The cost of running a glamping site

We were inspired to start offering glamping after a stay at The Yurt Farm in Wales and reading a book about glamping while we were there. We’d just moved to a place with some land and wanted to share the gorgeous views that we enjoy every day.  

However, I wanted it to feel like a really indulgent stay and at that point glamping was in its early stages, so everyone thought I was very odd to want to offer guests something that was more akin to a hotel stay in a field. There was no need to have an en suite bathroom according to them! We wanted to offer a stay where you arrive and everything you need is waiting for you, like in a country house hotel, as well as having that immediate connection to nature the minute you opened the door.  

Tom from Canopy & Stars came out and chatted to me in the early stages, I loved his Canopy & Stars philosophy and from then on, I knew that whatever we built, I wanted to aim it at being listed on Canopy & Stars. We’ve been a Canopy & Stars owner since 2015 – just under ten years!

Changeovers  

We did the changeovers ourselves for the first few years and worked out a system that worked.  

Packing baskets before the changeover started really minimised the time we wasted going backwards and forwards with forgotten items. We developed checklists and jotted down anything that needed attention on every changeover, so we had time to source cost effective replacements, rather than panic buying when something suddenly broke. 

When other people started cleaning, we were then able to hand on the system we’d set up. This was the real cost saving element, as reducing the time someone we were paying by the hour took to do the job meant more pounds in our pockets! 

Extras  

We do include extras for our guests in our price, but if we see that things aren’t being eaten or used, we review and replace. Over time we’ve learnt that less is more, especially if you focus in on things guests really like. We don’t like to waste things either, from a cost and sustainability perspective. 

Linen/laundry  

We did a cost comparison during covid and decided to outsource our laundry. With three units, it worked out marginally cheaper (we costed our time in), and we also found that we could do things that added much more value in the time we saved. The trick is to ensure that you monitor levels regularly and reduce if demands change or it can be costly then as you pay the minimum levels regardless. 

Maintenance  

This really is a case of a stitch in time saves nine – we try and do a programme of maintenance and to have spares in the cupboard of consumables like bulbs etc. Last minute buying is always expensive and keeping on top of the basic maintenance means that things run a little smoother. 

Interiors  

I love beautiful interiors and styling, but always make sure that it is practical for guests and eases your changeover times. Anything too delicate will invariably break and you will have to replace it, so bear that in mind when buying. I support lots of local and UK makers, but I seek out the pieces that I know will stand up to a bit of wear and tear.

Insurance  

It’s always worth shopping around, but do make sure that you go with an insurance company that actually understands what you do. There are a lot more glamping insurers around now than when we first started, but it’s still worth making sure that they really understand your business as we all do a lot of things that insurers find risky – fire, water etc. 

Our insurance agent comes and visits and checks what we’ve added and advises on what we need to add for the business, and doesn’t offer loads of nefarious insurances that we don’t need. He also just takes care of any claims, and we just send the information they request. This is an area that I look for; competitive – not the cheapest pricing – as cheapest would mean a lot of hours on the phone ourselves if something happened. 

Employees  

It's always tricky to know when to take on new employees, especially if you have fluctuating bookings, but you can offset that by adding part-timers, staffing for peak seasons and also cross-training people so they can do more than one job, that way, if their area is quiet they can help out elsewhere. 

Recruit well, look for attitude and skills ideally, but if you have to choose one, I’d choose attitude, as you can generally train someone in more skills, but if their attitude isn’t good, that’s difficult to change. 

Take the time to train them well when they start and hand things over well, make it clear what you’re expecting them to do, what to do if they have an issue and what a good job looks like. It feels like it’s a lot of time to invest, but it will pay back multiple times if they do their job well as a result – both in terms of the actual work and also recruiting and training new people is costly, so you don’t want to have to do it again.

My advice would be that different owners have different offerings, so make sure that what you offer is appropriate for the level you charge at. If your nightly price is on the lower side, then maybe not so many extras, if it’s higher, more might be justified. 

Also, it’s very easy to be so busy doing that you don’t know if you’re actually making money, so my advice would be to put together some projected figures and then at least once a quarter look at how you are doing against them. If figures aren’t your thing, then prioritise getting a bookkeeper and ask them to take you through the figures regularly. 

Another useful metric is to work out roughly what a changeover costs for your average stay and then every year I update that figure and decide if I need to adjust pricing.

We’ve already put a bore hole in for water which has saved us a lot per year going forward and are now actively looking at solar and renewables for energy. 

If you would like advice on any of the above topics, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your Account Manager on 0117 204 7857 or by emailing owners@canopyandstars.co.uk.