SPOTLIGHT
Spotlight on Revenue Management Holiday Parks
Melissa Kalan from ARMA chats with Margaret Shannon , General Manager , Ballina Beach Village
Q In your opinion how valued is the discipline of revenue management across the holiday park industry ? Revenue Management has always been demonstrated in some capacity in the holiday park industry , as operators have sought to maximise revenue during peak times and try to drive occupancy through pricing at lower demand times . What makes it interesting if you speak to the operators of 10-20 years ago however and asked them “ do you use revenue management strategies ”, they would probably say no as there is not that conscious connection with strategy .
What we are seeing more and more are parks that are embracing a much more holistic approach to revenue management ; and recognising the importance of pricing in their marketing and business strategy . I believe this is partly as a result of optimism and confidence in the industry as a result of growth , and also through recruitment of staff and managers from outside the traditional holiday park discipline who have been able to apply RM principles to holiday parks .
Q What would you describe to be the standout trends in market demand over the last 2 + years in terms of lead times , customer purchasing behaviour and market segment management ? As alluded to above , the overwhelming trend over the past 2 + years has been one of growth ; which has then been a catalyst for development of product , people and systems . This has resulted in some geographical areas where demand is pushing from high seasons out into mid and shoulder seasons , in turn having an effect on guest purchasing and lead in times . It is not uncommon now to see parks running at a high occupancy during traditional off-peak seasons ”, and for this reason parks need to be more proactive in managing their yield , and doing so on a daily basis – gone are the days where a set and forget mentality worked .
There is also a challenge around customer behaviour in relation to caravan park price-points , and this is something that has been widely debated in forums , social media platforms and around the campfires at the parks themselves , as well as by the industry . There hasn ’ t been a definitive answer on what is the “ right ” price to charge , and obviously with massive variations in product and location from park to park its heard to answer . But I do think we need to be listening to our customers more , and while not necessarily letting them dictate how we run our business , certainly building their expectation of price into our competitive strategy .
Q How well do you feel the accommodation industry in general is adopting and evolving with change in relation to the way technology influences our demand and impacts our operations ? I think as a ( holiday park ) industry , we are very willing to embrace change , and probably overdue for some of the innovations that have been adopted . A big part of the evolution has been with parks taking on a more professional and process-driven approach , and the entry of corporate players such as Ingenia , Discovery etc have helped to drive this , as well as being able to offer insights and technology around the analysis of data .
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