ABC Leisure Group builds a connected foundation for the future with EliteMarinas
Creating a more secure, scalable and connected platform for multi-site marina operations
ABC Leisure Group is one of the UK’s leading inland waterways operators, with 16 start locations offering self-catering, self-drive holiday narrowboats, day boats, fully electric day boats and waterside holiday lets.
As a multi-site operator, the business manages a wide range of activity across bookings, customer information, finance, work management, brokerage and day-to-day marina processes.
For Carl Onens, Managing Director at ABC Leisure Group, good marina operations are built around a simple but important principle: data should only need to be handled once.
“For us, good marina operations mean only handling data once and making sure the right information is available to the people who need it. When teams are working across multiple locations and systems, reducing duplicated data handling makes a real difference to day-to-day efficiency.”
That focus shaped ABC Leisure’s decision to review its marina management systems and move towards a more connected, secure and scalable platform with EliteMarinas.
The challenge
Before moving to EliteMarinas, ABC Leisure was using a system that had become a strategic risk for the business.
The system was heavily reliant on one person, creating a point of vulnerability around day-to-day knowledge and continuity. At the same time, the cost of the previous system had increased significantly, prompting ABC Leisure to look again at whether its existing setup was still the right fit for the business.
“Our previous system had become a strategic risk for the business because it was reliant on one person. Alongside that, we were seeing a significant increase in cost, so it prompted us to look again at whether our existing systems were still the right fit for where the business needed to go.”
Alongside a system handling reservations, ABC Leisure was also operating with separate systems for accounts, tills, purchase orders, brokerage and service management.
While each system supported a specific area of the business, the wider environment created more manual handling than ABC Leisure wanted. Information often had to move between systems, increasing the potential for duplicated effort and making it harder to create one consistent view across the operation.
“We were running separate systems for accounts, tills, purchase orders, brokerage and service management, as well as bookings. Each area had its own process, but the opportunity for us was to reduce duplication and move towards a single connected solution.”
For a business operating across 16 start locations, ABC Leisure wanted to reduce risk, remove unnecessary duplication and create a stronger operational foundation for the future.
Why ABC Leisure reviewed its systems
ABC Leisure’s review was driven by two connected priorities.
The first was the need to reduce risk around the existing booking system. The second was the wider opportunity to bring more of the business into one connected system over time.
This was not simply about replacing one booking platform with another. ABC Leisure took the time to review how bookings, finance, customer information, boat records and operational processes could work together more effectively.
“The review was driven by the risk around our old system, but it also became an opportunity to look more broadly at how we could consolidate onto one system. We wanted to reduce manual workarounds and create a more connected way of managing bookings, finance and operational information.”
EliteMarinas gave ABC Leisure the opportunity to move towards a single system solution, supported by a platform built specifically for marina operations.
Why EliteMarinas
ABC Leisure was attracted to EliteMarinas because it brought together specialist marina functionality with the strength and security of the Microsoft ecosystem.
The ability to manage multiple marinas, connect finance and operations, maintain one source of customer and boat information and support future consolidation were all important factors in the decision.
“EliteMarinas was built specifically for marina operations, which was important to us. It gave us the ability to manage multiple marinas, connect finance and operations and bring customer and boat information into one place, all backed by Microsoft and the wider ecosystem.”
Just as importantly, ABC Leisure had confidence in the Elite Dynamics team.
“The people were a big part of the decision. Elite were keen to understand our requirements and demonstrate how EliteMarinas could do everything we needed. That gave us confidence that they understood both the system and the operational needs of our business.”
This gave ABC Leisure confidence that EliteMarinas was not just a strong functional fit, but a platform supported by people who understood the operational detail behind the project. For a business working across multiple locations and system areas, that understanding was an important part of the decision.
Moving towards one connected system
For ABC Leisure, the value of a connected platform is rooted in reducing duplicated data handling.
When bookings, customer records, boat information, billing and finance sit closer together, teams can spend less time re-entering, checking or transferring information between different systems.
“It was important to bring key areas of the business into one system to avoid duplication and multiple handling of data. The more information that can be managed in one place, the more efficient and consistent the operation becomes.”
ABC Leisure has started to reduce manual processing and build confidence in the time savings that can be achieved through less duplicated data handling.
More importantly, the move has created a stronger foundation for future growth and diversification. As the business continues to evolve across holiday narrowboats, day boats, waterside holiday lets and marina operations, EliteMarinas gives ABC Leisure a connected platform it can continue to build on.
That means future operational change does not need to rely on adding more separate systems or creating more manual processes. Instead, ABC Leisure has a platform that can support wider consolidation, greater visibility and more consistent ways of working across the business over time.
The value for ABC Leisure is not only in the system itself, but in the operational workload it can help remove as the business continues to grow and diversify. By reducing repeated data handling and creating a platform that can support more areas of the operation over time, EliteMarinas has helped ABC Leisure make more confident decisions about future resourcing.
Creating capacity for growth
For ABC Leisure, the return on investment is not just measured in direct system costs. It is seen in the extra capacity created across the business when teams spend less time managing duplicated data and manual processes.
With EliteMarinas in place, ABC Leisure has greater confidence that more day-to-day work can be managed through cleaner data handling, more connected processes and less repeated admin.
That creates operational headroom. Teams can spend more time supporting customers, improving processes and focusing on the areas that help the business grow, rather than maintaining workarounds behind the scenes.
“The move has already given us confidence in the savings we can achieve through better data handling. It gives us a clear route to reduce manual processing and create more capacity across the business as we continue to evolve.”
For a multi-site marina and leisure operator, that is a practical return: more time, more confidence and a stronger platform to support future growth and diversification.
Building confidence for the future
For ABC Leisure, the decision to move to EliteMarinas was also about choosing a platform with the right foundations for the future.
Built on Microsoft technology, EliteMarinas gives ABC Leisure confidence in the security, stability and long-term development of its marina management platform. For a business operating across multiple locations and activity areas, that foundation matters.
The relationship with Elite Dynamics was also an important part of the decision. ABC Leisure was not simply choosing a piece of software. It was choosing a long-term technology partner that could understand the business, support its operational goals and continue developing the platform as requirements change.
“For us, this was not just a software choice. We wanted a platform and a partner that could support ABC Leisure over the long term. I am confident that the Elite team, backed by Microsoft, will continue to evolve EliteMarinas in a way that supports our business. It gives us confidence in both the operational efficiency we can achieve and the security and stability of the platform behind it.”
That combination of sector knowledge, Microsoft technology and long-term partnership gives ABC Leisure confidence that EliteMarinas can keep supporting the business as its operations develop and new opportunities for growth and diversification emerge.
Advice to other marina operators
For marina operators reviewing their systems, Carl’s advice is to look closely at the work happening around the software, not just the software itself.
Disconnected systems often create effort that becomes normal over time. Re-keying information, checking data between systems, maintaining spreadsheets and relying on manual workarounds all take time away from the work that moves the business forward.
“Manual workarounds can become part of the day-to-day without you realising how much time they are taking. For us, the value of EliteMarinas is in reducing that additional workload and giving the business a more efficient way to manage information as we continue to evolve.”
For ABC Leisure, moving to EliteMarinas was about reducing that hidden workload and creating a stronger platform for the future. For other operators, the question is not only whether their current systems still work, but how much extra work they are creating behind the scenes.
