6 minute read
Offering More Than Just Glamping
Psst! Haven’t you heard? There’s a new trend to travel, which is more than just glamping.
By Kerry Roy
The word ‘glamping’ is not so new and unique as it once was. For a handful of countries, it’s another recognised level of travel that began over 15 years ago. For other countries, it’s only the beginning and still an experience on its own.
So how do the more saturated geographical areas stay ahead of the game and keep their competitive stakes high in order to continuously attract strong bookings? Not only is good service along with quality clean accommodation of the utmost importance these days, there’s the increasing trend among Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z to have the ultimate ‘experience’.
Glamping experiences form perfectly together like a bat and ball! If you are stuck on ideas of what else to offer, here are some ideas to help you along.
Wintering the Hygge Effect
Hygge: a cosy, contented mood evoked by comfort and conviviality. Here’s how you can set the mood for guests with additional cosy atmospheric winter packages:
Hot cocoa, s’mores and popcorn arrival hamper.
Mulled wine and hot ciders with homebaked cookies by the fire.
Telescopes, blankets with hot water bottles to sit outside and stargaze whilst sipping a glass of mulled wine.
Invest in some projector screens for communal or private movie nights alongside nibbles hamper – of course, not forgetting the popcorn.
Winter foraging walks (find your local foraging expert if you’re not au fait yourself).
Cycling and trekking trails can be offered all year round, not just summer. For snowy resorts, you can rent out specialised bikes to ride across the snow, or snow shoe crampons (inexpensive) for beautiful winter wonderland trekking.
Themed rooms; Bring out the magic with Halloween and Christmas Grotto themed rooms. What age doesn’t like the magic of Christmas?
If you have horses or donkeys onsite or nearby, why not hire or buy a sleigh to offer sleigh rides? You don’t need to have snow, just a good imagination!
Year Round Fun & Frolics
There are endless activities that can be offered all year round, such as:
Cookery classes or campfire cooking with outside dining, which – even in winter – has become increasingly popular over recent years.
Cocktail making.
Wine, gin, rum or beer tasting.
Craft and survival skills workshops.
Art and nature art workshops.
Book writing workshops.
Foraging and forest bathing walks.
Geocaching and scavenger hunts.
Bushcraft and summer forest school camps.
Sleeping exposed under the stars… Some people will pay to sleep in just a hammock and stargaze in a safe place near to toilet and wash facilities – a good way to make use of extra land!
Dog grooming/agility workshops – the percentage of dogs that go glamping is as much if not more than that of children!
Horse riding
Donkey walks and donkey therapy. Just account for a little extra time during a walk –they like to stop and eat a lot!
Events
Moving more into events either during key national holiday periods, or specific focused event offerings can become another lucrative way to increase turnover, fill up accommodation space and even reduce the number of days you open.
Depending on your land size, if it’s small and intimate, you can create tailored private events along with an array of activities to offer a fully inclusive package with a higher price point for exclusive use – weddings and corporate groups included.
If you’re lucky enough to have a larger space, host bigger events and festivals organised by yourselves. If that sounds too overwhelming, you can work in collaboration with external event organisers whom pay you a venue rental fee, in turn helping your business to generate additional income, whilst also increasing exposure of your existing accommodation and venue space to a wider audience.
Some examples of festivals and specialist events include Bike, Classic Car, Food and Drink, Sporting, Naturism etc. Trends continue to increase as more and more people prefer to enjoy a full day or full weekend packed with fun activities and entertainment over a weekend sat inside bars and restaurants.
Wellness Retreats
It’s no secret that wellbeing and yoga holiday retreats have increased in popularity over recent years, and even more so since the COVID period.
Retreats do not have to be organised and hosted by the owner – you can simply take advantage of renting your space and accommodation to external facilitators who will plan, organise, host and promote their own retreats at your venue (similar to that of a turn key offering). Some will even organise the food themselves, so all you have to do is ensure the venue is clean and tidy with good areas available to account for all weather conditions, as these events are often groups who will need space for yoga, exercise and workshops.
Outdoor lifestyle holidays have increased in many countries over the past two years by over 20% – especially amongst the age range of 35 and up. Even the “grey pound” are equally as keen to stay active… a generation not to be forgotten in your marketing and activities offering, especially during ‘off season’ as they are often retired, time-rich and have money to spend!
Overall, additional activities and experiences can broaden your target audience, increase occupancy of rooms and improve turnover. With a good imagination, time and planning costs to invest in offering these activities can be minimal with a quick ROI.
Otherwise, keep it simple and relieve yourself of any extra pressures by collaborating with reliable people who can offer their already established skills to your guests. You can also benefit from a little extra income by agreeing that you gain a commission share – normally around 10% to 20% is a fair ask, for providing the venue space and booking referrals.
Happy guests, happy locals and a little extra income for you is a win-win situation.
About Kerry Roy
Solo female glamptrepreneur Kerry Roy founded her first multi award-winning glamping site in the UK, Camp Katur, in 2012. She has since diversified into many different areas, including festivals, weddings and wellness retreats – whilst establishing a second successful awardwinning glamping retreat, Cerchio Del Desiderio in Italy in 2019. Not one to stay still for long, she also joined forces with Glamping Innovations to distribute innovative and sustainable glamping structures throughout Italy.
Kerry has also been fortunate enough to take part in several TV programmes focusing on her businesses’ success and ever developing knowledge within the industry, inspiring others to run their own business in various sectors. You can follow her new Italian business adventures on the latest series of Channel 4’s A New Life In The Sun, for which she continues to film for the 4th year.
