History
Working together towards better automation
The development and history of AICN is a special story. It is about sharing knowledge, exchanging experiences and working together. The goal is to achieve even better returns for the holiday parks through even better automation.
This is the history of AICN.
How it started
AIC (Automatiserings Instituut Centraal Nederland) was founded over 30 years ago. In these 30 years a lot has changed. In the start-up years, AIC was involved in advising on hardware and software to be used and their delivery. AIC also gave practical help with the installation of computers and software and provided courses to help customers find their way around the computer.
Specialisation in the recreation sector
At the end of the eighties (1987) AIC presented the reservation package Camputer specially developed for holiday parks at the request of a number of Veluwe Vakantieland Campings (VVC). Reservations, invoicing, planning board, integrated administration (Unicum) and even the barrier (KP-3200) could already be linked at that time. At the end of the nineties (1998) the successor to Camputer came on the market; Eurecrea. In 1999 the Virtual Travel Agency followed. This allowed the parks to start their own Reisburo on the internet so that guests could book on-line. In 2001 the Virtual Travel Agency was succeeded by Virtueel Boeken. AICN was the first to present software at the Recron fair that allowed guests to make their reservations online. This innovative solution was immediately good for the Recron Innovation Trophy.
Eurecrea finally became Eurecrea GX (Windows version). Through the years the program developed further. More and more (advanced) functionalities were added because the developments in the field of automation went very fast.
Start of Tommy Booking Support
In 2009 AICN came up with new development: A cloud solution for small-scale recreation, Tommy 1.0. This package was a hit. Within 5 years more than 400 companies used this user-friendly software. Increasingly larger companies discovered the advantages of a package in the cloud and started using Tommy 1.0.
From the larger customers with Tommy 1.0 more and more wishes came to expand the package. Also Eurecrea GX customers saw the success and benefits of a cloud solution. So AICN decided to develop a completely new package. In November 2015 AICN introduced Tommy 2.0 at the RecreatieVakbeurs in Hardenberg.
Tommy 2.0 is developed with the latest techniques and has (modular) extended functionalities. This makes Tommy 2.0 suitable for every type of recreation company. And development continues! Recently the Dynamic Pricing option was introduced.
Already 30 years of personal experience in the recreation industry
Frank Luken has worked at AICN since 1988. From sales consultant to director. He has more than 30 years of personal experience in the recreation industry and that has proven to be worth its weight in gold. "I think there are few recreation companies in the Netherlands where I have not been in the past 30 years. It is and remains an extremely enjoyable industry where a day visiting 'customers' is always interesting. The recreation industry is in a state of flux and no two days are the same. Even now, we are working hard with our clients to look at trends in the market and their influence on their automation and marketing strategy."
In 2006 Frank Luken also entered into a partnership with partner Gerben Weening, director of Prosuco, a full-service marketing agency specialising in the recreation sector. Automation and marketing can no longer be separated. A good marketing strategy stands or falls with the correct use of your automation and the information you gather from it'. That is why AICN and Prosuco work intensively together, a team of ICT professionals, marketeers and users together ensure the best results.
There are now more than 700 recreation companies working together with Tommy Booking Support; a number to be proud of!