The Beginner's Guide To Starting a Successful Glamping Business

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Okay, so welcome to the Boostly Spotlight series. This is on the Boostly podcast. My name is Neal Carolan and in this mini series it's a little bit different from our normal podcasts. We're going to focus on businesses, products and services which you as a hospitality owner need to know about and things that can help your business. So today we're talking all things glamping. Perhaps you're a host who already offers glamping, or somebody who's got some land and you're thinking about offering glamping. Or maybe you just know somebody with some land and you just would like to know how you can advise them to get started. Well, today I'm excited to be joined by Nick Purslow and For the next 20 minutes we're going to dive into his amazing service and how he can help you get started. The company is Glampytech from Glampytech North America. And yeah, let's Dive in. So Nick, welcome along and thank you for being here.

Thank you for having me, Liam. Absolutely appreciate it.

So why don't we get started by you introducing yourself how you got started in this industry.

Yep. So my name's Nick. I started with GlampyTech UK in 2020. That company actually started in 2018 when my business partner, he started his own glamping site on the north coast of Scotland called NC500 pods. He in the process of doing that, he realized that there wasn't really enough help to people in his position. So straight after he set up that glamping site, he started GlamperTech UK in around 2020 18, 2019. And the aim of that was just to guide people through the process of starting a glamping business. The main hurdle being planning for mission. In the uk, you have to apply for permission to your local council to build. And yeah, once you've got that over the line, then you can officially sort of construct your glamping business and start taking guests in. So that grew fairly rapidly. I joined in 2020 just as kind of a helping out with content and marketing, but gradually took on more responsibility, took part in different teams and departments and learned a lot more about the whole setup process and saw how things were done. And yeah, we're at the Glamping Show UK in 2021. So nearly a year ago to the day, pretty much we'd had a good show and on the Saturday night we're out having a few beers and I just said, let me crack America for you. And that's where it started. And then what followed was a lot of research reaching out to people in the American industry. And yeah, and now we launched a couple of months ago in the US and Canada and what we do is fairly similar. We aim to get guide people through the process of starting a glamping business. And that starts with making sure people have the right zoning. So I won't go into too much detail, but you know, you've got to make sure that your land is the correct kind of designation to be allowed to build a glamping project. We also have some great partners who work with us on assessing the feasibility of glamping ideas. We help people get their permits, which is essentially the American equivalent of planning permission. You know, we work some great architects for that. We just aim to guide people through the whole process essentially because to someone, you know, even people experience in the short term rental space, starting a glamping business is a completely different proposition. And there's a lot of Hurdles that you have to jump through, which is why it helps to work with people like ourselves and our partners to sort of just make sure you're on the right track throughout the whole process and that you're ready to start a profitable glamping business.

That's cool. And if, if you're a short term rental host listening to this, first of all, if we take a step back, why glamping in general? What, what is it?

I think dumping the reason why it's getting so much attention at the minute as a business investment is the returns you can get are incredible if you do it right. It's not uncommon to see returns, your whole investment return in two or three years. I think partially because you can get a lot of units on a slice of land. Let's say you've got an acre, two acres, you can get five, six, seven, eight units, whether they're tents or pods or anything like that. And you can be charging upwards of $100 a night. And $100 will be on the low end. You know, there are places like in Maine, you know, north of, north of, north of New York where they're charging like 400, $500 a night for safari tents and things like that. And because you can get so many, you know, you don't want to pack them all in but, but you can get a fair amount of units onto your land. And to be able to charge $100, $200, $300 a night for each of these, the returns just speak for themselves. There's obviously costs associated with it, but it's just cleaning and power really. And they're the two main costs, operating costs and yeah, it's just a fantastic investment opportunity and it's capitalizing on people's desire to experience the outdoors and get a little bit closer to nature when maybe in recent years they've withdrawn from it a little bit, but also retaining that sense of luxury that you don't necessarily get with traditional camping.

That's cool. And if I was a host, what would I need to get started? So if I've either got some land or I know somebody with some land, what would your advice be to me?

Yeah, so I'll talk about the UK and the US here because there are differences to the system, but the principles are generally the same in both countries. I'd recommend before you do anything else, before you buy any Gladping units, before you even buy any land, let's say you've got land, you want to make sure that your in the right place to legally Be able to build a Gladping project. So in the UK you can apply to struggle for planning permission no matter what. And whether or not you'll get it depends on your council's policies and generally what they think about the project. The US is a little bit more restrictive, but the principles are the same. You'll be able to see how likely you are to get permission to build based on what your councils say in their policies and rules and regulations, which are all publicly available. You'll also be able to look at how your council or your county have dealt with previous glamping applications in the area. If you go online and they've got some portals and you can request information. So the first thing I'd always check before you spend any time or money on is this a good idea? Is make sure that you can actually build a glamping project on your land. Because I've heard horror stories of people who spend thousands and thousands of dollars on glamping tents and everything like that, only to find out that they can't actually build. So the first thing I do is reach out to a company like Glam Protect to figure out, okay, is this going to be legally permissible to build? And then, you know, I'd start looking into the feasibility, you know, how much is this going to cost to set up? Am I in the right location business wise? You know, is there going to be enough visitors coming in? Am I going to be able to attract visitors? And then later down the line you'll need to get all your permissions, you know, submit a site plan to the to the council or the county in the us, stand in front of of a public meeting and argue a case that this is going to be benefits the local community. But before you do anything like that, just do your pre checks to make sure that it's even worth pursuing at all.

If you're struggling on how to get direct bookings and overwhelmed on where to start, then I recommend you go and book in a call with Boostly and our team right now. We can walk you through exactly what we're offering, how we can help you and give you a portfolio of websites that we have worked with that are matching not only your niche, but could be in your location as well. Boostly has helped over 2000 hospitality businesses all over the world increase their direct bookings. And if you are interested then all you need to do is go to Boostly. B O O s t l y.co.uk call and book in an appointment with one of our sales team.

That's cool. And that's exactly what your company allows people to do, is to do that sort of due diligence on people's behalf. So how does that work and how do you help with that?

Yeah, so that's the first stage. We don't charge much at all for it. It's almost a loss leader for us because we want to make sure that people aren't just going into the process when they've got no chance of being able to do it. And we want to sort of gain the trust of people and show that we know what we're talking about. So those who are going to be able to do it, and we can just guide them through the rest. So in the uk, we offer something called a Caesar Beat study, which is a look at everything related to your glamour business. So it will look at your know, your financial projections, competitor analysis and things like that. But the main benefit is that it will look at your local council's policies, look at how they've dealt with previous applications in the area and just give you a really good idea of are you likely to get planning permission and then, you know, once you've got that knowledge, you can make the decision as to whether it's worth going ahead with or not. We charge 497 pounds for that, roughly. In the US, it's slightly different because there are even more barriers to getting started in the us, land wise and, you know, jurisdiction wise. So we focus solely on that. You know, are you going to be able to build on this property? Are you going to be able to get a permit for it? And again, it's a similar kind of rate. It's around $497. And from that you'll get your, you know, you'll know whether it's going to be possible. And if it is possible, we'll give you the next steps. You know, you have to do this to get approved, you have to do this to get funding, and it's just that sort of foundational report that will guide the rest of the process moving forward.

That's cool. And what would you say the biggest challenges you find? Obviously, you're in contact with a lot of glamping businesses. What are some of the big challenges that glamping businesses face?

Well, generally, what I've just said, really, it's getting started. I'll focus on the US for a little bit. In the us, every piece of property is given a particular zoning designation. So you might be in an agricultural zone, you might be in a residential zone, whatever, and your local county or city will have specific rules and regulations about what is allowed to be built in these particular zoning districts. And a lot of people are just in a zoning district where you're not allowed to do anything like a glamping style or camping style development, it's just simply not allowed. A lot of people are actually encounters where no matter what zoning district you're in, you're not allowed to do anything like that. So that is the biggest hurdle, I'd say, which is why it's so important to check are you allowed to do this before you even think about any of the other stuff. So the regulatory barriers, I'd say are the biggest issues. The other one is funding. In the uk, a lot of people, a lot of our clients generally have cash to do it. They're generally landowners, they have cash, they want maybe five or six glamping pods. In the US it's a bit different. I think the culture is more geared towards getting funding. Anyway, first thought is, let me get investment. People are more prepared to spend time getting an investment. Rather, in the uk it's a bit more, okay, have I got the money or have I not? And so, yeah, access and funding is generally a big obstacle because you have to show investors or banks or whoever that this is going to be a viable business opportunity, which is where something like a feasibility study which will give you your financial projections can help. But because that is so in depth, like that doesn't come too cheaply either. So you've got to have a bit of cash to be able to invest in getting an investment, if you see what I mean. So that can be quite a barrier as well.

So in my mind, I think I've got it and the host listening, we'll get it when, if I know somebody with some land or if I've got some land myself and I'm thinking of doing glamping, but I just need to get started, that's when I contact you guys. Is that the case? So it's a case of if I just know people with land, is it? When do we get in touch with you?

Yeah, so if you, if you've got land, then great, you could. We'll charge you 500 quid in the UK, $500 in the US to have a look at it, produce a really in depth report on whether this is going to be possible, whether it's not going to be possible, what your next step should be. And that's in the grand scheme of the hundreds, thousands of dollars of pounds that are required to go into a glamping project. 500 quid is nothing. So that's where I'd recommend speaking to us. I'd also recommend speaking to us if you don't have land. If you're looking, let's say you're looking across four or five different counties in the US for a property, we can identify which counties have the rules and regulations that are least strict on these glamping star developments. So we can identify the ones that just won't allow it. All can identify the ones that will, you know, are fairly flexible. And we can sort of narrow down your property search to the counties and districts that something like this is going to be possible. So also, if you don't have land, then definitely get in touch and we can help you find land that is appropriate for a glamping development.

That's cool. And with a focus still on, on your products, how far you know. So it sounds like you hold the hands of, of people looking to get started all the way through. When does that hand holding let go? When. When is your services finished? And the person then starts off, you know, on their own, generally once they've.

Got all their permits and applications. We can help with websites. We can also pass our website people who want websites onto guys like yourself. So that's generally like the sort of last stage, generally. Although we can help with, with ongoing marketing too, once they've opened their doors and we've done that for a couple of people because, you know, the knowledge that my business partner Callum garnered from, from having his own glamping sites in Scotland, They've got like 70,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram. So, like, we understand marketing too, so we can help with, with ongoing marketing. But generally our sort of main body of services pretty much ends the day that they're able to open their doors.

That's cool. So right to the point where their first site's open and they're hosting their first guest, which is cool.

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How important is it for direct bookings, for glamping, if we just go on a slightly different angle now?

Yeah, no, so I. I love. I love boostie stuff and I actually reached out to you guys because. Because I completely agree with. With everything you guys say. The. I mean, I. I would. I would generally recommend, when starting out, because you've got so many units to fill, it's not like a traditional Airbnb where you've just got one house to fill. You know, I'd always recommend going on Airbnb and booking.com of places like this to start with when you're just trying to get as many bookings as possible. But from that, once you're got a reasonable occupancy rate, absolutely. Everything should be geared towards getting people to rebook through your own website. And you should have a good website from day one. Again, my business partner, Callum, when he started his glamping site, he had his website ready long before the site was opened. He was able to get direct bookings before the site was open, which gave him a little bit of cash to sort of give the final push. And, yeah, it just makes complete sense to focus on your website. It's a stronger brand and also, you don't have to pay out commissions. And as Mark will say, you know, you're not. You're not owned by whatever the CEO of Airbnb is called. I forgot his name. Yeah, so, yeah, absolutely. Direct people to your own website and, you know, if someone books through Airbnb, for example, for their first day, offer them incentives to bought through their own website and capture them marketing channels and everything like that. But, yeah, absolutely. Direct bookings are massively important. That will save you a lot of money in the long run.

That's cool. And one question I'd have for you is you obviously get to see a lot of different glamping sites. Is there any that you see which you kind of know they're going to be more successful? Is there any things which help to make a successful glamping site in general?

The ones that are different generally catch my eye, whether they've got particularly unique structure. Like I saw one in the US the other week where it was. It's hard to describe, but it was like a complete, like, mirrored exterior structure. So. So when you could. You're looking at yourself in the mirror, essentially, but it looks cooler than that. And just anything that you're like, wow, okay, I've never seen anything like that before. There's a. There's a place Called Port Limb in the uk, where you can stay in like a. A lodge and you're surrounded by tigers and leopards and things like that. Obviously that is like ridiculous, but it's just a recipe for 95% to 100% occupancy rate. Obviously those kind of things are hard to get approval for. They cost a lot more money. So it's sort of a balance. And axe. But anything that is different and it makes you stand back and say, wow, okay, I haven't seen anything like that before in the uk. That's a little bit harder to do because the UK is a glamping market is quite a bit more mature than the US is. Whereas the US is very much on the rise and there's so much opportunity to sort of influence the direction of the industry and at the minute there's, you know, demand is far exceeding supply. So in the minute of the US could sort of put up a few tents and you'd be absolutely fine. But, you know, in five years, 10 years, you want to be making sure that you're different. And something like a unique structure or unique branding or anything like that will definitely help.

Something we see time and time again where hosts who are brave and different zigs while everyone else zags is just something which is a recipe for success, isn't it? And it's nice to see that as the case with glamping as well.

Absolutely.

In general, obviously, there'll be people who have listened to this who are thinking, well, you know, we've got some, we've got some land, or that sounds like something we might want to do. And with. With glamping in general at the moment, since the, the pandemic, most people want to get back to nature. You know, they're escaping the cities, they want some time to relax, get away from, you know, sort of phones and, and devices and all that sort of thing. So it's definitely a market which seems to be on the rise. If people wanted to get in touch and to generally see your services, what's the best way for them to do so?

Yeah, so if you're in the UK, then the website is ww.w.glampertech.com or if you're in the US or Canada, then it's www.glampertech.com forward slash us. So that's the best place to see what we do. You can contact us@contact lambertech.com and we can, you know, just tell us about your site. We can book a call in and, yeah, just guide you through the whole process. We've obviously also got Facebook and Instagram and everything like that too.

That's cool. And I'm sure we'll add the links to both the, the Live that we're at at the moment and also on the, on the podcast, if you're listening on the podcast as well. So, Nick, this has been really interesting. I think we've got a grasp of, of what you do and if anybody out there who's listening has got land or is thinking about doing glamping, then contact Glampytech and, you know, get in touch with Nick to see if their services can help you. I hope this behind the Spotlight, sorry, Spotlight series on Boostly has been useful and yeah, thank you very much. Nick, did you have any closing comments? Is there anything you're excited about in hospitality at the moment?

I mean, I'm going to be biased, but I'm extremely excited about the potential for the glamping industry in the US and Canada. It's such a, it's at such an early stage and I've seen how, you know, how the UK has grown and matures. Their glamping industry has grown and matured. The US is two, three, four years behind and I can just see it, you know, its trajectory. There's a, there's a rocket ship behind you there, I think, and that's the trajectory that the US glamping industry is going in. So I'm extremely excited to be a part of it and help people get their glamping businesses started in the US and Canada.

Sounds good to me. It reminds me of a quote I've just heard from Alex Harmozi, which is a fantastic sales and marketer and worth checking out for people if you haven't heard of him. But he says that it's sometimes not about how hard you row, but it's about the boat you're in. And if you're in the boat in glamping market in those locations, you know, know it's going to be. You're going with the tide, aren't you?

So, yeah, yeah, that's absolutely bang on to. So what I was just talking about there. Yeah, absolutely amazing.

Well, Nick, it's been an absolute pleasure having you on the Spotlight series. If you're a host and you're listening to this and you're listening to it on the Boostly podcast series and you're wanting to get more tips on hospitality, come and join us in the hospitality Facebook community and come and add to the community there. If you've got no other closing comments, Nick. Well, then we'll. We'll wrap this up for today. And I just want to say thank you for coming on.

That's all from me. Thank you very much for having me, Liam. Massively appreciate it.

No worries. Bye for now.