All You Need to Know About Glamping Business [Explained in 15 Mins]

Have you watched ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’? There’s a scene in the movie where Harry and his friends disapparate to Dartmoor, England to watch an “International Quidditch Match’. 

On reaching there, they are allotted camps to stay in. The moment Harry enters the tent, he is astonished by the luxurious facilities it has. From lounge chairs to lavishly decorated interiors, the camp was no less than a luxury resort. 

As a kid, I was so fascinated by this and wondered if such camps existed. Years down the lane, I joined the hospitality industry and it was the first time I came across glamping. 

In fact, I got a chance to go for it myself, and experience camping in a luxurious way. I’ll tell you more about the glamping business in this blog ahead, but for now, let’s start with knowing… 

What is Glamping?

Glamping is basically camping in a luxurious way in the lap of nature. It’s a portmanteau word for “glamorous camping”.

Talking about the luxurious ways it can include amenities and services that are found in hotel rooms such as lounge chairs and coffee tables, king-size beds, kitchenette facilities, and Wi-Fi (the list is endless actually).

The aim is to provide guests with an experience of camping without compromising on the comforts and needs.

What do Guests Expect From Glamping?

Camping as we all know ain’t a new activity, however, glamping is altogether a different thing. For instance, if you wanted to go on a camping trip with your family and especially kids, you need to consider certain aspects:

• Convenient location (friendly locality, serene environment, and medical facility nearby)
• Permission to camp
• Buying/renting a tent
• Cooking equipment or food facilities
• Entertainment activities

These are just to name a few, the list can go on. With glamping entering the hospitality business, camping lovers found a one-stop solution to all their hassles. 

Considering the booming technology and innovations adopted by the hospitality industry, the guests expect a high quality of services, features, and facilities while opting for luxurious camps.

Here’s what guests look for while going glamping:

• Exquisite location
• Fully furnished tents (king bed, couch/lounge chair, coffee table)
• Food facilities (on-site barbeque/ kitchenette)
• Washrooms
• Medical aid
• Entertainment zone/activities
• Safety equipment

Now that you are aware of guests’ expectations from glamping, let’s take a look at some statistics on its evolution.

How is Glamping Impacting The Hospitality Industry?

In the past few years, i.e from 2016-2020, there was an exponential increase in guests opting for glamping. As per the glamping industry statistics shared by Grand View Research,

The global glamping market size is estimated to be around 1.88 billion USD in 2020. Moreover, it is expected to grow by 14.1% by 2028.

As you can see in the graph above, the majority of the guests are millennials, GenZ, and families. So, considering the growth factor, if you are looking forward to starting your glamping business, it’s time.

Let me walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to do that.

How to Start a Glamping Business?

Without any further ado, let’s get straight to the point. 

1. Check for the perfect location

The first step to attracting guests to your property is choosing the right location for setting up your luxury camps. You need to consider various factors before finalizing the glamping grounds, such as:

• Distance from the nearest city
• Medical facilities nearby
• Breathtaking view from camps
• Location is not prone to calamities (Landslide, earthquakes, forest fires, or tsunamis)
• Easy accessibility to emergency services

If you would Google, there are certain recommended destinations for glamping. You could select the region as per your convenience and get going. Some of the best glamping sites across the world are:

• Bali, Indonesia
• Ranthambore National Park, India
• Serengeti Game Reserve, Tanzania
• Chiang Rai, Thailand
• Thiksey, Ladakh,India
• Makgadikgadi National Park, Botswana
• Jaisalmer Sand Dunes, India

Once you’ve finalized the location, it’s time to say “hello” to your neighbors, I mean your compset.

2. Know your competitors

Well, I don’t want you to literally go and say “hello” to your competitors. What I meant was to identify the competitor properties in your location. 

You need to invest in a detailed analysis. It can be knowing their tariff, going through their online reviews, listing down the amenities they have, and other activities.

Remember if you miss any aspect at this stage, it will impact you later. 

3. List down the expenses

This is one of the important steps when you are planning to set up your luxurious camps. A slight error in the calculations and you’ll end up jeopardizing your finances. 

First of all, list your expenses in descending order. Start with the rent/purchase price of the location. Gradually move towards other additional expenditures such as charges of tent, amenities, staff salary, marketing cost, and so on.

While calculating the finances keep a certain margin, it’ll come in handy in case of price fluctuations. For instance, your overall investing amount sums up to around ₹15 lacs. So, to be on the safer side round it up to ₹20 lacs. 

See, if the set-up happens within the calculated amount, it’s good. However, if you fall short of funds, arranging for it would become another hurdle for you. 

If you are looking for ways to get investment for your glamping business, this blog can give you some ideas. Do give it a read.

Top Tips To Raise Funds For Your Hospitality Business

4. Calculate your expected ROI

Now that you’ve calculated your expenses, it’s time to think about ROI (Return On Investment). 

It’s a universal truth that no business is going to provide you with an instant profit.

The sales from your glamping’s initial 2 years would be exhausted in recovering your invested amount. Post that, you could focus on the net profit. 

Hence, while you are calculating your ROI takes into account a minimum period of 2 yrs. Also, don’t forget inflation, as it can result in increasing your operational cost every year, thereby leading to tariff hikes.

5. Get the necessary licenses

Well, you can’t start a business without getting permission from the local authorities, and the same applies to glamping also. You don’t need a plethora of certificates like hotels, just the basic ones would work for you. 

When I say basic ones, it includes your glamping resort’s registration license, lease agreement (if you are renting the place), and fire safety certification. 

In some places, you need to procure permission from local governing bodies. However getting one in remote areas is an arduous task, as the population at such destinations is low and they don’t want visitors to damage the beauty of the surrounding regions. 

For example, Malana is a well-known destination in India. Most of the visitors are hippies, GenZ, and millennials. 

However, the locals saw that the surge in travelers and campers led to the destruction of natural habitats due to wastage and commotion. For that reason, the glamping business was banned in that area. One can only travel to Malana for a day’s visit and need to leave the place by evening. 

So, whilst you choose a location, check if you have any local connection over there to help you out in obtaining permission for setting up your luxury camps. 

6. Invest in the right amenities

The prime attraction of glamping is the amenities and services they provide to campers. It’s better to list out the amenities you want for your guests. 

While doing this, take a cue from what your competitors are offering, as you don’t want to lose booking over a missing amenity. Here are some basic amenities and facilities that are a MUST in your luxurious camps:

• Comfortable beds (go for king/queen size)
• Provision of extra mattress
• Washroom (can keep portable toilets and pop-up showers)
• Drinking water
• Food facilities (either barbeque set-up in open ground or kitchenette)
• Being pet-friendly
• Wi-Fi
• Chiller ice packs
• First aid kits

7. Connect with the local activity planner

What’s the point of going camping without indulging in adventure activities? While guests opt for glamping, they are curious to know about the activities they would be experiencing.

The best way is to partner with a local activities provider. Depending on the locality you’ve selected, you can offer varied adventurous sports.

Let’s say, you are creating a glamping site in the mountainous region, you can take your guests hiking, trekking, or mountain climbing. In case you choose a beachside camp, the options would be boat riding, jet skiing, parasailing, and scuba diving.

When I went glamping, my camp was situated on the riverside. Hence I opted for river rafting, bungee jumping, and free falling. Trust me the last one was no less than an adventure of a lifetime. 

Just imagine being hydrophobic, and not knowing how to swim. Jumping from a height of 30ft into a flowing river was no less than a nightmare. Not to forget, the temperature was down to 5°C.

But overall the experience was fun. So, you can partner with the local activity planners and arrange for such adrenaline-rushing sports for your guests. 

8. Set up your luxury camps

Now that you’ve collected all the information, licenses, amenities, and partners, it’s time to set up your glamping resort. While laying out the tents, go for either U or O formation, to ensure utilization of maximum space and create a boundary.

The central area could be used for bonfires, putting up a barbeque, or arranging some family-friendly activities like cricket and badminton. However, keep enough aisle space between two tents for guests to move around easily. 

Also, place the portable toilets and showers either on the backside of the tents or dedicate a separate space a bit away from the camps.

How To Market Your Glamping Business?

Finally, your glamping resort is ready, and it’s about time that you should start investing in ways to attract guests to your camps. How?

Simply, follow the strategies I’ve mentioned ahead. 

1. Establish your online presence

In this digital era, having your property’s online presence is of uttermost importance. This includes having a website, registering on OTAs, and listing your property on Google My Business (GMB), and other meta search engines.

Start with building a brand website, and while doing so focus on its appearance, content, and SEO. If you need a guide on how to do it, here’s a blog you can refer to.

Apart from that, get listed on glamping-specific OTAs for better results. Here are some of them you can try:

• Glamping.com
• Glamping Hub
• Hip Camp
• Cool Clamping
• Pitchup

2. Attract with HQ photos and videos

I’ve mentioned this in my previous blogs, and I stick to my words – use HQ photos and videos. They are the key to achieve maximum visitors and increasing your glamping website’s session duration. 

Invest in a professional photographer and consider getting a photo shoot of your glamping business. If you are low on budget, using a smartphone and a light brushing up on editing tools can do wonders for you. 

As far as the videos are concerned, record videos in 4K HD format to make it look more appealing. You can either create small clips for different segments or make a collage. Here’s a video by Serenata Resorts, Thailand, for your reference.

3. Highlight experience with story

Every guest has a story about their experience, and it can be used as a great tool to promote your property. Let me tell you how.

If you remember earlier in this blog, I shared my experience with glamping and the adventure I had there. It could be used as a testimonial by the owner and can be highlighted on the property’s website.

Similarly, you can record the experience of your guests, convert it into an interesting story and mention it on your glamping resort’s website. 

Results? Better engagement, maximum visitors, and increased bookings. 

4. Promote on social media

The target audience of glamping is youngsters and families, and both of them are avid users of social media platforms.

Hence, to interact with them directly and invite them to book your luxurious camps, social media platforms come in handy. You don’t need a laptop or desktop to sit for hours and design a campaign.

Just 10 mins. Yes, that’s all it takes to create and promote a post on your social media pages. Here’s what you need to do:

• Click a picture of your tents, with a beautiful background;
• Enhance it using a photo editor (PS Express, Snapseed, or Picsart);
• Search and use relevant hashtags;
• Geo-tag your property;
• And post it.

Voila! It’s done. Simple, isn’t it? Also, don’t forget to share your post as stories.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bell Tents Cheshire (@bell_tents_cheshire)

5. Focus on international guests

Glamping is not restricted to local destinations, many guests opt for camping on international grounds as well. If you are aware of sand dunes in Dubai, you can relate to them. Let me tell you more about the same.

Dubai as we all know is surrounded by deserts. So, in order to facilitate tourism, the people introduced glamping along with activities such as desert safari and mountain bike riding. In fact, many travelers from South Asian countries specifically ask it to be included in their packages. 

This led to an influx of international tourists, and now you see Dubai is one of the preferred destinations by many people. 

You can also invest in certain strategies to attract international guests to stay in your property and live the finest glamping experience. 

6. Market your USPs

Unique Selling Points (USPs) are an important part of every hospitality business. It could range from your property’s breathtaking views to a thank-you gift on departure. 

You know, when I went glamping and after I miraculously survived that free fall, the owner of the resort arranged a gift hamper for our entire team as a gesture of goodwill. Each member was given a personalized bottle and a box of local sweets.

I was literally mesmerized by it, and I recommend the property to my friends and family to date. 

Likewise, you can identify the USPs of your property and market it among your target audience. You can also check what your compset is pitching out to guests.

Pro-tip: One of the important USPs for glamping are the off-beat picturesque locations. You can market it using some lovely pictures and videos. 

7. Work on your tariff

One of the infallible ways to attract guests by offering them budget-friendly rates. But that does not mean you should compromise on ROI. Instead,  try to find a middle ground.

You can create weekend packages for families as well as corporate guests, who are looking forward to a getaway. Talking about solo travelers, you can cure special tariffs for them, or offer tents on a sharing basis. In this way, you can cater to backpackers also. 

8. Try influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is most sought after these days by marketers. Often hoteliers approach a known celebrity (bloggers, actors, artists) to promote their property on their social media platforms and amongst followers. 

In return, they make their property’s brand ambassador or give them free stay on their visits. Let me explain with an example. 

In India, there’s a well-known celebrity Ms. Shenaz Treasury. She is an avid traveler and creates vlogs at every hotel she visits. 

In fact, she promotes a couple of them frequently where she is a regular guest. Trust me, I’ve watched her vlogs and they could compel you to book the property. 

Here’s a post from her Instagram account for your reference.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Travel, Romance, Smiles (@shenaztreasury)

You can also hire influencers to promote your glamping business. However be cautious while selecting one, or you may end up blowing money with zero results.

9. Go the offline way

Last but not least, invest in offline marketing strategies. What are those?

Well, offline marketing includes activities like promoting through print media, partnering with travel agents, local marketing, and other such methods. 

Apart from these ways, invest in putting billboards and hoardings along the way. It would be more appropriate if you could use signboards at the bus station and other points where guests tend to board any transportation services.