l mping  G international
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Green Slovenia
Leading the way in Sustainable Tourism
Issue 12 July 2018
French Special Issue Inside
plus: The Glamping Show Preview Outdoor Cooking Insurance Gl mping 00 Inspiration and Information for Glamping Operators Business
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Cover photograph: With thanks to Chateau Ramšak, Adria, World of Glamping, Glampro
International Glamping Business is published by: Upgrade Publishing Registered address: 47 Oliver Close London W4 3RL
Other Publications: Holiday Parks Management www.holidayparksmanagement.com Publishers: Upgrade Publishing Steph Curtis-Raleigh e: steph@upgradepublishing.com Editor: Steph Curtis-Raleigh e: steph@upgradepublishing.com Sales: Kathryn Kelly t: +44 (0) 7575 408580 e: kath@upgradepublishing.com Design: Dean Coulter Design on Tap www.designontap.co.uk
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Other Events: The Glamping Show w: www.glampingshow.com e: dan.w@theglampingshow.com
© Upgrade Publishing Ltd. International Glamping Business is pubilshed 5 times a year. No reproduction of any part of the magazine is permitted, nor storage in a retrieval system without prior consent of the publisher. No commercial exploitation is permitted. No warranty is implied in respect of any product or trader mentioned herewith. Prizes offered in competitions might be substituted with ones of similar value.
I first met Maja Dimnik on the Adria stand at second Glamping Show, shortly after we had launched this magazine. At that time, my vision of glamping was very much a UK one but Maja, who was then at Slovenian glamping architecture firm Glampro, showed me images of projects she was working on in her home country. Tents were placed in landscaped gardens, around central pools, served by world-class restaurants. These were not glamping sites, they were eco resorts! That was the moment I realised that Glamping Business would have to become International Glamping Business – because there is no right or wrong way to do glamping but there is so much to learn from each other. So, I was both thrilled and honoured to be invited by Maja to attend the launch of her
World of Glamping global certification project at the end of June – in one of the very sites that she showed me two years ago. We carried out a whistle-stop tour of several of Slovenia’s leading glamping resorts, as well as a visit to Adria’s impressive factory – there’s a full report in this issue. I am also very proud to bring you our first ever Special Issue – on France. This was compiled by our French editor Adeline Lenoir from Hôtes-Insolites. It appears in English in this publication with a dedicated French language version available in a digital format. We plan many more country-specific specials, including one on Spain for our September issue.
Steph International Glamping Business Editor/Publisher
Contents 05 11 12 15 22 24 27 28 30
International news
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Products and services Crown & Canopy Advertorial Slovenia: Setting New Standards in Glamping Interview with Katja Kovic from Glamping Sun Valley Bioterme French Special Issue Google Tricks Interview with Nicolas Sartorius from Abracadaroom Where to find subsidies for your glamping accommodation
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Grounds for Optimism how to find the perfect site Luxetenten Advertorial L’Osclaye: A calculated dream A Shining Example: Glisten review European Trade Shows Insurance: exaggerated claims Glamping Show Preview Kate Morel: Outdoor Cooking Last word: Sarah Riley on Denver
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First Star Ratings Awarded in Slovenia World of Glamping – the global certification programme – has awarded its first star ratings in its home country of Slovenia.
and bars. A breakfast of locally sourced delicacies is delivered in a basket to each tent.
Over 150 separate issues are carefully considered by World of Glamping in order to reach a star rating across six areas: Landscape & Architecture, Sustainability, Uniqueness, Property Offer, Human Resources and Accommodation.
In addition, Garden Village Bled will receive a total of 6 stars. This glampsite is comprised of treehouses, tents on platforms and safari-style tents in a magical setting close to Lake Bled – Slovenia’s biggest tourist attraction. The site has an organically managed swimming pool and grows much of its own produce for its world-class restaurant that features quirky touches such as tables topped with real grass and a stream that passes through the middle!
Glamping Olimia Adria Village is situated in the Terme Olimia spa complex and the tents themselves are built above thermal springs, which are utilised to fill individual spa pools outside many of the units. Guests have the opportunity to use the spa complex, with its many thermal pools and treatments, as well as numerous restaurants
“World of Glamping is very pleased to be able to award its first star ratings to two very different and high-quality locations in Slovenia,” says Maja Dimnik, World of Glamping Founder. “This is just the beginning – we are working on ratings for other glamping sites all over the world and look forward to hosting our first awards
Glamping Olimia Adria Village – in Podčetrtek – was awarded five stars out of a possible seven at a special event to launch the scheme on June 18.
Shankly: the Latest Urban Glampsite from Signature Liverpool’s iconic Shankly Hotel is set to open its rooftop glamping site this month. Hospitality and property development group, Signature Living will provide luxury tipis, Jacuzzis, infinity pools, 32-inch TV screens and a Bluetooth surround sound system and targeted towards those looking to host a unique private party. Each tipi will be able to host six guests, with designer bedding and hotel-style interiors. Founder of Signature Living, Lawrence Kenwright said : “We are really excited to be bringing luxury glamping to Liverpool this summer. Signature Living is known for doing things differently – tipis at the Eden rooftop garden is certainly something different. Nowhere else will people be able to go camping amidst the city’s tallest buildings with incredible views of our skyline. This is not only going to be popular in Liverpool, I am sure this unique concept will also attract even more visitors to the city.”
From left: Steph Curtis-Raleigh (Editor, International Glamping Business), Maja Pak; Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board, Eva Štravs Podlogar; State Secretary Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Maja Dimnik, Founder of World of Glamping and Vasja Čretnik, Sales & Marketing Manager, Terme Olimia ceremony next year. We don’t just assess our sites, we offer them advice and guidance on how to do even better and achieve more stars and we also help to market them. We have also created the first of our dedicated glamping tours in Slovenia – a specially curated trip which will include the very best glamping sites, attractions and restaurants to give guests a chance to appreciate the beauty of the country. We are already in agreement that the tour will be offered by best worldwide tour operators in association with the travel agency that has prepared the tour.”
Wild Glamping in Norway Glamping is now available in Norway’s Lofoten Islands. Guests can stay in traditional Sami tents with spectacular views across the fjords and surrounding mountains. The Lofoten Islands are renowned for their wildlife including a variety of sea birds, including the beautiful white-tailed sea eagle, as well as porpoises and whales. Glamping guests can take part in a number of activities including ‘Fish your Dish’ – a wilderness cooking course where guests can fish for their own dinner and then enjoy a wilderness cooking class to prepare the fish and accompaniments. Guests will also have the chance to help with a beach clean-up and enjoy a presentation about major impacts of plastic in our oceans.
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Medal For Timotay at Gardeners’ World Live Timotay Landscapes’ designer, Robyn Brookes, is overjoyed at winning a silver merit award at this years’ prestigious BBC Gardeners’ World Live Show. Her awardwinning design was aimed at young families, extending their living space through to the garden. Featuring an outdoor cinema, pizza oven and a canopied play platform, the space is designed to be entertaining for the whole family. Tim Ellwood, director at Timotay Landscapes, said: “Our team have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that we impressed with our design, build and creativity. Our ultimate goal was to create an outdoor space that is inspirational – but most importantly, achievable to all, and especially to the 88,000 visitors at BBC Gardeners’ World. The competition was made up of four other landscaping companies from Hertfordshire, Sussex, Lancashire and Worcestershire. Bob Sweet, horticultural director of BBC Gardeners’ World Live, said: “We have no doubt that each of the five finalists will offer visitors of thes how a great deal of take-home ideas, whilst showcasing what incredible designers and landscapers they are in their own right.
Israel Promotes Its Glamping Offer
Glamping is growing in Israel with the introduction of a new dedicated booking site – Glamping Israel.
New Site Wins Gold Award for Sustainability A site in the Yorkshire Dales has been awarded Green Tourism’s Gold Award for its commitment to sustainability and the environment. Peaks and Pods has been open for less than a year and uses renewable energy generated by a wind turbine and solar panels. The site is also energy-efficient, using modern appliances and LED lamps. Peaks and Pods co-owner Joanne Brennand said: “We are delighted with our Gold Award from Green Tourism. We’re so lucky to live close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland and we are fully committed to making sure that our new tourism business is as sustainable as possible.” Gold is the top award for ‘inspirational and outstanding’; commitment to ‘people, places and our planet’. Green Tourism’s lead assessor Stuart Park said: “The owners are clearly very green-aware and have tried to reduce the big impacts from the site and give a very green and high- quality glamping experience to the guests. A 50kW wind turbine and 31kW photovoltaic panels provide renewable electricity to the site, while well-insulated pods, modern appliances and LED lamps keep running costs low. This is supported with eco cleaning products. “Guest information is excellent, particularly on the well-designed website that has details of public transport, local places to shop and eat, and green activities.”
“Glamping Israel is uniquely positioned to produce the best glamping experience possible. Israel is a wonderful destination for glamping vacations. Its moderate climate allows you to stay outdoors during most of the year and its variety of landscapes and historical sites are within easy reach. Glamping Israel will help you experience Israel from up close, while enjoying high-end tourism services in remote locations,” says Founder and CEO of Glamping Israel Itay Kadish Katz.
Peaks and Pods is a farm diversification business, developed by Joanne and her husband, John. The couple live and work on the family dairy farm with their three children, with John’s parents still active in the farm business.
Among the experiences offered by Glamping Israel are a helicopter trip to Israel’s largest natural crater for a gourmet chef-prepared dinner around a bonfire, with traditional musicians to accompany guests before a night in a luxurious tent in the desert. Other destinations include a stay in a boutique Golan vineyard. The Israeli Ministry of Tourism has also joined forces with Kadish Katz to create The Pop-Up Oasis project in the Negev. www.glamping.co.il
“We saw a gap in the market for a really highquality glamping site,” said Joanne. “We have five luxury pods, each sleeping up to four people, all with kitchens and private bathrooms. Two of the pods have their own private wood-fired hot tubs. We also have a wood-fired pizza oven that guests can use.”
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chassis. Only the finest quality timbers are used for the handmade Interior joinery and iconic Mollycraft windows.
Bespoke Showman’s Wagon Launch The Dorset Wagon Company launched their unique prototype Showman’s Wagon at Studland Cricket Ground, in Dorset last month. Hand-built by skilled craftsmen in their Dorset factory using only environmentally sustainable timber and sheet materials, each bespoke wagon will be individually built to client needs. The aluminium-clad exterior is mounted on an agricultural
Dorset Wagon Company Managing Director Gary Wallace said, “The first Showman’s Wagon I saw was at Gifford's Circus in the Cotswolds in the summer of 2000. It had an admiring crowd gathered around it and I fell in love with the idea of building a replica model using modern technology and sustainable materials.“ Gary added, “These unique Wagons have multiple use options whilst they are ideal for boutique hotels, glamping sites, outdoor festivals or discerning land owners, the opportunities are unlimited.” www.dorsetwagon.co.uk
Brosterfield Delivers to Isle of Rum, Scotland Glamping Introduced at Skelwith Fold Safari camping has been taken out of Africa and into Ambleside this year, thanks to a holiday park which is challenging guests to go small game hunting in Cumbria. Skelwith Fold has officially lifted the flaps on its new five-star safari tents, which are sited in a quiet glade at the 130-acre grounds, which play host many types of animals and birds, including deer, red squirrels and kites. Each tent has its own bathroom, as well as kitchen and dining area. Skelwith Fold, crowned as Lakeland's top holiday park in last year's Cumbria Tourism Awards, believes its safari tents will appeal especially to young families. With all linen provided, there's one double bedroom, and another with two bunk beds in addition to generously sized living areas, and electrical sockets. There's also a private balcony for al-fresco dining, or just relaxing and listening to the birdsong. Henry Wild believes that Skelwith Fold's safari experience will capture the imagination of those who love the idea of camping, but not the flap of putting up a tent: Owned by the Wild family for over 20 years, Skelwith Fold holds the David Bellamy Conservation Award at its top gold level for environmental excellence. In March this year, it was also named by the as the AA as North West England's top destination for touring caravan and motorhome owners, as well as glampers.
Brosterfield Shepherd Huts has successfully delivered a 20’ Luxury hut to a customer on the Isle of Rum in the inner Hebrides, Scotland. The journey involved a two-day trip by road on an articulated lorry followed by an 1.5 hour ferry crossing from Mallaig on the mainland to the island then a one-mile drive by narrow road to the final destination next to the shore at Ivy Cottage Guesthouse. The hut was then positioned, levelled and commissioned in under four hours before the team had to be back at Rum port to catch the returning ferry back to the mainland. Ivy cottage will offer the hut to paying guests, in addition to their current guesthouse rooms where dinner bed and breakfast is provided. The new hut features heating from an LPG boiler, a wood burning stove, a shower room with composting toilet and lowered energy consumption due to the difficult power supply on the island.
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Product News Mocadazu Partners with SpaTree to Develop Spa Lodge for Glamping Mocadazu – a leading brand in luxury bamboo tents – has announced its partnership with SpaTree, an International Spa consultancy and experience design firm. Together they developed a bamboo Spa and Resort Lodge for the Luxury outdoor market. The luxury bamboo Spa and Resort lodge is especially designed for high-end resorts and five star luxury hotels. Instead of being tucked away behind concrete walls, where all connection with nature is lost, this luxury spa and resort lodge brings the luxury lifestyle back to the heart of nature. The Spa and Resort Lodge can be furnished with all the necessities for a luxury spa experience. The calming sound of a river, the stunning view from a mountain top, or the healing sound of lapping sea waves – it all contributes to relax body, mind and soul in perfect harmony with the natural environment. The Mocadazu resort lodges distinguish themselves from other “glamping” tents by the extensive detailing, super deluxe finishing and the use of bamboo to create the ultimate exotic accommodation. Actual doors and windows can be included, as
well as insulation and reinforcement to attach a fan or air conditioning. The bamboo lodge tent can be used in all weather conditions. The frame is made out of bamboo, and the inner canvas tent protects against sun, wind and rain. The canvas tent can be zipped open and rolled up to create an airy bamboo lodge. Under different weather conditions the tent can be zipped and closed. In a cooler climate, it is possible to install a wood-burning stove to create a warm and cozy atmosphere for your spa & resort guests. By working together, both companies have created an interesting combination of craftsmanship, thinking-outside-the-box mentality, a highly service oriented work approach and expertise in Spa and Outdoor projects. www.mocadazu.com
BOND : another Glamping success story BOND has been designing and manufacturing glamping structures and marquees for 30 years. The Safari Tents are fully tested by structural engineers, have full reports for wind-loading and meet British and European standards. Working closely with their clients BOND offers a personal supportive service from planning all the way to installation and beyond. Glampsite and BOND customer ‘Canvas & Campfires’ sits within a smallholding in a tranquil corner of West Wales close to the coast. Ellie and Dan, along with their young family uprooted from city-life to pursue the dream of living and working in the Welsh countryside offering a luxury camping experience. In 2017 they chose BOND to supply three of their Classic Safari Tents (5m x 9.5m). Ellie spoke of their experience with
BOND, “Mike and Michelle at Bond have been amazing to work with. From the initial no-obligation advice, their patience through the planning and design phase and also the bespoke adjustments to our tents, sharing of social media posts and the overall general support. The tents have been fabulous and have withstood the worst that the Welsh weather can throw at them! We wouldn't hesitate to recommended BOND and the team.” Mike Halliwell, Managing Director at BOND says, “It’s a great pleasure to help our clients see their plans and dreams realised from the very first ideas and design meetings through to launching a successful glamping business, and Ellie and Dan were no exception. They had a clear vision of the experience they wanted to offer clients in the most beautiful unspoilt corner of Wales. Bespoke
adjustments were made to the interior layout to accommodate their specific design and it resulted in a great looking product. Their business is a great success and a perfect example of the clients we work with.” BOND offers a wide range of Safari Tents and offer the capabilities to create bespoke designs at their factory in Gloucestershire. Structures are designed to be in place year round and the premium frames offer unrivalled performance. www.bondfabrications.co.uk / www.safari-tent.co.uk
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In January 2018, Crown and Canopy were approached by The National Trust to create a glamping manual or guide book to help inform their farm and estate managers on how to go about setting up glamping retreats across the UK. This document would introduce them to the world of glamping and guide them through setting up high-end retreats from conception to completion. The book would also include a business modelling section, setting out average nightly rates, investment costs, ongoing maintenance costs and estimated yearly net profits from each style of retreat based on various occupancy rates from bell tents to tree houses. This information could then be used to create cash flow forecasts and projected returns for business plans, planning and grant applications. We have provided consultancy to many farms and estates across the country for a number of years now and the first initial visits are all about establishing the viability, unique selling points and how suitable the land is for the business, so we began to write the document in the same format. After months of work transferring this information and process on to paper as well as substantial market research we have finally pieced this 50-page business document together. We set out exactly what we are really looking for in a piece of land in the appraisal section and then moved into the philosophy and design of a site. This step by step guide then takes the reader through the entire journey and all the variables to consider, from services and infrastructure to interior design, safety and day to day running. Whilst writing the document we soon realised that the information it contained would be very valuable to many people across the UK setting out on their own ventures, so we decided to create a public version with added marketing and management sections based on our own industry experience of the last 7 years. We are officially launching the manual at the glamping show this year, However, advanced copies are available on our website crownandcanopy.co.uk
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Slovenia
Slovenia Setting New Standards in Glamping
Slovenia is a small country with a big part to play in sustainable tourism as Steph Curtis-Raleigh found out Lake Bled Slovenia is a country of just 2 million inhabitants, which only gained its independence in 1991 and yet in a relatively short time, it has become a global leader in green and sustainable tourism. The Slovenian Tourist Board was established in 1996, which was a turning point. Of course, the country was always
popular with tourists as it has more than its fair share of incredible scenery; mountains, lakes, thermal spas, as well as wonderful gastronomy and wines. However, the early adoption of the green agenda has catapulted this small country ahead of many of its European neighbours in the field of sustainable travel. Slovenia was the first ‘green country of
the world’, certified according to the Green Destinations standards and it was granted the prestigious National Geographic World Legacy Award in the category of Destination Leadership (ITB 2017) for its Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism. It is now ranked among the 10 most sustainable countries in the world and was also granted the title Best of Europe (ITS 2018). Garden Village Bled
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Slovenia Maja Pak, Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board
I FEEL SLOVENIA “The game changer for us has definitely been the development of the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism (GSST). Before that we talked to our stakeholders about the need for sustainable tourism practices, did quite a lot of training, seminars, research and developed individual toolkits. But the idea of sustainability was not showing in practice, and was not bringing results. Then we decided to develop the GSST as a national program for assessment and improving the sustainability of our destinations and tourism providers. It’s not only a certification programme giving destinations and providers a complete tool for the assessment of their sustainability, but also a label (we have a Slovenia Green label for accommodation, parks and travel agencies so far). Love for nature is deeply embedded in us and the essence of our ‘I FEEL SLOVENIA’ brand identity. Slovenians have a tight connection with nature and attachment to the local environment: most Slovenians are very active in nature – we spend afternoons after work and at weekends on trips, walks, bike rides, skiing in winter. We love to do gardening – balconies of Slovenian houses are always full of flowers. We use seasonal and local food, preserve customs and traditions, and have the biggest number of beekeepers per inhabitant.” Maja Pak, Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board in an interview with the Sustainability Leaders Project (read the entire interview here https://sustainabilityleaders.com/maja-pak-interview/)
With the Slovenian passion for the great outdoors, it can be no surprise that glamping has gained great popularity in recent years. It is estimated that there are around 60 glamping sites in the country, around 5 of which are world-class resorts, with new and exciting projects being planned all the time. One of the first and certainly one of the most high-profile glamping sites is Garden Village in the town of Bled close to the stunning Alpine lake which features Slovenia’s only island, topped with a simple white church and overlooked by an impressive castle. Like much of Slovenia, Lake Bled is like something from a fairy tale – while Garden Village is a magical kingdom in itself. Maja Dimnik worked closely with the owners of Garden Village to create the glamping resort, which was the first of its kind in Slovenia. “People thought we were really crazy when we started the project,” she recalls. “Nobody really understood what glamping was and the site itself is very unusual. We had to remain true to our vision and we were very lucky to have the support of Eva Štravs Podlogar, who is now the State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, and who supported us from the start.” Garden Village attracted a great deal of press attention and occupies a unique site in one of Tito’s former gardens! The Yugoslav communist leader had a villa on the shores of Lake Bled and across the way, the site of Garden Village supplied his fruit and vegetables. It was a challenging terrain to build on with a wooded area and river and Glampro – the Slovenian glamping architects – stepped in to create an eco resort like no other. The centrepiece is a completely natural organically regulated swimming pool/space, overlooked by a stunning restaurant and terrace. A river and woods are threaded with treehouses and tents on platforms, where guests could easily fish for fat trout while lying on their beds! The honeymoon suite/treehouse features a liftable
staircase to cut it off from the rest of the world, while glamping tents sit among fruit bushes, where kids of all ages can eat the berries while soaking up the sun. Maja, who was formerly part of the Glampro team, managed the creation and marketing for Garden Village – ensuring that the levels of customer service and experience are second to none. Since then, she has helped to put several other luxury glamping resorts on the map, both in Slovenia and beyond. The International Glamping Business team was lucky enough to stay in two of these; Glamping Olimia Adria Village in Podčetrtek and Chateau Ramšak in Maribor. Glamping Olimia Adria Village, at the Terme Olimia spa was the site of the launch of Maja’s latest project World of Glamping, in June. The event was attended by a large crowd of Slovenian press, Maja Pak (Director of Slovenian Tourist Board) and Miša Novak of the Project Manager at the Slovenian Tourist Board, Eva Štravs Podlogar, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology and other tourism VIPs. As well as explaining the concept of World of Glamping, Maja announced the first star ratings for glamping. A total of five stars was awarded to Glamping Olimia Adria Village and 6 stars to Garden Village Bled. Glamping Olimia Adria Village was developed in association with Slovenian manufacturing giant, Adria. It was voted the best glamping resort in Slovenia in 2017 by readers of the most serious Slovenian National daily newspaper Delo and is part of one of Europe’s finest wellness and spa centes Terme Olimia, which boasts therapeutic thermal water, 23 water slides and more than 40 different pools. There are two areas featuring Adria tents – one for families and the other with two-person tents for couples or smaller families. The larger family area is filled with individual Jacuzzis filled with healing thermal water which are linked and create a water feature throughout the landscaped gardens.
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do not include private bathrooms, luxury equipment and the additional offer and the level of service. Maja Dimnik
About World of Glamping World of Glamping is the first to implement segmentation and categorisation of glamping providers worldwide. A team of experts classifies glamping into three segments; scouting, glamping and lodging. Within each segment, 1 to 7 stars are granted according to their offer and quality, which will raise glamping to a higher level and set the foundations for a better future of glamping. The total number of all the criteria is 150 and they are spread over 6 main categories; uniqueness, landscape architecture, sustainability policy, overall offer, individual accommodations and employees. The segmentation and categorisation system is standardised and applies equally for all glamping providers, regardless of where in the world they are located. Based on the quality, luxury, level of services and accommodation types the three segments can be described as follows:
Scouting Scouting represents the quality level between camping and glamping. Despite the higher standards, scouting is not designed as an architectural entirety in the sense of a resort. The residential units
Glamping Glamping is a synonym for exclusive boutique tourism, where the facilities are designed inventively and offer a feeling of luxury and glamour with their uniqueness. This category encompasses tents, treehouses, yurts and more with a rich additional offer and services at the level of luxury hotels, but still maintains the genuine and direct contact with the natural environment.
Lodging Lodging is basically designed as glamping with the main difference in the accommodation type, since its residential facilities are permanently set in the natural environment (lodges, wooden houses etc.). The additional offer an the level of services are, regarding their scope as well as their content, at the very peak of luxury and glamour.
Adria tents were also used to great effect at Chateau Ramťak in Maribor. This is an old wine making chateau with one of the world’s largest and oldest wine presses and delicious wines to taste and buy. The glamping tents trickle down the hillside, with amazing views of the valley beyond. Walkways and a stream meander alongside the tents and a central bar and fire pit create a social focal point. Each tent features a Jacuzzi and there is currently one treehouse tent with commanding views over the countryside with more planned. Once again, the landscaping and design was carried out by the team at Glampro, in association with Adria. Both resorts are marketed under the Adria Holidays brand, which is also a booking platform for the accommodation. The Director of Terme Olimia d.d., Mr. Florjan Vasle receives his stars
The evaluation system is only one area offered by World of Glamping. In addition to gaining stars, marketing support, online presentation and annual granting of awards to the best in the world, the providers will also receive consulting with regard to sustainability, quality of their services and development and construction of innovative resorts. The project is supported by the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology.
Chateau RamsĚŒak
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Adria - a One Stop Shop for Innovative Holiday Accommodation Adria was founded over 50 years ago in 1965 in Yugoslavia and first exported caravans to Sweden. In the 1980s the company built its first motorhomes which were built in Belgium. Following the war and Slovenia’s independence in 1991 the company underwent a big restructure and changed its name to Adria Mobil. In 2000, Adria created its first mobile home and in 2010 the company heralded a new era with redesigns of its core products, which has seen it become one of the most successful manufacturers of holiday accommodation in the world with a £402m euro turnover and nearly 2000 employees. Adria has three main branches: Adria Mobil (caravans, motorhomes and vans). Adrial Home – Mobile homes, Mobile Tents, Modular Homes, Floating Homes Adria Service and Distribution
Adria has 47% of the overall market share in motorhomes, 43% of the caravan market and 10% of the mobile home market, which is growing all the time. It had a turnover of around £400m last year, which was 11 per cent up on the year before. The Adria Home factory, which covers 6000 m2 can produce up to 200 mobile homes/glamping tents a month, which are sold into around 30 countries worldwide. Adria has recently diversified into allseason modular homes and floating homes – giving the company a solution for all types of terrains – water, land, sea and mountains. The addition of tents to the product line-up was as a result of a collaboration with Glampro. The Boutique tent is a top-end luxury glamping tent which has two master bedrooms as well as the loft beds for kids – this has enjoyed success in Japan, Italy and the Middle East. All the safari style tents feature an innovative foldable core with an integral kitchen, bathroom and air conditioning unit, which is basically the same for all
tents. The company has three models of safari tent; L (large), M (medium) and S (small) with special LOFT versions with a spacious private balcony (Safari Loft M&L). There are also 3 models of Bell tent, including the Outlook with a large side panel that lifts up to give guests a view of the skies. These are often used as add-ons to the safari tents in glamping resorts and do not feature a kitchen. They are also popular in the festival market. Adria tents are design to perform, they have a patented structure and the modular core design means that safari tents can be erected in as little as 4-6 hours. The Adria 'One stop shop' service contains everything you need for your business idea. From concept, product and service to revenue development through booking services. Adria monitors and analyze the market and adapts to your wishes, needs and expectations- whether you are a new glamping business or already established. www.adria-mobilehome.com
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Bioterme
Enjoying the slow lane
in Slovenia
Interview with Katja Kovic from Glamping Sun Valley Bioterme at Mala Nedelja in northeastern Slovenia Tell us the history of your location - how did the resort come about? Glamping Sun Valley Bioterme began life as an upgrade of an already existing idea. It followed analysis of tourism trends we had carried out and, in particular, it originated from our vision of sustainability. The four-star Hotel Bioterme, standing just a few steps away from the Bioterme itself, is the proud owner of an EU Ecolabel environmental daisy as well as a Slovenia Green Accommodation certificate, and with this resort we are trying to continue the sustainable story, improve standards all the time and make ourselves a destination that offers its guests as much contact with a beautifully pristine natural setting as possible.
What environmentally friendly measures have you put in place? What guests see first are the wooded features that integrate the whole appearance of our glamping site. The elements of surrounding woods, vineyards and pretty grassed areas convey the impression that our resort is as
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natural as it gets. There are ecological islands placed at two locations used for composting and recycling, as the careful treatment of waste to prevent it having an environmental impact is an important part of our sustainability vision. At the end of June, the construction of a biological swimming pool will be nearing completion — it’s environmentally friendly because no chemicals are used in the cleaning process. Some of our villas come complete with a wooden bathtub on the terrace, filled with thermal water from two sources on our land. So no drinking water is wasted for pampering. Overall, the whole concept of living in a natural setting is friendly both to the environment and to the soul.
Why did the resort decide to offer glamping? The development of glamping accommodation was a logical decision for a hotel with a general policy and philosophy of sustainability. Living in the embrace of nature is the perfect way to explore and properly experience the area you’re visiting — in our case northeastern Slovenia. We want guests to become one with a unique setting, the untouched Prlekija region. Glamping offers them a real taste of the natural environment, but with added comfort — a private bathroom, a kitchen and a proper comfortable bed. Who wouldn’t want to be in the middle of the natural world and still have the convenience of all the
amenities?
You opened in December 2017. What kind of reaction have you had to the glamping experience you offer? Reactions have been extremely positive. Since the resort is pretty tucked away from inquisitive guests at the hotel, Sun Valley has been a popular location for organised walk-throughs, so the guests can get an idea of an alternative type of holiday. Groups from further afield have also come to size up the region and the facilities. We’ve managed to organise these visits without bothering the glamping guests too much, and their opinion is the one that matters. We started off with glamping villas, which are open the whole year and all the guests who’ve stayed in them since last year went away happy. Many said they loved the views, the greenery, the quiet, the rippling sound of a little stream accompanying their morning coffee. They enjoyed late evenings on a spacious terrace and, most of all, peace and quiet — seasoned by storks in flight or calming vineyards.
What kind of guests does the glamping accommodation attract? Glamping seems to be most popular among people who like the idea of camping, the value of communion with nature, but also quite fancy a private bathroom and a bit of luxury.
Bioterme
It attracts visitors who understand that a slightly higher price means more comfort, and who most of all appreciate nature and peace — with the opportunity for a spot of adventure. They tend to enjoy plenty of activities as well as lying by the biological pool, listening to the birdsong.
entertained, we are there for them. The terrace bathtubs are perfect for relaxation at any time but definitely especially at night - the clarity of the stars in the sky around here is amazing and people talk about it. There is also the biological pool, of course, which is one of the main attractions from June onwards. And you
have a natural pond just a stone’s throw away, where we are planning an area for general socialising with barbecues. Families and kids in particular make a beeline for the inside and outside swimming pools, filled with thermal water — good for the muscles and good for the mind. We also provide sauna facilities in the thermal park and the glamping area itself, a fitness room and wellness amenities in the hotel, so all the pampering is taken care of. For something a bit more challenging, we offer bike rentals at the hotel, which are a great way to explore the surroundings (the Jeruzalem wine region is a must). The Hotel Bioterme itself organises activities such as Nordic walking, wine tastings, Prlekija cooking classes, animation lessons for kids, water workouts and many more. We like to emphasise that our way of glamping brings a little (or a lot) of something for every taste. You can spend your holiday wrapped in the embrace of thermal bubbles, listening to the sounds of the Slovenian countryside, or cycling around the wine roads, with a slice of Prekmurska gibanica cake in your rucksack and a smile on your face! www.bioterme.si/glampingeng
What ideas were behind the design of the glamping accommodation? At the moment we essentially have two types of accommodation: villas and tents. We wanted to offer our guests the best of both worlds, with something more familiar — classic, you might say, when it comes to being close to nature — and something new, fresh and exciting, such as a tent you don’t have to put up yourself, with a hardwood floor and a comfortable bathroom with hot water. Both types of stay attracted positive feedback, since the main points in both cases are the surrounding natural environment, privacy, peace and a more unusual way of spending your holiday time.
What activities are available for the guests at your resort? One of the great features of our glamping is freedom for our guests to enjoy the pace of activity they set for themselves. Whether they want to be energetic or
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l mping ÂG international
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French Special
La Vie
en Rose!
plus: Google tricks Abracadaroom Subsidies and more
Gl mping 00 Inspiration and Information for Glamping Operators Business
Hello & Welcome
Welcome to It is with great pleasure that the team from International Glamping Business Magazine and the agency HôtesInsolites present this first special version for French glamping professionals! Please note that there is also a digital version of this supplement in French. I would like to tell you a little-known fact about our industry, as it relates to both France and the UK. It dates back to 1898 when the French traveller Lucien Baudry noted that the British aristocrats used luxury trailers to tour their properties. He reported this fact upon his return to France and tourism historians (and Wikipedia) believe this practise was the origin of the first UK and French campsites!
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Now that the frame is set, we transport you from the memory of these trailers to meet one of the pioneers and enthusiasts of unusual accommodation in modernday France: namely Nicolas Sartorius, founder of the site Abracadaroom.com. We will also visit Provence and hear the story of l’Osclaye, where the owners, originally from Normandy, decided to get closer to nature and live their glamping dream. In this supplement, we will also look at how to choose the perfect land to build a glamping site. We also look at the subject of funding, and where to find subsidies for glamping businesses. Most of the time ‘unusual accommodation’ as we call it in France, corresponds to the tourist development strategies within different regions (green tourism, nature, short stays etc.) many of which could prove particularly suitable for our projects! In addition, we will study some free tools that are very simple to use to help us
French Special
market our glamping businesses, especially when it comes to finding the right keywords. Finally, because the season is in full swing but we must already think about the next, we will tour the trade shows dedicated to unusual accommodation in England, Belgium and the trade shows of outdoor hotels in Belgium and France. We wish you a very good season, hope you enjoy reading our articles and would welcome your suggestions for our next French special issue!
Adeline Lenoir Hôtes-Insolites www.hotes-insolites.com +337-55-61-00-15
Adeline Lenoir is a consultant and trainer specialising in unusual accommodation. She has worked as a Tourism professional for 18 years, first as an international volunteer in Turkey and Morocco, then specialised in local and responsible tourism in Mexico and Canada. Adeline co-managed with her husband one of the first big glamping sites in France before accompanying hundreds of companies as a consultant in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She then decided to mix her passions, skills, experience and network to create Hôtes-Insolites! Adeline is a partner and correspondent of International Glamping Business magazine. If you would like to work with us to promote glamping in your country, please get in touch. We are looking to create special issues and events worldwide with strategic partners who have the same vision.
Contents
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Luxetenten Advertorial
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L’Osclaye: a calculated dream
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A Shining Example: Glisten
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Glamping Trade Shows
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Google Tricks that can teach us about glamping
Boom! It’s Abracadaroom!
Where to find subsidies and help for your site
www.glampingbusiness.com
Grounds for Optimism: finding the perfect site
Feature Google
The Google tricks
that can teach us about glamping accommodation Everyone knows that the search for keywords is essential in the design of your website, blog or simply in the presentation of your accommodation on any booking site or directory. Google has created several free tools to help you in this task. The results can be enlightening, they remain accessible to all and can be harnessed to identify the optimum search terms for targeting the information. Follow the Trends on Google Google Trends is a tool that lets you find out the most frequently searched terms by users on the search engine. The results on the general search homepage can be both fun — and slightly depressing. For example, discovering that on the day of Donald Trump's investiture, research concerning the new president came fourth while "Arielle Dombasle erotic film" came third is interesting, but also discouraging. To access the tool, simply search Google Trends in the browser. If we look at the results in Trends, we can see that searches for “unusual accommodation" reached their peak in 2012. This was followed by a dip in 2013 and then an increase, but the numbers have been pretty static since 2014. Can we deduce that the days of glamping glory are behind us? First of all, it should be noted that Google Trends analyses not simply numbers of queries. The data is indexed to 100, where 100 is the maximum search interest for the time and location selected. This is important when comparing different words so spikes and curves in the graphs can be differentiated.
Let's look at our glamping investigation. Say we use “unusual accommodation” as the first search term and compare it with “unusual stays”. The curve for the first term is very irregular but much higher than the second and, above all, it has been increasing since 2012. So, we can conclude that interest in glamping accommodation is growing. On the other hand, the way glamping is designated as a form of holiday, and therefore the way it is searched on the internet, has evolved. The Good Corner had a useful idea in dedicating a space to this search, with a specialised tab called Unusual Accommodation, because such requests are particularly sought after at Christmas time — as a gift-box package, for example. The same applies to “unusual stays”, which is used by Vente-Privée as a search term.
Beauval, Floating Cabin and Trivago. The two booking sites have no section dedicated to the “unusual”, but are nevertheless recognised as particularly suitable because customers have similar profiles, and descriptions such as “dry toilets” can explain subtle differences in the accommodation. Meanwhile, the terms “sleeping in a tipi”, “sleeping in a yurt”, and “sleeping in a trailer” are less sought after, but are fairly regular for five years. Surprisingly, “sleeping in a floating cabin” and “sleeping in a cabin on the water” are non-existent — that is to say, there is not enough demand for Google Trends to take them into account for the moment.
Google has a few Suggestions
If we broaden the search for these three terms in previous years, it appears that the queries are almost non-existent in 2004 and explode in 2008. “Sleeping in a cabin” takes off in 2006, and is then overtaken by “sleep in a bubble” in 2011. After that, “bubbles” are the primary unusual accommodation sought by internet users for about six years.
Google Suggestions are terms that appear by themselves when you start a query. If we search for the term “sleep”, Suggestions tells us that the final searches will be in the order “sleeping in a zoo” (thus in an unusual accommodation!), “sleeping naked” (but why look for that in Google?) and then “sleep in a bubble”, which seems to confirm the previous results.
The associated queries are in the following order: Airbnb, TripAdvisor,
Over to you to have fun and learn from keyword trends.
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Rural Tourism
BOOM!
It’s Abracadaroom!
We interview Nicolas Sartorius, director of The Cabin in the Air and Abracadaroom (formerly ‘My Unusual Accommodation’) This is a site that does magic tricks! Your customers are looking for an original weekend, an exceptional setting and want to be sure to have a certain level of hospitality and quality? Abracadabra and ... Room! This site can conjure them up for you, it is the first and one of the most important glamping booking sites in France. Can you describe the services of Abracadaroom? AbracadaRoom is the first online booking centre; exclusively dedicated to the marketing of unusual accommodation in France. We offer holidaymakers looking for a change of scenery more than 30 kinds of different atypical accommodation, such as huts in the trees, on the water, transparent bubbles, yurts, teepees or troglodyte houses. Today, we feature more than 850 unusual accommodations in more than 220 destinations, all over France! Our website is available in 4 languages (French, English, Spanish and Dutch). It allows our French hosts to reach a foreign clientele and we are now looking outside of France as well. We have just recruited our first field of huts in the Netherlands discussions are underway for two areas in Spain.
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We are quite different to general sites like Airbnb and Booking.com in that we offer a platform entirely specialized in renting this new type of accommodation, where the user can compare hundreds of unusual rentals, with availability shown in real time. In other words, a traveler looking for a change of scenery, can book online instantly among all the accommodation on our site. We also offer gifts and gift cards so that people can gift experiences for special occasions such as Christmas, birthday or retirement.
looking for atypical experiences. There were also a large number of hosts looking for a specialised booking site that would offer them some visibility. So it was a win win situation especially as the market has not stopped growing since then. The tree houses are the pioneers of unusual accommodation. The number of huts in trees in France has doubled in the last 3/4 years. Between the end of 2011 and the beginning in 2014, the hut market rose sharply to 91.7% of the glamping sector!
Is it just a fad or an actual tourism trend?
You are among the first to be interested in Unusual Accommodation, how have you seen this activity evolve?
Today, the question no longer arises, travellers expect to be able to get back to nature and enjoy a change of scenery in unusual accommodation.
I launched the first version of our platform in 2012. I realized very quickly that there was a real craze around this new kind of vacation, with people
The explosion in the number short stays that we have been seeing for a few years, only confirms this change in mentality of
AbracadaRoom
French Special and builders innovate and continue to be creative to build customer loyalty. This is also the case for traditional campsites, which have also been looking to renew their offer and diversify.
travellers. The hosts and builders have been able to adapt to their customers, by offering accommodation that is increasingly innovative. Take the example of huts. Ten years ago, the majority of hosts offering cabins online in France were offering 100% in originality and very little in the way of comfort (dry toilets, no water, no electricity). Today, this is no longer the case: to offer accommodation that is both unusual and comfortable has become a major challenge for hosts in order to set them apart from the competition. We now have warm water showers, classic toilets, hot tubs etc. Tourists want a change of scenery, but without losing comfort.
What do you feel are the risks? The main fear is that the market for glamping/unusual accommodation is a
fad and that it may fade away in the longterm. To qualify this fear, however, glamping has been in the market for more than 10 years already and it is still growing and the average occupancy rate of the hosts for this type accommodation is increasing (53% in 2017). People talk about it as a trend because it is a novelty that is currently differentiated from classic forms of accommodation such as hotel rooms that meet the demands of holidaymakers today. And certainly at some point, the consumer demand will change and some forms of unusual accommodation will no longer meet their expectations – it will no longer be a new trend because more people will have discovered this kind of stay. However, there is not only the type of accommodation, but also the ‘experience’ dimension of the stay in its entirety that needs to be taken into consideration. This is why it is essential that the hosts
If sometimes that accommodation is offered at very high prices because they combine an unusual experience and luxury, it can put holidaymakers off making reservations. However, we are seeing more and more people taking short breaks so they don’t mind spending a little more in order to have a really special experience over fewer days and take a break from their daily lives. Moreover, given the success of the unusual accommodation sector, there is the possibility that the market will prove to be attractive to the big behemoths who could also make the decision to enter this sector, which would pose a real threat to the booking of this type of accommodation. Because of this craze, the competition will be tougher and the supply, growing steadily, will eventually cause imbalance in this market. In the years to come, it seems important that the French industry of unusual accommodation mobilizes to mitigate the effect of fashion and make it recognized as a new player in holiday accommodation. www.abracadaroom.com
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Subsidies
Where to find subsidies and help for your glamping accommodation Whether you are a private company, an association or a community, it’s likely that you can receive subsidies to create your “unusual” — or glamping — accommodation project. Being out of the ordinary, these sites tend to generate demand that is greater than supply over many periods, so it is no surprise for communities to be interested. Community grants To find out if your region has grasped the potential for glamping tourism development, you can check the status of regional grants by typing "help”, then the name of your area and “tourism”. Available aid can cover the purchase of the accommodation itself and the works required for water and electricity, but does not stretch to interior design or anything that can be removed. There may also be financial help for the development of the project, and leisure equipment such as swimming pools and accessories or bikes for rent. Some regions will also provide help from specialist consultancies. There are conditions, and sometimes you will have to seek professional advice to establish what types of aid are available.
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Attention should be paid to subsidies that are not specially adapted to glamping and can be sought for normal accommodation setups. When general advice on grants for glamping was released, the condition imposed was to have a minimum of 10 accommodation units, which could involve a lot of risk without subsidy. Glamping operators should liaise with their local chamber of commerce and tourist offices to seek out aid programmes. In France, advice can also be sought from the Maison Départementale du Tourisme, Maison Régionale du Tourisme and your local Communauté de Commune, as well as the Pôle d'Equilibre Territorial et Rural of the region. Don’t try to contact everyone — they are aware of each other and will carry out cross-checks to determine if
something suits you. It’s possible that you are entitled to aid from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and from Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l'Économie Rurale (Leader). If a region benefits from this type of programme, the eligible expenses will depend on a draft financing proposal. Based on this, a glamping business may not be directly subsidised but, for example, the creation of a website and associated communications costs may be funded at 80%. In any case, check carefully whether it is a loan or a grant being offered, as this information is not always presented clearly. It’s strongly advisable to seek help from the regional Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie to build a case — the documents will be better presented and tourism advisers can identify pitfalls and generally understand the mysteries often inherent in grant submission forms.
Subsidies
French Special Specific assistance according to your case Subsidies exist according to personal situation: if you are a woman or a jobseeker, for example, or belong to a regional tourist association. Consult the website les-aides.fr, which allows you to search on possible sources of assistance for a project — for the creation of a business, for example, or on innovative marketing. If you are a jobseeker or seeking to start a business in the voluntary sector, visit the Franceactive.org website to find details of your local branch, as well as that of the Association pour le Droit à l’Initiative Economique (francebenevolat.org).
Crowdfunding and solidarity financing If a project involves a specific interest or activity that could attract donations from internet users, you can get started on crowdfunding sites such as KissKissBankbank and Ulule. The latter was involved in a successful collaboration with the Domaine de la Pierre Ronde in the Parc Naturel Régional du Morvan (domainedelapierreronde.com), where
hobbit houses vie with yurts and tepees in magnificent surroundings. In addition, the Bpifrance bank has created a site that allows for comparison of the various crowdfunding platforms, enabling users to accurately target people who might show an interest – see tousnosprojets.fr. Alternatively, the Nef ethical bank (febea.org) could be approached as a source of solidarity funding. Finally, look out for any local Cigales (Clubs d'Investisseurs pour une Gestion Alternative et Locale de l'Épargne Solidaire), which can assist in
micro-investments. These organisations are a type of “social investor”, since they put money into social enterprises and expect to gain both financial and social returns from the firms they partner with. Business leaders can often be quite negative about offering subsidies, generally when the operation is located in an urban setting and is perceived as over-represented already. There are no such qualms with glamping sites – what could be more worthy of investment than an innovative, ecological, rural company that creates jobs and attracts happy visitors?
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A Perfect Site
Grounds for optimism Whether it comprises a trailer, a treehouse, a bubble or a tent in the air, glamping is a form of accommodation contentedly detached from the mainstream. It is more demanding, it requires more reflection, more tenderness — but above all, it needs an unusual setting.
The idyll might be a hilly forest with a winding river, fish and ducks with their young trailing behind them, fed by eager children, but how many people have this kind of outside space? To make a property fit for doing glamping business, there are pitfalls to avoid and details you need to get right. Consider the following:
Show some vision It’s important to think about the big picture, so size up the views from different parts of the site. Work out not only where the accommodation units will be best located, but also develop some out-of-the-way paths, landscaping features, nooks and crannies where clients can wander and wonder. Take photos on a sunny day with a good camera to show off the site’s visual assets. Customers will often choose to stay solely on the strength of images and, more importantly, videos. A beautiful landscape can be hard to convey with a snap. Sometimes, there can be a blot on the landscape. Sophie L spoke to Glamping Business about her experiences: “When we bought our house with a semidetached gîte, we thought we would use the adjoining area of land to install
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glamping accommodation. A relay antenna at the bottom of the site was a bit of a nuisance, but we were so wrapped up with the house’s potential that we didn’t worry about it. I called Green Key [the eco-label organisation that promotes sustainable tourism] to ask if this would be a problem for a possible labelling. But when we moved in a few months later, we realised that the area with the antenna was never going to be suitable for light glamping accommodation. We had to review our entire project and built the units on the other side of the site, which we were fortunately able to do.”
The shaping of water
Take the trunk road
In their infancy, glamping sites tended to attract customers merely by dint of their inherent novelty, but as their popularity has grown the demand for water-based activities that has long been a feature of traditional tourism has escalated. Be it lake, pond, river, stream or pool, water is a vital element in the leisure sector. Many glamping sites can still be successful without water features, but attracting guests – particularly those with children – will be that much harder. The child is king and parents know that with a pool nearby, they’ll be content all day long. It’s also a great focal point for guests and their kids to mingle and adds essential atmosphere to a site.
Glamping doesn’t mean the same as mobile home, and there’s nothing like trees to create a magical effect. They will always add atmosphere to the environment, shade the visitors and, of course, can be used as a fine form of accommodation in themselves. But don’t overlook the issue of maintenance: careful pruning is needed to keep trees in prime condition and safe for visitors. This can be a dangerous job and professional tree cutters require pricey insurance. Bear in mind that it will cost about €5,000 a year to keep 25 acres of forest neat and tidy.
Plan carefully how the terrain of a site can be developed to incorporate both artificial and natural bathing. In general, the cost of building modern swimming facilities has decreased over the past decade or so as technology has advanced. Calculate the additional value that water features will give to your operation – it will be comfortably more than 10€ per night per accommodation unit. Note, too, that waterborne activity makes customers hungry and thirsty: consider how this will lift sales at the bar and in the ice cream shop. Be sure to factor in the costs of maintenance and chemicals.
A Perfect Site
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Advertorial
Patrick Damen
TRUE GLAMPING STARTS WITH
Luxetenten.com LUXETENTEN.com is a leading manufacturer of Safari tents and a wellrespected company in the holiday industry. As Europe's first and biggest producer of canvas Safari tents they have been the Glamping trendsetters in the business for years. With the introduction of a new model every year and extensive experience in creating the true Glamping experience this is not surprising. By using quality materials and thoughtful designs, they have found the ideal mix between a luxury holiday and the real camping life. For years now, LUXETENTEN have provided unique products, which create a high occupancy rate and very satisfied customers.
Developments Patrick Damen, director and owner of LUXETENTEN says: “When we look at the online market, we have noticed that the supply and demand for ‘Glamping’ accommodations increased exponentially in the past few years. Most tour operators now advertise with the term ‘Glamping’ and we see that small-scale campsites even call themselves ‘Glampings’. The online searches for queries that are related to glamping has doubled each year for the last few years.” However, Glamping represents just a small part of the traditional campingmarket; France remains a large ‘camping destination’. Patrick Damen: “Due to its possibilities and opportunities we expect that the Glamping market will continue to grow the coming years. European campsite owners see Glamping as a good way to become more profitable in comparison to renting out free pitches. The Glamping accommodation LUXETENTEN offers require a (relatively) small investment, with a guaranteed high return. In the south of
Europe the ROI rate should be even higher due to upselling opportunities and the holiday season is likely to be longer in the sunny south, rather than the colder northern parts of Europe.”
Tour operators “We now see that tour operators are placing their own Safari tents on a rented free pitch of a campsite. This means that they carry the burden of the initial investment, but unfortunately also a lower quality pop-up. Many campsites do not realise that this is a missed opportunity. Campsites should really understand the target group,” Patrick Damen says. “Guests want the real glamping experience with the ambience and the luxury combined with the camping-feeling. The location of the accommodation, the interior and furnishings, it all needs a lot of attention. A luxurious glamping experience cannot be realised in a safari tent without a private bathroom, with cheap furniture and placed on a small pitch in between camper vans.” “When they create the so-called wow factor and guests have an experience they will not find at home, they are very happy to pay more money for their holiday and advise their friends to do the same! The return on investment will be a lot higher in this case. We are happy to give more explanation to campsite owners or establish the contact with tour operators who are specialised in real Glamping and customers searching the wow experience,” he adds. But when can you call an accommodation or campsite a ‘Glamping’? “The European leisure industry should look at the quality standards as well, because we notice that
there is still much of a grey area even amongst holiday makers. The time might be right for an independent company to give an official Glamping status at the different accommodations and locations to create more clarity.”
Good examples We are excited to see that there also entrepreneurs who know exactly how to create the ‘Glamping experience’ for their guests,” adds Damen. One of LUXETENTEN’s favourite locations is Ferienpark Natterer See in Austria, a campsite that perfectly understands how to provide their guests the glampingconcept. Ferienpark Natterer See offers the traditional campsite as well, but they have reached a whole new level with adding safari tents to their location – and have won multiple awards since. Several luxuriously equipped safari tents from LUXETENTEN can be found on the mountains close to Innsbruck and they all have a spectacular view. Who wouldn’t want to wake up and enjoy the nature from a luxury terrace? Good examples can be found in France as well: Camping Eurosol in the pinewoods of Les Landes with large accommodation, nice views and within walking distance from the Atlantic beach, or Cerza Safari Lodge Zoo in Normandy which offers hotel service and breakfast in the Luxury Lodge accommodation from LUXETENTEN among the zoo animals. LUXETENTEN has an international sales department in Emmeloord – the Netherlands - and distributors and montage teams that work worldwide. www.luxetenten.com
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L'Osclaye
French Special
L’Osclaye
By Rendy Regtuit
- a calculated dream Jerôme and Hélène are from cold and wet Normandy but in their hearts they always longed for the sun in Provence. Finally, they decided to follow their dreams and leave their busy, stressful lives in order to become closer to nature. Between the pre-Alps and Provence, in the middle of Holm Oaks, Linden trees and the scented herbs of the Provence, facing Mont Ventoux, they discovered the rare pearl: an old farm in the middle of 100 hectares of countryside. They immediately fell under the spell of this magical place and decided to created L’Osclaye – from scratch. Of course, to have a dream is quite different than to have a project with a good return on investment! Jerôme and Hélène spent many sleepless nights working out their plans, had endless discussions and looked around for help and advice. It took them three years to get started but they made steady progress with the project, step by step. With the help of Cabinet ID Toursime, a specialist firm of consultants who are experts in tourism, leisure and hospitality, as well as sustainable development, they looked at their project from every angle. They analysed their target audience and worked out how to reach them.
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They calculated their offer and what to charge for it very carefully. They had over a thousand questions that they needed to answer and they carried out a profound market research exercise together with their chartered accountant (expertcomptable) in order to get a grip on costs and returns. They cooperated with their local tourist office and concluded that the small town
of Montbrun-les-Bains (only 438 habitants) already attracted many tourists from the beginning of April until the end of October. The thermal baths and the surrounding landscape with stunning views where visitors can often have the countryside to themselves, attracts all types of nature lovers, including hill climbers, cyclists and hikers. With all their careful research, the path forward became clearer for Jerôme and Hélène. In order to reach for the market, they stayed true to themselves. They knew that what mattered to them would matter to their guests.
L'Osclaye
‘Obviously, we prefer to take week-long bookings for a lodge tent or cottage instead of the minimum two night stays which we also offer,” says Jérome. “This makes maintenance and cleaning easier. Working for l’Osclaye became an easy thing the moment we made our decision. ‘Back to nature’ is the coat rack on which we hang everything; rental units, publicity, market, interior design and communication.”
They wanted to create an experience where people could get back to nature and their senses, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting what the countryside has to offer. So, they made this principle their main objective – to take their guests ‘back to nature’. At this point, they knew what they needed to do in order to reach their customers. “From the moment they arrive, we welcome our guests with a local apricot liqueur, and already they start to unwind and let go of their stress,” says Jerôme. At L’Osclaye, guests will not hear any noise, other than the sound of singing birds, they will also not have any visual contact with other people – they will simply relax in luxury surroundings. Four cottages on the site were rebuilt and decorated beautifully, offering good quality beds and a private bathroom. The interior design is light and fresh in the Provencal style. There are fully equipped kitchens but you will not find microwaves, televisions or the internet here – wifi can be found in a family room only. With modern distractions removed, time seems to stand still. In the grounds, Jerôme and Hélène have placed four luxury lodge tents, on different levels, offering a retreat from the world for couples and families. The tents are built a good distance apart, so space is one of the luxury elements provided. Some small Bell tents in the field with a separate kitchen/bathroom unit also offer a comfortable bed and a terrace to look at the stars all night long. The deck around the swimming pool with its sun loungers continues the welcoming high standard of luxury throughout.
Everything is harmonious and has been carefully planned and worked out. The ‘Back to nature’ ethos of L’ Osclaye now extends into the old farm, a part of which is being reconstructed. Soon fields of lavender will be planted and olive trees, which are so characteristic of the area. In the old days, the lavender flowers and olives provided oil in this region. The hillside water source will be restored for drinking water and will feed the vegetable and herb garden. “People like to eat food that has been grown in the garden right here. It is an authentic experience and takes us back to basics,” says Hélène. The neighbour’s goats roam the nearby hills, where they graze freely. “You only have to look at the hills in the setting sun, while enjoying a gentle breeze, in order to forget your worries and feel happy,” says Jérôme. At the beginning, in order to reach out to guests who wanted to get back to nature, Jerôme and Hélène created an attractive website and advertised on Booking.com and Abritel. Luckily, around 95% of their bookings now come directly via their website. Their customers are 50% French and the other half are mainly British, Dutch and Belgian. The couple feel sad to have to turn down a lot of French bookings. This has to do with the traditional way that people book their holidays in different countries. For example, the Dutch guests like to book their summer holiday at Christmas, while the French book their vacation at Easter – by this time, all cottages and Lodge Tents are fully booked.
The ethos has also worked very well with the local town regulations. Lodge and Bell tents are not permanent buildings, so the natural environment is not affected. The underground water treatment system was also no problem. It took a large chunk of the money that the couple had raised for the project, but it was necessary. Groundworks in general cost a lot of time and money. “We have made a conscious decision to stay small, to be professional and work very closely with our guests,” concludes Hélène. In the end, their dream became a very calculated plan and that is how they turned it into a reality. It has still been a very daring adventure that has made both Jérôme and Hélène and their guests very happy indeed. http://www.id-tourisme.fr/ https://losclaye.com/
By Rendy Regtuit Originally I am a international landscaper for private, commercial and public gardens and parcs. For many years I also worked in the hospitality industry on our Five-star Resort in France. Now I work in our family company Woodytent. Here I work as a senior consultant for Glamping projects mainly in the USA. We advise our customers about Glamping and are involved in their personal project from scratch to masterplan. Most importantly: as a mother of five I know what families and couples want while going on a holiday!
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DJ Davies & STOVES… WELSH DRAGON FUELS - no copy received EXPERIENCE ENHANCING THE GLAMPING We’ve got it Covered at Welsh Dragon Fuels & Stoves Happy Memories for your Guests and Maximum Returns for you Safe Supply & Fit of Stoves and Flues, HETAS Approved Fire Baskets & Fuels Too
HETAS approved to install stoves and flues and fully experienced in the particular safety needs of the Glamping industry, we can offer a bespoke supply and fit service across the UK and access to a comprehensive range of stoves. Every stove/flue installation receives its own unique HETAS certification and is backed by an ongoing maintenance package. Get in touch NoW:
01269 842620 info@djdaviesfuels.co.uk or find us at www.facebook.com/welshdragonfuels
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Gisten
French Special
A Shining
Example
By Zoe Holland of jugglingonrollerskates.com Simon Thomason, the brains behind Glisten Camping, searched extensively across France to find the right location for his domes offering the perfect balance of a peaceful and naturally striking environment, whilst still providing guests with fantastic facilities. He found the ideal location at Sunelia Col d’Ibardin, which despite being reasonably small in terms of French campsites, offers great facilities with 3 pools, a well-equipped play area and an attractive bar and dining area. Simon explains why he believes Glisten Camping is different to other Glamping sites: “It’s down to our focus on a contemporary but fun luxury camping experience. Everything is about making that connection to the outdoors fun in well thought out spaces. The accommodation and also the bespoke elements in the domes (hangings beds, bean bags, giant hammocks) and the alfresco kitchen (plancha grill) are to be enjoyed by families of all ages.” The domes themselves stand out amongst their green surroundings like cosmic space bubbles, the overall design being eye-catching, yet calming and incredibly
Glisten Camping is more than just a Glamping brand…it’s a whole concept. Focusing on offering guests the opportunity to engage with their natural surroundings whilst enjoying the comfort of a unique and modern living space; Glisten takes Glamping to the next level. The company currently offers 10 custom-built geo-domes situated at the foot of the Pyrenees in the South West of France. appealing. Their striking shape makes them structurally rugged and weatherresistant with the high ceilings giving a welcome sense of space and light.
There is a large, main swimming pool with two smaller pools for younger swimmers including a brightly coloured paddle pool with fountains.
The interior has been laid out to create a spacious and practical living space. Divided into three main areas, each dome contains a children’s bedroom, a lounge area and a double bedroom. Sections are screened off with a wooden partition meaning that privacy is easy to maintain.
Glisten Camping is in the perfect location as a base to explore the surrounding Basque Country right down into Spain and along the stunning French coastline.
Across the decking just outside of the dome is a well-equipped, covered kitchen area. Cooking takes place on a Plancha style grill which heats up quickly and allows you to grill, boil or fry straight onto the Spanish style hot plate. More sophisticated than a BBQ or fire pit, yet still in keeping with outdoor cooking and perfect for experimenting with local dishes! As a site, Col d’Ibardin has been laid out to give each pitch plenty of space and privacy. There are a number of different Glamping options available on the site including cabins, Safari tents and pods making it a really interesting place to explore.
Simon has plans to expand the Glisten Camping franchise further maybe even bringing his domes closer to home in the UK in the near future, “We’re still looking to build strong partnerships with landowner across the UK particularly in the South West where we would love a flagship site,” he says. In the meantime, he’s keeping himself busy with his Glamping consultancy business, “We’re receiving lots of interest across the UK but also globally, including Romania, India, Chile and Barbados. We have two very unique and exciting projects in the South West we’re currently working on which if all goes to plan we’ll be up and running this time next year, so watch this space,” he adds.
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Diary Dates
French Special
Glamping TRADE SHOWS Now’s the time to think about visiting some trade shows! You will find below the dates of the main essential exhibitions for glamping in 2018 and 2019: builders, equipment, innovation, equipment, suppliers, networking, conferences, inspiration, ... all you need to help you in your daily work. The tourism and responsible tourism trade shows will allow you to discover the trends (and the competition!) And finally, the specialized exhibitions for business development allow you to find all the important contacts and the general information for the creation and running of a company.
Shows specialising in unusual accommodation Although some small shows have been held in France in recent years, there is currently no big event entirely dedicated to unusual accommodation. It will therefore be necessary to go to Belgium or England to find specialised fairs. The Glamping Show is the largest showcase of unusual accommodation in Europe, so, it’s the place to be! The quality of the exhibitors is worth the trip alone, (ecological equipment, unusual accommodation, booking systems and more) but also the conferences are varied and interesting – you will need to speak English for these. The 2018 edition will be held September 20-22 at Stoneleigh Park, between Birmingham and Warwick. For all those who live in the North and East of France, the Campair show, which will be held on November 13 in Belgium, will inevitably be of interest to you. The organizers look for new products and trends from all over Europe. This small fair covering "land and leisure facilities" is mainly focused on unusual accommodation.
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The longest-running exhibition of international importance is also located in Belgium, at the Provincial Domain of Chevetogne, namely Passion Robinson, the "International Festival of Cabins, Trailer and Habitat Premiere". The 11th edition was held on May 5 and 6, 2018. This magnificent site showcases the thirty or so unusual accommodations presented by their builders. This festival is open to both the general public and industry professionals.
Trade Shows for Outdoor Hospitality Atlantica: from 9 to 11 October in La Rochelle SETT: from November 6th to 8th in Montpellier Campo Ouest: November 21st and 22nd in Nantes Equip'HPA: from 28 to 29 November in Le Touquet
Tourism Trade Shows Multimedia Travel: 6/7/8 February 2019 in Saint-Raphael. If this show of digital tourism is so respected by tourism professionals, it is thanks to the quality of its workshops and their diversity for past 10 years. See you in France: in March 2019 in Paris. This show is relevant for the
domestic glamping industry, because the attendance is very qualitative (about 900 international delegates are expected this year). Ecorismo Canada: September 10-11, 2018 in Ontario, specializing in responsible tourism. In Quebec, Expohabitation, the former "Cottage and Country Homes Show". In February 2019 in Montreal; the Responsible Tourism Trade Shows (open to the general public). The Destination Nature Show is an extension of the World Tourism Fair and took place from March 16th to 19th in Paris. The counterpart of the World Tourism Fair is the Destinations, Holidays and Travel Show, which takes place in Manchester in January and in London in February with a section dedicated to responsible tourism in England. Another important show in England is the Adventure Travel Show which took place from 20 to 21 January 2018. The Business Creators Trade Shows Paris Salon of Entrepreneurs: in February 2019 Parcours France: from 04 to 05 October 2018, the former Provemploi exhibition Get your diaries out!
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Insurance
Don’t
SLIP UP! If you sightly exaggerate your insurance claim, does it matter?
Ever been tempted to slightly exaggerate your insurance claim, after all the event did happen, the insurers are making millions, and they will get it all back on my renewal premium anyway so why not?
conditions applying. If you do not declare the exaggerated claim and get cover (you have lied a second time now!) the insurers will probably find out when you make a future claim and you will lose all cover from inception, the new claim will be rejected and there will be no refund. Ouch!
What someone may regard as a ‘cheeky move’ the insurance industry and the courts regard as a crime and there are painful consequences for those that exaggerate losses, even by a small amount.
4.
The courts support the insurers here. If there is a genuine loss and you decide to exaggerate it by say a mere 10% to say cover the excess, then if the insurers find out these will be the consequences:
5.
1. 2. 3.
Does it stop there, no is the answer! For each subsequent renewal you will need to continue to declare your ‘insurance fraud’ which means loadings and extra conditions follow you down the line for years to come. It could get even worse! If the insurers think your exaggeration is bad enough they will seek a criminal prosecution against you!
ALL your claim will be thrown out not just the exaggerated part!
The moral of the story is do not exaggerate your claim and do not put in a claim that did not happen.
Your policy will automatically terminate from the date of the claim with no refund.
Insurers are now using ‘big data’ and highly sophisticated voice recognition systems to combat fraud.
Now you have no claim and no cover, can it get any worse, yes it can! You go to replace your insurance that is cancelled and the new insurer will always ask you whether you have ever committed insurance fraud, and when you say yes they will almost certainly provide a no quote. This means you either get no insurance or if you can eventually secure some new cover you will be paying three or four times more for it with a ‘specialist insurer’, who will have lots of terms and
But please remember all you Glamping firms insurance claims do not have to be scary. If you use an advice-giving broker with a dedicated claims function, like Park insurance (telephone 0117 955 6835), then you will have your cover placed correctly and if you need to make a claim, you will be put through to a dedicated claims team who will guide you every step of the way and avoid your claim ever being submitted wrongly.
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The Glamping Show Preview
What’s New At
2018
The Glamping Show has more than doubled in size since its inception in 2015 and there will be further growth this year with many new exhibitors, a totally new Show plan and a stunning, newly designed website, which is easy to navigate and choc full of everything you need to know about the Show this year.
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The Glamping Show Preview
Visitors to the Show in September will experience a widerange of different types of glamping structures, including yurts and tipis, pods, shepherd huts and safari tents plus a range of other quirky accommodation. In addition, the Show offers a wealth of other products and services required to complete the glamping experience. Even if you have visited the Glamping Show in previous years it is well worth making the trip again and again to keep abreast of the huge range of products and services on the market as well as staying up to date with new legislation, technologies, processes and glamping practises to ensure a successful business. Paul Booker, who owns The Barn at South Milton in Devon, has frequented the Glamping Show on more than one occasion and has this to say: “My wife and I first visited the show in 2015 and then again last year in 2017 and we were very impressed with how much the Show had grown. We were looking to enhance our barn wedding venue with alternative accommodation to the bell tents we currently have and were amazed at how much variety the Show offered in terms of different types of glamping accommodation.” Just some of the exhibitors new to the Show this year are: the British Holiday & Home Parks Association, an industry association offering an ever-broadening range of services to individual holiday parks; Sitting Spiritually, designers of beautifully hand crafted outdoor furniture; Rural Roots Media, specialists in helping rural tourism businesses tell their story through different media; KPG Design Associates, providers of planning insight into the world of rural leisure and tourism development and Mattison Contract Beds, producers of mattresses, divan beds, headboards, sofa beds, guest beds and bedding accessories. For a full list of all the exhibitors on board this year visit the Show’s new website: www.theglampingshow.com. The Glamping Show is also an important information source for all glamping business owners, no matter what stage their business is at. This year visitors will experience a new Show plan that will guide them to the information they need most no matter where they are in their glamping journey. In addition to the ‘Meet the Experts’ one-to-one sessions and comprehensive seminar programme, visitors will be able to take advantage of mini courses delivered by industry experts designed to help visitors capitalise on the next steps and make the right decisions for their business. So, wherever you are in your journey; whether you are planning, just launched or looking to develop your existing business you will find the necessary tools at the Glamping Show to assist you in creating your own success story. Whatever your glamping vision, create a unique atmosphere with a visit to the Glamping Show. Make a date to join other like-minded business owners at the NAEC, Stoneleigh Park from Thursday 20 to Saturday 22 September 2018.
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Kate Morel
Cooking Outdoors With Kate Morel
Photo credit: Trellyn Camping
I was rather chuffed when Editor, Steph, asked me if I could write about outdoor cooking, because it’s a long-standing love of mine. As a child, I even had a permanent campfire spot underneath the canopy of an old Hazel tree (thinking about it, my parents were very relaxed about what we kids got up to). Since then, I’ve cooked my way around the planet in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways - it’s primal, it’s fun, and the food tastes so much better. An outdoor cooking facility of some sort is a feature of many glamping sites, with campfires and outdoor kitchen areas being part and parcel of the experience. Outdoor cooking can be as simple as a campfire, up to a fully-fitted, purposebuilt outdoor kitchen - and everything in between. But, before we even buy a BBQ fork I’m going to put my ‘work’ hat of for a minute, so let’s ask a few basic questions: Is the outdoor cooking space for a family, couple, or a large group? What fuel will be available - gas, electric, or just a wood fire?
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How often is it likely to be used? What is the total budget? What safety and hygiene measures do I need to put in place? What kind of shelter should / could I provide? There are a few other considerations, but once we’ve covered these basics, we can look at the practicalities of our options. Most of all, it’s important that an outdoor cooking area is sensibly laid out and located, is functional, and safe for guests to use. It also, ideally, needs to
contribute to the experience we are offering.
Light My Fire Campfires are the easiest and most affordable, way of providing an outdoor cooking option. Most open fires are simply held within a circle of rocks, sometimes in a brazier or even a salvaged washing machine drum (the shadows are very pretty at night). Even if guests don’t cook on an open fire, they will love sitting around it at night time. A couple of quick, easy and affordable ways to turn your open fire into a cooking hot spot are: Folding Grills The heavy black ones with folding legs are a solid, safe, easy option to
Kate Morel
pop over a small open fire, and a good size for a couple or a small family. Keep a dedicated range of pots and pans for this kind of cooking as it’s impossible to get the scorch marks off them once they’ve been used over a fire. Kotlichs are a classic style of cauldron cooking suspended from a tripod. They usually have a lid and lend themselves to easy, one-pot recipes such as yummy stews and soups. Or, how about a big pan of hot chocolate for everyone at the end of the evening? With baby marshmallows sprinkled on top, of course.
Pizza Panache More elaborate cooking facilities include pizza and bread ovens, which are ever popular with guests. The bigger, handbuilt ones are great for owner-hosted communal pizza evenings or bread making classes (N.B. food hygiene certificates etc), but some of the new, smaller, prefabricated ovens are easy to use and can be supplied individually with an accommodation. There are some fantastically luxurious outdoor cooking ovens on the market right now, so many in fact I can’t even begin to describe them all.
Go Gourmet If you’ve got the space, a well-designed, quality, outdoor kitchen would be a
fantastic, and unusual, feature. These work especially well with ‘foodie’ holidays, in areas rich with local food producers. There are specialist companies who will design and build outdoor kitchens for you, where, frankly, only your imagination and budget would be the limiting factors.
Spark Your Imagination I’m running out of space already, so I’m going to throw a few ideas at you and hope you’re inspired to investigate further! Some of these are admittedly a novelty and won’t usually be suitable for everyday use, but they might be fun and offer something that bit different. Seek out alternative cooking methods such as underground cooking using straw, or hot stones, and other bushcraft techniques, some only use naturally acquired materials, ever cooked fish on a stick? Seek out unusual stoves and ovens, commission your own, or find a unique way of building one (N.B. regulations). I’ve seen some quirky upcycled projects, too. Most of all, however, especially if you’re running a ’lifestyle’ glamping site, add something that you’d really enjoy yourself, there’s no substitute for genuine enthusiasm. Bon Appetit! See you in September.
As a leading business advisor in the hospitality industry, Kate gives seminars at recognised trade events, writes columns for reputable B2B publications, and runs glamping business workshops. She is also a committee member of The Glamping Association, working to support and develop this growing sector. Her main focus and passion, however, is helping landowners create glamping businesses that don’t follow the herd. Informed, honest and impartial advice remain the cornerstones of Kate’s work, and cover any and every stage of set-up. Subjects such as finances, site suitability, planning applications (and alternatives), funding, choosing accommodation structures, marketing - and that all important ‘unique selling point’. It’s no secret that she’s always happy to talk about glamping, so get in touch today for a free, no obligation chat. Phone 07849 514588 Email info@katemorel.com www.katemorel.com Facebook Support Group: ‘Glamping Business Link’.
Kate
Photo credit: Trellyn Camping
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Universal Glamping Pods
Universal Glamping Pods Are the UK leaders in mobile and bespoke glamping pods. We have a range of premium pods and flatpack pods to suite all aspects of glamping here in the UK. From empty rooms to fully fitted and en-suite bathroom with the latest underfloor heating system. Worldwide delivery available on our flat pack range. We will be introducing two new innovative structures at the Glamping Show this year which will stand out above the rest.
Tel 01269853957
www.universalglampingpods.co.uk contact – enquiries@universalglampingpods.co.uk
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CLASSIFIEDS
Contact Kath today for details of our classifieds package t: +44 (0) 7575 408580 COMPOSTING TOILETS
Eco friendly composting WasteWater toilets in three sizes, waterless, easy maintenance, delivered fully assembled. Extras include mens urinals, baby changing units, washing up facilities and LPG gas powered showers.
e: kath@upgradepublishing.com
WASTEWATER TREATMENT
www.eco-loos.com. tel: 01269 871774. email: eco-loos@hotmail.co.uk
SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEMS VISIT US AT Stand 103 at The Glamping Show 20 - 22 Sept 18, NAEC Stoneleigh Park Stand 2424 at The Farm Business Innovation Show, 7 - 8 Nov 18, NEC Birmingham
INSURANCE
• Competitive insurance for your Glamping Business • Public liability • equipment cover telephone 0117 955 6835 or email marc.loud@parkinsurance.co.uk
www.parkinsurance.co.uk
I had the honour of being invited to speak at the first ever Global Glamping Summit in April. It was an exciting opportunity to network with business owners and dreamers from around the world and a chance for me to meet many of my existing students from the US and Canada. The audience was eager to learn in my first talk about how to turn a one-time customer into a lifetime customer who sends you referrals. Studies show it costs 7 times less to get a customer to return to a business rather than attracting a completely new customer. Most businesses understand this, but what isn’t quite so clear is the exact steps needed to achieve it, so this is what I shared in the session. As a result, it was busy and interactive as we discussed how attendees can get into the heads and hearts of their audience, really understand their purchasing needs, adjust the buying path available to them and attract a repeat customer rate they can be proud of. My second session was about the new and very successful marketing model currently gaining momentum in the world of glamping. The advanced method of using social media
Sarah Riley
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influencers and story-telling to launch and sustain bookings throughout the year is not to be ignored, evidenced by the successful case studies I highlighted for attendees. I also shared the little-known scoring system that helps to determine which influencer has the most clout with their audience, what you can expect to pay them to promote your business and the key to getting this type of relationship working so you can reap the many rewards that exist. Attendees were feeling inspired and motivated, and as a business coach I know how important it is to keep this momentum going after an event. After all, 98% of success is our environment so we have to ask ourselves if we are hanging out in the right places. This is why I’ve set up The Glamping Business Group as a place for people to connect with other business owners and to continue the conversation. The group is now 2,000 strong and full of essential advice and support for anyone already operating a glamping business or dreaming of setting one up in the future.
IN THE NExT ISSUE: Spanish Special
Issue The Glamping Show preview Planning Sarah Riley is the Founder of Inspired Camping and Inspired Courses, a professionally qualified business coach and a marketing specialist who started her consultancy after jointly running a boutique hospitality business for over a decade. She now shares techniques very few are currently taking advantage of in this increasingly competitive industry, to help glamping business owners set up their accommodation, maximise bookings and get more heads in beds.
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