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 based on the positive impact the refurbishment has had on the park (up to 10 points)

Questions for judging

1. Park Name

2. Date of Refurbishment

3. Why was the refurbishment necessary? (worth up to 10 points)

4. What changes did you make? (worth up to 10 points)

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

6. What challenges did you face during the process and how did you overcome them? (worth up to 10 points)

7. What have the results of the refurbishment been? (worth up to 10 points)

8. What lessons did you learn through this process? (worth up to 5 points)

9. Is there anything else you would like the judges to know to assist them with the judging process? (worth up to 5 points)

Other information to be supplied

• Maximum of 10 before and after photos (worth up to 10 points)

• Maximum of 3 pieces of evidence of the refurbishment or its impact (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 improvement, not just anecdotal evidence of the improvements.  Empirical evidence makes it easy for a judge to justify their reasoning in terms of scoring each nomination.

Why was the refurbishment necessary?

Why did you decide to complete a refurbishment on this part of your park?  Was it to address a specific business challenge such as bad reviews or low occupancy? This question allows you to 'set the scene', you can include your ‘before’ data here (e.g. occupancy, NPS, revenue etc).

Be careful of using vague statements like "the amenities block was old and tired", try to be more specific e.g. the equipment was damaged or the paint and tiles showed excessive wear and tear".

Outline the thought process behind your refurbishment. You have up to 200 words for this section, consider including any research you did before you started your refurbishment.  

What changes did you make?

Provide a description of the changes that you made through your refurbishment, you may wish to include information on why you selected particular products or why you left parts of the area you are refurbishing untouched.  Did you do any research before you started the project to ensure that it would meet the needs of your guests?

What was the cost?

Detail the cost to of this refurbishment.  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 challenges did you face during the process and how did you overcome them?

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

Outline what challenges you had with this refurbishment 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 solution.

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

What have the results of the refurbishment been?

Clearly show the result this refurbishment 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.  Are there before and after reviews that specifically mention this area 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.

Consider both your return on investment/effort and the impact on guest experience.

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 refurbishment, 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.

You may wish to include any future plans in this answer!

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.

Maximum of 10 before and after photos

Provide clear photos which show the changes around your business.  Ensure that it is clear which photos are the before photos and which are the after photos.  It is important that the judges can tell which before photos match which after photos so clearly name your files.

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 refurbishment or its impact

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 have the results of the refurbishment been?)