SUCCESS STORY

The First European Digital Observatory for Open Air Tourism

Project partner

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CHALLENGE

The context and challenges of the sector

In Italy, the outdoor tourism sector is represented by FAITA-Federcamping, which for 70 years has been protecting and supporting its over 2,600 member businesses with the aim of growing and developing the sector through the promotion of entrepreneurial culture and the qualification of business management.

The Federation needed to overcome data fragmentation to create a first-of-its-kind Data Lake project in Europe. The ambition was to offer accurate information and forecasts on future demand, essential for making informed commercial, promotional, and investment strategies.

In particular, the critical step was to equip accommodation providers with the necessary tools to evolve from traditional fixed pricing lists based on seasonality towards a dynamic pricing model driven by accurate information and demand forecasts.

"We are convinced of the importance of strategic programming at all levels – from individual businesses to DMOs, right up to the Regional Observatories – which cannot be separated from the verification of results, for which the availability of fresh and immediate data is fundamental."
Alberto Granzotto
Alberto Granzotto
National President Faita Federcamping
"Until yesterday, the only market data available was quantitative Istat data published late by the Region. From today onwards, we can have real-time historical and, above all, predictive data, both quantitative and qualitative, for the cluster in one's own locality, as well as for other Italian localities.”
Gianfranco Vitali
Gianfranco Vitali
Florenz Open Air Resort, Comacchio
President FAITA Federcamping Emilia Romagna
"From the project's inception, we fully understood and shared HBenchmark's vision and potential, recognising its value as an indispensable tool for conscious, data-driven management. For this reason, we immediately made ourselves available, actively collaborating on the platform's development and refinement.
Elena Oppizzi
Elena Oppizzi
Lake Garda Camping Coordinator
“The platform allows for precise interpretation of demand trends, measurement of competitive positioning, and calibration of pricing strategies based on real market dynamics. The result is a more robust decision-making capability, founded on objective insights and geared towards maximising value."
Eugenio Cignolini
Eugenio Cignolini
Group Pricing and Revenue Management Director, Club Del Sole
“As well as performance indicators, HBenchmark also integrates financial and economic data, becoming a truly strategic management tool. We consider it an indispensable and unique tool in the tourism sector, providing concrete support for making informed decisions, based on real data and on continuous, stimulating comparison with the market.”
Giovanna Gregori
Giovanna Gregori
Owner Camping Bergamini in Peschiera del Garda
"HBenchmark offers us a clear and concrete insight into our Campsite's performance, allowing us to compare ourselves with the market simply and immediately. The up-to-date data supports us in our daily choices, from pricing to commercial strategies, helping us to make more informed and targeted decisions."
Martina Visentin
Martina Visentin
Sales & Marketing Manager
SOLUTION

Real-time Hospitality Data Intelligence

Since 2022, HBenchmark has been implemented for FAITA HB/O-Benchmark, a Hospitality Data Intelligence platform specific to the Open Air sector, adapting the platform HBenchmark – designed for the hotel sector – to the specific logic of outdoor hospitality.

Thanks to the collaboration with FAITA, in the initial phase of the project, a product segmentation was defined that could uniformly represent the entire offering of open-air businesses (Pitches, Bungalows/Villas, Mobile Homes and Glamping Tents, further segmenatable by size, location and price category) in order to conduct homogeneous market analyses.

The system ensures revenue optimisation through real-time monitoring of booking pressure, booking curves, and trends for each product type. It also allows for the analysis of nationality mix and disintermediation rates, thereby improving the quality of the destination's sales flows.
The platform allows for trend forecasting up to 12 months ahead and comparison of your KPIs with those of other establishments, zones, or destinations. Thanks to the "Same Point in Time" function, it enables the measurement of current performance against historical data at the same observation point, also integrating external variables such as weather.
HBenchmark acts as a bridge to the banking system. By providing reliable and up-to-date data, it facilitates the drafting of sustainable business plans and the assessment of profitability for new investments, making dialogue with credit institutions smoother.
RESULT

A nationally expanding model

The project has concretely demonstrated how data analysis represents the linchpin for the economic growth of a destination. Thanks to constant and accurate monitoring, operators can compare themselves with the market and learn best practices from competitors. Best practice, turning information into a competitive advantage.

To date, the initiative's success is evidenced by constantly growing numbers: the network already comprises 114 active facilities nationwide, monitoring a total of over 40,000 units. This result already guarantees excellent statistical robustness, achieving a coverage of 12.5% of the total units available nationally.

True strength lies in collaboration: the more structures that join, the more value the system generates. It is precisely thanks to this virtuous cycle that a national extension plan is currently underway to involve all FAITA territorial associations and consolidate a unique observatory capable of guiding the development and sustainability of Open Air tourism throughout Italy.

Are you an open-air facility associated with FAITA interested in joining the project?
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