BillyBird is looking for beach baths

What happens to a beach bath if it is not properly arranged?

If beach baths are accessible for free, you often see that the site cannot be closed off. Who then feels responsible for the recreational lake and the surrounding area? You often see:

• Social insecurity, which causes certain people to stay away;
• Buildings defaced with graffiti;
• Broken or poorly maintained playground equipment. /li>
• Used by the wrong age group;
• There is rubbish lying around;
• People park cars and cycle incorrectly. This makes the traffic situation very annoying for residents in the immediate area. There is often too little parking space. This is because a beach sometimes attracts 20% of its visitors on one peak day.
• If the recreational lake is incorrectly designed, ditches will form in it. This increases the risk of blue-green algae and, for example, grass in the water;
• Deploy the police regularly, due to the absence of an operator.
• Civil servants also have to spend an unnecessary amount of time of things that happen on and around the recreational lake.
• A recreational lake is classified into a certain category. If the lake is designed for swimming, it is a category C facility within the framework of the Hygiene and Safety of Bathing Establishments and Swimming Facilities Act (=Whvbz). Dogs are not allowed. Only who checks that?

• Safety is influenced by the design of a recreational lake. Here the top bar gives reason to dive from it. There is a chance that you will dive with your head against the shallow sandy bottom. In this case the top beam could have been replaced by a cable. Operation of a beach pool by an expert operator prevents these types of causes for insecurity.
• Who supervises?
• Loitering youth
• The beach pool only costs the government money. Money that people would rather spend on something else. Residents of neighboring municipalities often also use a beach pool, while the costs are only borne by the municipality that owns it.

Operation of beach pools

Officials at municipalities and recreation boards feel are often forced to become intensively involved in the daily affairs of a recreational lake. What people often do is chop everything up into pieces to make it manageable. Kiosks are rented to various catering entrepreneurs. An operator rents part of the site of, for example, a pitch & putt course, teleski track, outdoor company, etc. One company mows the grass and the other empties the garbage bins. Within the government organization, there is not one person responsible for everything.

The solution is not to outsource everything in parts, but to find one operator. This one operator is then responsible for everything. The expenses are his responsibility; the income also benefits him. If he is a good professional, he can earn money from the exploitation.

The Netherlands is a water-rich country. There are therefore regions with many recreational lakes. There is certainly a lot to be said for privatizing some beach baths and keeping others accessible for free. After all, you don't just want the Zeeman in a shopping center. Some customers prefer the Bijenkorf. If a municipality or region has the luxury of having several beach pools, they can organize them differently and operate them differently.

What requirements should a government impose on a beach pool operator?

• Experience in operating a beach pool
• Profitable operation
• A year-round operation
• An attractive plan
• Copyable processes, such as:
• Access to an automated system that is applicable to the new location
• Employee training
• Marketing system
• Management information system
• Easily accessible (cheap membership)
• Respect for nature
• Energy efficient. From April 2019, the solar panels at BillyBird Hemelrijk will produce approximately as much power as the park consumes. There are even ideas to install solar panels in the parking lots of both Hemelrijk and Drakenrijk. Our guests' cars can then be parked in the shade. Consultations are ongoing with the municipalities of Uden and Beesel.
• Experience with zoning plan procedures, environmental impact reports, etc.
• If events were also to take place at the recreational lake, experience with crowds is management very important.

Revenue model

A suitable revenue model. If a government chooses a company that earns its income from the catering industry, it knows that investments will be focused on that catering industry. If you choose a recreation entrepreneur, you know that most of the investment money goes to facilities to make recreation attractive.

Recreational entrepreneurs

There are of course different types of recreational entrepreneurs. For example, campsite owners will want to start a campsite on the water and outdoor entrepreneurs see opportunities to host companies on the water. Furthermore, a revenue model can distinguish between guests who come often and one-off visitors. Because of this distinction, people who often use the beach pool pay less per visit than guests who use a beach pool once. People who use a facility once-only often come from further away. An attractive subscription/membership system is usually very important for the residents of the municipality where the beach is located. As an example, see our subscription system, where guests can use many facilities for a whole year for just a few euros and can attend all kinds of events for free.

Stakeholders

Many consumers would like to see a BillyBird Park is established close to their home.

The arrival of a BillyBird Park is also interesting for administrators and officials of municipalities, provinces, recreation boards, etc. Compare it with other facilities that expand a city's level of amenities. Why do you as a municipality want a theater, cinema or museum so badly? In the context of the Whvbz, the quality of beach baths, the so-called category C establishments, is monitored by or on behalf of the province. With BillyBird, the province is assured of good management.

Sand extractors

BillyBird is a suitable partner for sand extractors. BillyBird can take over the design obligations of a sand extractor. BillyBird can also contribute to gaining support for future extractions. Ev. an (expansion) permit can be applied for together with BillyBird. BillyBird then ensures that what is requested is interesting for recreationists and can be commercially exploited as a recreation company. Ton Derks, recreation entrepreneur behind BillyBird, was a municipal official and worked in an AZ/RO department. He studied public administration. He also understands the interests of sand extractors. Hemelrijk has been working with Gebr. Van de Brand & Van Oort BV and later also with Heijmans and KWS. Drakenrijk is an initiative of BillyBird with Niba NV.

It is very important for local residents that BillyBird is an operator who also takes their interests into account.

Nature organizations

Nature organizations know that with BillyBird they attract an organization with nature development in its genes. For example, the organization's first investment was a Sand Martin Wall. Together with IVN and Vogelwacht Uden, one side of the lake was designed as a rest zone in 1985/1986 and 1991. To date, the maintenance of the area near the sand martin wall has been carried out by Vogelwacht Uden.

Associations

Associations are welcome to establish themselves at a BillyBird Park. For example, Scyllias has built diving platforms on the bottom of Hemelrijk. Associations and schools are also welcome to organize events or tournaments. For example, the volleyball club from Reuver on Drakenrijk organizes an annual beach volleyball tournament. With 30 fields, this is now the largest in Limburg.

Entrepreneurs and recreation boards that currently operate a recreational lake can become franchisees of the BillyBird concept. Ev. An organization can be set up for this together with a municipality.

Owners of recreational lakes can sell their recreational lake to BillyBird. So there may be even more stakeholders and in any case even more options.

Where to start when choosing whether or not to privatize/divest?

Every organization can Submit a request for advice to BillyBird. BillyBird Facilities BV will determine for each situation how to best answer your question; whether BillyBird only provides advice, or (possibly afterwards) also wants to be involved in the operation. Depending on the question, other consultancy firms may be involved in answering that question.

It is often up to municipalities to choose whether they want to do business with a professional party or whether they take responsibility for an amateur to work. In any case, choosing a party with knowledge about beach bathing and good preparation gives the best chance of a successful future!

Operators can come up with a plan for how they want to organize the beach pool. If BillyBird comes up with a plan, you can compare us with Rembrandt. You can then compare another experienced operator with Mondriaan. Some people prefer Rembrandt and others prefer Mondriaan. In this case, the choice is up to the government. What is not possible, however, is to ask Mondriaan to paint a Rembrandt. That's not going to work out! So if you want a BillyBird Park, ask BillyBird.

BillyBird is looking for new locations

BillyBird specializes in operating beach baths itself. To this end, the beach pool is combined with natural construction, a playground, indoor playground and attractions. This creates a product that is interesting for members and day guests all year round. BillyBird does not see exploitation as an end, but as a means. It is a means to strengthen the bond between people; to promote our slogan “Happy Together!” to make it come true. A park is therefore designed in such a way that (grand)parents and (grand)children can have fun together and friends can strengthen their bond. The architecture of a park guides unconscious behavior. Everyone should feel welcome in a BillyBird Park and regular visitors feel at home there.

We would like to establish ourselves in municipalities that share this ideal with us.

BillyBird is interested in the operation of beach baths in the Netherlands, Flanders and North Rhine-Westphalia. If you know a suitable location, please let us know.