How Away Resorts Transformed Insight with Data Analytics

AwayResorts

Harnessing data to improve holidays and homes

Case Studies | 29 July 2021

Managing inventory more effectively

Away Resorts, an operator of UK resorts and seller of park homes, is able to manage its inventory more effectively following the implementation of a Microsoft data analytics platform. The implementation of Microsoft Power BI, an Azure data platform and ongoing managed service support by Telefónica Tech has enabled Away Resorts to gain valuable insights and grow its business. Today,Away Resorts has greater utilisation of accommodation and has improved the services it offers to holiday makers and owners.

The Challenge

Improving through data

Away Resorts operates holiday parks in the UK, with parks in Cornwall, the New Forest, Isle of Wight and the Welsh Coast. The business sells both holiday homes and holidays.

Away Resorts needed a business-wide ability to look at data to improve how it operated its parks and increase sales. “We had different lines of the business doing their own thing, and pulling data from the same sources but analysing it in their own way. Different teams would often get into issues about whose analysis of performance was the correct view,” says Mohammed Muddasar, Head of Commercial Analytics at Away Resorts.

Mohammed created a proof of concept to demonstrate how a group-wide approach to data would help Away Resorts. Gaining better insight into bookings and park utilisation would significantly benefit the business. By understanding bookings, Away Resorts can better plan for future capacity at the parks. “I sit in the commercial team, but we knew that data had to be something for everyone in Away Resorts to use, so I took a holistic approach,” Mohammed says.

The Solution

Single version of the truth

Having created a proof of concept, Away Resorts was able to see the business value of developing and unifying a data platform for the entire business. Following an in-depth discovery phase, Microsoft Gold Partner Telefónica Tech was selected as the data and analytics partner for Away Resorts.

“In an initial discovery phase, we got a number of people from across the business involved to provide an understanding of how the data platform would serve their needs,” Mohammed says. Mohammed adds that Away Resorts chose Telefónica Tech for their strong technical competence and understanding of the requirements of Away Resorts.

The partnership began with Telefónica Tech carrying out a master data management (MDM) programme to improve data quality and ensure Away Resorts had no data duplications. Telefónica Tech then transformed Away Resorts’ data by implementing the Microsoft Azure Data Platform including Azure Databricks, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake, Azure SQL, and Microsoft Master Data Services. Together, these technologies and the MDM programme provide Away Resorts with a single version of the truth from its data and the ability to analyse and create high-value reports on park capacity.

The Key Results

Benefiting from being data-centric

Away Resorts continues to evolve its platform with Telefónica Tech’s “Established” managed service for the data platform. The primary focus is delivering a proactive support service ensuring that the data platform is available and refreshed with the latest data from across the Away Resorts estate daily. With the Telefónica Tech managed service, Away Resorts benefits from responsive support, reporting on performance and operations, and recommendations for improved Azure consumption management.

Through the support and on-going development competency provided by the Telefónica Tech Managed Services team, Away Resorts has identified enhancements and new areas of analysis within its data platform. Now in its third year of operation, the Telefónica Tech managed service is delivering new capabilities on a weekly basis to ensure Away Resorts processes are optimised. Telefónica Tech offers real end-to-end capabilities that extend beyond the initial data platform project. Mohammed says working with Telefónica Tech provides Away Resorts with regular access to data and analytics insight. “We can always pick their brains, and they are really happy to share their knowledge.”

“We now have a really rich and detailed analysis of our business, which is helping in areas like revenue and marketing. In marketing, for example, they are using Google Analytics data to accurately analyse web views with actual conversions,” Mohammed says. There are six reports that 170 members of Away Resorts access, with 15 members of the business able to build their own specialist reports. This is a new development made possible by the new easy access to data. “We are now able to see how our subletting penetration is doing in parallel with the property sales,” he says.

Operational teams can now manage the park and home maintenance according to the insights gleaned from the data platform. “These are the people who make a real difference to our customers,” Mohammed says. As the park teams complete maintenance, they can make updates, which means the central operations teams can accurately view how many units are available to holidaymakers.

Away Resorts has now successfully implemented a third-party automated pricing solution (delivered as part of the ongoing managed service) as a hotel revenue management tool. To work effectively, it requires accurate data and real-time access. Mohammed says Away Resorts was only able to successfully deploy the third-party automated pricing solution as a result of the master data management work carried out by Telefónica Tech. Providing reliable, good quality data, the third-party automated pricing solution has enabled Away Resorts to move to an automated pricing model.

Becoming data-centric benefited Away Resorts in managing the impact of pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions. The pandemic led to significant fluctuations in the domestic travel market. Mohammed says that without the analytics capability, Away Resorts would have been too slow to respond to capacity changes due to travel restrictions. For example, “analytics helped us be more agile as the insight was never that far away.”

Customer Quote

“

“We now have a really rich and detailed analysis of our business, which is helping in areas like revenue and marketing. Analytics helped us be more agile as the insight was never that far away."

Mohammed Muddasar

Head of Commercial Analytics, AwayResorts