Why home staging is so important, why it makes all the difference at shows and on parks with Holiday Homes!
Whatever the time of year, it’s important that the park presents itself well, not just in terms of marketing material, but also the impact it makes when a potential buyer visits for the first time.
FACTORING IT IN
Dress Pack Solutions are experts in this field, working on a range of diverse accommodation types for holiday parks, and dressing holiday homes for manufacturers for shows and events. They dressed several homes at the World of Park & Leisure Homes Show for leading manufacturers, and will be hard at work as this magazine goes to press, preparing homes to help add those all-important finishing touches at Harrogate's Caravan, Motorhome & Holiday Home Show, liaising with design teams to ensure the dressing enhances the design theme further. From a showground models also need to be sales-ready for open weekends to fully support sales managers, helping them create a great first impression with buyers. It can also mean prepping owner welcome packs in their homes for the exciting moment when they take ownership, as buyers who have also ‘bought in’ to the park and holiday home buying concept often re-share and become a great form of free advertising as ambassadors for the park. Tracy says; The old adage that you never get a second chance to make a first impression is more relevant in holiday home sales than ever. It’s never been harder to get potential buyers to parks than in the current environment, so every incoming lead should be valued and treated as a potential sale. That means that what visitors to any park need to feel is that they could imagine themselves on the park or in any holiday home they explore there. If they can’t, they’ll often carry on looking until they feel that sense of belonging somewhere else. ” So, what do park sales teams need to consider? Tracy says; “A potential buyer will most likely already have taken a look at manufacturer websites, visited the odd show, and researched a shortlist of parks to look at in their primary target area. So, the park will be in competition with others, and they may have arranged visits to a number of parks while in the area. When they’ve seen homes online or at shows, they will have seen them fully dressed, so that is already their subconscious or conscious expectation of what their potential holiday home might look like.” FINISHING TOUCHES "The dressing in the Wessex Contemporary played to the theme brilliantly - one of the the finest examples of thoughtful home staging adding value we've seen.” Bella Brodie, Holiday Living Editor
FACTORING IT IN
Tracy continues; “What we’re encouraging both parks and manufacturers to do is to factor in the cost, of staging to their home preparation costs. They may spend 1000’s on the plot and decking, but the staging costs also need to be factored in, and the dressed home is not only likely to sell quicker, but it should command a stronger price. It's not just cost though, they need to allow a bit of time, as that can also make a lot of difference to the end result if we can match the dressing closely to the model to emphasise all the key design features. That can take a show home to the next level visually, making it really stand out.” As Dress Pack Solutions works with a number of manufacturers, they are used to organizing packs for a range of models to enhance their sales potential, and can also add memorable touches to personalise the holiday home to the park or location.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Speaking recently at the BH&HPA area conference for Cornwall, Tracy highlighted how one of the common misconceptions about using a dress pack/home staging provider is that it will be expensive. However, they can work to any budget, and if that’s factored into the plot preparation price it will pay for itself on purchase.
THE BEST TIME TO BOOK
So, when is the best time to get your holiday home staging sorted? Tracy says; “For a manufacturer, as soon as the home specification and concept is signed off. If the park is ordering the dressing, as soon as the model enters the manufacturing process or is on the way in –although we can get a head start if contacted earlier. Then we can have the packs ready for when the siting process has finished and it’s ready for propping and cleaning. Then it will be ready for marketing, and at it’s full potential ready for the sales process as quickly as possible ready for potential buyers to snap up!”
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