February 2025 will see the 75th anniversary of the BH&HPA and the industry coming together to celebrate at their annual conference. Not only do we congratulate them on all they have achieved for UK park owners over that 75-year period, but we are delighted to announce we will be joining them in celebration.
February 2025 will see another anniversary as RBC celebrates its 16th year of working within the UK Holiday Park industry. That’s right, since 2009 we have been on a park weekly providing improvement and growth consultancy, alongside training to owner led and family-owned parks.
What makes this conference so special for us is that our work within the industry started exactly 16 years ago to the week in February 2009, when I was the opening keynote speaker at the 2009 conference in Blackpool. February 2025 will see RBC return to the main stage to present on how we believe park owners can grow in a difficult market and also exhibit.
How it All Started
In reality my passion and journey with UK holiday parks didn’t start in 2009, it started in 1978 (yes, I am showing my age!). As a family we didn’t have the luxury of having an annual holiday, so it was incredibly special when we had a day away, or even a week. My earliest childhood memories were of being on holiday with my family and they were the happiest! We have always chosen to go to a park in mid Wales called Clarach Bay Holiday Village. I can’t tell you how these holidays shaped my childhood and now, my adult work. The reason I wanted to do the speech in 2009 was because of this park and my love for holiday parks. I love what they offer, I love the entertainment and fun and most importantly I love the fresh air and time. Now, I may be older, but the joy holiday parks provide hasn’t changed. 2 years ago, I took my daughter to Singapore and Australia. As much as she loved it, when I ask her the best place we have been on holiday or where she wants to go back to…it’s always to a holiday park!
What We Do and Why
So, we are quite bold with our claim of being “Holiday Park Experts” and I have been challenged, albeit not very often, on how we can be experts if we have never owned a park. I understand that thinking but my answer is – our expert consultancy over the 16 years. Our style sees us sit side by side with holiday park owners and guide and mentor them to address issues, drive through improvements and ultimately grow. I believe any decent consultant can make a positive impact on a business, as they force action. However, I do not believe many consultants can improve and grow holiday parks as they are complicated businesses! The reality about holiday parks is they are often 5 businesses in 1; Holiday Home Sales, Holidays, Food & Beverage, Leisure and Retail. They are normally rural, so staff recruitment is hard, and in addition this leads to staff living on the site which brings its own issues. You then have the weather which is bringing new challenges.
It took RBC at least 5 years to really learn how holiday parks work, operate and how to improve them. Over the last 16 years we have had many proven successes. We took a family group from £6m to £25m and they sold for £100m. We took another family run business from £15m to £37m, recruited their whole Senior Leadership Team and left them with embedded growth strategies which are still working within this climate.
Last year we helped a family group sell after we had completed a 3-year growth project which not only lifted their sales revenues and profit but also created asset which maximised their sale price. We understand holiday home sales, plots, stock, margins and how to get the activity to increase. We drive owner engagement and use our innovative lead generation software to produce new business. We understand holidays, inventory, occupancy, dynamic pricing and yield. We have digital acquisition experts who drive bookings and increase revenue. We drive holiday maker retention using our new software, which reduces marketing costs and increases the average night price. We have managed the operational side too and understand how to increase efficiency and standards in housekeeping. We have proven methods on improving secondary spend onsite which impacts on Food & Beverage, Leisure and Retail, all while maintaining wage %. We have been recruiting, training and retaining staff since 2009 so we understand how hard it is but also, how important it is!
People are at the heart of the UK Holiday Park industry. The people who own them, work on them, and visit them. Working within the industry is not a job, it’s a vocation. The stress and pressure never stops but neither does the enjoyment, fulfilment or satisfaction. That’s why we specialise in this industry, and we are proud to say we do!
The key thing here isn’t what we do, it’s why we do it. We love family and owner led parks because it means so much to them. They are generational businesses who are often one of the biggest employers in their area.
We will be at the 2025 BH&HPA Conference at Stand 8 and also on main stage presenting at 10am on 5th February 2025.
See you there!
