Parkdean To Deliver Parks Of The Future
Parkdean Resorts, the UK’s largest holiday park operator, has published its 2019 results confirming revenue was up by 5%. The leading operator of holiday parks in the UK, Parkdean Resorts owns and operates 67 award-winning holiday parks nationwide in coastal locations and areas of natural beauty across the UK with a wide range of accommodation options including static caravans, lodges and glamping as well as touring and camping pitches.
The group, that has over 31,000 pitches will invest £80m in 2020 in a pilot ‘parks of the future’ initiative at four locations to create state-of-the-art amenities including accommodation, park facilities and kids’ activity-based entertainment such as the Bear Grylls Survival Academy. The company reveal holiday packages increased in sales by 6% year on year at 599,000 holidays of which 80% were short stay (less than four days) playing to the increasing trend for UK staycations.
On-park spend revenue grew by 6% year-on-year at on-site shops, concessions, restaurants, bars and arcades as well as swimming pools, gyms and other leisure facilities.
The business will sell approximately 4,300 caravans and lodges priced from £25,000 for an entry level caravan to £600,000 for a premium lodge, and everything in between. Steve Richards, Chief Executive of Parkdean Resorts, said: “Much progress has been made over the last year and it is fair reward for the passion and unrelenting desire our teams bring in delivering great holiday experiences for our customers. “The momentum achieved in 2019 has continued into the current year which has started strongly with 32% of summer capacity already sold as we take share in what is a growing and resilient market.”
A new senior management team is now in place with the appointment of Catherine Lynn (CCO), John McKenzie (MD Holiday Homes), Mos Shamel (COO), David Lodge (Property Director) and Lisa Charles-Jones as HRD.
Taking the plunge with a holiday park swimming pool can be as daunting as diving off the highest board. But be bold. Investing in on-site swimming offers many avenues for return on investment from initial visitor appeal to encouraging maximum ‘on park’ spend. But don’t just think swimming pool – rather, think water leisure and entertainment. After all, maximum payback will come from an aquatic feature that does not just offer lane swimming, but entertains all ages and abilities with excitement and splash appeal.
certainly an activity that many of visitors enjoy when on holiday, and therefore a swimming pool will influence bookings.
Ustigate's 31-station Dippy the Dinosaur inspired splashpad has met its original goal in making Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure in Norfolk, even more popular than before.
Rather than spend money on renovating the outdated outdoor pool, Freshwater Beach Holiday Park on the Jurassic Coast, decided to undertake a temporary upgrade to the filtration plant and line the pool with a commercial pool liner. They also decided to undertake a feasibility study, to develop a brand-new indoor pool facility. Cresta Leisure was invited to join the project design team, to develop and deliver a wet-leisure facility that would appeal to all ages. This co-operation has resulted in a very popular, purpose built pool complex that incorporates a splash zone, a paddling pool, a play pool, interactive tower with tippers, sprays and slides, a stand-alone four-lane slide with integral catch, a 20m deck level swimming pool and a spa. Following the success of the new indoor pool complex, Freshwater asked Cresta Leisure to come up with a scheme to improve the outdoor pool facilities. Because the filtration and circulation on the existing outdoor pool was below current standards, it was decided to break out the old pool and start afresh. All the groundworks were undertaken by Freshwater’s own team. In just five months, Cresta has built a brand new 25m x 12m outdoor pool with 12m2 paddling pool packed full of interactive water play features from Hippo Leisure. This new pool facility is fully compliant with European standards and is proving to be a smash hit with everyone.
WEATHER-PROOF
LASTING IMPRESSION
Back of Beyond Touring Park is set in rural Dorset and boasts 80 pitches with electric hook-ups, 40 camping pitches and a glamping village, as well as an amenities block, reception and shop. Victoria takes pride in the park’s outdoor areas and keeping them well looked after is a high priority all year round. She comments: “As we are 30 acres we can't possible compete with beautiful natural foliage, however, we make the most of the busy areas of the park, such as the reception and shower blocks by planting carefully selected flowers, bushes and trees.
Real People In The Frame
Growing Market
POOR ADVICE
Dan Johnson of Marquis Spas agrees and warns: “I am aware that cases of infection are ongoing now, but are being settled out of court with NDA’s – I can only hope those who fall foul of poor operational controls learn from their mistakes. “I am seeing truly ancient hot tubs in situ, which is understandable as operators try to wring every last penny out of them and recoup their ROI, albeit as a false economy not only in running costs but also client experience,” says Dan.