At the beginning of 2022, HOST was asked by the HPC Project, NNB (Nuclear New Build) to find additional accommodation for the rapidly expanding workforce.
A task force was created with the objective of finding suitable lodgings for a large number of guests with inclusive facilities. Concentrating their search in the area surrounding Hinkley Point, and in particular the Brean and Berrow areas of Burnham-on-Sea, the team contacted all local caravan parks and large accommodation providers.
Pontins Brean Sands Holiday Park expressed an interest in providing their site, which fortuitously already had the benefit of residential status. Together, the HOST and Britannia Hotels (Pontins Holiday Parks owner) teams worked to deliver the NEC3 Contract, Planning Applications and Service Level Agreements required for operating the campus to the requirements of the client, NNB. With the agreements in place, all parties signed the contract with a start date of 8th November 2022.
In keeping with Britannia’s & HOST’s core values, the ambitious launch planning operation that followed was nothing short of outstanding. With determination and collaboration from every team member involved on all sides, Brean Sands was brought to life and opened its doors to the first HPC workers on 5th December 2022.
The refurbishment team was made up of members from Britannia, HOST and John West Contractors who each took responsibility to fulfil their areas of activity. The vast amount of knowledge and experience within the teams helped facilitate the refurbishment plan, whilst the meticulous surveying of each apartment and internal areas resulted in the successful creation of the Project Plan.
With each step as critical as the last, effective communication between the teams was key. Every member of the team approached the task with an open mind and questioning attitude, allowing barriers to be broken down and problems solved. It was this approach that ensured the entire team fully understood the requirements of refurbishing, selling and opening the 955 additional bedrooms to support the HPC project.
A new reservations team was created to facilitate bookings for the refurbished rooms and collateral and point of sales materials were created by design agency, By Nine. The team was tasked with effectively communicating the launch plans, advertising the new accommodation and ultimately creating bookings for those needing to stay in the new apartments. The team also arranged showarounds with Trade Union Convenors and Senior Representatives to demonstrate the improvements made.
What came next took the whole team by storm with hundreds of enquiries from workers interested in booking the new accommodation.
The relationship between the HOST reservations team, the on-site Britannia team and the wider project team was imperative, with the project plan adapting to the demand for certain apartment types to ensure that guest needs were met. This created a seamless conveyor-belt like system, with rooms being sold by HOST, refurbished by John West Contractors, deep cleaned, and equipped with new inventory and soft furnishings by Britannia, ready for the arrival of each guest.
The Britannia team ensured that all the apartments were upgraded with new inventory including kitchen equipment, curtains, soft furnishings and furniture complete with cleaning and handover to the HOST team for letting, The Britannia team simultaneously lead the refurbishment of the bar, restaurant, amusement arcade and entertainment room.
With all teams heavily involved with each step in the process, each apartment was prepped and ready to overcome any obstacles or challenges. This meant that apartments were refurbished and ready to go every 2 weeks, leading to the completion of all 685 rooms in just seven months, exceeding all expectations of both the team and the wider HPC project.
Every team involved from each company; Britannia, HOST, John West Contractors and NNB has brought the vision of Brean Sands to life, truly embodying the ‘One Team, One Goal’ mission. The campus is now fully open and fully occupied, achieving staggering results of 99% occupancy month on month. None of this would have been possible without the commitment and dedication of every team member involved from each organisation. This is a huge success story which every person should be immensely proud to have achieved.
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