SECURING INVESTMENT where do you start?
By Steph Curtis-Raleigh
If you are starting out with a glamping venture, or looking to expand your operation, then you are probably going to need some extra funding to get things going.
If you are lucky enough to have savings, or generous family or friends – this is the ideal first step. If those sources are already exhausted or not available to you, then it’s time to consider the other options.
At any point in this process, it’s worth considering what you can do to make your business stand out and to consider the current trends in the hospitality and glamping sectors.
We have just completed our first Eco Hotel Investment event and published our comprehensive Growing Green – investment report which is available to buy on our website but I will give you a brief overview from both here, which may inspire more research.
Here are 10 of the take-home findings from our summit:
At the crux of the situation – you have a number of options – traditional or nontraditional available to you, depending on the amount of money you require. Your existing bank is a traditional option but it probably won’t offer you the best interest rate on your loan. So, it is worth looking at an alternative – non-traditional option – such as crowdfunding lending (something like Funding Circle) which works like a loan but with lower rates. If your requirements are greater and you require an investor – then you will need to prepare a business plan and a pitch – whether you use Crowdfunding, or any other kind of Angel/equity investment.
n Wellness spending is growing twice as fast as spending on any other kind of travel. Can you add a wellness side to your business? n Women make travel decisions for the family and they spend more than men. Are you addressing this? n Sustainability cannot be a side-line activity – it’s an investment of time but it will reap dividends and lenders are demanding you address it. Sustainability or ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) considerations are essential and should be in your business plan or pitch. This is not just how your business is positive for the environment but what it brings to the community around it and the people who work for it. You should be recording and monitoring this in some way. n Borrowing is going to be tougher for the moment as banks and other
institutions batten down the hatches after the extended lockdowns. n Consider your unit economics – how is it your venture going to make money. Sounds obvious but people often overlook it n Get the right team behind your project – lenders are more likely to support a team rather than an individual. n Be unique! Investors get pitched constantly – they have seen it all before. So, don’t tell them it’s the first, the best, incredible. Prove it. n Show them you can do it – proof of concept. n Make it scalable – investors want to see you grow. n Be prepared for rejection – you will face it many times before you succeed. So, learn from it and keep on going If you would like to know more about investment for glamping or eco hospitality and this has piqued your interest then the two-day Eco Investment Summit talks are available on catch up at investment/ecohotelsummit.com and you can visit www.glampingbusiness.com to access the report.
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