Last month was the start of a busy year of shows and
exhibitions for
Shorefield Holidays. The season opener commenced with a week
away in Birmingham at the National Exhibition Centre for the annual
Caravan & Camping Show, showcasing the latest season's models from the major
caravan and motorhome manufacturers to holiday inspiration and accessories.
So having loaded up our van with our stand, banners and half
a tonne of brochures we headed up the motorway to find our home for the next
week, at least it was dry and not snowing like last year. Although a breeze to
get to, the real pain began with unloading all the equipment and the long walk
to find our stand. So we quickly ‘commandeered’ (pinched would be too strong a
word), a large trolley and before we knew it, all was ready to go, whilst all
around us, carpet was still be laid, stands and decking’s being bolted
together, it was time for a pint and reflect on the uv lighting and horrible
air conditioning that lay ahead and consider if all the others would actually
be ready in time.
This year was the first time we actually stayed in the
centre of Birmingham. In previous years we had always stayed on the outskirts
in a lovely Country Hotel, complete with its very own 9 hole golf course and
health club. As nice as it sounds, it is a little too far out, the commute to
and from the show isn’t great, the choice of dining options in an evening is
limited and, most importantly, it’s too dark when I get back to hit a few golf
balls on their famous par 3 course. If only the show was in the summer! So it
was off to the bright lights and the hustle and bustle of the Bull Ring for us.
Conveniently situated a short walk from the train station,
our well known ‘branded’ hotel was comfortable enough. There was a bar, most
important, and dining room, however, with so many excellent watering holes and
restaurants a short walk away, we were certainly not confined to our lodgings.
The majority of us found the rooms to be pleasant enough, especially those of
us on the 9th floor, the higher you are the less noise you
experience, needless to say, I slept like a baby. The rooms, although basic
were comfortable enough, with some nice touches, if you could get past the two
thermostat settings of Arctic and furnace. It certainly wasn’t like staying in
our park accommodation and the bath was no hot tub.
I am not sure if there is some weird and wonderful reasoning
by this, (any feasible reasoning would be greatly accepted), but why don’t
hotels ever put plugs by the side of the bed? And persist in situating your
nearest power supply somewhere on Spaghetti Junction.
Breakfast was always pleasant and had the desired effect of
filling you up, before a busy day at the show. So after a short train journey,
although on the whole painless as long as you ensure you get on the correct
train, with the correct ticket, as this is not always clear, with different
operators running different trains and some rather over effective ticket
collectors, catching you out. It was still a lot easier than our previous
year’s commute.
We always really enjoy the Caravan & camping show, as it
is a great opportunity for us a business to chat and engage with our customers
and promote ourselves at the start of the season. I always find it strange that
not more of our competitors display themselves more prominently. Many other
holiday parks choose to ‘hideaway’ on manufacturers’ stands, rather than
promoting themselves as a destination in its own right like we do. Even our
neighbours either side of our stand, seemed content with simply giving out
‘free stuff’, rather than chatting and actually listening to their customers.
Perhaps that comes down to who you having working at an exhibition like this,
sometimes there is just no stopping our team.
It was really fantastic to hear such great feedback relating
to our parks from the people we met at the show and there was certainly a
really good feel to this year’s event. Although I think it wasn’t as busy as
previous years, I pretty sure the recent weather has delayed the holiday buzz.
The recent storms and the devastation at Milford on Sea was certainly a talking
point, ‘oh I saw you on the news’ were an ice breaker when explaining where our
holiday parks are located.
Our Busy Holiday Home Sales team were situated over the
other side of the Hall with our local holiday home manufacturers Regal. The
organisers of the show certainly got the layout of this area completely wrong.
All cramped in rows something reminiscent of a 1970’s holiday park. It
certainly didn’t show off the lovely new Regal Riviera to its full potential.
Another strange inclusion was to the static holiday home area, was the dog show
arena. Now our parks are all pet friendly and bringing one’s four legged friend
on holiday or to your holiday home is certainly a market for us, but I am not
sure how well this fitted with the parks and manufacturers. Throughout the day,
ear plugs were a must, to drown out the incessant barking and although Ashleigh
and Pudsey were certainly a crowd puller, I am not sure the organisers got this
right.
Let’s hope next year the organisers listen to the feedback
and make some needed changes, but one thing is for sure, we will be there
again. In the meantime it is onto Romsey for the South Coast Caravan and
Motorhome show on the Broadlands Estate, between the 4th & 6th
April. SB
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