The holiday park industry is at a tipping point. The parks that thrive tomorrow will not be the ones with the most pitches or the biggest marketing budgets. They will be the ones that adapt fastest to the way guests actually want to book and stay today.
Here's the truth: I don't do manual bookings anywhere. I don't call a number. I don't print forms. If I cannot book instantly on my phone, I move on. For me, and for most travellers in my generation, ease isn't optional. It's expected.
The expectations that once felt futuristic are now table stakes. Think about the last time you booked a flight, ordered a takeaway, or arranged a taxi. Did you call? Did you wait for a confirmation email two days later? Of course not. You tapped, you paid, you got instant reassurance. That is the same mindset guests bring when looking to book a holiday park. If they cannot do it quickly, they will go somewhere else without hesitation.
The OTA trap
Here is a story I know too well. A park owner checks their season’s numbers and realises that commissions to OTAs have drained tens of thousands in revenue. On paper it looks like bookings are healthy, but in reality that is money gone forever.
OTA commissions typically range from 15% to 25% per booking. Sometimes it is even higher when you add fees for extras, boosted listings, or premium placements. Over the course of a single season those percentages snowball into a massive line item. What feels like visibility comes at a cost that can erode profitability year after year.
The longer you rely on OTAs, the more dependent you become. Guests stop remembering your park and instead remember the platform they booked through. You lose control of the relationship, the data, and the repeat bookings. That is why every park that wants to stay profitable in the long run must reduce reliance on these middlemen and build direct booking strength.
Guests do not wait
Let us be real. Have you ever patiently worked through a clunky booking process? I don't. If it is slow, unclear, or not mobile-first, I bounce. So do your potential guests.
Modern travellers are ruthless when it comes to convenience. They compare your booking flow not just with other parks but with the entire digital world they interact with daily. Amazon, Netflix, Uber. If you fall short, the contrast is obvious. And once a guest feels friction, loyalty disappears.
Think about families booking holidays on the sofa after work, or young couples planning long weekends away on their phones while commuting. If your booking journey demands multiple steps, PDF downloads, or email confirmations that take hours, you have already lost them.
Standing still is falling behind
I heard a park operator say it best: “We have always done it this way, why change?”
Here is the reality. While you hold fast, your competitors are moving forward. They are investing in systems that eliminate double bookings, reduce admin headaches, and give guests the smooth experience they crave. They are already training their staff on streamlined dashboards, automating repetitive tasks, and making it easier for guests to manage their own stays online.
Technology is no longer a nice-to-have. It is the advantage. The park that embraces it today will be the one remembered tomorrow. The park that resists will slowly become invisible, even to long-standing guests.
The cost of missing a season
Parks live and die by seasons. One strong summer can fund investments for years. One flopped summer can set you back just as long.
Picture this. Demand spikes but your system cannot flex. Your site is under strain. Bookings do not get processed. Guests become frustrated. Staff burn out trying to patch gaps manually. The revenue you counted on to reinvest for next year slips through your fingers.
And here is the toughest part. Missed revenue in this industry is not something you get back. Once a family books elsewhere, you lose both their spend and their loyalty. A single season of inefficiency can echo into future years.
If you wait, here is what happens:
- Revenue keeps leaking to OTAs
- Guests click away in search of smoother booking experiences
- Admin piles up for your team
- Competitors pull ahead with smarter systems
If you act now with RMS:
- More revenue stays with you through direct bookings
- Guests enjoy seamless, mobile-first experiences
- Your team gets time back to focus on what matters: people
- You future-proof your operation with a scalable, park-first platform
The hard truth
I wouldn't book with a park that makes things hard for me. And I'm not alone. Your future guests think exactly the same way. Every season you delay means lost revenue, wasted opportunity, and an unspoken message to guests that their time isn't your priority.
Protect your bookings. Grow your revenue. Future-proof your park.
The future of your park isn't about adding more pitches or spending more on advertising. It's about making every guest interaction as smooth and convenient as the world they are already used to. If you can't do that today, the risk is simple. Tomorrow, they won't choose you.
