The quieter weeks after the main season are the best chance a holiday park gets to prepare next year's marketing properly. Use them to learn from this year's results, set clear priorities and a budget for 2027, fix anything that loses enquiries, and have your January campaigns written and scheduled before Christmas. Parks that do this start the new year launching, rather than catching up.
What should you look back on from this year?
Start with the results, while the details are fresh. Compare this year with last year, month by month, for holiday bookings and holiday home sales, and look at where each came from: website, booking platforms, phone, Facebook, Google Ads, open days, owner referrals.
Then look past the totals. Which campaigns brought enquiries that went on to book or buy, and which brought plenty of names that went nowhere? What does the sales team say about lead quality? What themes keep coming up in guest reviews and owner feedback? Write it all on one page: what worked, what didn't, and what you'll change. That page becomes the starting point for every decision that follows.
How do you set marketing priorities for 2027?
Start from the business goals, then decide what marketing needs to do for each one. A park might need more shoulder-season and midweek occupancy, a set number of holiday homes sold, better owner retention, or a stronger touring and lodge offer. Each goal points to different audiences, channels and timing.
Keep the list short enough to act on. Put a target and a month against each priority, and mark the dates in next year's calendar that historically need help. That gives your team, and any agency you work with, a clear brief rather than a wish list.
How should you plan next year's marketing budget?
Follow the evidence from your review. Put more behind the channels that brought bookings and buyers, and question the ones that only brought clicks or low-intent leads. Plan spend by month around when your guests book and when buyers research, rather than splitting it evenly across the year.
Include the costs that are easy to forget: photography, website changes, email and CRM tools, and time for testing something new. Hold some budget back so you can respond if the first quarter goes better or worse than expected.
What needs fixing before January?
Anything that loses enquiries at your busiest moment. Check every route someone might use to get in touch, including phone, website forms, social media messages and ad lead forms, and confirm who answers each one and how quickly. Read every automatic reply for out-of-date offers, prices or names.
On the website, make sure next year's prices and dates are live, expired offers are gone, the booking calendar is open for the dates people will search in January, and holiday homes for sale are up to date. Check the booking and enquiry routes on a phone.
If your park closes to guests for a period but the office keeps working, keep your Google Business Profile open with accurate office hours. Google's guidance on special hours covers short changes of up to six days in a row; longer closures show as temporarily closed, which can put off people who only want to book or ask about a home.
Which campaigns can you build now?
Write the campaigns you'll need in the first months of the year while there is time to do them well: the January launch, early-booking offers, half-term and Easter breaks, spring holiday home sales events and any owner referral scheme. Our earlier piece on why early booking campaigns matter explains the thinking behind the first of these.
For each campaign, agree the offer, the dates and the audience, then write the emails, social posts and ad copy, and brief any designer or agency. Schedule what you can. In January, the team's time should go on answering enquiries, not writing copy.
What content is worth creating over the winter?
Content that answers the questions holiday home buyers ask before they enquire: what the pitch fee covers, how long the licence period and season are, what's included with a home, the costs of ownership and how buying works step by step. Clear, honest answers help buyers decide and are the kind of content Google and AI search tools are most likely to show.
It's also the time to plan spring photography of refurbished homes and facilities, refresh accommodation descriptions, and ask owners and guests, with written permission, whether they would share their experience.
What data and systems jobs pay off later?
Clean the CRM and email lists: merge duplicates, respect unsubscribes, and check that consent is recorded properly. Make sure every lead has a source, so next year's review is easier than this one. Check that your website tracking records enquiries and bookings as conversions, and that forms, booking system and CRM still pass information to each other correctly.
How can you use the time to build your team's skills?
The quieter months are the easiest time for training. Whoever runs your marketing could learn to read your reports and agency updates with confidence, get more from the booking system or CRM, or build better email follow-up for holiday home leads. Skills built now are in place for the busy months, when there's no time to learn.
Winter marketing preparation checklist
This year reviewed against last year, by month and by source
One page of what worked, what didn't and what changes
2027 priorities agreed, each with a target and a month
Budget planned by month, with some held back
Every enquiry route has a named person and a response time
Automatic replies, website prices, offers and holiday homes updated
Google Business Profile shows accurate office hours
January and spring campaigns written, briefed and scheduled
Buyer question pages written and spring photography planned
CRM cleaned, lead sources and consent recorded, tracking checked
Training booked for whoever runs the marketing
Want an independent view before January?
JEM's Marketing and Customer Journey Review looks at your website, Google presence, ads, social media and enquiry follow-up from a prospective customer's point of view, then agrees clear priorities with you for the year ahead. Get in touch to find out more.
Frequently asked questions
When should a holiday park start planning next year's marketing?
As soon as the main season ends. Aim to have the review done and priorities agreed in November, and January's campaigns ready to schedule by early December.
What if our park is open all year?
The same work applies. Block out fixed time each week during quieter midweek periods and treat it as seriously as a busy weekend, or the planning will keep slipping.
Should we cut advertising over the winter?
Not necessarily. Many people research holiday homes and next year's holidays over the winter. Look at when your bookings and sales came from this year and adjust spend to match, rather than switching everything off.
How much of the budget should we keep for January?
It depends on your own pattern. Use this year's figures to see what share of bookings and holiday home enquiries arrived in January and February, and plan your spend around that.
Written by Melanie Brook MCIM, founder of JEM Marketing and former Head of Marketing at Beverley Holidays. Mel works with independent holiday parks on marketing strategy, holiday home lead generation and developing in-house skills.
