8 minute read
Derry Green's Secret to Success
The Secret Garden Glamping is the UK's most popular glamping site, with dreamy Love Island-inspired décor that transports guests from Lancashire to Mallorca. Starting from scratch DIY-ing a single pod, the site has since maintained a two-year waiting list. International Glamping Business spoke to owner Derry Green to find out his secret to success.
Where was the idea for The Secret Garden Glamping born? How did it come about?
The Secret Garden Glamping all started in the first lockdown of 2020, stuck at home with my two young children, Sophia and Noah. With the world seeming to stop around us, I had to come up with new and exciting ways each day to keep them entertained. It all started as a project in the garden – the kids wanted to camp outside, so I decided to build a deck for us to camp on in the garden.
As days turned into weeks, and then into months, I just kept building a bit more each day, and, by the end of the first lockdown, I built what I now know to be the glamping pod with a full outdoor area: a place for me and the kids to spend our time.
I was contacted by LADbible to do a story –which went viral – and people started contacting me asking if they could book the unit for a holiday. At the time it seems crazy to me, but with nothing to lose, I listed it on Airbnb and within two days it was fully booked for two years in advance.
I was blown away by the response and quickly realised there was a gap in the market for what I had produced. I spent the following nine months gaining planning permission for a 4-acre piece of woodland and The Secret Garden Glamping was born.
Could you tell us some of the highs and lows?
Let’s start with some of the highs; we are now the most viewed, most followed, and most booked glamping site in the UK. We have over 700,000 followers across our socials and a monthly reach of around 4.2 million. We are turning away around 1000 bookings a week and have a waiting list of over 60k. We’ve won countless awards over the past three years, including Best Start-up Business of the Year, Best Leisure and Tourism Business of the Year and myself winning Entrepreneur of the Year was an unbelievable achievement!
I have to admit, there are very few lows. It goes back to that old saying: if you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Even on our worst days – last winter it got down to -10ºC and 7 boilers all burst on the same day, so we had to work for 24 hours straight in below freezing temperatures trying to get everything back – it’s still relatively enjoyable!
How were you able to identify your target guests and keep them coming back for more?
I know a lot of people focus on their “guest avatar” – we certainly focus very specifically with our social media audience – but the actual guests that come and stay are from all walks of life and all ages. Every unit we produce is individual and different to the last, so that we can accommodate lots of different experiences – not just one specific target guest. Because all of our units are individual, this makes guests come back over and over again, because they want to try different ones and have different experiences.
What do you believe are the stand out features that have made your site so successful?
I worked out early on what glamping means to people. For the past five years or so, when everybody was focused on what unit they were going to create, I focused on the outdoor space. Glamping in its literal term means glamorous camping; when people go camping, they don’t go to spend all their time in a tent – they set up the tent to spend time outdoors. So, when it came to glamping, it seemed crazy to me that site owners were preoccupied with how amazing the accommodation unit could be, but then guests sit in an empty field with nothing to do.
I focused on making the outdoor areas as amazing as possible, and the unit itself came second to that. All the outdoor areas are private and each one is designed to be individual. If I do my job right, they should only use the unit to sleep in and spend the rest of their time outdoors.
What do you do to ensure direct bookings?
100% of our bookings are direct. We’re not on any OTA and everything comes through our social media platforms. The social media drives customers to our website where they can then book directly.
Is there a secret to your success? In your opinion, where do you think other operators might be going wrong in the current glamping marketplace?
Going back to what The Secret Garden Glamping’s standout features are and the secret to my success has been focusing on why people are going glamping. They’re not going glamping to sit in a pod – they are going glamping to be able to reconnect with nature and spend time outdoors.
I see too many site owners buying beautiful units and then sitting five of them in a row with no outdoor area, no privacy and nothing to do. There’s no point in trying to compete with a traditional hotel’s beautiful suites – we can never do something like that in glamping. What we do have is outdoor space, which they don’t, so focus on what we have rather than trying to recreate something that they do better.
You attended The Glamping Show 2023 – what were your impressions of the show and what do you think about what’s on the market currently?
I had a great time at The Glamping Show 2023. I think the standout point to me at the show was certainly the seminar programme. There were some really good speakers, and I think that part of the show is of vital importance to people who are either starting in glamping, or want to improve on what they’re doing. I loved chatting to people in there and trying to help with where the market is going and what can be done to enhance your socials.
In regards to actual items on the market, I don’t think manufacturers have caught up with what people are looking for within the industry. As I’ve said, there’s some stunning units on the market now. Where everybody is falling behind is the additions to that booking – so I’d love to see more accessories and things to make your site unique, rather than just trying to compete on an accommodation level.
You’ve recently secured funding for an expansion – could you explain how this came about? What was the process like?
We have just secured funding as we look to expand – that funding is way over seven figures as we look to increase our offering and expand our brand. The process, in all fairness, was relatively simple. I have a clear idea of what direction the market is going and what I need to do going forward. Speaking with different partners and organisations has led us to be able to get the finance and next year we can take glamping to a whole new level!
What are your plans and goals for the future?
We want to take The Secret Garden Glamping brand across the country – and then across the pond. With our franchise model, licensing agreements and partnership agreements, we want to capitalise on the phenomenal success we’ve had and be able to open multiple locations in multiple countries. There are so many locations within the UK that are phenomenal, but with competition being so high between sites, we can bring something to the table that nobody else has done before.
Our audience is larger than any other UK holiday company, including the likes of Butlins, Hoseasons, Center Parcs etc. and we are turning away around thousands of bookings currently – so we want to be able to partner up with other amazing sites in the UK to be able to move glamping forward.
And finally, if you could give one piece of advice to other glampsite owners, what would it be?
I see lots of glamping owners getting stuck working within the business instead of working on the business. It is very hard, but what tends to happen is that owner-operators end up trying to do everything themselves, so they get stuck doing the changeovers, maintenance, cutting the grass, answering emails and all the stuff that you could get a member of staff to do instead – when they should be working on the business to try and drive it forward.
That’s always been my method; I make sure I focus on what I am really good at and if you end up getting stuck doing the day-to-day jobs, it’s very hard to focus on anything else. I genuinely think the more time you put into focusing on what your guests want, the experience they need and where they’re coming from, the bookings will follow after that.
Find out more at thesecretgardenglamping.uk.
