ABOVE: Newly appointed Haulfyn Group CEO Echo Lun boasts an impressive CV.
Haulfryn Group which owns and manages a range of luxury holiday parks throughout the UK, has appointed its new CEO, Echo Lu, who took the reins of the company, from February.
Haulfryn, which employs nearly 500, prides itself on delivering a five-star experience for holidaymakers and holiday home owners, with state-of-the-art food and beverage outlets, activities, spas, fitness centres and waterparks on selected parks.
Born and raised in China, Echo completed her military service and attained her first degree there, before moving to the USA to complete her Masters degree.
With an impressive CV spanning over 20 years, her general management experiences include COO for Tesco China, Property Director for Tesco UK/ Ireland and later on Managing Director for Homebase and Holland & Barrett International. Echo is currently a serving Non-Exec Director of Coats Group plc and a Be Inspired Ambassador for Retail Week.
ABOVE: Jane Bremner presents the charity cheque to the lifeboat crew at their Lyme Regis base.
Family owners and guests at a holiday park near Lyme Regis have pushed the boat out for their local RNLI crew by creating a bumper charity windfall.
Wood Farm Caravan Park in Charmouth adopted the Lyme Regis lifeboat as their charity of the year in 2019 – and have been fundraising throughout the holiday season.
When the amount was totalled up, the award-winning business was delighted to find that it was able to donate £3,130 to the RNLI’s lifesaving work. The 45-acre park, which sits in the tranquil Char Valley, is owned by Jane Bremner whose parents, Duncan and Joan, first started welcoming guests almost 50 years ago.
Today, Wood Farm provides luxury holiday caravans to hire, and pitches for touring guests. Park manager Adrian Mowbray said that charity fundraising has long been an important facet of the Wood Farm’s activity, and that guests played an important role in this:”We receive thousands of holiday bookings each year, and on each occasion we offer customers the chance to make a donation to our charity of the year,” he said.
“The overwhelming majority choose to do so, and we top up this sum with a charity party on the park over the August bank holiday weekend,” added Adrian. “This year, we saw over 1,500 holiday guests and local residents enjoy the celebrations – and our volunteers’ with their collection buckets were out in force!”
ABOVE: Customers are introduced to caravan ownership by Salop Leisure sales executive Tanya Bebb.
Shrewsbury-based caravan and motorhome dealership Salop Leisure held a first time buyers’ event for caravan holiday homes and luxury lodges recently.
A whopping 75 holiday homes and lodges, priced from £34,995, were on display and Salop Leisure supported with full details of more than 250 parks across Mid Wales and the Heart of England best-suited to the requirements of buyers.
Holiday homes and lodges purchased will be ready on site for the new season. “Within nine weeks of the new year beginning, holiday home parks will be opening for the new season,” said Tony Bywater, Salop Leisure’s chairman. “We have some fantastic deals on holiday homes and luxury lodges for first time buyers.
“The general uncertainty surrounding Brexit in 2019 has been very destabilising for everybody in the UK. However, following the December General Election result, it’s great that a decision has now been made that we are going to leave Europe in 2020. “I think it’s going to be a great boost to our business and to people from all walks of life.
I predict that 2020 is going to be a tremendous year for this country as demand for holiday homes and staycationing in the UK increases.”
Word Of Mouth Existing residents are Park Home Life’s best sales assets….
ABOVE: Park Home Life’s Head Office is based at one of their two flagship parks, Blunsdon Abbey Park in Swindon, Wiltshire.
Swindon-based residential park operator Park Home Life first established its roots as a mobile home transport company in the 1960s. Some 60 years ago, the family business purchased their first park – Pine View Park in Bedfordshire. The company’s portfolio expanded during the 1980s and 1990s, adding four more parks, before re-branding as Park Home Life five years ago.
Today, the company’s Head Office operates from one of its two flagship parks, Blunsdon Abbey Park in Swindon, Wiltshire, which was acquired by the business in 1997. The original Pine View Park remains part of the portfolio, alongside Orchard Park and Wildwood Park in Gloucestershire, and Hillcrest Park in Wythall, West Midlands. Employing a staff of ten, as well as a number of subcontractors, Park Home Life is led by General Manager, Nick Bond- Powell, who joined the business in 2003.
Nick says the business’ main goal is to aim to provide excellent quality homes with driveways, garages, mains utilities and fibre broadband, in a warm, friendly community. “The residents are at the heart of everything we do,” explains Nick. “If you visit on one of our park open days, you will find our residents serving the teas and coffees, and ‘selling’ the positives of park living to their future neighbours. “Our parks are all about building and supporting that old fashioned community feeling.
We actively encourage activities, and it’s fair to say that the majority of our residents enjoy a fantastic social life!” Social activities for the 50+ community at Blunsdon Abbey Park are centred round the recently refurbished Social Hall, part of a former country mansion that was destroyed by fire in 1904.
ABOVE: New park homes now outnumber the original older-style, rental properties at Blunsdon Abbey.
ABOVE: Since 2010, Park Home Life has been redeveloping Blunsdon Abbey Park’s 85 homes.
ABOVE: A view of Blunsdon Abbey Park showing the ruins in the background
ABOVE: Homes on Abbey View, Blunsdon Abbey Park.
The park enjoys a unique setting within the conservation area of the parish of Blunsdon St Andrew to the north of Swindon. Since 2010, Park Home Life has been redeveloping the park’s 85 homes, creating larger plots that are better-equipped for modern needs. New park homes, which border the ruins and parkland of the former Blunsdon Abbey House, now outnumber the original older-style, rental properties.
Seven new plots have recently been completed in the redevelopment of an area known as Main Drive. Each of these plots has been sympathetically constructed to a high specification, and also offers attractive views of the Abbey. A similar re-development programme is underway at Park Home Life’s other flagship park, Orchard Park.
A well-established community in the village of Twigworth, situated on the edge of the Cotswolds, Orchard Park will comprise close to 140 homes when fully developed. The first part of the latest development of 21 new homes called The Ribstons is due to complete mid-April 2020.
As at Blunsdon, every home comes with a private garden, garage and adjacent driveway. Purchasers can choose from different sizes of plots and reserve off-plan for a home of their choice. “We are pleased to work with all manufacturers,” says Nick. “Most of our properties tend to be two bedroom homes from Oak grove, Tingdene and Omar to name just a few, but it’s all about customer preference at the end of the day.”
EXTENSIVE RESEARCH
“Many of our clients do their own extensive research. We had a customer recently purchase a plot on one of our parks who had visited 83 parks before he found the one he wanted to call home!
Our team has a can-do attitude… we will always do everything within our power to keep our customer’s happy.” Having a customer-centric ethos has allowed the business to ride out the difficult trading conditions of recent years. “The last two years have been tough for the housing market in general,” says Nick. “We support and hold the hands of our customers all the way through their property sale and park home purchase. “Now that the country is moving on from Brexit and the general election is out of the way we are optimistic we will see a further rise in consumer and market confidence.”
ABOVE: A second re-development programme is underway at Park Home Life’s other flagship park, Orchard Park in Gloucestershire.
ABOVE: Orchard Park will comprise close to 140 homes when fully developed.
ABOVE: Park homes on both parks include a private garden, garage and adjacent driveway.
ABOVE: Mark Home Life works with a number of different manufacturers. Oakgrove homes are a popular choice with residents.
TURNING CORNERS
ABOVE: The sun sets on another busy day at Orchard Park with the park office in the foreground.
With the park home industry having mostly turned a corner image-wise, Park Home Life spends a large proportion of its budget on marketing to reinforce the now more accepted positive benefits of park home living.
In Nick’s words, “this, and putting into practice the highest standards on our parks, reaps dividends. In the end, it’s all about customer confidence in our product.” For the future, Nick and his team are focusing on completing their existing redevelopments. “Our redevelopment programme has been a constant now for ten years,” explains Nick. “That’s where our immediate plans lie. Once we get the 21 homes completed at Orchard Park, we will have more of the same on this and our other properties. “We want to bring the latest innovations and quality standards of the industry to our existing portfolio, and make our parks the best they can be. Beyond that, who knows what the future holds…”
Landal GreenParks offers more than three million visitors a back to nature experience…
ABOVE: Landal GreenParks support the local economy by pro-actively promoting local areas.
More than three million holidaymakers chose one of Landal Green Parks’ 31,000 places to stay last year – a far cry from its origins in 1954 as an insurance company offering employees holidays in natural surroundings. A little bit of that ethos still holds true to today as Landal GreenParks is still committed to providing the perfect balance between getting away from it all, getting back to nature and enjoying life’s luxuries.
Landal GreenParks UK, one of the UK’s fastest-growing resort groups, was established originally in Holland and is now seen as a leading destination brand, not only in the Netherlands but across Europe. Part of Awaze - Europe’s leading managed vacation rentals and holiday resorts business, Landal GreenParks has over 90 locations across ten countries in Europe. It offers wide range of parks catering for every holiday experience with units ranging from 50 – 600 across different locations.
Venturing overseas to the UK, Landal GreenParks noticed a gap in the market for holidaymakers to get back to nature and basics, whilst enjoying high-quality accommodation and amenities in some of the UK’s stunning counties.
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ABOVE: Landal GreenParks boasts ten UK locations and is believed to be the country’s fastest growing holiday operator.
ABOVE: Landal GreenParks visitors enjoy high-quality accommodation and amenities in some of the UK’s stunning counties.
ABOVE: Landal GreenParks receives high numbers of overseas holidaymakers not just visitors from the UK.
ABOVE: Landal GreenParks want guests to get away from it all, while enjoying life’s luxuries.
FASTEST GROWING
The first two UK parks opened in 2017 and three years on, is one of the fastest growing park businesses in the country. Paul Hardingham, Vice President of Portfolio at Awaze UK believes the reason behind its success is down to the unique locations and beautiful surroundings with 2020 bookings for June to August up by 39%.
With holiday resorts in Northumberland, Cornwall, Peak District, Scottish Highlands and Lincolnshire, families, friends and couples can enjoy a UK staycation in luxury woodland lodges, with hot tubs, restaurants, spas and activities all on site along with indoor pools to extend the season. Paul says: “What makes us different to other UK holiday providers is that we are committed to introducing people to the local areas around the parks and supporting the local economy and community.
We encourage a pick-n-mix approach to facilities and activities, so guests can do as much or as little as they like. In every lodge, we provide guests with guidebooks and inspire them to experience something different each time they visit, whether it’s a new walking route, new attraction or hidden gem.” This approach builds up great brand loyalty among the guests, who then decide to swap and try out the different destinations to experience something new each time. Not only do guests visit from the UK, but Landal GreenParks also receives high numbers of overseas holidaymakers and vice versa who are reassured by the familiar brand that they know from home.
Landal Piperdam in Scotland is currently the most popular region for inbound guests from the Netherlands whereas, Landal Gwel an Mor in Cornwall welcomes the most holidaymakers from Germany. Customer service plays a huge role within the brand and business, with every employee undertaking ‘Hostmanship’ training to ensure they make a positive difference to the guest’s stay. The success in this training is evident with Landal GreenParks positive reviews and the range of awards they have been nominated.
ABOVE: Unique locations and beautiful surroundings have seen 2020 bookings for June to August up by 39%.
ABOVE: More than 1.75 million holidaymakers chose one of the company’s 31,000 places to stay last year.
ABOVE: Being part of a big group like Awaze brings benefits to owners, including a huge customer database.
ABOVE: Landal GreenParks builds great brand loyalty among its guests.
NATURE BREAKS
With the brand encouraging back to nature breaks, it only seemed right for Landal GreenParks, along with their European counterpart, to strengthen its sustainability and green credentials by launching their own green initiative. By working closely with each park owner, Landal GreenParks UK has launched their Green Pledge demonstrating how Landal GreenParks UK is investing in a brighter, cleaner future and committing to offer unforgettable natural getaways with a positive impact on the environment.
Paul Hardingham said, “We are working closely with our resorts and partners to ensure a sustainable future; however, this pledge will further our actions and impact enabling us to reach our goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. We are dedicated to raising further awareness of sustainable travel and driving positive change among our resorts and customers.”
The holiday resort company have also been awarded the prestigious Green Key accreditation, an eco-label awarded to accommodations and other hospitality facilities that promote a culture of sustainable development and environmental awareness, whilst taking steps to reduce their own level of consumption and carbon footprint. Working closely on this initiative highlights the close relationship the Landal team has with each of its owners. The Landal GreenParks group is a franchise model allowing independent park owners to retain their parks whilst being part of a much bigger international organisation benefitting from all the experience and knowledge that comes with it.
Paul continues: “Owners are vital in the success we have we the Landal brand. That’s why we have dedicated teams to look after, guide and advise both our existing owners and our prospective ones” The key members of the Landal GreenParks UK team alongside Paul include Robbie Davies, Business Development Director and Ryan, Senior Marketing Manager, all of which have years of experience having previously worked on sister-brands such as Hoseasons and cottages.com.
Robbie says being part of a big group like Awaze brings benefits to owners, including a huge customer database, a dedicated marketing machine and a trusted reputation.
ABOVE: Landal GreenParks has over 90 locations across ten countries in Europe.
PARK OWNERS
He says: ‘We work very closely with our each one of our park owners sharing insights and knowledge from our many years of successful operation across different brands as well as countries. We help owners to get the most out of their parks, for example by sharing data and insight to help them maximise the lodge rental return and the on park spend opportunities.” Three years on since the first UK resort opened, Landal GreenParks UK is looking to expand its portfolio and grow further across the UK.
Owners, management companies or developers interested in working with Hoseasons should contact the Business Development Team, email joinus@hoseasons.co.uk
Macbeth Country We soak up the wonders of Verdant Leisure’s latest holiday destination…
ABOVE: Erigmore House lies at the centre of the estate.
Enrigmore Estate is Verdant Leisure’s tenth leisure park and is the second holiday park purchase in the last 18 months for the bespoke leisure park operator. Erigmore is located on the site of the old ‘Birnam Wood’, made famous by Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It is just minutes from the picturesque village of Birnam and small town of Dunkeld, in the heart of Perthshire and borders the beautiful River Tay. Within easy reach of Edinburgh, Glasgow and central Scotland, it’s a breathtaking woodland retreat with amazing attractions nearby. At the centre of the estate is the Grand Victorian Baronial Mansion, Erigmore House. Once home to Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir John Everett Millais, the house and its estate now offers a unique holiday experience, with apartments, cottages and holiday homes for hire. Erigmore also has top class facilities and a world of adventure right on its doorstep, making it the perfect location for holidays in Perthshire.
ABOVE: Leisure amenities at Erigmore include a well-maintained swimming pool.
ABOVE: Positive use of lighting adds to the user appeal during the day and after dark.
ABOVE: Contemporary lodges are sympathetically situated to fit in with the surroundings
ABOVE: The on-site bar is well stocked and offers a variety of menu options.
Erigmore offers a stunning countryside location which is perfect for those who are seeking a tranquil and relaxing break away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, making Erigmore the perfect choice for holiday home owners and holiday makers. On-park facilities for the ultimate relaxation include:
• Indoor heated pool • Sauna and spa • Woodland and riverside walks • Outstanding local area attractions • A well-stocked bar has a range of light bites and snacks to suit all appetites.
Erigmore features a hugely diverse range of accommodation, sleeping between 2 and 9 people within the caravans, spa lodges with hot tubs, apartments and cottages available. Luxury spa lodges come with private decking area, and hot tub for guests to enjoy the ultimate relaxation overlooking the Perthshire countryside. With patio doors out to the semi secluded decking area, guests can enjoy the views, the living area also boasts contemporary furnishings, a 55” TV with surround sound, Bluray player and Bluetooth connectivity.
There is also a TV in the master bedroom, and ensuite shower room, several which have innovative colour changing lighting. These lodges are the ideal option for those looking to soak away the hustle and bustle of everyday life in a hot tub, or experience a boutique hotel style holiday, but with the privacy that a lodge offers. This acquisition of Erigmore will continue the company’s growth strategy to create a strong regional group with significant scale, and Verdant Leisure remains keen to add further parks to its group during 2020.
ABOVE: Hot tubs are available in one and two bed boutique lodge options.
ABOVE: Verdant Leisure staff and guests have put their significant support behind a worthy charity.
Over the past two years, employees, holiday homeowners and holiday guests across Verdant Leisure parks and Lancaster Head Office have held numerous fundraising events to raise a total of £76,033.69 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Verdant Leisure have worked tirelessly to raise an impressive £38,753.04 for the charity in 2019, compared with the previous year’s notable total of £37,280.65. 2019’s fundraising events and activities saw members of the Verdant team skydive over 10,000 feet, shave their hair and host weekend family fun days.
The monies raised will help Teenage Cancer Trust provide care and support for young people aged 13-24 facing cancer in the UK. To decide on its Charity of the Year, Verdant Leisure called upon holiday homes owners, holiday guests and employees to nominate a charity. The nominated charities were shortlisted and decided by a public Facebook poll, with Teenager Cancer Trust being the overall winner with an outstanding 80% of the vote.
Verdant Leisure offers a wide range of bespoke accommodation from self-catering caravans, deluxe lodges to camping pods and touring pitches at selected parks across South East Scotland, Ayrshire and North East England.
ABOVE: Best of British director Tara White seals the partnership with Sunelia president Alain Faveau (left) and the group’s director Marc Canavaggia (right)
The Best of British parks group has entered into an entente cordiale with its French-based equivalent to signpost the top destinations in both countries.
The link-up with Sunêlia Vacances, says BoB, will give peace of mind to guests on either side of the Channel, and also provide them with booking benefits and incentives.
Both groups are made up of independently owned holiday parks which must meet stringently applied quality standards in order to gain membership.
BoB offers 57 parks in England, Wales, and Scotland, whilst Sunêlia Vacances has 30 park options in mainly French coastal, countryside and mountain regions.
Members of the groups variously provide touring pitches, glamping units, and the hire of holiday accommodation including luxury lodges, caravans and apartments.
ABOVE: Only genuine guests are allowed to offer opinions – and their glowing reviews won platinum for the group
Verdicts from customers staying with Park Holidays UK have resulted in the group receiving the highest possible rating from a leading independent reviews website.
The company is now the proud bearer of the 2020 Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award, based on the number of glowing reviews posted by park guests. The honour comes after three successive years of Park Holidays UK gaining gold status from Feefo as a result of attracting consistently favourable verdicts from families.
The top-level platinum award is held by only a small elite of holiday firms which allow customers to post unedited reviews via Feefo, and receive an exceptionally high scoring.
In 2019, said Feefo, almost all of the guests summing up their satisfaction with Park Holidays UK gave it a rating of 4.5 or 5 – the maximum score – based on their experiences. Tony Clish, director of the group which now has 31 coastal parks in Southern England, said that all members of the staff team should take a bow: “It’s always our aim to provide guests with the best possible holiday memories, and we are delighted to be exceeding their expectations in so many different ways.”
Bookings for 2020 have got off to an extremely strong start, he reports, and sales of holiday caravans and lodges look likely to set a new record high this year.
ABOVE: A band of women from nine Welsh holiday parks have bared all to combat breast cancer.
A brave band of women from holiday parks across Wales have generated a £22,000 charity windfall by baring all for Breast Cancer Care. The group’s cheeky photographs appear on a month-by-month calendar which has been snapped-up by collectors from across the UK.
With their modestly protected by props, the photos capture the women relaxing on the parks in Wales where they own holiday caravans and lodges. When their first calendar came out last year, it raised around £7,500 for charity – but strong demand for a 2020 version has now seen that amount almost tripled.
Leading lights behind the project were two women with holiday homes on the parks: Kay Large from Haydock in Merseyside, and Chris Lawton from Bramhall in Stockport. Kay’s holiday home is at Meanan Abbey Caravan Park in Conwy, and Chris has a holiday home at Tree Tops Caravan Park near Hollywell.
The sum raised came from a combination of 1,000 sales of the £8.50 calendars, sponsorship by holiday parks of each month, donations, and a glittering gala night. The gala was held at Gorse Hill Caravan Park in Conwy, organised by manager Tracy Thomas Evelyn, and raised £8,000 over the course of the evening.
Behind the lens for the photo-shoot was accomplished photographer Andy Walker of Tree Tops Caravan Park which he co-owns with his parents Maureen and Harry. Last year, said Andy, the women were all from Tree Tops – but this time, seven other parks were also keen to become involved in the posing project.
