Becoming More than JUST ACCOMMODATION
After an unexpected boost in popularity over the pandemic, glamping sites are becoming more common across the country meaning that it has never been more important to find ways to make your site stand out from the rest. International Glamping Business Editor Will Rusbridge caught up with Di Hammill Page, Founder of Wild Harvest, to find out how to elevate a glamping site beyond just being accommodation. An influx of glamping sites set up throughout the pandemic along with the fact that the rules surrounding international holidays have now been relaxed has led to a situation where, “There is so much competition now in the glamping industry that you really need to move beyond just being accommodation and into offering ‘experiences’,” says Di, “Giving experiences means guests come away with some kind of transformation, having learned or achieved something, which will always yield more positivity and zest in their reviews than, for example, it had a nice bed.” An ’About the Area’ section on a website is a great way to highlight the amazing things to do around a glamping site, but as Di points out, “A lot of sites refer their visitors to local attractions, that’s great but often after the stress of life getting to you, your guests are actually looking to chill out at your venue, so the more you can offer them in-house without drives and queues the more relaxed they will leave.”. And it’s clearly working for Wild Harvest as, “We are five-star reviewed on all platforms; we always aim to be reasonably priced then over deliver.”
the sites and resources for the activities, with a pretty systematic method. I believe embedding efficient process into any business is important. I also now have staff to help, but basically a good structure to your week, treat it like a working routine and have tick lists for every process that you have, so that anyone can pick it up and do it, not just you,” explains Di. While offering educational activities and courses does require a lot of time and effort, it will elevate your site to becoming more than just accommodation, allow you to attract more guests and make your site stand out.
Activity Ideas for your glamping site n Bike Hire n Guided Nature Walks n Crafts n Archery n Meditation n Yoga/pilates n Bird watching n Horse/donkey rides n Farm activities such as animal feeding n Painting/art classes
If this sounds like hard work, it’s because it is. There is a huge amount of work that goes into offering educational activities and courses to guests that go far beyond showing up to teach the lesson, “We spend midweek prepping
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