms when such things were possible.
 
Flying Penguin said:
Because if your contention about sources of revenue is correct, the boat show must make a profit in order to fund the other activities of the BMF (have a look at their website if you need a reminder). The assumption presumably being that that is a better way of funding it than a bigger levy on all federation members.
Click to expand...

Going round in circles.
Punters and exhibitors (substantial number of them BMF members) pay through the nose.
Punters and increasingly exhibitors start to stay away.
Exhibitors/BMF members do less business at boat shows.
Who wins? :confused:
 
Seajet said:
Also, I have known a few caravan types; it's actually quite a snobby activity with distinct factions such as manufacturers and towed versus motorcaravan, amazingly to me, the tow-ers think themselves superior even though their kit costs a lot less
Click to expand...

Like raggies vs mobos, usually the yacht costs a lot less, still they think they are superior ;)
 
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