DekBoard encourages holiday parks to take a fresh look at PVC-U’s environmental benefits
Advocating its environmentally responsible credentials, DekBoard, the British decking and balustrade manufacturer, is encouraging holiday park proprietors to consider the long-life and recyclable attributes of its outdoor space creating systems. The company designs and manufactures 100 percent recyclable PVC-U decking products, which offer a strong, highly resistant, non-slip surface to effectively surround caravan and park home exteriors and create innovative outdoor living spaces. With the carbon footprint of treated timber attracting more careful consideration – owing to associated wood import emissions and the non-recyclability of varnished and painted products – the benefits of fully recyclable PVC-U options are increasingly coming to the fore. Not only is the DekBoard decking and balustrade system a durable, low-maintenance alternative to timber decking, but the product range is manufactured with responsibly sourced materials. The warp-resistant surfaces are made using an element of recycled polymers, some of which are reground on-site in DekBoard’s Scunthorpe factory – a practice which actively reduces the unnecessary shipping of materials and enables close monitoring and minimisation of emissions and associated environmental impact. Once installed, varnish or paint products are not required to maintain DekBoard surfaces, which allows the decking to remain fully recyclable and prevents additional toxic substances from potentially seeping into the ground and ultimately entering landfill. Instead, and as part of the company’s commitment to its Recovinyl membership – a European value-chain initiative aimed at facilitating PVC-U waste collection – DekBoard collects and recycles all post-consumer products and re-uses or redistributes the waste produced at its factory. “Historically timber has been viewed as the most ecologically sound decking choice,” explains Nicola Kissaglis, Product Manager at DekBoard, “however broader information presents a view whereby the transportation of material used in wooden decking contributes significantly to its carbon footprint. “Forestresearch.gov.uk tells us that 7.9 million cubic metres of sawn wood was imported into the UK in 2017. In addition to the transport emissions, the decking needs to be treated throughout its lifetime to make it durable and weather resilient. As the paints and varnishes used have toxic components, the wood cannot subsequently be burned or recycled safely, so must be disposed of in landfill. “Of course, there are concerns around certain plastics, which makes the rise in UK wood imports unsurprising, however PVC-U used in building products is not a single-use material. PVC-U is made from salt and crude oil and is one of the most widely used long-lasting plastics in the world. When manufactured correctly and recycled responsibly, the material can be extremely sustainable, and can deliver in terms of longevity and safety. “It’s our belief that there is no need for any product manufactured by DekBoard to be taken to landfill once its current useful purpose is complete. The only place it should go is our re-grinder, ready to be made into something else.” Nicola goes on to explain that DekBoard’s manufacturing process is carried out under ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management – a standard which helps businesses improve environmental performance and impact through a more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste. “The DekBoard systems are worth careful consideration; not only for recyclable reasons, but as a low maintenance, non-slip, rot resistant and splinter free surface that presents an attractive, long-lasting decking and balustrade solution.” For more information telephone 01724 848500, visit www.dekboard.co.uk or email info@dekboard.co.uk.
The World of Park & Leisure Homes Show rescheduled!
Following the government’s most recent advice in relation to the Coronavirus pandemic, to ensure the safety of exhibitors and visitors, the World of Park & Leisure Homes – South of England Show 2020, Ardingly has been postponed until 21st to 23rd August 2020. Whether you’re searching for the latest design ideas; already enjoying the lifestyle and want to upgrade or refurbish? looking to move into this lifestyle? or benefit from it? this is the show for you. If its Leisure or Residential, we have it covered! Ever wondered how you can live this fantastic lifestyle? Come along and meet our many experts – all happy to help and advise! https://www.parkhomeandleisure.co.uk
The Holiday Home Finder – get ready for our new website!
Join our website and be found by thousands of members looking for their next holiday destination. Register today to be listed in our extensive directory of UK Holiday Parks. Get a free trial sellers account today. CLICK TO LIST YOUR PARK FOR FREE Holiday Parks Seek out your perfect holiday destination Search by park facility, location, distance, or a combination of all Find out holiday park information and contact details Read and Submit reviews Create an account and save your favourite parks Caravan & Lodge Sales Find your next holiday home by park, features, or budget Set up alerts for future caravan and lodge sales on your favourite holiday parks Subscribe to emails from holiday parks Free Park Owners Account Update your park details and photos List static caravans and lodges for sale on your holiday park Print For Sale signs with feature details Scheduled listings and reductions Quick submission facility from a mobile device Get alerts when your park or sale is watched View Park and Sales Statistics Finding your ideal holiday home has never been easier! Our website has comprehensive listings telling you about holiday homes for sale and about the holiday park they are on. Take the hassle out of finding your next holiday home using our simple search facilities where you can compare all options before choosing your ideal holiday home. Our independent website allows you to find a park, save your favourites and also receive alerts when a holiday home becomes available on the park(s) of your choice! The Holiday Home Finder website features a huge range of holiday parks and enables you to view photos and video in their gallery along with information on their facilities and location. Whether you are looking for a pre-owned static caravan for the family by the sea, or a luxurious lodge in the countryside, finding your next ideal holiday home could not be easier! Search The Holiday Home finder today to see how easy it is to find your ideal holiday home where you and your family can get away from it all in your perfect location.
Returning to your holiday home after winter
With the winter months nearly behind us, it’s time to reopen holiday homes and prepare for the next season. But what can you do to make sure everything is up and running before the sunshine arrives? Here, Nick Cowley, managing director at leading window and door manufacturer Euramax, gives his advice for ensuring your holiday home is ready to enjoy in the warmer months ahead. Inspection and preparation tasks can sometimes put a dampener on returning to a holiday home. With eager anticipation for the summer months, carrying out important maintenance is sometimes put to the bottom of the pile. However, with an effective plan in place, you can soon be ready to enjoy your holiday home for another season. External inspection The exterior of your holiday home is directly exposed to the elements, so be sure to have a good check for any signs of weather damage. Inspect the panels thoroughly for any deformation to prevent draughts and damp seeping inside. Rigorously check the windows and doors, searching for any cracks or splits in the glass or sealant that may have been caused by the cold weather. If your windows and doors are looking old or damaged, it’s a good idea to get them replaced for the year ahead. Updating your windows and doors will improve the appearance of your holiday home, while boosting its energy efficiency. Ensure you choose a reliable, high quality window and door manufacturer such as Euramax, which boasts a wide range of designs made using innovative materials. Spring clean Even if you conducted a thorough clean before the winter, your holiday home will probably require a little work. However, a good freshen up will ensure a great start to the new season. Begin by opening the windows to get some fresh air into your holiday home. Then give all of the surfaces a wipe over to remove any dust that has accumulated over the winter. Giving your holiday home a quick clean will also allow you to spot any problems along the way. If you find small areas of mildew or feel a lot of moisture in the air, consider cleaning with a mould-removing detergent and using a dehumidifier. Water, gas and electricity Now you will be spending time in your holiday home again, the water, gas and electricity need reconnecting. Turn on the water slowly by starting with a low pressure and one tap at a time. As you do this, keep watch for any leaks. If there are no problems, turn up the water pressure and give a final check for leaks. Next, turn on the electricity and make sure all of your appliances and lights are working. You may have left the heating on a low setting during the winter to prevent pipes freezing over and bursting, so you’ll need to remember to turn it off if the weather is warm enough. If you have a gas hob, make sure all of the burners are working — you don’t want to find out they aren’t right after cracking your eggs for a fry up. Make it secure If you’re planning to rent out your holiday home during the summer season, you may want to consider a new security system. Gone are the days of traditional keys and locks, as guest access can be made much easier with a smart locking system. With a digital locking system, guests receive a unique access code via their smartphone, which remains active for the duration of their stay. This technology can also notify property owners when a guest checks in and out of the property, giving greater peace of mind for owners that aren’t based near their holiday home. Once all the checks and maintenance is complete, it’s time for the fun part. Add those finishing touches that make you feel at home, whether that’s decorative cushions, family photos or a stack of your favourite magazines. Now for the final task — pop the kettle on and enjoy your fresh holiday home. www.euramaxuk.com
Holgates opens new luxury Lodge Park
Family-run Lancashire holiday park company, Holgates, has announced the opening of their latest holiday park – The Cove – directly overlooking the Morecambe Bay coastline in Silverdale. The Cove is an exclusive luxury lodge ownership park with spacious pitches to house a select 25 holiday lodges from some of the top UK manufacturers. All designed to make the most of the spectacular seafront setting, the lodges have floor to ceiling windows, stylish modern furnishings and facilities, and all come with bespoke sundecks selected to complement the location and its resplendent Morecambe Bay sunsets. The eighth park in the Holgates family group, The Cove will be their first lodge-exclusive park in Lancashire and Cumbria. Owner Michael Holgate has completely redeveloped the site, which sits in 20 acres of parkland directly opposite their original and flagship Silverdale park. More than 3,000 trees have been planted to create an on-park woodland nature trail as well as offering additional privacy to owners. Michael said: “The Cove has been a long time in planning so its rewarding to see it come to fruition and to hear how well its been received by our existing holiday home owners looking to upgrade. We had even sold a lodge on the front row before the cement had dried! “We’re proud that our parks are known for their quality, but we’ve really taken it to a whole new level with The Cove. The craftsmanship and specification of the lodges is some of the highest I have come across in nearly 40 years of being involved in the industry. Combine that with the picturesque and tranquil surroundings and The Cove becomes a unique and unrivalled development. It’s the idyllic coastal escape.” One of the British lodge manufacturers Holgates have selected for The Cove is Northamptonshire based Prestige Homeseeker Park & Leisure Homes who are supplying the Hampton, the Burleigh, the Glass House, the Strand, the Foresters, and the Casa Di Lusso models. Silvano Geranio, Founder Director said: “When we’re designing our luxury lodges, we’re always thinking about where we want them to be sited. So, to have some of our top of the range models securing pride of place on the front row of Holgates’ prestigious new Cove development makes us incredibly proud. You couldn’t ask for a better location – the floor to ceiling bifold doors soak up the unrivalled views of Morecambe Bay – so we’re not surprised that some of them have already been snapped up. “Providing value for money for customers is everything these days, so the location of these lodges, combined with the ocean inspired colours, natural materials and high quality finish offers a truly unique getaway, which will stand the test of time. “We’re delighted to have formed this relationship with Holgates. Like Prestige, they are a trusted family company, and with their support, we can continue to support UK manufacturing and secure jobs.” The Cove is open all year round and all lodges come with bespoke decking, parking for two cars, piped gas supply, and superfast Wi-Fi. Owners will also have full complimentary use of the 5-star leisure facilities at Holgates Silverdale Park. Two and three bedroomed luxury lodges are available and prices start from £160,000. Open weekends will be taking place at The Cove on 21st March, 13th June, and 19th September. So far, around 20 per cent of lodges have already been sold. For more information on The Cove, visit https://www.holgates.co.uk/the-cove or call 01524 701508.
Leisure furnishings from HLF Group LTD
The HLF Group LTD is the umbrella company incorporating Holiday Let furnishings and Hotel and Leisure Furnishings. We are the furniture suppliers to the Holiday and Leisure industry. We specialise in supplying a huge volume of contract standard furniture. Working from manufacturing facilities of over 350,000 sq/ft our collections are specifically selected for your industry and come direct from two factories in the North East of England. Our products are all handmade here in the UK. The factories manufacture sofas (1200 a week), mattresses (9000 a week), beds and occasional pieces. We have a large show room in the North East of England where there are over 150 different sofa models & 45 bed models you can pick from. We also have a fully functioning 4-bedroom show home in which our customers can stay to test out our products. We currently supply Lodge manufacturers – Serviced apartments – Developers – Holiday and Leisure Parks – Social Housing – lodge manufacturers and Student Lets. It may come as a surprise but The HLF Group often meet very large multiple park owners who still go to the high street to buy their furniture. Not only are they paying more than they need to (the factories we work from already supply many of the main retailers) they may be putting themselves at risk. These products are known as ‘domestic’ meaning they do not adhere to the standards needed in commercial environments such as hotels, holiday parks etc. In order to comply with the regulation’s certain items such as beds, mattresses and sofas must be ‘contract’ standard and classified as ‘crib 5’ with the relevant certificates certifying this. We are specialists in these regulations and guide you as to what you need to purchase for your properties. Given the economies of scale; you are able to design your furniture pieces and still benefit from excellent trade prices. We have full turnkey options available as well as furniture packages. We specialise in periodic full park refurbs. We are very proud of our reputation for high quality British made products, excellent customer service and unbeatable lead times. We are the leading experts in this industry and are the only agents to bring these products to you. Because they are direct from the factory, our prices cannot be beaten. Please do visit our website or get in touch with a member of our sales as we would be only too happy to assist you with your queries.
CampManager 2.0 launched – The all-in-one booking & park management system
CampManager is excited to announce the launch of CampManager 2.0. As a cloud-based booking and park management system, this is one of the most significant changes to CampManager since its creation 14 years ago and continues to position itself as the market leader. Andrew Norris, Technical Director for CampManager, said: “With over eighteen months in development, hundreds of new and enhanced features, we are extremely proud to have released CampManager 2.0. We are now introducing it to our 450+ clients, and so far, the feedback has been extremely positive.” Andrew Norris, Technical Director for CampManager demonstrating CampManager 2.0 CampManager was provided a perfect roadmap for the hundreds of new features and enhancements with feedback from their customers. Here are a few that we think you will love. An all-new Dashboard A dashboard screen has been created giving crucial information at your fingertips. It displays arrivals, departures, guests onsite, occupancy performance, latest bookings and more, allowing you to analyse up-to-date information faster – so you can make smarter data-driven decisions. Multiple bookings in one simple transaction The booking process has been re-engineered to cater for group bookings, so whether a guest is making one or ten bookings, they can easily add multiple bookings in one simple transaction. Multiple bookings can be made by staff or by customers online via the online booking system. CampManager creates invoices for each booking with a single payment split across each of the bookings. Increase direct bookings and compete with Online Travel Agents As a Google Authorised Integration Partner, CampManager can now connect your booking system to Google Hotel Ads. CampManager provides Google with your rental property’s up-to-date information on pricing, availability and accommodation types. Relevant ads will be shown to future guests who are actively searching for accommodation on Google Search or Google Maps. When a user clicks on your Google Hotel Ad, they are directed to your CampManager online booking system where they enter their details and complete the booking directly with you. Responsive Interactive site map from any device The interactive colour-coded map of your park, with enhanced functionality, is accessible from any internet-enabled device. See immediately who is currently on each site and the status of their account. A detailed map displays the location of all owner units, rental units, and camping sites, with traffic light colour-coding helping you to distinguish between an overdue payment, pending payment, expired insurance and site fees. CampManager automated Communications You can now deliver more meaningful and engaging communications with CampManager’s automated email and SMS text messaging service. Send messages with your personal touch automatically, before or after arrival. Overdue payment requests, welcome and departure messages are hassle-free from CampManager. Put CampManager to the test CampManager offers you the complete end-to-end process for managing your Caravan Park or Campsite. CampManager is dedicated to understanding the needs of each customer, we pride ourselves on delivering a tailored system that works for every business. Why not test all its features, new functionality, and avail of CampManager’s great customer service? www.campmanager.com
Michael Paul Holidays acquires Caravan Sitefinder
Online booking channel Michael Paul Holidays has acquired Caravan Sitefinder from Tribalogic. The deal, which closed last week for an undisclosed sum, has served to create the UK’s largest independent database of caravan and holiday park operators, as well as creating what is soon to be the single biggest booking channel in the UK for these type of holidays. Caravan Sitefinder has provided an online directory and review platform of UK campsites and caravan parks since the 1990’s and has established itself as the premier listing site for the industry. The caravan specialist website secures more than 750,000 unique website users per annum and lists more than 6,000 parks across the country, but until now has had limited adoption for online bookings via the site. The Michael Paul Holidays and Caravan Sitefinder brands align perfectly, sharing similar audiences as well as clients. This acquisition enables both brands to accelerate their growth: supporting Caravan Sitefinder with the opportunity to provide a better online booking experience, whilst expanding the B2B and B2C client databases for Michael Paul Holidays. Michael Paul, CEO of Michael Paul Holidays said, “This acquisition is a game changer for the industry. End users can now benefit from our years of experience of online bookings alongside the online reviews and large database from the CSF brand.” The founding team at Tribalogic Limited, who have relinquished control of the Caravan Sitefinder website, will use the acquisition as an opportunity to concentrate on developing their holiday park rental PMS – Bookster.
New Victory Leisure Homes lodge has the wow factor
Victory Leisure Homes has launched a ‘game-changing’ holiday home designed to inject a wow factor into the marketplace. The Lakewood Lodge is the most innovative product in the company’s 10-year history, combining Victory’s renowned build quality with pioneering manufacturing techniques and higher quality materials. The holiday home’s innovative design and contemporary layout are the result of extensive consultation with Victory’s customers, to create a product with a more robust and domestic feel. The Lakewood Lodge, which was officially unveiled at the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show 2020, has been designed to meet the changing needs of the holiday home and lodge market by placing a strong emphasis on comfort and luxury. Managing Director, Gary Corlyon, said the model features a range of new-to-market manufacturing techniques devised and perfected by Victory Leisure Homes. These include: Beadless internal wall system. The internal walls in the Lakewood Lodge feature the first truly beadless system to be developed for holiday homes, utilising flush-fitting panels butt joint wrapped wallboard. This produces a high-quality finish to the interior, unmatched by any other model presently on the market, and the thicker internal walls – 38mm – bring greater robustness and thermal efficiency. Virtual beadless ceiling The virtual beadless ceiling has been designed to match the walls, giving a much higher-quality interior finish. This has been achieved via tongue and groove jointing. Replacing chipboard flooring with a composite OSB board with high comprehensive strength insulation. This brings added strength to the flooring, as well as much greater thermal efficiency. Despite these market-leading construction improvements, Gary said the most noticeable difference in the Lakewood Lodge is the contemporary interior and layout, designed to attract a new type of customer discovering holiday home living for the first time. The model also has a striking glass front which produces an airy feel and allows spectacular views of the holiday home’s surroundings. Staycationers demand luxury living Gary said: “The trend for staycations is only going to increase, particularly as people are more conscious about the environmental impact of flying, so a new type of holidaymaker, eager to embrace the holiday home living, is starting to emerge. “These might be young families or professional couples who enjoy the outdoors and staying in off-the-beaten-track locations. “One thing they all have in common, however, is the expectation of high-quality accommodation, with comfort and luxury that surpasses their own home. “That is what we have created in the Lakewood Lodge. We have worked closely with our customers to design a product with real wow factor that will meet the changing demands of the marketplace. “We believe the Lakewood Lodge is a game-changer for the industry.” Gary added that with the new model, Victory Leisure Homes is pushing to become one of the most innovative manufacturers in the holiday home and lodge sector. To facilitate this, the company has appointed a new senior management team, new design team and overhauled its manufacturing processes. He said: “This model is a step-change for us; it heralds the future direction of Victory Leisure Homes. “But this is just the start. We’re going through a transformational process that will see us go from traditional and safe to contemporary, luxurious and innovative. “It is this step-change that will underpin future growth at Victory Leisure Homes.” Photos: Gary Corlyon, managing director of Victory Leisure Homes, and the new Lakewood Lodge holiday home.
