Stars of X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent Appear Live in the Same Show at Butlins

Butlins are proud to announce that for the first time at a UK holiday centre, and exclusive to them, stars of both *X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent will be appearing in the same live shows at the three beachside Resorts, Bognor Regis, Minehead and Skegness, in 2010.



Many of the stars are from the most recent shows - from X-Factor there will be Olly, Stacey, Danyl, Lloyd, Jamie, Lucie, Rachel and Miss Frank with Stavros Flatley, George Sampson and Faces of Disco from Britain’s Got Talent (stars from the 2010 show appearing from July). Both brands will be represented on weekend and mid-week breaks.

Prices for Butlins uk breaks start from just £59pp per break based on four people sharing a Silver self-catering apartment at any of the three holiday parks.

Butlins launches TV campaign

Butlins is launching a television campaign as part of its repositioning drive to change perceptions of the brand.

The campaign breaks on Boxing Day and focuses on the holiday chain’s contemporary accommodation.

The 30-second TV spot showcases the Ocean Hotel and the Shoreline Hotel, Butlins’ two family hotels at the south coast beach resort Bognor Regis

The creative acknowledges people’s past perceptions of the brand as a holiday camp atmosphere but updates it with a fresh look at the emotions of a family from day to night.



It features a rerecorded version of the 1980s Dead Or Alive track “You Spin Me Round”, which accompanies visuals of the interior and exterior of each hotel.

Jackie Martin, sales and marketing director of Butlins, says: “We’re looking to surprise consumers, especially those who may not have considered Butlins in the past, with our premium beachside accommodation and facilities.”

A little pampering goes a long way,

Relax as you head into Christmas - check out Butlins Ocean Spa in Bognor Regis, Christmas breaks start at £104 per person from December 23 to 27 2009.

Situated in Bognor Regis,the contemporary new Ocean Spa is the perfect place to experience fun and relaxation for the whole family on resort.

The new Ocean Spa is full of surprises - there are disco showers, a snow cave with stalactities and stalagmites and an outdoor hot tub. Or you can lie back in the hydrospa, surrounded by a wall of water and have refreshments brought straight to your lounger.

Butlins revamp pays off as revenues rise

Butlins has left its happy camper image behind and gone upmarket with spa days and a revamp of its resorts.

The modernisation has boosted annual revenues by more than 10pc across its holiday camps, which once helped inspire the BBC sitcom Hi-De-Hi, starring Su Pollard.



The firm, which owns sites in Minehead, Skegness and Bognor Regis, has also announced bookings for next year are up by 11per cent.

Its new Ocean Hotel in Bognor is a far cry from the original rather basic camp Billy Butlin opened in Skegness in 1936.

The new south coast holiday spot is running at 89pc capacity and managing director Richard Bates said: 'The Ocean Hotel has proven to be a big hit with guests and we're looking forward to another bumper year across all three resorts in 2010.'

The hotel has developed a range of spa treatments with an unusual twist.

This includes a Premier League Male Massage which takes place in a room with sporting highlights projected onto the wall, a father and son package, and a marshmallow facial for kids.

The phenomenon of the "staycation", in which cash-strapped Britons supposedly took their 2009 holidays close to home, was largely a myth, the managing director of Butlins said this week.

Richard Bates said that while Butlins's bookings were up by two per cent to about 1.5 million customers, this was largely thanks to the opening in August of the £20 million Ocean Hotel at the company's Bognor Regis resort. That offset a fall in bookings at its other resorts, in Minehead and Skegness.




"There was some talk that people were just going to give up their Tuscan villas for apartments in Skegness, but that clearly wasn't the case," he said. "Overall we've had a good year, but our growth has been largely driven by the new hotel. The staycation idea didn't deserve the hype that it got."

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, chief executive of Thomas Cook, would agree. Earlier this week, he reported that the number of summer holiday bookings made over the past four weeks were up 14 per cent compared with the same period last year. He suggested that the staycation was merely a story put about by British holiday companies.