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eCommerce Service business

Case Holiday Club

Holiday starts with a click – Online service must keep up with the customer
 


Holiday Club Resorts Oy implemented a webshop revamp with Digia, the purpose of which was to make the webshop faster, more versatile and more reliable. Built on the preceding Episerver-based system, the modern solution allows for flexible content management and further development.

 

In the field of accommodation and holiday services, swiftly operating online services are a prerequisite for business growth. Customers routinely search the Internet for interesting holiday destinations, suitable accommodations and last-minute deals. At Holiday Club Resorts Oy, the renewal of online services began with the digitalisation of the customer path.

“We needed a modern webshop that allows for continuous development in the future as well”, says eCommerce Manager Anne Männistö. “In our field, product diversity and constant fluctuations in the booking situation require high performance and flexibility from the system.”

The new webshop provided by Digia was built for Holiday Club in a customised manner on top of the Episerver CMS system in use. The solution implemented with new technology enables both connections to previous systems and upgrading and development of the service going forward.

What we did

 

What we used

  • Episerver
  • Microsoft Azure

 

We had a lot of options and a long tendering process. We found that the package presented by Digia was the most in line with the things that we really want. The starting point was that we needed a good Episerver supplier.

Anne Männistö, eCommerce Manager, Holiday Club Resorts Oy

Smooth service is reflected in sales

Anne Männistö says that the Holiday Club had two important goals for the revamp: speed and reliability of operation. “We want to provide our customers with a sound and reliable service. We have a pretty heavy back-end system due to the large amount of data and constant turnover of information. The purpose of the new solution is for us to bring data from the background into the intermediate layer, which is reflected to the user as speed”, Männistö says.

The revamped webshop brings flexibility and fluidity to both services and content management. “Various sales aids and campaign tools now work better than before. The content of the webshop is changing constantly. It is very important for us to be able to bring changes and ideas deftly into the service”, says Männistö.

As an example, Männistö mentions dynamic discounts that make it easier to provide perks and best prices to customers. One of the most important new features is that the customer does not have to pay for the services in advance. For example, when customers book a hotel room online, they can choose whether to pay for it later or in advance at a slightly lower price.

The price calendar is also a much-anticipated new feature that increases transparency towards the customer and facilitates holiday planning. “Through up-to-date service, we are able to compete in the same league with major international corporations in the sector even though our resources are smaller.”

The new webshop has only been in use for a few months, but the results are already visible. “Sales have grown by about 30% even though we are only in the early stages with a new solution”, says Anne Männistö.

Operators in the holiday industry need to be flexible in every direction

accommodation, experiences, restaurant services and activities. “We have spa hotels and holiday homes all over Finland. We rent out, for example, hotel and cabin accommodation and we are the leading time share operator in Europe. We sell shares and also rent them out on behalf of the customer”, Männistö says.

The company has a number of customer groups, such as families and other holidaymakers, business travellers and companies using conference and wellness services. “In the holiday and accommodation sector, the offering as a whole is much more challenging than in the goods trade. The selection and availability fluctuate constantly. There are bookings and cancellations all the time, but the offering should be updated in the shop in real time.”

The seasonal nature of the business is especially apparent in holiday travel. “In the new webshop, we can make better use of dynamic pricing, which is an important feature in a seasonal industry. In practice, the price is lower during the off season and rises as demand increases. At the same time, the customer benefits from pre-bookings or last-minute travel”, says Anne Männistö.

Efforts have been made to take different targets group better into account in the service search selection. The product view in general has been changed to be clearer and more user-friendly.

Digia is a strong Episerver expert

As a partner, Holiday Club chose Digia, which, according to Männistö, offered a technically convincing solution. “We had a lot of options and a long tendering process. We found that the package presented by Digia was the most in line with the things that we really want. The starting point was that we needed a good Episerver supplier”, Männistö explains.  Digia is an experienced Episerver expert and has also been granted the Innovator of the Year award from Episerver for its solutions.

Männistö has trust in the functionality of the cooperation. “I am very satisfied with the solution and our current team. In such large and complex projects, not only expertise but also commitment and seamless cooperation are required from the team. The intention is that both sides are actively involved in developing the services.” Digia is responsible for developing the entire Holiday Club web service, in which the webshop and content management work seamlessly together as one entity.

Holiday Club’s revamped webshop was launched in early 2019 and development continues all the time. “We will continue to drive sales online even more. Features that facilitate the buying process, such as product filtering, will also be added”, Anne Männistö says. “There is no end to the work. However, it is motivating to develop the service when you see the successes of this moment.”