Today, holiday park management has become challenging: It’s not just about receiving bookings and carrying out maintenance. It’s about nurturing customer relationships, smart planning, watching and reacting to customer and sector trends, constant innovation and customer experience.

Holiday parks and holiday rental industry at a glance 

The UK holiday rental market is growing at an impressive rate; new research reveals total expenditure has reached a stunning £4.5 billion per year. Surprised? We’re not. 2014 has been a positive year for various reasons: for example, the UK economic recovery, the increasing consumer spending growth and improved overall job security have had an undeniable impact on domestic tourism.  The economic concerns of holidaymakers are therefore being alleviated and a more positive attitude is emerging towards taking short breaks and holidays; the weather and milder temperatures, have also played a major role, with 2014 being the UK’s warmest year since 1910.

With international and domestic tourism growing significantly in the UK and a new interest in self-catering and longer staycations, the outlook of the rental holiday market is fairly positive. But, as we all know, all good news comes with side effects: with growth comes challenges, and challenges require adjustments.  Is your business ready to embrace the changing marketplace?

Tourists are becoming more budget-conscious and technologically-empowered: their decision making is different than 20 years ago; they know that now they have plenty of choice and, what is more, they now take into account every single detail in their decision making process. Don’t you have a kids’ club? You could be on the black list for that omission for someone looking to book for a family group. Undoubtedly, customers have at their disposal more information and specific tools to help them in choosing the right place (comparison sites, customer reviews, etc.). Park operators must implement changes to their offering and promptly answer to more visible needs: ongoing refurbishment programmes, modern and contemporary design, entertainment facilities, luxury accommodation, mobile-friendly websites, etc.

Other challenges are affecting this sector: under-investment and lack of formal management experience (particularly affecting start-ups and smaller scale, family-run businesses); seasonality and unreliable weather; more reliance on banks and financial institutions; lower property value estimates; harsher planning policies and other governmental regulations that hamper new developments; and, in particular, increasing market competition (it has been estimated that there about 75’000 properties in the rental holiday market).

So, in such a competitive and challenging landscape, what can park operators do to gain competitive advantage and maximise their sales, and, therefore their profitability?

ERP software solutions for Holiday Park management – What are the benefits?

To face the challenges and fully exploit the growth opportunities the market offers, holiday park operators need to streamline their operations and cut operational costs. Here is where the implementation of an ERP solution designed for park holiday management can make the difference.

The rental holiday market is dynamic and varied: every holiday rental business provides different accommodation, services and facilities and, consequently, have different management needs. They also have different pains, targets and plans. Family-run, single site businesses will have to manage different aspects than multiple park operators and they will need to address their challenges in a different way.

However, from single park operators to multiple park operators, from caravan parks to campsites, from touring parks to marinas, every business can take advantage from a business management software tailored to its specific needs. Choosing the right software is essential to achieve the goals park operators have set for their company. But they first need to evaluate their situation, their requirements, their short and long-term plans and their priorities.

For this reason, an industry specific ERP software solution can be a step in the right direction for smarter holiday park management and developing sustainable business growth. 

If you would like to find out more, speak to Prodware about how we help park holiday operators to maximise their profits and make the most of Parkvision and Parkvision Rapidstart, our solutions designed for both single and multiple park operators.