3 minute read
Crown and Canopy
A fantastic guide on how to survive the fast paced glamping world. The Essential Glamping Business Manual was first published and sold to the public in summer 2018. However, it was originally commissioned and created earlier in the year for The National Trust as a ‘how to’ guide for their farm and estate managers across the UK who were interested in glamping as a viable opportunity.
According to co-author Edward Busby, a number of people were consulted whilst creating the manual. These included The National trust consultant involved in the project, Crown and Canopy’s own business advisor and the MD of Canopy and Stars prior to publishing.
Once it was published Davies & Co planning consultancy looked over and approved the planning section and of course their own partners and various glamping site owners that Edward and the team have worked with and know personally. THE GLAMPING INDUSTRY To prepare each manual, each year Crown and Canopy undertake a serious round of market research, this included researching over 700 glamping sites in the UK.
And, for their own interest they also researched the sister industries such as the holiday cottage industry and holiday parks industry. These two sectors are very similar by nature as they are engaged in hosting UK and international tourists and provide accommodation and related experiences. However, the main difference is that these industries have been established over many years in the UK and consequently have gone through a recent phase of re-investment in recent years.
This investment has been to capitalise on the newfound trend of holidaying in the UK after many years of British tourists venturing into Europe rather than choosing to stay in the UK. The main
difference is that unlike the holiday cottage and parks industries, the glamping industry is still really in its infancy.
It is believed there are under 4000 unique glamping sites in the UK, compared to the 365,000 caravan holiday homes and an estimated 55,000 holiday cottages. This makes it pretty clear how far the industry still has to grow.
Another telling element is the size of the agencies supporting these industries. If you look at the three largest holiday cottage agencies in the UK, they have over 10,000 properties on each of their books. If you compare this to the largest UK glamping agency Canopy and Stars, they have just over 700 units including their European portfolio.
THE VALUE OF THE MANUAL Glamping site owners are traditionally hands on people, approaching the industry with the determination of creating something uniquely theirs. According to Edward that’s exactly who the manual was created for, it’s a complete guide from start to finish and is the perfect tool and handbook when developing your own successful sites and navigating every obstacle.
The aim of the manual is to cover all the unknown elements for landowners including turnover potential, design, planning and much more. Enabling them to make informed decisions and to judge whether this form of diversification is right for them and has the income potential that they want to see from their land.
The other objective of the manual is to enable its buyers to create high quality and unique sites that will be futureproofed and successful in an increasingly competitive marketplace. By providing
this information and knowledge, the other intention is that it will drive growth as it informs people and enables them to commit to an idea that they already have. There’s a lot more to the book than FAQ’s though!
IMPORTANT REFERENCE MATERIAL Edward explains that it now comprises nearly 70 pages covering every area you should need to know when developing a site from the outset to completion. It’s more like taking a full course in glamping than an FAQ system and the great thing is you can constantly refer back to it rather than a one-time experience.
Also, Edward points out that it was the fact they had originally gone through the process of setting up their own sites and running them for six years that was the springboard that created the consultancy services and led them to creating the book for The National Trust.
WHERE IS THE MANUAL AVAILABLE? You can purchase the manual on the Crown and Canopy website at: www.crownandcanopy.co.uk/ glamping-manual
PRICE: There are two options available when purchasing the manual. You can pay £95 for the most recent edition oryou can pay £125 and subsequently receive each new edition when published for free.
TELEPHONE: 0044 (0) 7837162452
EMAIL: info@crownandcanopy.co.uk
WEBSITE: www.crownandcanopy.co.uk
