Willerby cuts energy bills for holiday home owners and parks with new sustainability standard
Holiday homes market leader Willerby is introducing a new, ground-breaking standard specification for its models to cut their carbon emissions, make them more energy efficient, cutting energy bills meaning they are cheaper to run. Willerby is the first UK holiday homes manufacturer to introduce any kind of sustainability standard and the only one to offer a green build specification across the board. Willerby’s new GreEN Standard will apply to all static caravans1 manufactured from October 2022 and will be adopted in the design and production of all future new models. The change is the most significant innovation in the holiday homes industry since the introduction of double glazing and central heating. It’s a key part of Willerby’s drive to put sustainability firmly at the heart of all its design processes and manufacturing operations and reinforces the company’s status as the UK holiday homes brand leader. The GreEN Standard will reduce the energy consumption of Willerby’s holiday homes by up to 28%3, compared to models built to the previous specification. The new standard will mean Willerby’s holiday homes … Willerby has carried out comprehensive research into the carbon impact of its holiday homes in order to understand how this can be reduced. This included calculating the embodied carbon – emissions associated with materials and processes during manufacture – as well as the carbon footprint of holiday homes once in use. As a result, Willerby’s new GreEN Standard incorporates: Willerby CEO Peter Munk said: “Our new GreEN standard is a hugely significant development in our ongoing commitment to tackling the climate crisis. “Our industry has an important role to play in the pathway to a sustainable future and I’m proud we’re leading the way in our sector with the introduction of this new specification. It puts sustainability at the very heart of all our product development and manufacturing operations. “Further improving the energy efficiency of our holiday homes has the additional benefit of enabling owners to make significant savings on their energy bills, which is particularly important at this time when living costs are rising sharply. “Holiday park operators will also benefit from reduced running costs on their Willerby GreEN Standard rental units, as well as this initiative contributing to the increased sustainability of their operations. “In short, this is great for the environment and good for the pocket.” Willerby has worked with several of its customers in the UK holiday parks sector during the research and development project that has led to the introduction of the GreEN Standard. Willerby’s technical director Simon Tempest, the company’s board champion for sustainability, said: “As a major employer, and a leading player in the holiday homes industry, we recognise our responsibility to reduce the carbon impact of our operations. “We’ve done a great deal in this area already, with the introduction of a raft of green initiatives. These include installing biomass boilers at our Hull site which convert waste wood into energy to heat our manufacturing facilities, saving 1,000 tonnes of C02 annually and avoiding hundreds of truck trips to remove this waste. “The introduction of the GreEN Standard is a major leap forward in our sustainability journey and a game-changing innovation for the holiday homes industry.” For more information on the GreEN Standard, go to www.willerby.com/green-standard What it means for holiday home owners The GreEN Standard responds to the ever-growing desire for holiday home owners, like everyone else, to live more sustainably, reduce their energy consumption and save money on fuel bills. What it means for holiday park operators The GreEN standard delivers a series of benefits for Willerby’s customers in the holiday parks sector. 1Due to pitch constraints, our Ashurst models will not be built to the GreEN Standard specification. 212ft holiday homes only. 3Figure based on a Brookwood 40ft x 12ft three-bedroom model and 90 days occupancy. Saving based on 18p per kwh. 4Figure based on a Brookwood 40ft x 12ft three-bedroom model and 270 days occupancy. Saving based on 18p per kwh.
Papa John’s Delivers First Modular Pod to Haven’s Riviere Sands Resort
Leading pizza franchise Papa John’s has literally ‘delivered’ a new store to UK holiday park operator, Haven’s Riviere Sands resort in Cornwall. The new ‘modular pod’ is a new containerised solution, mainly built off site and craned into position ready for the holiday season. Amit Pancholi, business development director, Papa John’s UK explains: “We offer flexible formats for our franchised stores. This may be a mobile delivery unit, right up to a fully built and customized store. We worked together with Haven to develop the Riviere Sands modular pod which now demonstrates Papa John’s flexibility and diverse franchise options suitable for resorts, stadiums, leisure venues, amusement parks and more! “For Haven’s Riviere Sands park the team chose a bespoke modular 12x5m unit which is built off site and delivered on a low loader. The modular pod is an efficient, effective solution that minimizes site construction disruption. Once in situ, finalization of the build, including the heavy items such as oven and refrigeration are added, and connection to be up and running is completed in a matter of days.” Lucy Greene, Brand Opening & Development Manager, Haven confirms: “We are super excited about the modular unit! We lacked space within our existing buildings at Riviere Sands and so the pod is ideal! We have been able to place it precisely where we wanted – in the highest foot-fall area of the park – with minimal disruption for our guests. “Going modular also offers more opportunities to add further Papa John’s to other Haven parks in the future too. The format is totally bespoke, so we could even opt for a larger unit encompassing indoor seating for example. As for now, our guests are certainly enjoying a taste of Papa John’s at our Riviere Sands park.” Haven, part of the Bourne Leisure Group, owned by Blackstone, now has 29 Papa John’s located at its popular seaside holiday parks around the UK. The holiday park operator also opened new Papa John’s at Berwick Holiday Park near Berwick-Upon-Tweed and Wild Duck near Great Yarmouth earlier this year. Amit Pancholi continues: “The delivery of the pod at Riviere Sands is proof of concept that complies with all building regulations and opens up opportunities for leisure venues, stadiums and holiday parks and could even be supplied to be positioned in a pub car park. Planning permission can be easier to obtain depending on site, and with a 40-year design life, the pods can be more cost effective than a long property lease.” For those interested in running a multi-unit franchise or opening-up in a ‘non-traditional’ location, Papa John’s offers incentives in addition to world-class support, comprehensive training and national marketing. As a franchisor, Papa John’s supplies all the assistance needed to get your successful Papa John’s up and running. For further information please see: www.papajohns.co.uk/franchise For further information about Haven please see: https://www.haven.com/
Leading holiday resort operator, Darwin Escapes, turns to Elite Dynamics for software solutions
Elite Dynamics, a leading provider of IT business solutions to the holiday home and parks’ industry, has signed up another prestigious holiday resort company taking the total number of parks they provide software solutions to ever closer to 300. Flintshire-based Darwin Escapes, one of the UK’s leading holiday park resort operators, is switching its ever expanding portfolio of award-winning holiday resorts and world-class golf courses to Elite Dynamics’ exciting suite of industry focused software solutions. With 24 holiday resorts located in stunning locations across England, Wales, and Scotland, Darwin Escapes is one of the fastest growing leisure brands in the UK employing 900 people across all sites in peak season. By migrating its holiday resort management functionality over to Elite Dynamics, Darwin Escapes will continue to enhance the holiday experiences of the tens of thousands of holidaymakers and holiday homeowners visiting its resorts every year. Jamaine Campbell, MD at Elite Dynamics, said: “Every new holiday park customer we welcome into the Elite family is special. It doesn’t matter if they’re a family-run single park operator or have multiple sites like Darwin, its always about how we can work with them to add value through our software solutions. However, on a personal level for myself and many of the Elite team, being successful in securing Darwin Escapes as a customer feels almost like a homecoming. “Twenty years ago, I designed the incarnation of what is now our flagship ‘EliteParks’ business solution for Darwin Escapes. So, in a sense it’s gone full circle now. Not to mention, there are a few of our team, including co-founder Nicola, who have all worked for Darwin at some point in their careers.” Darwin Escapes holiday bookings are all handled by Hoseasons, so it was crucial they worked with a technology provider that was able to integrate bookings and share availability at each of their 24 resorts with the self-catering accommodation specialists. Claire Lloyd, Head of Finance at Darwin Escapes, added: “We chose Elite for a number of reasons but ultimately we recognise they provide the leading UK based IT solution for the holiday park industry. EliteParks with its enhanced functionality has the flexibility to manage all of our business processes and activities in one system.” Jamaine Campbell continued: “The holiday park industry is about experiences and we are all focused on the same goal of providing the absolute best customer experience. Darwin Escapes is striving to raise the standards of the industry by creating brand new resorts in stunning locations with accommodation and facilities to rival 5-star hotels. Likewise Elite Dynamics is striving to digitally transform the industry by delivering trusted products and services to bring the holiday park industry into the 21st century. We are a great fit! “For a business that started with a team of just three when we designed EliteParks in 2015, every day we’re blown away by the impact we’re having on the holiday park industry. We are being contacted by more and more holiday parks and resorts like Darwin Escapes who want to make the transition to EliteParks from alternative park management systems and it’s exciting to see where we can take them.” For more information on Elite Dynamics or to arrange a demo of the market leading Microsoft powered software solutions, visit https://www.elitedynamics.co.uk.
How Do I Best Identify My Park Visitors?
There are lots of options to consider when it comes to making sure the visitors to your park or campsite are where they need to be and everything is set for them to have a great time; is the laundry for their caravan clean, are they on the right pitch, how many vehicles are permitted per booking. The list can seem endless, but there are some products that will allow you to keep everything simple and easy for you and your staff. An easy way of identifying a variety of vehicles are car window stickers – these removable, bright branding stickers make sure your staff know that the vehicle is permitted to be on site. Pitch tags are another way you can ensure any campers are where they need to be with a pass that matches with their pitch number behind them, strong, weatherproof materials are a must have for the British weather! Used vs clean laundry is easy to identify with a simple tie-around tag that goes on your laundry bags. Take the stress away from having to sort linens in to different bins, just read the tag, or opt for colour coding for long distance identification. Hang tags are a great versatile option that can be used for a welcome sign for statics or lodges with site information or to identify cars or motorhomes. If you need some advice, why not speak to the experts at Dura-ID on 01803 668 090 or email sales@dura-id.com.
