Build Your Own Holiday Park App or Buy One?

Plenty of the bigger holiday park groups already have an app, but what those apps do varies a lot. Some offer little more than a guest book, an events list and a park map. Others are changing how parks run day to day.

Picture a guest who logs in with their booking, sees things to do picked for them and finds the answer to “where is the pool?” without calling reception. That is the gap between a basic app and a good one.

Guests now expect a smooth digital experience from the park they stay with. Some parks have built their own apps, but building and maintaining one takes a lot of time and money. Many write it off as out of reach, or settle for a cheaper option that does not give guests the experience they are looking for. There is a third option.

Your three options

If you want an app for your park, there are really three routes:

• Build it yourself.
• Use an agency or a basic guidebook app.
• Subscribe to a guest experience platform such as Holidaymaker.

Think of it like your booking system. You can build your own, or you can buy into a solution that already exists.

Option 1: Build your own app

The cost depends on the type of app, the features you want and how it is built. It climbs with every feature you add, and an app is never finished: it needs updating, fixing and supporting after launch. Developing your own means ongoing staff time, training and maintenance on top of the build itself. It can be done, but it is a project you carry on your own, long after launch day.

Whoever you talk to, ask for the full cost, including what happens after launch.

Option 2: An agency or a basic guidebook app

Basic guidebook apps can be a quick way to get something in guests’ hands. Before you choose one, check how far you can brand it and whether it stays connected to your website, or means adding the same information in more than one place. For a closer comparison, read digital guidebook or guest app: which suits your park?.

Native app or web app?

A native app is built for the phone itself, and guests download it from the App Store or Google Play. A web app runs in the phone’s browser, so there is nothing to install, and it is usually simpler to build.

The old rule that a web app always needs an internet connection is out of date. Progressive web apps can be installed on a phone and can work offline.

Holidaymaker builds native iOS and Android apps, not web wrappers.

Android or iOS?

The short answer is both. If you build for one and not the other, you leave out a big group of your guests.

Option 3: A guest experience platform

A guest experience platform such as Holidaymaker gives you an app that carries your brand, so you do not build and maintain one in-house. Holidaymaker is built for holiday parks and works on both iOS and Android. Your app carries your name, colours and identity. It sits alongside your team, so guests can help themselves and your staff have more time for the things only people can do.

For your guests it is an app. For you and your team it is more than that. It includes:

• A CMS where you update once and publish everywhere, instead of logging into several systems or copying text from your website into your app.
• Guest intelligence, so you can see which campaigns and offers deliver results.
• Home sales, with dedicated app sections for holiday home listings and enquiries.
• Direct bookings, to help guests book direct with you.

You can connect with guests before, during and after their stay. Regular updates are included, so your app keeps pace with new technology and software releases. We can connect to your events system too.

We also connect to the booking and park management systems you already use, including RMS, ParcVu, Prophet Bookings, Campmanager and GemaPark. See the full list in the integrations section of the Help Centre.

Design, branding, launch and team training are included.

What does a platform include?

For pricing, get in touch and we will talk it through. Here is what comes with Holidaymaker:

• A branded native iOS and Android app that carries your name, colours and identity.
• A CMS where you update once and publish everywhere.
• Guest intelligence, home sales and direct bookings tools.
• Regular updates, so your app keeps pace with new technology and software releases.
• Design, branding, launch and team training.

Before you decide

Ask every option the same four questions:

• What will it cost in total, including updates after launch?
• Who looks after it when something breaks?
• Will it connect to our booking system?
• How long until guests can download it?

Is it right for you?

Whether you run a small family park or a larger group, the question is the same: what is the simplest way to give guests a branded app, and give your team a way to run it without extra headcount? Compare the options against your own time, budget and goals.

Questions about any of this? Email us.

Cover photo by Derek Lynn on Unsplash.

Photo by Recha Oktaviani on Unsplash