5 Tips for Holiday Parks using a Property Management System
5 Tips for Holiday Parks using a Property Management System
Using a Holiday Park Property Management System (PMS) at your park is essential in today's industry. Seekom has 5 Tips for using a PMS for all you Holiday Park owners, managers and staff out there to make sure you are getting the most out of your Property Management System.
Every day more and more operators of Holiday Parks are finding they need to be working as efficiently as possible to make sure your operation is smooth, scalable, and making you work smarter - not harder.
From development announcements and updates, to channel manager tips and local events and website knowledge.
Keep reading to get the inside scoop from our Support and Website Team Leader - Elizabeth.
1. Manage your cancellation policy
Manage your cancellation policy. Set a policy that is realistic. It should be restrictive enough that a late cancellation or no-show still incurs a penalty, to prevent losing revenue if you can’t resell a room. But it should be flexible enough that you’re not causing a lot of admin work trying to enforce a very restrictive penalty. 24 or 48 hour cancellation penalties are often a suitable middle ground. You can also consider adding a non-refundable rate using your channel manager, giving guests the option to choose a lower price in exchange for a stricter policy. Whatever you choose, make sure it is easy for your staff to learn and enforce. The more complex your policy is, the more likely it is for human error to happen when staff need to enforce it.
2. Keep up with your PMS developments
Whichever PMS you choose, try to keep up with its developments. Holiday Park Property Management Software is ever evolving to meet the changing needs of its users. Keeping an eye out for new development announcements means you’ll know whenever there’s a new feature that could add value to your business.
3. Website Booking Screens for your Holiday Park Property Management System
Make the most of your website booking screen. First, make sure you have your own website booking screen! Most channel managers include a website booking screen to install on your website. Your website is your best marketing tool, and should be your favourite booking source. It’s the only channel that you have complete control over, and the only one without a 10-15% commission on it! Make sure you are already collecting the right information from website bookings; not just the obvious like names and contact details, but extra bits that can help you smooth the check in process like tent/caravan/campervan choice, vehicle size & registration number, and ETA.
4. Local Events
Keep track of local events and adjust your rates accordingly. Be aware that some events will increase demand for roofed accommodation only, some will affect sites more, and some will cause an all out rush for both! It’s often best to keep sites at a constant (or perhaps seasonal) price, but self contained accommodation can easily fluctuate in price as the market demands.
5. Utilize those Sales Channels
Be listed on the right sales channels. In addition to listing with the more holiday park focussed channels (e.g. BookIt, Campermate), consider if any of your self-contained units are suitable for listing on the more hotel focused channels (e.g. Booking.com, Expedia, maybe even Airbnb)
6. Bonus Tip - Sign up for a Free Demo of our Holiday Park Property Management System
Seekom iBex is a great PMS choice for holiday parks. We connect to all the most popular channels for holiday parks, including integrations with TOP 10 and Kiwi Holiday Parks. Our PMS also comes with included front booking screens, which are easy to install on your website (or get in touch with our web team to discuss a new website!)
There are lots of ways to get in touch with Seekom support, so help is always available! We are available by phone, chat and email. We also hold monthly free training webinars, to keep your staff up to speed, along with the occasional specialty topic webinar whenever we have something new and interesting to share.
Seekom iBex PMS just turned 18 years old, and has long been the preferred choice for holiday parks.
Over its long life, it’s had lots of little enhancements just for holiday parks added. There are custom fields available for your website booking screen, so you can have guests enter their vehicle type and length on booking. There’s a property max pax cut off, to prevent accidentally going over council occupancy limits. After Hours Cut Off allows for flexibility in accepting late bookings - prevent roofed accommodation from being booked after reception closes, but allow tent sites to book late and check themselves in!
Get in touch with our sales team for a free demo, or to find out if iBex PMS is the right fit for your holiday park.
One of our amazing business development managers will be in touch to showcase our product to you and talk you through how we can help grow your business.
Sign Up For Updates