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People. Process. Systems.

Challenge.

Hoburne Holidays, a 100-year-old family-owned business, operates eight picturesque holiday parks across the south-west of England, including Cornwall, Dorset, Devon, Hampshire, and the Cotswolds. Known for their family-first approach, they offer a range of accommodations—including caravans, holiday homes and luxury lodges—that provide memorable holiday experiences.

With their existing park management system nearing end of life, Hoburne was looking to review their current business systems and processes and create a flexible, future-proof platform that would align with their objective of enhancing customer experience by creating “Quality. Family. Time.”

The business faced numerous challenges that were preventing them from realising their full operational potential:

  • Legacy Systems Restricting Growth: While Hoburne’s commitment to creating special family memories never wavered, their current systems were making it harder to deliver the outstanding service they’re known for.
  • System and Data Limitations: Disparate systems led to excessive manual workarounds to ensure continuity, as system capabilities were limited.
  • Fragmented Customer Insights: Data was held across multiple sources, making it difficult to analyse key information on buying habits, trends, and other insights critical for tailored marketing campaigns.
  • Outdated Park Management Functions: The existing system lacked the flexibility to manage pitch specifications, legislative requirements, and service changes effectively.
  • Data Collation for core site functions, owner billing and health & safety requirements were manual and time consuming.
  • Siloed Information: Systems operated independently, limiting Hoburne’s ability to view integrated business data. Reports would have to be manually merged and manipulated.

 

Solution.

Optimum PPS led Hoburne through a strategic review and digital transformation, starting with a Project Definition Workshop (PDW), an in-depth Blueprint exercise, and finally a structured System Selection Process to pinpoint the right solution for their evolving needs.

 

Project Definition Workshop & Blueprint

We began by organising workshops with key stakeholders across Hoburne’s business areas to map out their existing processes ‘As Is’ and visualise future possibilities ‘To Be’. This required a full review of their key business areas:

  • KPI Management, Reporting & Business Intelligence
  • Marketing
  • Sales, Stock & Ownership
  • Holidays & Bookings
  • Park Management
  • Finance Integrations/Touchpoints

 

This collaborative effort allowed us to:

  • Gain a holistic view of Hoburne’s current operations and challenges
  • Identify pain points, bottle necks and inefficient processes
  • Design a vision for their future-state solution
  • Create a detailed blueprint and roadmap defining how we get there
  • Develop a detailed list of business requirements for system selection

 

System Selection Process

With the Blueprint agreed, we translated Hoburne’s requirements into a structured Request for Proposal (RFP). Given the specific requirements of holiday park management, we identified and evaluated a targeted list of potential system suppliers.

 

The system selection process included:

  • Scoring and Analysis: Hoburne’s team worked with us to refine their requirements and apply weighted scoring criteria.
  • Competitive Shortlisting: Suppliers showcased their solutions through demonstrations, and Hoburne narrowed down to a preferred vendor.
  • Collaboration on Vendor Selection: By managing each step collaboratively, Hoburne was empowered to make a fully auditable, informed decision.

 

Optimum’s robust, structured, and managed selection process ensured the Hoburne leadership team felt confident in their vendor selection. The business is now moving forward with implementation, confident that their chosen vendor and system will meet their long-term goals.

Deliverables.

The overall project goal was to deliver a tailored view of the Hoburne customer from one true source of data enabling delivery of “Quality. Family. Time.” Optimum provided Hoburne with a comprehensive set of deliverables from the project, including:

  • A real-time integrated solution: Flexible, future-proof platform that allows for continuous process improvement across their key business areas.
  • Business Process alignment enabling standardised processes across the Parks to help improve efficiencies and service levels
  • Linked systems and processes so the right data is delivered to the right person at the right time, enabling better customer service
  • Customer Management system that delivers a single view of the customer and their journey
  • Improved business intelligence and customer insights for more informed decision making

Benefits.

By partnering with Optimum PPS, Hoburne now has a strategic blueprint and system selection that will help transform and future-proof their business processes and systems, allowing them to:

  • Optimise Processes and Functional Capabilities: Hoburne’s teams will be able to leverage streamlined processes and an enhanced system, positioning them to deliver even higher levels of service to their customers
  • Increase revenue: by centralising their core solution and streamlining processes, this will allow for a better experience through the organisation from static caravan & holiday home sales to leisure activities, to food & beverage
  • Improve operational efficiency and conversion rates: by streamlining the sales and booking processes to improve overall customer experience
  • Enhance Guest Experience: Integrated systems enable personalised service at all key touchpoints

Summary

Hoburne are confident that they now have systems and processes in place that strengthen their ability to deliver those precious moments of “Quality. Family. Time.”

Working with Optimum brought structured expertise to this huge transformation project. What also helped the project succeed was Hoburne’s incredible team. Many had been with the family business for years, and their enthusiasm for positive change helped turn ambitious plans into reality.

Don’t let legacy systems hold your hospitality business back. Contact Optimum PPS now and see how we can enhance your guest experience and operational efficiency.

"Optimum was amazing throughout the process from start to finish. They really took time to get an understanding of our business and had a very structured and methodological approach. Their project management skills are second to none, and we now feel confident that we have business systems and processes in place that will future-proof our business for years to come."

Phillipa Foster - Finance Director - Hoburne Holidays