Sustainability: What it Means For Your Glamping Business

Almost from the start of the lockdown, people started to prize the environment and environmental issues more than before. There may be a number of reasons for this – firstly in the midst of a crisis it’s easier to accept that crises can happen. When we are cocooned by routine, we feel protected from change. But there’s in fact nothing more certain in life than change.

It’s also the case that restricted access to the outdoors made us all appreciate the healing power of nature and how much we need it. The thought of fewer planes polluting the skies and fewer cruise ships polluting the seas made us feel that by doing nothing we were doing something to make the planet heal. Stories on social media abounded of dolphins being spotted in Venice canals and wolves returning to urban streets – some were true, some were not, but they captured the mood.

In the longer-term as we emerged – overseas travel remained out of bounds for most of us and therefore we were forced to look at our own countries for staycations. We found treasures on our own doorsteps. We learned to appreciate our surroundings, to slow down and think more about how we wish to travel in future. In the wake of COVID-19, economic volatility, exposed inequalities, the climate crises and social justice movements, businesses have been challenged to their core. This is driving many leading firms to reconfirm their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, ESG and racial justice causes. A few leading firms are taking these pledges even further and setting new work standards that align with their values and enable them to govern the translation of these values into practice.

The World Economic Forum

A 2020 global survey by management consultancy firm Accenture said that consumers “have dramatically evolved”, and that 60% were reporting making more environmentally friendly, sustainable, or ethical purchases since the start of the pandemic. Accenture added that nine out of 10 of that percentage said were likely to continue doing so.

Meanwhile, a study by research group Kantar said that since Covid-19 sustainability was more of a concern for consumers than before the outbreak. And 65% of global respondents told a survey by pollsters Ipsos Mori “that it is important that climate change is prioritized in the economic recovery after coronavirus”.

Source: BBC News

WORK/LIFE BALANCE

This has probably been the most transformative aspect of the lockdowns, for those who are lucky enough to have access to computers and the internet and are able to work from home.

We can now expect an explosion in creative workspaces as we learn that careers can be managed from anywhere. The Digital Nomad movement will be huge as people take their work with them, rediscover the joys of slow travel, living and working around the world and creating new communities with like-minded nomads. It’s also a massive opportunity for hospitality providers as brands such as Selina.com have already proved.

There is no doubt that we are mentally prepared to restart our lives and businesses in a more conscious way, to do more with less and think about what is good for us and the planet.

Importantly, when we consider how we are doing mentally – we can understand how our guests of the future will be feeling too and we can design our hospitality offer to be sensitive to those needs. It’s no coincidence that spending on wellness has grown at double the rate of any other type of hospitality spend. We are not only feeling more stressed, we are also more aware of the fact that we are in need of looking after, that it’s OK to not feel OK and we are willing to spend more time and money on feeling better about ourselves.

Our latest research shows that consumers care deeply about wellness—and that their interest is growing. In a survey of roughly 7,500 consumers in six countries,1 79 percent of the respondents said they believe that wellness is important, and 42 percent consider it a top priority. In fact, consumers in every market we researched reported a substantial increase in the prioritization of wellness over the past two to three years. We estimate the global wellness market at more than $1.5 trillion, with annual growth of 5 to 10 percent. A rise in both consumer interest and purchasing power presents tremendous opportunities for companies, particularly as spending on personal wellness rebounds after stagnating or even declining during the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, the wellness market is getting increasingly crowded, creating the need to be strategic about where and how companies compete.

McKinsey & Company: Feeling good: The future of the $1.5 trillion wellness market

Once you have developed a business ethos that makes you happy and that respects the people around you and the planet, you need a team to help you to turn this into a reality. In hospitality, this is more important than ever, because you cannot be everywhere at all times connecting with the guest at every point of contact.

Your staff need to be the embodiment of your ethos – your business partners need to have skills that can move your business forward and maybe talents you don’t have yourself. Trying to do everything yourself may be tempting for small businesses but it is actually a recipe for disaster. Value your time as though you were paying yourself by the hour.

“Your relationships will either make you or break you and there is no such thing as a neutral relationship. People either inspire you to greatness or pull you down in the gutter, it’s that simple. No one fails alone, and no one succeeds alone.”

ERIC THOMAS, THE SECRET TO SUCCESS

A SENSE OF PLACE

The location of your hospitality business is another major factor which will determine your success. As an environmentally friendly glamping site – respecting the environment is a given but it should also be a major factor in how you design your resort, what local building materials you use, what local craftspeople you employ, how you connect with your community and neighboring businesses and how you let your guests connect with them as well.

When all of this comes together in harmony, that’s when the magic happens. Through a sense of place and respect for the history of the land, we know of glamping sites that are involved in conservation, rewilding of flora and fauna, who have revitalized communities which were dwindling as the youth left to find jobs in cities. We hear stories of education and drug rehabilitation programs, preservation of historical monuments and so much more. These stories inspire the staff who work in the hotels, the guests and the wider world to believe that positive change is possible and achievable. Sense of place is also important in the context of providing experiences. From city hotels to resorts, hotels are increasingly offering a sense of place in response to the trend to offer more authentic and meaningful experiences.

Examples include:

• cultural and destination immersion, as well as active involvement in local activities and engagement with the local community;

• an appreciation of the natural environment with guided tours of the local habitat with conservationists, naturalists and ornithologists;

• and understanding of the local history and culture.

For luxury hotel brands, providing a sense of place through experiences is also an opportunity to demonstrate key characteristics of luxury such as authenticity, craftsmanship and exclusivity; and in so doing, create unique brand experiences. Six Senses, for example, has always been about providing a culturally local experience. The group’s aim is to integrate this into each of their properties through “…brilliant design that incorporates regional architecture and landscaping. This results in an extraordinary cultural offering with a strong sense of place.” This is carried through all that Six Senses does from sourcing of local information for guests from books about the local environment, its history, culture and traditions, as well as the natural habitat.

Hospitalitynet Luxury Hotels and a ‘Sense of Place’: Brand Identity and Experiences by Susanne Godfrey

FINDING THE MONEY

The brutal truth is that without money, many wonderful sustainable glamping sites will not get off the ground. However, if you have the self-belief, the great ethos, the supportive team which have been outlined in our previous sections – your investors will be much easier to win over.

Eco Hospitality is currently enjoying a lot of interest among investors and developers, so we can expect a great deal of competition in the sector over the next few years. What does this mean from an environmental standpoint? It possibly means there will be more projects using ‘green’ and ‘eco’ to market themselves with varying levels of justification. It also means that a lot of investors will be looking for larger amounts to lend for higher returns.

Ultimately it means that some worthy businesses may not make the cut and some less than worthy ones will but no matter how hard we want to succeed – it’s really important to be honest with ourselves. Is the idea really different? Is there a market for it? Does the business plan stack up? Is the land in the right location? While it’s essential to have passion – it’s also essential not to let that passion blind us to weaknesses in our plan that investors may spot and could ultimately lead to heartbreak and failure later down the line.

TELLING YOUR STORY

From the very first step of your journey in establishing a sustainable glamping business, you will be required to communicate what makes your idea special. By doing this you will bring others on board with your vision, family, friends, partners, investors, staff and ultimately guests. You will need to keep on telling that story, on social media, in your marketing and to the wider press in order to be successful.

But not everyone is a natural storyteller and people need different stories for different times of their lives. Right now, we need to talk to our guests in a different way – we need to offer them more security as they start to travel again. We need to soften our approach and offer them flexibility and guarantees that they will be safe when they stay with us.

Now is a good time to think about the stories we are telling and if they are right for the world we live in now.

NEVER STOP LEARNING

If you fail, never give up because F.A.I.L. means “First Attempt In Learning”. End is not the end, in fact E.N.D. means “Effort Never Dies”. If you get No as an answer, remember N.O. means “Next Opportunity”.

A.P.J Abdul Kalam

Perhaps the greatest weapon we have against the climate crisis, as well as the other great problems of the world is education. To keep on learning is to be open to new ideas, to stay young in our outlook and to understand the world from an other’s point of view. The great visionaries of our hospitality industry and many other industries are people who never stop learning from others, no matter how successful they already are.

We learn from success but there’s no doubt we learn more from our mistakes and once we recognize that we can see that they are steps on the path to success. Keeping an open mind is not always easy but it is essential when it comes to understanding the needs of our guests, the different cultures of the world and the demands of running a business.

Whether your glamping vision is big or small – experience is not necessarily a pre-requisite for success – but it definitely helps. Sometimes, though a lack of specific industry experience can mean that people look at a situation with a fresh perspective which can disrupt things for the better. Who would have thought that tented camps and resorts – essentially fancy camping – might be the luxury trend to watch in hospitality a decade ago?

WHAT WE CAN DO NOW

There are a number of things that glamping sites can do now to fight climate change and support our communities and guests coming out of the pandemic.

1. Remove all possible single use plastics from our operations – including those that are ‘hidden’

2. Reduce reliance on fossil fuels and switch to Renewable Energy Sources

3. Look at how accessible our hospitality businesses are and do better

4. Examine our policies on racial, gender and sexual discrimination and how effective they are

5. Educate our guests to respect the environment and help them understand our communities and support them by encouraging the use of bikes, electric vehicles and public transport

6. Encourage guests to visit in low season or as digital nomads

7. Support carbon offsetting and carbon removal and encourage guests to do the same

8. Study the policies of our suppliers and only support those who share our ethos.

9. Do not encourage our guests to visit attractions that are not environmentally friendly or engage in cruelty to animals

10. Make a declaration at Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency and stick to it.

Read this excellent article: Three Steps to Decarbonize Your Hotel from Paloma Zapata, Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Travel International, May 09, 2021