Glamping; what would you want?
Discussion
I'm in the very early stages of setting up a small glamping site, and wanted to 'canvas' (sorry!) opinions on what people would look for when choosing a site. There are so many new products out there catering for this model, many of which can be set up off-grid, such as flushing toilets, lighting, WiFi etc etc. that it's difficult to know what to prioritise.
We're planning on using Romany caravans and teepees, but want to give ourselves an edge over other sites. What would you want? Any suggestions welcomed.
We're planning on using Romany caravans and teepees, but want to give ourselves an edge over other sites. What would you want? Any suggestions welcomed.
Being dog friendly? If that's something you're looking for opinion on.
Wood burning stove, nothing else has sold me on glamping apart from a proper wood burning stove in a cosy yurt/tepee/pod.
I'd say not over crowding the site, seen some in the peak district that have crammed in so many pods into one place that it looks a bit crap and almost like a building site, keeping it as wild as possible and giving guests the chance of being out of the way of others is another big sell of the glamping i would of thought.
Good to see you doing a bit of research, hope it all goes well.
Edit: Was just thinking that if you go down the stove route, maybe providing a hamper of easy to cook foodstuffs that will get rid of the need for eating out, sort of covering all bases, marshmellows/bbq type stuff, you know?
Wood burning stove, nothing else has sold me on glamping apart from a proper wood burning stove in a cosy yurt/tepee/pod.
I'd say not over crowding the site, seen some in the peak district that have crammed in so many pods into one place that it looks a bit crap and almost like a building site, keeping it as wild as possible and giving guests the chance of being out of the way of others is another big sell of the glamping i would of thought.
Good to see you doing a bit of research, hope it all goes well.
Edit: Was just thinking that if you go down the stove route, maybe providing a hamper of easy to cook foodstuffs that will get rid of the need for eating out, sort of covering all bases, marshmellows/bbq type stuff, you know?
Edited by MrBrightSi on Friday 28th July 18:58
This was in the Guardian a few weeks ago. Solar panels, USB chargers, pizza delivery etc. are all getting more popular. It is a very crowded market and anyone with a spare field is doing it. Some glampers are switching to champing (staying in a small, ancient church or chapel).
https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network...
https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network...
Yes - decent wi-fi, clean free hot water shower/toilet areas, electricity, shop/pub selling proper home cooked food/real ale/good wine
No - kids, animals of any kind, all male/female groups, oh and no kids or animals..!!
I would happily pay more for that TBH
No - kids, animals of any kind, all male/female groups, oh and no kids or animals..!!
I would happily pay more for that TBH
Edited by briang9 on Friday 28th July 22:50
briang9 said:
Yes - decent wi-fi, clean free hot water shower/toilet areas, electricity, shop/pub selling proper home cooked food/real ale/good wine
No - kids, animals of any kind, all male/female groups, oh and no kids or animals..!!
I'd say the dogs/animals depends on the distance between pitches/accommodation. If they're set apart far enough and set to themselves then it shouldn't be a problem and finding decent places to stay with a dog without a campervan/tent/caravan is difficult so would be missing out on a good chunk of the market i imagine.No - kids, animals of any kind, all male/female groups, oh and no kids or animals..!!
Edited by briang9 on Friday 28th July 21:31
Showers, last person I know that went glamping had to pay extra for showers.
Private toilet.
WiFi.
Charging points for phones.
After that anything else is a bonus.
Butler, sexy French maid, unlimited food and alcohol, private swimming pool, James Corden in the stocks, my choice of personal bands, some Eskimos.
Private toilet.
WiFi.
Charging points for phones.
After that anything else is a bonus.
Butler, sexy French maid, unlimited food and alcohol, private swimming pool, James Corden in the stocks, my choice of personal bands, some Eskimos.
A clean (warm) shower on site with some (air) drying facilties. Not fussed about it being in the unit. Some good sized sinks with cold water supply for washing the worse from walking gear.
Maybe a toilet and a basic sink in the unit.
BBQ pit/firepit and ability to buy good wood/charcoal (don't mind paying a slight premium)
Ideally - nearby: a farm shop for provisions or daily bread delivery
A vaguely useful wifi connection; high speed not required but email/basic connectivity (I would pay a small amount)
Well behaved kids and dogs to be welcomed but with a quick exit if they don't behave.
Maybe a toilet and a basic sink in the unit.
BBQ pit/firepit and ability to buy good wood/charcoal (don't mind paying a slight premium)
Ideally - nearby: a farm shop for provisions or daily bread delivery
A vaguely useful wifi connection; high speed not required but email/basic connectivity (I would pay a small amount)
Well behaved kids and dogs to be welcomed but with a quick exit if they don't behave.
I'd probably agree with the "no kids" - despite having a 9-year old boy - but I'd definitely allow dogs. I'd imagine most people willing to spend a good chunk of money to stay in a "posh tent" that have a dog are perfectly capable and responsible for looking after it.
Before we had our son, the Mrs and I always struggled to find accommodation that (a) allowed dogs - we had a very well behaved Cocker and (b) was s
t-hot but not huge.
There were nice, small places that didn't allow dogs, places that did allow dogs and were the right size but were dumps, or lovely places that allowed dogs but slept 42 people.
We would have loved the idea of being able to go somewhere that didn't allow kids but did allow dogs. In fact, I was talking to a customer about this very recently. Very professional couple with a dog (beagle) but no kids. They go to France a lot as they have loads of choice which just isn't there in the UK.
Sort of like a Sandals, but with forest walks instead of a Caribbean beach
Before we had our son, the Mrs and I always struggled to find accommodation that (a) allowed dogs - we had a very well behaved Cocker and (b) was s
t-hot but not huge. There were nice, small places that didn't allow dogs, places that did allow dogs and were the right size but were dumps, or lovely places that allowed dogs but slept 42 people.
We would have loved the idea of being able to go somewhere that didn't allow kids but did allow dogs. In fact, I was talking to a customer about this very recently. Very professional couple with a dog (beagle) but no kids. They go to France a lot as they have loads of choice which just isn't there in the UK.
Sort of like a Sandals, but with forest walks instead of a Caribbean beach
northwest monkey said:
We would have loved the idea of being able to go somewhere that didn't allow kids but did allow dogs. In fact, I was talking to a customer about this very recently. Very professional couple with a dog (beagle) but no kids. They go to France a lot as they have loads of choice which just isn't there in the UK.
As a father of 2 young children... the eldest is desperate to go camping.. glampling seems like a nice compromise.Maybe have "kid free weeks" on the calendar (obviously not school holidays when you could ratchet up the price)?
Vaud said:
northwest monkey said:
We would have loved the idea of being able to go somewhere that didn't allow kids but did allow dogs. In fact, I was talking to a customer about this very recently. Very professional couple with a dog (beagle) but no kids. They go to France a lot as they have loads of choice which just isn't there in the UK.
As a father of 2 young children... the eldest is desperate to go camping.. glampling seems like a nice compromise.Maybe have "kid free weeks" on the calendar (obviously not school holidays when you could ratchet up the price)?
We've done a couple and they seemed remarkably chav-free for some reason.
Hot water for showers. No mud, even when it rains, or nasty bugs and spiky stuff. Bogs shouldn't smell, either. I wouldn't care how rustic they were, wooden loo seats are fantastic, but by god I'd hate any water or fluids on the floors.
I'd want my abode to be private, screened by trees or bushes or something, and quiet. I'd be pissed if I paid £500 for a week next to some council. That said, so many people are doing this that there's little flexibility in the market. So either get a set up that is head and shoulders above the rest (such as nice mood lighting on the site) or run with a theme (eg the only steam punk glamping site in the UK). Whatever theme you run with, make sure you research it fully and always gather feedback. I did a glamping trip couple of years ago to one that claimed to be pagany/witchy and it was crass as hell. To the point that I suspect the owners main trade was import of halloween tat for supermarkets. Conversely, one of the better ones I've tried had nicely cut grass so you could walk barefoot and not get mucky feet, or step on thistles or bits of twig, but more importantly it was QUIET.
I'd want my abode to be private, screened by trees or bushes or something, and quiet. I'd be pissed if I paid £500 for a week next to some council. That said, so many people are doing this that there's little flexibility in the market. So either get a set up that is head and shoulders above the rest (such as nice mood lighting on the site) or run with a theme (eg the only steam punk glamping site in the UK). Whatever theme you run with, make sure you research it fully and always gather feedback. I did a glamping trip couple of years ago to one that claimed to be pagany/witchy and it was crass as hell. To the point that I suspect the owners main trade was import of halloween tat for supermarkets. Conversely, one of the better ones I've tried had nicely cut grass so you could walk barefoot and not get mucky feet, or step on thistles or bits of twig, but more importantly it was QUIET.
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