Sitting alongside the original Alton Towers Hotel, Cariba Creek and the 216-room Splash Landings hotel and conference centre represented a build of £40 million (€59m). A fantastic addition for hotel guests during the park season, it was also intended as the key driver for room sales during the closed season.

The waterpark was still in construction when I was appointed manager, so I was lucky enough to take a hands-on approach right from the start. As this was the first waterpark development for the Tussauds Group, this meant that all the normal operating procedures and emergency action plans needed developing.

From the day of opening, we planned to give our hotel guests as much freedom as possible, so we operated daily from 10am until 10pm. Guests were welcome to use the waterpark as often as they liked throughout the duration of their stay, including the day of both arrival and departure. However, it soon became apparent that because hotel guests were also granted early access to the theme park, the waterpark was extremely quiet until around 4pm each day, especially on weekdays.

Guests go with the flow

We continued to monitor the situation and, in 2004, we took the decision to conduct a trial opening for non-residents in an attempt to regulate the guest flow. This decision was not taken lightly, and we began with a strict pre-booking system to ensure that the admittance of non-residents had no affect on the enjoyment or experience of our hotel guests. We’re lucky enough to have an area of 40,000 sq ft and capacity for 1,200 guests, with both indoor and outdoor pools and seating areas, so we found that guest satisfaction remained as high as ever despite the increase in visitors.

The trial was a resounding success and by 2005 we were operating a fully integrated resident and non-resident opening procedure. We began to actively market the attraction to general Alton Towers visitors, primarily on our website and through targeted press advertisements.

As part of a move to grant our guests further flexibility, we also took the decision to allow them to build their own hotel package, so offered a bed and breakfast rate upon which guests could add-on the products that they wished to experience, from theme park tickets and waterpark entry to spa access.

Previously, a one-night hotel package had included access to the waterpark within the rate. It therefore made perfect business sense to run Cariba Creek as a standalone attraction, and a project team was established to ensure a smooth and seamless conversion was successfully achieved.

Representatives from across the business formed that team, led by myself. The biggest challenge at this stage was how we would accurately forecast the guest flow, given that we couldn’t assume all guests would wish to add the waterpark to their package. We decided to offer hotel guests a lower rate to enter the waterpark, but only if they booked in advance. This firstly ensured that our hotel guests felt valued, but also gave us a method by which to forecast.

Due to consistent and clear communication at all stages, guests arrived at our hotels knowing exactly what package they were expecting, and of course for any that changed their mind on arrival, we accommodated their requirements.

Overnight stay success

The most popular package choice has proven to be bed and breakfast, with one-day theme park and one day waterpark. Currently, over 70% of our guests choose this option.

Our non-residential volume continues to grow, boosted by new products such as children’s birthday parties, which have been an incredible success. We have also worked hard to secure further business from the conference market, offering exclusive packages out of hours. We’ve hosted beach parties, team challenges and even pre-dinner drinks – a venue with a difference!

I believe that close monitoring of guest flow has been paramount to our successful conversion from a hotel resident-only attraction to a waterpark for all, and we shall continue to constantly review this. It is essential that our hotel residents remain our priority; for many, the waterpark is the reason for they stay with us. However, welcoming non-residents not only boosts our revenue and regulates guest flow, but also introduces them to the whole host of additional benefits the Alton Towers resort has to offer.

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