UKC

If a wall were to charge more than, say, a couple of quid for "registration" would it put you off trying it if you didn't think you were going to go that often?

And does it make a difference if they charge just a one off fee or whether they charge it every year?

In reply to Ava Adore:

Walls that charge an annual rather than a one off fee really annoy me. In my area Alter Rock are the only ones that do this and I rarely go for that reason, it adds a significant amount if you you are only likely to go there a couple of times a year.

In reply to Ava Adore: yes i think anymore than a fiver for registration is a bit of a knock. and deffo put me off joining if i didnt think i would be going at least once a month at minimum.

Charging a yearly fee seems ridiculous to me and deffo puts me off joining a wall,any more than £2 yearly would make me think twice

I'm currently working between Reading and Alton walls. Similar annual membership fees which are both very high IMO but Reading is lifetime and Alton is annual. Made it an easy decision which one to use. If both were more reasonable I would have joined both.

In reply to Ava Adore:

It depends on:

How good is the wall?
What other walls are there and how far away are they?
How much is the fee?
How often do they charge it?

I can't be bothered going to a new wall near us, because you have to pay £10 for an 'induction'. You have to make an appointment for the induction and can't just turn up. The wall is tiny and is run by the council, so doesn't have that lovely climbery cultural atmosphere, and there are other great walls nearby.

In reply to Ava Adore:
It'd depend on where the one-off fee left my average cost per visit. And hence on whether it was a wall that I went to regularly or one that I just dropped into occasionally for a bit of variety, and also on whether the per-session fee was particularly cheap or expensive.

In reply to tlm and Ramblin Dave:

Let's say for the sake of argument that you don't know how good the wall is. And there are other options locally.

In reply to tlm:

£10 for an induction - bloody hell that's a new one on me! I think I'd be doing the same as you for that one.

In reply to Ava Adore:

Depends how much it was, how bored I was, what other options I had and who else was up for coming along and how close to Payday it is!

So a lot of variables.

In reply to Budge:

Alter Rock charge £1/year.

ONE POUND!!!!

PER YEAR!!!!!

I know it's a double dip recession and what have you but I didn't think it was that bad!

In reply to Ava Adore:

But you always do end up knowing how good the wall is - other people tell you.

It would put me off if there were other good walls and they didn't charge a fee.

In reply to antdav:

I hate annual fees. At the moment I don't climb at any one wall often enough to get value from a membership. I have 4 walls within reasonable distance of my house, and the two that charge an annual fee no longer get my business. Craggy is great but too expensive, Alton of ok but simply over priced. Both have an annual fee and my membership has lapsed making a visit not worth it when I can climb at other excellent walls for under a tenner.

I've tended to consider how much the registration/membership bumped up the average cost of climbing there - so a larger registration fee on top of a high entry price for a wall I'm going to visit once would put me off, whilst for a wall that I'm going to use weekly would be less of an issue(particularly if the wall also had a lower entry fee). Having to pay a high total registration + entry for a one-off visit has put me off checking out a new wall if I've been visiting another city.

That being said, I'm lucky in that I have the option of a few decent walls locally that I can choose between and fortunatley they don't charge a high annual registration fee. If all walls within striking distance started to charge that way then I suppose I'd have to pay up if I still wanted to climb indoors. The wall I use regularly also has a reasonable entry fee, which makes it a viable option for me to keep using on frequent basis (particularly since it's location means that I and I suspect a lot of other users will have to drive to it). WIth that in mind, I can see why a wall might want to shift some of the costs on the infrequent visitors (via an 'adminstration' fee) if it keeps the average cost-per-visit down for the regulars who ultimately will end up contributing a higher overall level of income due to the volume of use.