2023 CPAQ Awards

Judges are asked to determine how well the nomination addresses the questions asked and the award criteria (e.g. have all of the questions been answered, and has the appropriate additional information been provided).

Each question, or piece of information requested, will be allocated a score (maximum score included with the question). Judges will score the answer of each question out of that score and give the nomination a total score out of 10 - these scores will be added up (maximum 100 points) and used to the determine a winner.

Additional points will be allocated by the judges based on the uniqueness of the innovation (up to 5 points).

Questions for judging

1. Park Name

2. Brief description of the innovation (worth up to 5 points)

3. Why did you introduce this innovation? (worth up to 10 points)

4. What challenges did you face with the implementation process? (worth up to 10 points)

5. What was the cost of implementation? (worth up to 10 points)

6. What are the results? (worth up to 10 points)

7. What lessons did you learn through this process? (worth up to 10 points)

8. Is there anything else you would like the judges to know to assist them with the judging process? (worth up to 10 points)

Other information to be supplied

• Photo and or video of the innovation (worth up to 5 points)

• Maximum of 3 pieces of evidence of the improvement (worth up to 10 points)

• Park logo - please supply as a JPG or PNG file (worth 5 points)

Please note, a nomination may be marked down if all of these items are not included.

With all nominations it is important that the judges can see clear empirical evidence of how the answer addresses the question, not just anecdotal evidence.  Empirical evidence makes it easy for a judge to justify their reasoning in terms of scoring each nomination.

Brief description of the innovation

Provide a short description of the innovation.  Make your description as clear and concise as possible while ensuring that there is enough information the judges can understand the innovation.

Why did you introduce this innovation?

Outline the reason you decided to implement this innovation. Was this innovation introduced to address a specific business challenge? Or was there another reason the innovation as introduced?

You have up to 200 words for this section, consider including how you discovered or imagined the innovation, and what research you did before you implemented it.  

What challenges did you face with the implementation process?

In the world of parks it is rare that things go exactly to plan…

Outline what challenges you had with the implementation of this innovation and what you did to overcome them. Challenges may include budgetary concerns, extended timelines, staff or guest resistance. You may also wish to include what you did to ensure staff, guest and/or resident's bought into the new idea and solution.

Remember, this question is as much about overcoming challenges as it is about the challenge itself.

What was the cost of implementation?

Provide an outline of the cost to implement this innovation.  This information may be useful and provide some introduction to the results for the judges when they look at your return on investment or effort.

What are the results?

Clearly show the result this innovation has had on the business. Focus on areas which can be measured and show the improvement. This may be a % increase or a pure number increase (e.g. a $ increase in turnover).

Look at any improvement in customer ratings on review sites including, but not limited to, TripAdvisor, WikiCamps, Booking.com, ReviewPro as well as changes to the physical appearance of the park.  

From a business perspective, review key metrics such as turnover, occupancy, and RevPAR and include appropriate examples of improvement in your submission.

What lessons did you learn through this process?

This is a chance to share any learnings which other park operators could learn from.  This may be in relation to the purchase process, the transition or anything else which you wish you had known before you started.

Anything else you would like the judges to know

Is there anything else you would like the judges to know to assist them with the judging process?

It is important in any awards application to give as much information as possible and take every opportunity to showcase the achievements of the nominated team. Use this question to provide additional information, this may be why you are proud of the innovation, the impact it has had beyond guest reviews and financial results, what winning the award would mean to you or something else you feel is important for the judges to know.

Other information to be supplied

It is important that you include each of the items requested in the other information supplied section, this is a chance to get some easy points and in the past has been the difference between the winning nomination and the nomination that came second.

Photo and or video of the innovation

Provide clear photos or a video which show the innovation and how it works in your business.

If you wish to submit large files (or a video) please contact the CPAQ Team and we will supply you with an online folder you can upload the images into.

Maximum of 3 pieces of evidence of the improvement

This is an opportunity to provide evidence of the improvement in your business.  You may wish to include extracts of guest feedback, ReviewPro reports, occupancy or revenue reports for your park.

This information should tie into the results you outline in question 6 (What are the results?).