How remote monitoring and control cut utility costs and prevents issues

Tregoad Holiday Park spans 55 acres of rural Cornwall near the coastal town of Looe, offering diverse accommodation from luxury static caravan holiday homes and quaint cottages to premium lodges, many featuring private hot tubs.

Acquired by Waterside Holiday Group in 2019, it became the fourth addition to this family-run company’s 60-year-old portfolio, which includes three other holiday parks in Weymouth, Dorset. Since the acquisition, the new owners have invested over £8 million in transformative improvements, including a state-of-the-art indoor pool complex, a new restaurant and bar, premium holiday homes, and sustainability initiatives that earned them 5-star status and multiple tourism and environmental awards.

The challenge

With this substantial investment and expansion came significant operational challenges, particularly around utility management. Rising energy costs across the enlarged estate, combined with the owners’ commitment to sustainable practices, created an urgent need for smarter resource monitoring to optimise both costs and environmental impact. However, when evaluating monitoring solutions, they found that standard off-the-shelf systems all had  limitations that would compromise their operational requirements.

The solution

skentel’s collaborative partnership approach meant that Tregoad Holiday Park could access bespoke solutions tailored to their specific needs whilst benefiting from tried and tested technologies deployed for other organisations, and get it for fair cost.

Working closely together, the skentel team implemented comprehensive remote monitoring and control solutions delivered through a single, user-friendly online dashboard. It covers:

• Electrical management systems: Real-time energy consumption tracking across the entire site and individual assets
• Energy-saving automated controls: Scheduled hot tub operation (11pm-7am shutdown)
• Borehole monitoring and automated control: Water level monitoring with automatic pump control and backup system activation
• Proactive alarm systems: Early warning alerts for water, electricity, sewage and swimming pool components

This was deployed using LoRaWAN (long range wireless) technology, which is ideal for holiday parks where assets are spread across large areas and connectivity is challenging.

Results

skentel’s integrated monitoring solutions have delivered measurable operational improvements:

• Enhanced Energy Management: Real-time electrical monitoring has enabled the identification of inefficiencies and the quantification of implemented changes, improving energy decision-making and cost control.
• Improved Water Management: Automated borehole monitoring prevents pump damage whilst ensuring uninterrupted supply through seamless backup activation, reducing maintenance costs and guest disruption.
• Automated Energy Savings: Hot tub scheduling delivers consistent overnight energy reductions without impacting guest experience, supporting both cost savings and sustainability goals.
• Proactive Issue Prevention: Early warning systems have significantly reduced emergency callouts by identifying potential problems before they affect operations or guest satisfaction.
• Streamlined Operations: The centralised dashboard enables staff to monitor multiple systems from a single interface, reducing manual checks and improving response times.
• Proven ROI: The solution’s effectiveness has built confidence for planned expansion across additional assets and other Waterside Holiday Group locations.