North East Grows As Leisure Destination

Posted on December 15, 2015

North East Grows As Leisure Destination

This year is likely to be a record-breaking year for people taking holidays in North East England. Pic: VisitEngland/Rod Edwards.

Caravan and camping parks in Northumbria say it is likely to be a record-breaking year for people taking holidays in North East England. Many of the 53 park businesses in the region – representing over 4,000 pitches in total – report bookings at their highest level for at least a decade. They say official figures showing that Northumbria parks currently generate around £27 million of visitor spending every year may now have to be revised upwards. Matthew Muckle of Coquetdale Holiday Park who is Northumbria branch secretary of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association, said that the revenue created by NE parks provides a life-line for many other enterprises in the region. “Virtually every penny of the £27 million which our parks generate benefits Northumbrian tourism dependent businesses,” he said. “Many of our members are now quietly optimistic that this year will see a rise in the present figure, not least because of the growing appeal of Northumbria for family holidays,” he added.

Peak Season Booking Boom

Posted on December 15, 2015

Peak Season Booking Boom

Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks in Devon enjoyed bumper peak season bookings for 2015.

Despite a wet August, the UK’s holiday park sector enjoyed a bumper peak season of bookings this year. The summer was both cooler and wetter than the two previous summers, with temperatures below average and heavy rain at times. But it seems the weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the country’s holidaymakers. In September, Hoburne Holiday Parks revealed a 16 per cent increase in the value of bookings compared to the same period last year, meanwhile Hoseasons celebrated its fifth record summer in a row. Hoseasons managing director, Simon Altham commented: “I don’t think anyone would seriously claim it was a good summer when it came to the weather, but that clearly didn’t affect bookings. “People are more interested in the quality of the accommodation, what’s on offer nearby and having time to catch up with those that matter most to them, rather than the weather. They increasingly want experience-led breaks rather than weather-led ones, so while it’s always nice if the sun is shining, it certainly doesn’t matter if it isn’t.” In Devon, Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks saw bookings increase by six per cent compared to 2014 during the summer season.The company had a 99.3 per cent occupancy level throughout the school holiday period, with many holidays booked at short notice. Forward bookings for 2016 are currently running at 19 per cent up on the same time last year. Sales and marketing director, Kevin Darvill said: “2015 has been a superb year for Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks. We enjoyed record sales and excellent customer satisfaction levels and we look forward to another bumper year in 2016,” he added.

Twin Park Celebrations

Posted on December 15, 2015

Twin Park Celebrations

Teams from Ladram Bay Holiday Park and sister park Castle Brake celebrate their success

Two award-winning holiday parks owned by the same Devon family have been awarded the highest accolade achievable in the tourism industry. Ladram Bay Holiday Park and sister park Castle Brake have both been awarded five gold stars each through the VisitEngland National Quality Assessment Scheme. Zoe House, director at Ladram Bay Holiday Park, commented: “We are thrilled that we have achieved this top award for not one but both of our parks. “I am pleased that the teams at both sites have been recognised for all the hard work they put in to ensure our guests have a first class experience.” The parks were classed as ‘excellent’ by the VisitEngland inspection teams, who assessed them on the quality of their facilities, physical and personal comfort, service and hospitality, management and attention to detail. Victoria Hatfield, chair of VisitDevon, said: “Very few holiday parks achieve the highest accolade of five stars so to receive 10 between Ladram Bay and Castle Brake holiday parks is a real achievement. “

Balloons Cross Channel

Posted on December 15, 2015

Balloons Cross Channel

Promotional balloons from a holiday park in Clacton

At the end of each day, staff at Valley Farm Holiday Park in Clacton-on-Sea release the balloons that decorate the park’s entrance to the skies. Just recently, the park has started to include special promotional offers inside some of the balloons that can then be claimed by the recipient. However, they didn’t expect the first recipient to be over 100 miles away across the English Channel. The Wassmuth-Gumbel family from Mannheim in Germany were enjoying a summer holiday in the village of Vrouwenpolder on the south-west Netherlands coast when their sevenyear old daughter, Carla discovered the balloons. Denise Woods, caravan sales manager remarked: “For the last few years, we’ve always let the balloons fly away rather than bursting them but one of our new sales advisers recently came up with the idea of placing messages inside them. So keep your eyes peeled for them and you could receive your very own special offer or prize.”

Fantasy Pod Is A Labour Of Love

Posted on December 15, 2015

Fantasy Pod Is A Labour Of Love

The Hobbit house at Townsend Touring Park is proving a magical place to stay.

An unusual new glamping pod on a Herefordshire holiday park has attracted bookings from JRR Tolkien fans and Hobbit buffs this summer. The Lord of the Rings-style pod on Townsend Touring Park near Leominster may look like a magical medieval retreat but its facilities are firmly rooted in modern times. Built beneath a grass-covered mound, the five-berth dwelling boasts a fully equipped kitchen, heating, television, bathroom and a host of other mod-cons. Inspiration for this new take on glamping came from the park’s owners, Geoff and Su Smith, who already offer more conventional pod accommodation at Townsend. “Some guests tell us that there is an almost magical quality to this area, so it seemed entirely fitting to build a pod which had an air of fantasy about it,” said Su. “It’s been a labour of love for us, and we’re delighted with the results – as are our guests who say the quality we’ve achieved is a perfect match for the surroundings.” Such has been the success of the pod – which is built off-site to a modular and scalable design – that two more units are now in production for installation early next year.

Complete Sales Before Christmas

Posted on December 9, 2015

Complete Sales Before Christmas

Quick Move Properties, the UK’s leading independent part exchange company, is helping residential and leisure park operators to complete sales and get customers on-site before Christmas with its new Stock Support service. The service, which is available to all park operators and is free of charge to any parks using Quick Move Properties’ part exchange service, offers a range of new units from manufacturers such as Prestige, Homeseeker, Omar, Wessex, Tingdene and Pathfinder. The units are ready to be sited throughout the year, without the lengthy lead time usually associated with ordering a park or leisure home. Quick Move Properties’ sales director, Patrick Chambers, explains: “With our new Stock Support service there is no need for your sales to be held up by lengthy unit order lead times. We have units ready to be sited on your park before Christmas, which means you can get your sales completed before the end of the year. “Units can be tailored to customers’ individual requirements and specifications with 12 weeks’ notice or we also have a select number of homes available for immediate delivery to site, all with showroom standard furnishing packs.”

Quick Move Properties
Tel. 01793 840907
www.quickmoveproperties.com

Park Group Growth

Posted on December 9, 2015

Park Group Growth

Bridge Leisure recently purchased Seaview Holiday Village in Cornwall.

Specialist holiday park group Bridge Leisure Parks has expanded its portfolio with the purchase of a fifth holiday park. The acquisition of Seaview Holiday Village in Polperro, Cornwall, means that Milton-Keynes based Bridge Leisure Parks now owns two holiday parks in Cornwall, along with properties on the Yorkshire coast and Scotland. Andrew Howe, chief executive of Bridge Leisure commented: “Seaview is a truly lovely holiday village with a superb south coast setting. We are looking to mirror the success of our first holiday park in Cornwall - Trevella Park - and we predict impressive results at our newest destination. “This is the second holiday village we have bought in 2015, following a management buyout and new investment at the start of this year.” He adds: “Our plan is to buy more parks and continue to grow, and we welcome contact from park owners interested in selling their business.”

Bridge Leisure
Tel. 01908 686 600
www.bridgeleisure.com

Coventry Pool Show Makes a Splash

Posted on December 8, 2015

Coventry Pool Show Makes a Splash

SPATEX 2016 takes place at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena from Sunday January 31st to Tuesday February 2nd.

A shop window on all that is new and happening in swimming pools, spas, saunas, enclosures, steam rooms, SPATEX 2016 is a must-attend for park owners. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, SPATEX is the largest dedicated water leisure exhibition. With 100 plus exhibitors, both national and international, the show brings together under one roof everyone in wet leisure, whatever their business. SPATEX is also a unique platform for free professional training and seminars will run on all three days of the show with the emphasis on holiday parks and the commercial sector. The ‘Legionnaires’ Disease Awareness’ session will look at what steps to take to prevent, detect and combat this silent killer, while the ‘Dealing with Pool Problems’ session will tackle commonly encountered commercial swimming pool problems, including water testing, automatic control and water treatment issues.

SPATEX 2016
Tel. 01264 358558
www.spatex.co.uk

Keeping Up Appearances

Posted on November 18, 2015

Keeping Up Appearances

From the moment guests cross the threshold, they begin to create an opinion of your park. So first impressions, especially the overall appearance and presentation of the site, are crucial.

A bit like painting the Forth Road Bridge, keeping outdoor spaces neat and tidy can seem never ending but an abundance of high-tech equipment and machinery available on the market is making life easier.

Park owners who keep abreast of the times and invest wisely can see significant benefits in terms of performance and efficiency.

For instance, last year Lady’s Mile Holiday Park in Devon was battered by storms, resulting in a massive clearing up exercise. At the time, the park only had a six-inch chipper, which wasn’t able to cope with the volume of work, so park co-owner Jason Jeffrey took the decision to hire in a much larger machine and called for a demonstration of GreenMech’s ChipMaster 220 TMP wood chipper.

“Once Julian Cullis of GreenMech had shown us what the chipper could really do we were hooked,” explains Jason.

“It was also opportune that Julian could give us product safety demonstrations and show all the team how to use it correctly and safely.”

The ChipMaster 220 TMP is ideal for tackling really big jobs with its substantial 220mm chipping capacity. It has a generous 230mm x 230mm infeed throat and powerful twin feed rollers controlled by an electronic No-Stress system. The patented Disc-Blade chipping system will ensure a constant chip quality and reduce the volume of up to seven tonnes of clean green waste per hour. The discharge chute rotates by 280° to allow the operator to direct the chip in the required direction.

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Life’s A Beach

Posted on November 18, 2015

Life’s A Beach

Ideally located next to its own privately owned sandy beach on Cornwall’s south coast, Pentewan Sands Holiday Park offers guests a host of accommodation options.

Boasting a unique beachside location, Pentewan Sands Holiday Park near St Austell in Cornwall, does to coin a popular phrase, exactly what it says on the tin. Guests are able to step straight from their caravans or tents on to the sand of a privately-owned beach – a luxury enjoyed by only a handful of UK holiday parks. Welcoming around 25,000 guests per year, Pentewan Sands’ offers 120 holiday homes, ranging from entry level to luxury standards - most of which enjoy sea views. There are also well-maintained grass pitches available on site for camping, caravans and motor homes. “Pentewan Sands is a truly unique site thanks to its enviable location right beside its own private beach. This, coupled with the wide variety of accommodation and entertainment on offer really makes our park stand out from the crowd. We like to think that we offer something for everyone,” says general manager Graham Brown. Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, Pentewan Sands was first opened in 1945 and has recently been awarded the coveted five star Quality in Tourism award from VisitEngland, which recognises the best holiday parks in the UK. Open from March through to November, the park is owned and managed by the Tremayne family, while general manager Graham oversees the dayto- day running of the site.

Graham explains: “We attract a diverse range of guests at the park and appeal to families, couples and friends alike. Many of our guests choose to return each year, but we also see high numbers of new guests visiting every year so it’s a real mixture.” Keeping the guests entertained is a top priority for the park and there’s no shortage of leisure activities on site. The park features two indoor swimming pools with a lap pool for serious swimmers and a play pool with a water flume for the family. There are also tennis courts that are free to use for guests plus a brand new children’s play area on the beach.

BEACH ACTIVITIES

On site catering includes the recently opened on-site pub, the Jolly Roger pub and the Sea Horse restaurant, pictured.

If the sun is shining then guests can head to the beach to enjoy a variety of water sports including sailing, water skiing, wakeboarding, windsurfing, kayaking and paddleboarding. In terms of catering amenities, there’s an American diner style burger restaurant called the HUBBOX, which is new for 2015, plus the recently built traditional Cornish Pub the Jolly Roger. A takeaway option is covered by Pentewan Plaice and guests can make use of the on-site supermarket, which provides all the essentials. “We aim to deliver the most fun, most relaxing and the most memorable traditional camping experience in one of the best locations in England,” says Graham. “We achieve this by listening to our customers and remembering what makes us special; quality facilities, a warm friendly welcome, five star quality and continual investment.” Pentewan Sands responds to guests’ needs and suggestions by continuously upgrading and replacing the facilities on-site.

Ahead of summer 2015, the park underwent major refurbishment which saw new accommodation including 17 new holiday homes in the diamond and platinum ranges. The bathroom facilities also received a major refurbishment, as did the play area on the beach and the tennis courts. “Due to our ongoing investment in staff and facilities, one of our best marketing tools is word of mouth, which attracts both repeat and recommended business,” Graham comments. He adds: “We invest heavily in maintaining strong relationships with our customers through brochures, mail-outs, e-newsletters and social media.”

Pentewan Sands Holiday Park
Tel. 01726 843 485
www.pentewan.co.uk