• Fivos Polymniou, Director at ASK Global Solutions


• 18.04.2025 12:00 pm
#PaymentInnovation #HolidayParks

Universal Appeal

Holiday parks and FECs have changed significantly in recent years. Introducing new activities, amenities, and experiences have helped capitalise on opportunities such as the rise of ‘staycations’, while mitigating challenges like greater competition, increases to the National Minimum Wage, and a cost-of-living crisis – all of which are squeezing margins.

As a result, today’s centres also cater to a broader demographic; with everything from the latest immersive experiences, corporate packages and diverse food and beverage options, they attract young families, couples, retirees, groups of friends, business functions and more. The traditional seasonal revenue model is shifting, with parks now operating as year-round destinations.

However, offering a diverse range of services is only part of the equation – guests must also have flexibility to pay for them. To maximise spending, holiday and family entertainment centres must cater to every guest’s payment preference with convenient, integrated cashless, token and card payment solutions.

Payment Freedom

Historically, games and entertainment areas have been cash-only, but consumer attitudes to cash have changed dramatically, with recent statistics showing that around 40% of UK adults rarely or never use cash. There is also a significant difference in attitude between age groups: almost three quarters (72%) of those aged 16-24 routinely use mobile payments – compared to just 8% of those over 65.  It is therefore essential for holiday parks to embrace an array of orchestration solutions to provide payment choice and boost sales.

Automated kiosk technology, for example, allows holiday park operators to better control their different entertainment and restaurant zones. The addition of card payments reduces the need to replace or top up cash floats, while tokens can provide an operator with more flexibility in managing the price of play to further improve revenue.

Automated kiosk technologies can also be used within food and beverage areas, where guests pay via cash or card while a staff member is processing the food or drink order. In addition to being more efficient and inclusive, this automated payment approach is more hygienic because staff never have to touch cash, cards or equipment.

Differentiated Experiences

Staying abreast of the latest innovations to add to the payment stack is also necessary to unlock new ways to improve the customer experience. NFC-enabled stickers, for example, can be offered to customers as a method of contactless payment, giving holiday parks and FECs the flexibility to turn anything into a point of sale without investing in expensive hardware.

Using an API-driven platform removes the need for multiple plugins and creates one point of receipt for holiday parks, significantly enhancing billing and order management capabilities, while converting one-time transactions into recurring revenue.

With advanced analytics and reporting, companies have the added advantage of quickly identifying the most impactful zones within their facility, enabling smarter and faster decisions to reduce churn, increase customer experience, and drive profit. They can also introduce more sophisticated loyalty programmes and build in personalised offers or promotions.

Conclusion

New facilities and entertainment options have helped broaden the customer base for holiday and family entertainment centres, but to be profitable they must be easily accessible – which means catering to all payment preferences. By adopting innovative and integrated payment technologies, companies can remove barriers from transactions, enhance guest convenience, and maximise spending potential – all while getting ahead of digitalisation and the shift toward a cashless future.