FHA Saves Much-Needed Holidays

FHA Saves Much-Needed HolidaysFHA Saves Much-Needed Holidays

The Family Holiday Association has unveiled a replacement caravan that will enable the organisation to safeguard seaside breaks for hundreds of children and their parents.

The new caravan, based at Combe Haven Holiday Park, in St Leonards-on- Sea in East Sussex, was funded by travel insurance provider Citybond Suretravel after the charity’s previous van was taken out of service at short notice due to wear and tear.

The association, which provides breaks and day trips for families coping with problems such as long-term illness, bereavement, mental health issues, disability and domestic violence, officially opened the new caravan alongside Citybond managing director and FHA patron, Mansukh Ganatra. John McDonald, FHA director commented: “Mansukh and Citybond Suretravel have been generous supporters of the Family Holiday Association for many years.

“We are extremely grateful for their intervention, which not only helped us with a short-term problem but has also ensured that hundreds more children and their families will get a break in the coming years.”

Acclaim For Former Dairy Farmers

Acclaim For Former Dairy Farmers

Acclaim For Former Dairy FarmersA family-run holiday business has claimed a double victory at this year’s Rural Business Awards (RBA’s).
Not only did Hoe Grange win the Best Rural Tourism Business category, it also pipped 12 other category winners to be crowned as the Champion of Champions. The Derbyshire farm, which specialises in high quality disabled access, was awarded the prize by Harper Adams University, ahead of runners-up Barleylands Farm Park and Craft Village in the only UK-wide programme dedicated to showcasing the success of rural businesses.
David Brown from Hoe Grange Holidays said: “We started out as dairy farmers but spotted an opportunity to diversify our business and offer a positive experience for people to enjoy the Derbyshire countryside.
“To have our success acknowledged at the Rural Business Awards is testament to all our hard work and to the people who have supported us along the way. It’s obviously a great honour to be named as Champion of Champions at this year’s ceremony and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for our business.”
When David and Felicity Brown first investigated self-catering tourism to supplement their dairy farm income in 2005, market research showed there was a large supply of standard self-catering properties in the Peak District but a lack of accessible accommodation. Over the past decade Hoe Grange Holidays has become a specialist in accessible accommodation, winning many national awards.

Red Letter Event

Red Letter EventRed Letter Event

Mark off two crucial red letter days in the diary this month that are truly unmissable for anyone involved in the delivery of holiday parks. Wednesday and Thursday November 8th and 9th should be strictly reserved for the Holiday Park & Resort Innovation show; simply Europe’s leading event dedicated to providing the country’s most ambitious holiday park and resort owners and managers. Promising the best advice, services and products needed to make holiday businesses stand out from the crowd – get set for a lodge-load of information, inspiration and practical know-how – and all delivered to you completely free.

We bring you a round up of some of the must-see exhibitors...

Award Winners 
AWards WinnerWorld Leisure (UK) is a multi-award winning provider of a complete range of design, technical and installation services for the water leisure industry. With expertise in pool and plant design and installation, the company delivers projects ranging from exclusive domestic developments through to large international projects. Associated with the best manufacturers in the world for specialist equipment supplies, energy conservation is always at the forefront of design. As well as pool finishes, other core areas of expertise include water treatment plants, wave machines, water features, water slides, moveable floors, wellbeing controlled environments, and all other aspects of swimming pools that developments require. The company also has a dedicated wellness division, working throughout the UK, installing high quality climate-controlled environments and treatments rooms, including fully automatic rasul and serail mud treatments, Japanese salt steam rooms, Turkish hammams, and ice baths, for skin, respiratory and immune system health.
World Leisure UK - Stand 2750
Tel. 01772 284883
www.worldleisureuk.co.uk

Bespoke Pods 
 Bespoke Pod
Pods by Future Rooms offer a range of sizes and styles to cater for all needs and budgets. Any of the Pods by Future Rooms can be adapted and modified to your specific requirements and they have recently introduced a new full specification upgrade option for Premier, Maximus and Abode models. With this Pods can be supplied fully fitted with en-suite and kitchenette and furnished ready for letting out, meaning all that is needed to be done once the pod is delivered and placed, is to connect to services and it’s ready to instantly start generating an income. Flexibility as a manufacturer and the options and choices that Future Rooms can provide ensures that customers are fully involved and have input all the way through the design and build of the Pods, making them unique to each customer and their target markets. Visit stand 2310 to discuss your specific requirements.
Pods By Future Rooms - Stand 2310
Tel. 01452 840234
www.podsbyfuturerooms.co.uk

Smart Metering  
Smarter EnergyEnergy Controls is the UK`s leading supplier of electricity SMART Meters and prepayment metering systems to Holiday Parks throughout the UK. The company specialises in providing customers with ‘cost neutral’, fully managed metering solutions including installation and support for prepayment meters as well as data collection for SMART Meters. Through their exclusive relationship with PayPoint, Energy Controls customers can now top up their meters using a variety of consumer-friendly options such as: Paypoint retailers nationwide, online or via the new ‘Smart Prepay’ mobile app for greater prepayment flexibility. Energy Controls appreciate the importance of safe, reliable and accurate metering and have become market leaders, not only by supplying the highest quality UK manufactured metering products, but also in terms of keeping customers informed about important changes in metering legislation. With 30 years of knowledge and expertise Energy Controls are perfectly placed to help businesses to plan and prepare for the future with confidence. Energy Controls guarantee to supply only the very latest metering products that have been designed and tested to Utility Company standards and therefore comply with the UK and EU`s current and future legislation such as MID (Measuring Instruments Directive).
Energy Controls - Stand 2553
Tel. 08452304535
www.econtrols.co.uk

Unique Features 
 Unique Feature
Urban Cedar has been building and installing hot tubs for over 10 years. Designed in the UK and manufactured in the USA their hot tubs are eco friendly and engineered to last. A choice of award-winning models have been designed specifically for the holiday industry and have several unique features including tamperproof controls and automatic chlorine dosing. Contemporary in design our hot tubs combine the beauty of a solid wood hot tub with the comfort, low running costs and ultralow maintenance of a modern hot tub. Urban Cedar is proud to be working in partnership with many companies within the industry including Away Resorts, Classic Glamping, Woodthorpe Leisure and many more. With factory direct pricing from £2495 + VAT Urban Cedar hot tubs come with a comprehensive two-year guarantee for your piece of mind. In addition to award-winning cedar hot tubs, they will be showcasing a brand new exclusive range of solid cedar saunas at the show for the first time!
Urban Cedar Hot Tubs - Stand 2152
Tel. 01934 833 844
www.urbancedarhottubs.co.uk

Cloud Booking Solutions 

Cloud bookingGemapark is a cloud booking and park management solution. Offering you the benefits of access from any location, reliable infrastructure and automated backups, they can get you up and running in just a few weeks. GemaPark provide a comprehensive range of easy to plugin booking widgets or a full booking API. Their booking widgets allow you to easily add online booking to your website and can provide an availably search, availability calendars, or park maps from which you can check availability and book. Features such as interactive chart, check-in dashboard and task lists make managing bookings easy. Automated emails for balance reminders, welcome and post visit emails, coupled with the ability to take online bookings and online balance payments, greatly reduce booking admin. At the show GemaPark will be able to demonstrate the system and give out an idea of the costs and benefits of the system.
GemaPark - Stand 2546
Tel. 01983 282420
www.gemapark.co.uk

Specialist Cover
 Ask the Experts
The Compass Insurance team is looking forward to welcoming visitors to the Holiday Park & Resort Innovation Show. Call into their stand for a chat with their insurance experts. Whether you need information on park business insurance, or would like details on how you can effectively sell or introduce our specialist cover to your holiday home owners, they are happy to help. Compass Insurance have lots on offer to anyone who is seeking to diversify into the holiday market, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to ask them about the unique, specialist insurance requirements of holiday-related businesses and products. And that’s not all... If you’re looking for legal advice, have a chat with their special guest, Paul Kelly of Tozers Solicitors. Paul is a leading expert in park industry law and he’ll be delighted to help. Not all insurance cover is the same. Compass has specialised in holiday park insurance for over 40 years and will cover more park businesses this year than any other provider - stop by to find out why.
Compass Insurance - Stand 2020
Tel. 01452 511430
www.compass.co.uk

Software Savvy
Sofware savvyAchieve transparency and efficiency savings with EliteParks Park Management Software. EliteParks comprehensively provides functionality to control the management of the whole business using the following business processes – Leads, Sales, Park Management, Owners, Reservations and Finances. EliteParks was created to disrupt a market saturated by archaic technology and systems using Microsoft Dynamics NAV technology. Their team includes consultants, developers and project managers with situational experience of working within the Caravan and Holiday Home industry. They work with the likes of Michael Paul Holidays UK, Park Holidays, Park Leisure and Shorefield Holidays. EliteParks is the most advanced management solution in the market to date being scalable for both multi-discipline income streams operating one park to multi park operators. If you are a holiday park operator and are looking for a consulting partner from the holiday park sector with Microsoft experience then book a demonstration to see how you can get better transparency and analysis across the whole business.
Elite Dynamics - Stand 2762
Tel. 01616 418926
www.elitedynamics.co.uk

Field Leaders 
 Field leaders
For more than 25 years, Rolec has been firmly recognised as the leading specialist in the design, supply and installation of utility services to caravan, holiday home and residential parks. They have the most diverse range of electrical distribution, MID approved electrical metering and lighting products designed for use on caravan, holiday home and residential parks. Rolec’s leisure product range consists of static hook-up units, touring hook-up units, touring hook-up bollards, various metering options, low and high-level LED lighting, waste trays, firefighting and safety equipment, distribution units and EV charging units. They also have our own experienced design and installation engineers, in addition to a nationwide network of partners. LeisureTech will be representing Rolec products at this year’s Holiday Park and Resort Innovation Show.
Rolec - Stand 2834 (Leisure Tech)
Tel. 01205 724754
www.rolecserv.com

Read All About It
 Red Letter Event 2
As a B2B print and on-line magazine for the holiday park sector, Holiday Park Scene has earned a reputation as an essential read for anyone involved in holiday park management. Packed with fresh ideas and essential reading for anyone who runs or works in a holiday park the magazine is available on-line at www. holidayparkscene.com Holiday Park Scene offers the inside track on the latest market news and reports covering all aspects of holiday park management. Most importantly, Holiday Park Scene provides you with a targeted platform to promote your products and services across all areas of the UK and Eire holiday park sector. If you would like to get involved with this exciting new publication, please don`t hesitate to get in touch, so we can decide how best to make you stand out from the crowd!
Holiday Park Scene - Stand 2744 
Tel. 01353 666663

 Register for free tickets to attend via the website – www. holidayparkshow.co.uk .We look forward to welcoming you to the event on the 8th and 9th November 2017, NEC Birmingham.

Quick Service For UK Parks

Quick Service For UK Parks

Quick Move Properties has teamed up with some of the biggest leisure home manufacturers to offer a turn-key solution for independent leisureQMP park operators. Their Stock Support service is designed to shorten the timescales usually associated with lodge purchases, speeding up the process to bring forward completion dates and aid cash flow.

The service is available for no charge to any UK leisure park operator when their customer uses Quick Move Properties’ house buying services to help fund their holiday property purchase. The units on offer are ordered from manufacturers such as Prestige, Homeseeker and Pathfinder.

Rural Business Award Celebrations

Rural Business Award Celebrations

The best of the country’s rural tourism sector – from fully disabled-accessible cottages to the best in-farm visitor education – have been rewarded by being named finalists for Best Rural Tourism Business in the Rural Business Awards (RBAs) 2017. The awards, run in partnership with the CLA and Amazon, are the only UK-wide programme dedicated to showcasing the success of rural businesses. Now in their RBAthird year and with nearly three times as many entries as in 2016, they are split into 13 sections across the industry. The five finalists for Best Rural Tourism Business:

• Hoe Grange Holidays, based in Matlock, Derbyshire

• Barleylands Farm Park and Craft Village, based in Billericay, Essex

• The Rookery, based in Roughlee, Lancashire

• Ceridwen Centre Ltd, based in Llandysul, Carmarthenshire

• Humble Bee Leisure, based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire

New Seaside Star For Park Holidays UK

PevenseyNew Seaside Star For Park Holidays UK

Park Holidays UK has completed the acquisition of Pevensey Bay Holiday Park near Eastbourne in Sussex. Formerly known as Martello Beach Holiday Park, the site boasts private beach access and a jetty for boats and jet-skis, and is the 28th park to join the Park Holidays UK group.

The site presently provides 265 holiday homes, both privately owned and available to rent, all set in picturesque landscaped grounds amid the countryside of the Sussex Weald. Owners and holiday guests are provided with a long line-up of leisure facilities including an indoor swimming pool, spa pool and sauna, and a fully equipped gym and fitness centre. Park Holidays UK director Tony Clish said the Pevensey Bay’s previous owners had done a magnificent job in creating a park which provides a true sense of privilege: “The lovely setting obviously gives Pevensey Bay a head start, but the park and its superbly high standards is a perfect match for its surroundings,” said Tony.

“As a group, we have always been committed to operating parks which offer only the very best customer experiences and the best value in their class. “That’s why we will ensure that Pevensey Bay continues as an ideal base for families and those who enjoy activities such as sailing, rowing, jet-skiing and sea fishing. “All of our parks make important and substantial contributions to the local economies where they are based by generating millions of pounds of visitor spending,” said Tony. “Our intention is that Pevensey Bay will build even further on the support it already provides to many local small businesses and the people they employ,” he added.

Web Wise

Web Wise - Online Bookings

The sense that many potential customers are just looking, not booking is common. Web visitors often just want to get a picture of what’s available. At other times they’re unable to commit to plans until they’ve settled on exact dates with friends and family.

Whatever the reason, conversion rates in the travel industry are surprisingly low, and that’s why it is crucial for holiday park owners to get the booking process right. More people are using the web to shop around for holidays than ever before, and this WEb Wise 1means they’re only a swipe away from comparing prices with a competitor.

Research has shown that 37 per cent of consumers abandon travel purchases at the last minute because they want to do further research or find a cheaper price. But when margins in the industry are low, competing on price is difficult. Instead, holiday park owners should focus on delivering a streamlined shopping experience and a fuss-free checkout process. With so many holiday options on offer, it’s vital that potential customers don’t vanish at the finish line.

Choosing the most appropriate booking system requires park owners and managers to match their needs with the features of a product. But no two holiday parks are identical and it might seem difficult to find a system with all the necessary functions and flexibility. This is why CampManager, a leading Park Management Software provider, assists more than 300 campsites and caravan parks throughout the UK and Ireland with an online booking solution suited to the individual parks’ requirements.

“There are many different booking systems in the market, some of which have been adapted from hotel booking systems, which may not provide you with the pricing functionality that you require,” says Niall Norris of CampManager. “It’s important to select a booking system which is specifically designed to manage all your different pricing requirements – season dates, minimum stays and set arrival dates – and all your different rental accommodation and touring pitch characteristics.”

However, park owners should realise that the best solution may not come right out of a box. Sometimes choosing a booking system is more about modifying an existing offering to fit a park’s individual specifications. For Dafydd Lawrence, head of information systems at Bluestone National Park Resort, an award-winning retreat in the rolling Pembrokeshire countryside, it was important to create a bespoke solution that would fit with the park’s existing digital infrastructure. WEb Wise 2

“Having a web API in our main booking system allowed us to write our own online platform that talks directly to our booking system,” Lawrence explains. “Any system that makes you use an ‘off-the-shelf’ website or their own web booking engine can severely limit how much you can customise the experience for your guests.” The most obvious step to making booking on your site easy is to ensure that it works well on mobile devices.

To read more about getting 'Web Wise' please subscribe to Holiday Park Scene here.

COMPANY CONTACTS

CAMPMANAGER - Tel. 02081 331 005 -  www.campmanager.com
GEMAPARK -  Tel. 01983 282 420 - www.gemapark.co.uk
PITCHED - Tel. 01726 418 118 - www.pitched.co.uk

Would-Be Owners Can Try Before They Buy

Would-Be Owners Can Try Before They Buy

A Shropshire Holiday Park site has started its expansion project following increased demand from staycationers and is offering a new ‘try before you buy’ scheme for potential customers. The scheme allows customer who decide to buy a holiday home or luxury lodge on the park following a two-night stay, to have the cost deducted from the purchase price.

Try Before25 pitches are being created a Bow House Country Park, near Bishops Castle, which already has 62 caravans and 15 luxury lodges. 14 new pitches are being created in the first phase of the expansion with the picturesque caravan holiday home park in the South Shropshire Hills already popular with guests who live within two hours travelling distance of Bishops Castle.

Three of the new pitches have already been reserved and 15 holiday homes and lodges had been sold in the past 12 months. Many of the sales were secured from buyers who had been tempted to stop at the park whilst driving past. “Bow House Country Park is a wonderful place to get away from the stresses and strains of modern living, an idyllic, secluded location for a holiday retreat.

“We appreciate that buying a holiday home is a big deal and we want to ensure that customers make the right decision,” said Edward Goddard, managing director of Morris Leisure. “That’s why we offer them the opportunity to experience holiday home ownership at Bow House Country Park before they invest their hard-earned money.”

Crowd Funding

CopperpotCrowd Funding

The owners of the Copper Pot Campsite near Callington, in Cornwall, are hoping to raise £50,000 through a crowd funding scheme.

Local businesses in the area are already stepping forward to help support the couple by offering their services, but funds are desperately needed to buy materials.

Husband and wife owners, James and Laiana Lankester say once open, the campsite will give back by supporting the local economy - providing custom to local businesses and jobs.

Recycled Furniture

Recycled Furniture

RondeauRondeau Leisure is backing the effort to recycle plastic waste that is often dumped in the worlds’ ocean.

The business is supported by its own range of Pacific Ocean outdoor furniture which is produced from recycled plastic cartons that would otherwise find their way back to the seas. The aim of Pacific Ocean furniture is to turn plastic waste into durable garden additions with a lifespan of 10 years and beyond.

The range of chairs, tables, stools, loveseats and benches are made from milk cartons but are moulded into the same grain as wood – without the worry of rotting, splitting, cracking, fading or being burnt by cigarettes.

Rondeau Leisure’s managing director, Stuart Cooke, says: “The plastic waste issue is about more than just water bottles.  “Sports, leisure and hospitality providers – even care homes and hospitals - need to get on board by not buying plastic furniture that has to be scrapped after a season or two."