UKC

I took a trip to substation and it was time to pay my yearly membership, half expected it. However, I didn't expect it to up from £5 to £10....  ouch.

For that you get to climb for £8 rather then £10 for none members, so it is worth it. Just wondering if any other walls charge this as I've not come across this before.

I used to manage a climbing wall. It's pretty common, but rubbish business practice if you ask me. I think charging a membership fee just makes regular customers feel exploited. It doesn't really cost anything to process and hold membership data and if they use sensible software like RGP it can all be done paperless too.

As well as alienating regular customers, it is a great way of stopping traveling climbers and other occasional visitors from using your wall.

If I am away from home with work and looking to get some training in, I am happy to pay the £8 or £10 for a one off visit. If the wall adds on an additional £5 or £10 registration fee, that can double the cost of a one off or occasional visit. So I just won't go.

This is the reason I never visit one of my local walls. I have an annual membership at one wall (that doesn't charge a registration fee) but there is another wall nearby that I would visit a few times a year, except they charge an annual registration fee (which is compulsory and  does not entitle you to a discounted entry fee). So I have the choice of going to my usual wall where each additional visit is free, training at home which is free, or going to the other wall which would cost £15 for that first visit per year. I haven't been to that wall in the past 2 years, even though it is my closest wall. Their annual registration fee has probably cost them over £100 of lost business from me over that period.

The memership charge is optional and it will take the price down from £10 to £8 for a climb. So going on a more regular basis makes sense to pay the membership charge.