Staycations, our new business, help and feedback appreciated

[mybrainhurts]

Megaflow said:

Don't use the phrase staycation.

Its a crap phrase based upon the American term for a holiday. We are British, not American.

What he said...

And what, in the name of the Holy Succubus of Scunthorpe, is GLAMPING?

Stop it, immediately...

[eliot]

wseed said:

As a child and pet free couple I think I'd be more put off by the fact that you accept dogs than if you allowed children. I always check when booking accommodation that it's smoke and pet free.

Indeed - Dogs stink.

[sidekickdmr]

lambysdad said:

Hang on....I was first!!

You were indeed, you get first dibs

egor110 said:

What made you pick Somerset as the location?

I’m not strictly keeping it to Somerset, may consider east Devon or even some bits of Dorset for 3 reasons, 1)still no more than a couple of hours from friends and family, 2) easy to get to for customers, Cornwall is a bit of a journey for anyone not in the south west already, but Somerset has trains, A303 and the M5 serving it, and 3) its where me and my now wife love, we go there a lot anyway so have connections there and are very fond but cannot find enough places like this to stay so spotted a bit of a gap in the market.

CAPP0 said:

We'd certainly be up for this, I'm trying to find a dog-friendly week away at the moment and the quality levels are leaving something to be desired, even at premium prices.

Oh, and can you please not restrict it to one dog! Maybe one dog per human!

We have 2 dogs, so wouldn’t be any good for us if it was limited to 1, we may however have to draw the line somewhere, it also depends on size, my mum has 5 Pugs and they would be fine, my wife’s parents have a great dane and you wouldn’t want more than one of them in a small cabin trust me.

tr7v8 said:

Looks good, hate the staycation phrase!
No kids is brilliant & would attract us. Not fussed about dogs providing they are well behaved.

To be honest, I hate it too and wouldn’t use it on the website/blurb, just thought it was suitable and catching enough as a PH thread title.

mybrainhurts said:

And what, in the name of the Holy Succubus of Scunthorpe, is GLAMPING?

Stop it, immediately...

Hate to say it but that’s the official term for luxury camping, so that’s what people will be punching into Google, and as such that’s what I'll be calling it, I see your point though, don’t hate the player hate the game

[egor110]

egor110 said:

What made you pick Somerset as the location?

I’m not strictly keeping it to Somerset, may consider east Devon or even some bits of Dorset for 3 reasons, 1)still no more than a couple of hours from friends and family, 2) easy to get to for customers, Cornwall is a bit of a journey for anyone not in the south west already, but Somerset has trains, A303 and the M5 serving it, and 3) its where me and my now wife love, we go there a lot anyway so have connections there and are very fond but cannot find enough places like this to stay so spotted a bit of a gap in the market.

Looking at the pictures you've put on the 1st page i'm guessing your looking at quantocks/exmoor sort of area?

[mybrainhurts]

sidekickdmr said:

mybrainhurts said:

And what, in the name of the Holy Succubus of Scunthorpe, is GLAMPING?

Stop it, immediately...

Hate to say it but that’s the official term for luxury camping, so that’s what people will be punching into Google, and as such that’s what I'll be calling it, I see your point though, don’t hate the player hate the game

It might be in the OED, but the OED is becoming ever more hippy these days and it doesn't make it right.

The creation of buzz words by deeply affected, look at me, I'm trendy as hell, individuals is one of my pet hates.

For what it's worth, I would avoid anywhere that adopted this verbal tripe, just as I avoid any business with the word "solutions" in its title, or any restaurant offering "brunch" and don't get me going on "sustainability"....

When I take over, all such irksome beings will be placed before a firing squad....

I don't think I'm alone in this. You need to assess whether your potential customers are as reasonable as me...

Edit...

This Staycations thing conjures up a picture of prisons and quarries, don't know why.

You need something more honest and appropriate, like Orchardshagtubs, or something...

Edited by mybrainhurts on Tuesday 26th January 15:50

[sidekickdmr]

egor110 said:

Looking at the pictures you've put on the 1st page i'm guessing your looking at quantocks/exmoor sort of area?

To be frank, we are keeping options open at the moment as there isn’t an abundance of suitable places out there, so we are within reason considering anywhere and when something comes up seeing if its suitable, if it can be made suitable and if not we move on.

Off to see somewhere at the weekend that isn’t exactly a forest like the first pictures but it has just over 3 acres and a apple (cider) orchard so although It won’t give the feel of being in the woods, come summer time it will feel a lot more suitable and sunny/open while still giving interesting backdrops and character to the land (as well as being able to offer things like cider making workshops as an extra revenue stream perhaps)

[sidekickdmr]

mybrainhurts said:

It might be in the OED, but the OED is becoming ever more hippy these days and it doesn't make it right.

The creation of buzz words by deeply affected, look at me, I'm trendy as hell, individuals is one of my pet hates.

For what it's worth, I would avoid anywhere that adopted this verbal tripe, just as I avoid any business with the word "solutions" in its title, or any restaurant offering "brunch" and don't get me going on "sustainability"....

When I take over, all such irksome beings will be placed before a firing squad....

Genuine question, considering "camping" is normally a small pitch on a field with acess to communial washing facilities, no noise or fun to be had past 10pm and a club house run by Janice and Clive the 70 year old retired couple from sheffield, how would you distuinguish yourself from this in one word?

If you wanted a pre set up, thick canvas walled tipi with log buring stove, decking, 4 posted double bed, ensuite bathroom with a copper roll top bath and flushing toilet what would you suggest I call it? What would you search google for?

mybrainhurts said:

You need to assess whether your potential customers are as reasonable as me...

Hopefully not

[bluenosewrx]

This place is good, always busy and seems to have the same ideas as your looking for.

search for the hideaway experience dundee

sorry my work computer does not let me access the website, but its good, you can pre book local produce etc

[BoRED S2upid]

Looks lovely we do at least 2 breaks a year in this country usually in a cottage with a log burner before / after Christmas. One thing though dogs welcome. I wouldn't stay for that reason. We stayed in one once that welcomed dogs and had dog hair everywhere never again and the feedback on trip adviser (which we should have checked) is very much along these lines.

[egor110]

sidekickdmr said:

egor110 said:

Looking at the pictures you've put on the 1st page i'm guessing your looking at quantocks/exmoor sort of area?

To be frank, we are keeping options open at the moment as there isn’t an abundance of suitable places out there, so we are within reason considering anywhere and when something comes up seeing if its suitable, if it can be made suitable and if not we move on.

Off to see somewhere at the weekend that isn’t exactly a forest like the first pictures but it has just over 3 acres and a apple (cider) orchard so although It won’t give the feel of being in the woods, come summer time it will feel a lot more suitable and sunny/open while still giving interesting backdrops and character to the land (as well as being able to offer things like cider making workshops as an extra revenue stream perhaps)

Do you have any experience re the planning game?

What you want and what the locals who sit on the local council want may be very different.

Take a look at stogumber,monksilver,combe florey areas for property, i think they'd suit what your looking to do.

[sidekickdmr]

bluenosewrx said:

This place is good, always busy and seems to have the same ideas as your looking for.

search for the hideaway experience dundee

sorry my work computer does not let me access the website, but its good, you can pre book local produce etc

Thanks for the link, looks good, ill have a proper nose tonight.

Yes local produce was going to be another revenue stream of mine, when filling out the booking form there was going to be a completely optional extras section, things like:

Locally produced full English breakfast hamper £X per person

Vegetarian version £XX per person

Farmers market BBQ package £XX per person

and perhaps a couple of simple dinner hampers

The idea being when they book they tick various boxes and state what time and day they want them delivered to the door, the cost is incorporated into the final balance and I will source the ingredients during a Thursday shop and then package up and deliver at the set day/time for them to cook at the lodge.

[sidekickdmr]

BoRED S2upid said:

Looks lovely we do at least 2 breaks a year in this country usually in a cottage with a log burner before / after Christmas. One thing though dogs welcome. I wouldn't stay for that reason. We stayed in one once that welcomed dogs and had dog hair everywhere never again and the feedback on trip adviser (which we should have checked) is very much along these lines.

Thank you, fingers crossed it comes to fruition and it works out for us, a hell of a lot of time and money is going to be ploughed in, including a complete re-location but it will be worth it twofold it if works out

Back to the Dog chat, someone had the idea of keeping one or two lodges completely dog free from the outset, so hoping to please everyone and will listen to feedback/demand.

egor110 said:

Do you have any experience re the planning game?

What you want and what the locals who sit on the local council want may be very different.

Take a look at stogumber,monksilver,combe florey areas for property, i think they'd suit what your looking to do.

I have some experience at a consumer level, i have already spoken to 2 councils in the Somerset area and they were surprisingly positive and receptive to the enquiries, we would also be employing the services of a planning consultant with experience in this market to guide it through, always a big risk though!

Thank you for the suggested areas, ill take a look at them

[egor110]

sidekickdmr said:

bluenosewrx said:

This place is good, always busy and seems to have the same ideas as your looking for.

search for the hideaway experience dundee

sorry my work computer does not let me access the website, but its good, you can pre book local produce etc

Thanks for the link, looks good, ill have a proper nose tonight.

Yes local produce was going to be another revenue stream of mine, when filling out the booking form there was going to be a completely optional extras section, things like:

Locally produced full English breakfast hamper £X per person

Vegetarian version £XX per person

Farmers market BBQ package £XX per person

and perhaps a couple of simple dinner hampers

The idea being when they book they tick various boxes and state what time and day they want them delivered to the door, the cost is incorporated into the final balance and I will source the ingredients during a Thursday shop and then package up and deliver at the set day/time for them to cook at the lodge.

Meat wise, if you want to make profit you need to get in with the local farmers and buy from them.

ie £40-£50 for half a lamb which you'd then sell on , pheasants and game are dirt cheap because on a shoot they end shooting too much.

With the lodges maybe link up and provide luxury digs for shooting parties?

[BoRED S2upid]

If you keep one dog free and allow special dispensation for well behaved 2 year olds you can count me in.

If it's a total ban on children then count me in in about 15 years time.

Best of luck.

[geeks]

I really like the sound of this, where do I book?

[21TonyK]

Apologies, I've not read through everything but a couple of things spring to mind if not already mentioned.

If I was going away with the Mrs and my dog I would love the same level of freedom for her (the dog!!) as she has at home. Open the back door and let her go. Not having to keep her cooped up inside. Not an easy one to do but a massive selling point. Your dog has the ability to roam freely in your own private grounds?

Also, more realistically, offer a private hire chef to cook for the couple in their cabin. Luxury breakfast deliveries and high-end hampers for lunch. I wouldn't pay for it myself (being a chef!) but I know people who are happy to pay £100's per head for a private chef to do a 5 course tasting menu in private accommodation.

[mybrainhurts]

sidekickdmr said:

mybrainhurts said:

It might be in the OED, but the OED is becoming ever more hippy these days and it doesn't make it right.

The creation of buzz words by deeply affected, look at me, I'm trendy as hell, individuals is one of my pet hates.

For what it's worth, I would avoid anywhere that adopted this verbal tripe, just as I avoid any business with the word "solutions" in its title, or any restaurant offering "brunch" and don't get me going on "sustainability"....

When I take over, all such irksome beings will be placed before a firing squad....

Genuine question, considering "camping" is normally a small pitch on a field with acess to communial washing facilities, no noise or fun to be had past 10pm and a club house run by Janice and Clive the 70 year old retired couple from sheffield, how would you distuinguish yourself from this in one word?

If you wanted a pre set up, thick canvas walled tipi with log buring stove, decking, 4 posted double bed, ensuite bathroom with a copper roll top bath and flushing toilet what would you suggest I call it? What would you search google for?

I thought it was known as a yurt or, if solid walled, a lodge would do the trick...

PS...didn't know you knew Janice and Clive.

sidekickdmr said:

mybrainhurts said:

You need to assess whether your potential customers are as reasonable as me...

Hopefully not

You rotter...

[aero93]

Truckosaurus said:

If you have multiple units then you can have some pet-free and other dog-friendly.

My parents and nearly all their middle aged/retired/semi-retired friends have dogs and specifically search out dog-friendly accommodation for weekends/weeks away.

I'd agree with 'no kids' being a selling point

I would def think about having some pet free for allergy sufferers.

[CAPP0]

sidekickdmr said:

CAPP0 said:

We'd certainly be up for this, I'm trying to find a dog-friendly week away at the moment and the quality levels are leaving something to be desired, even at premium prices.

Oh, and can you please not restrict it to one dog! Maybe one dog per human!

We have 2 dogs, so wouldn’t be any good for us if it was limited to 1, we may however have to draw the line somewhere, it also depends on size, my mum has 5 Pugs and they would be fine, my wife’s parents have a great dane and you wouldn’t want more than one of them in a small cabin trust me.

Yes,I can see that no two customers would be the same, you could have two well-behaved peaceful dogs or two (or one) riotous ones.

I meant to say in my original post, no children would be a MASSIVE draw.

[thainy77]

I think it's a great idea and i think too many people are getting hung up on the dog thing, about 25% of UK households have dogs and it's difficult to find dog friendly places.

Perhaps some kind of onsite kennel would be an option so the lodges don't get that "dog smell"?