Editorial Staff

Find your ideal ‘campsite for sale’ listings

Now you’ve estimated your ideal size of campsite – your next focus is acquisition.

But, searching the marketplace for available target campsites can become quite frustrating.

• Where should I look?
• How should I look?
• What’s a fair price?

Here are some quick ‘hacks’ for landing that perfect pick – before it’s plucked…

Step #1 – Find the specialist campsite brokers

Campsite brokers specialise in valuing and promoting campsites for sale.

And naturally, they are a great place to begin your search for campsites that are on the market.

Their websites will usually have listings posted and you can even join their alerts email lists for the latest updates.

Search BusinessesForSale.com

We recommend that you find campsite brokers via Businesses For Sale.

They are the world’s business online marketplace for buying and selling businesses.

They have a highly indexed listing with great searchability.

But most of all, all the best brokers post their listings here…with full visibility of the broker’s details.

This is great for going deep on ‘campsite for sale’ opportunity hunting.

Here’s a shortlist of just some of the specialist campsite and hospitality brokers you’ll find on there:

• www.horizonestateagents.co.uk/
• www.cclproperty.com/
• sw.co.uk
• foxleisure.co.uk

Step #2 – Use Google tools & alerts to find hidden gems

The key to making use of listing opportunities is accuracy and timeliness.

Too much time can be spent looking around – not finding listings that match your criteria.

So, to help you get back the value of all that lost time (and frustration),

We put together these pro tips for using Google more accurately to find your ideal campsite for sale:

Use Google Search operators

• Use Google Search operators to fine-tune the general nature of the search results you might receive…here’s how:

Type into Google Search bar:

intext:’campsite’ inurl:’property’

(…this tells Google, only include results that have the word ‘campsite’ in the text and ‘property’ in the web address. Why? Often property listings have the word ‘property’ in the web address – this gives Google a clue for returning more accurate results.)

…also try…

campsite intext:”for sale”

(…this tells Google, only include results that are generally about the word ‘campsite’ but that also have the phrase ‘for sale’ within the text of the page. Another way around the defences for striking the target of your ideal campsite listing.)

Further reading: Google Search Operators – Moz

Use Google Search Tools

Next, use Google Search Tools to further refine your search to include only pages published with a year, month, week or day.

Here’s how…

By using this tool, you can immediately screen out of your search any campsite listings that are outdated.

A HUGE time saver.

Finally, wouldn’t it be great if Google could simply alert you of when such opportunities come up?

Well, know today that it can.

Use Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a useful FREE service that allows you to set up email alerts for ANY search terms.

Here’s how it works…

Simply visit Google Alerts and type in your desired search term (notice how it also accepts those Google Search operator commands), enter your email address and – get alerts:

You can set the regularity of alerts to suit your preference…instant, daily, weekly, it’s your choice.

(A note: you must still screen your results for quality, Google will literally throw everything your way that even slightly resembles your search. That being said, hidden amongst the rough stones will certainly be those hidden gems.)

Step #3 – Use our Campsite Financial Analyser to calculate a fair price

So, what IS a fair price for a campsite these days?

That’s a good question.

However, don’t expect a straight answer.

Pricing related to value and value is subjective

The reality of things is – pricing a completely subjective realm of thinking.

In other words, one man’s fair is and another man’s ridiculous.

It really depends on who’s looking and for why.

But certainly, a confident decision must be reached.

Therefore each man must learn to justify and live with his own estimation – performing the best he can.

Defining things properly

In the case of pricing a fair acquisition price for a campsite,

What we’re really searching for more accurately speaking is:

A profitable valuation.

Said, differently…

You want to come up with a:

• (a) figure for buying the campsite that enables you to
• (b) achieve the profit
• (c) and earnings you anticipate.

i.e. “What’s the lowest price I can pay that will…”

1. “…set me on track for making the future money I expect; and,
2. compensate the vendor for all their hard work at a rate equal to typical valuation methods?”

All in all a tough question, if you don’t know how…

(But here’s the key to making things really simple and arriving at a rock solid valuation.)

The successful approach to a profitable valuation

The answer?

You start at the finish.

(You reverse engineer it.)

You work backwards.

“Declaring your target earnings first, leading u necessary profits to make this happen which then dictates the nature of campsite we need.”

Why?

Because with financial projection (as this exercise essentially is), you always work with the most certain and governing facts first.

Therefore you build on sure and firm foundations.

And in the context of this campsite business strategy and plan the most certain and governing fact ought to be:

Your rewards.

(After all, this is a business – and so by definition is ‘For Profit’,

i.e. you are doing this with the firm and nonnegotiable  expectation that the business will pay you back: covering all costs comfortably PLUS returning a liveable financial (and lifestyle) benefit on your investment.)

So, starting with earnings, otherwise known as your take home pay.

Finalising Your Target Earnings

Perhaps when you think earnings,

You consider a round sum paid either monthly or annually.

But the definition of earnings for a business owner should be more detailed than that of an employee.

Here’s a few reasons why…

1. Seasonality: …no business is hit harder by seasonality that tourism.
   • Be realistic about natural ‘bottoming-out’ in demand, say, come winter. It’s important that you answer the question: “…how do I eat when things get cold?”
     • The
2. Contingency: …also, there’s just the general ups and downs of trade.
   • Think of strategies of smoothing out the times when sales slide off.
3. Macro economic downturn: …you don’t have to stretch imagination that far to think of situations when the global or national economy suffers large scale problems.
   • Having planned escape routes for preservation of earnings is wise.
4. Growth: …inflation is enough of a reason to consider growth as a vital strategic goal.
   • However, even growth is planned – estimate how you might engineer this into your stride.
5. Exit: …a planned escape is always prudent in business for the avoidance of lose.
   • Consider “…how to I divest and still retain value?”.  Whether prescribed or dictated on by life event, obtaining value on exit should be part of your expected earning.

Take your estimated earnings figure from earlier, to produce an earnings profile and modify the figure to account for the points above.

Finalising Your Target Profits

Profit is the root of earnings.

No profits, no take home pay.

If fact, earnings are a direct function of profit.

The more profit you make (revenues over and above expense and cost), the more available monies for taking home.

They’re proportional.

So, once you’ve produced your earnings profile, this will inform your campsite profit profile.

Finalising Your Target Valuation

Lastly, once your know what kind of profit your ideal campsite should be generating for achieving target earnings,

You then know the size (by revenue) of campsite you’re looking for.

And a campsite making a given revenue, typically will be valued at a given price.

Generally, speaking industry pros decide valuation of campsites and similar businesses on the basis of a revenue multiplier.

This can be applied in 2 ways – here are the most common methods:

METHOD [A]:

• 2.8 TO 3.8 times ANNUAL GROSS SALES = Estimated value

METHOD [B]

• NET OPERATING INCOME divided by CAPITALISATION RATE = Estimated value

Both of the methods above are just yardsticks. They’re not absolute.

They give you a gauge for estimating the reasonable market value for the business (as calculated according to industry standards).

Method A takes the approach of valuing a business based on 3 years worth of gross revenue.

• In other words, a vendor is being recompensed by a sum equalling 3 years gross revenue for releasing their ownership.

Method B estimates valuation on the basis of the net operating income (NOI) adjusted by rate of payback per annum (capitalisation rate).

• The capitalisation rate can be adjusted to suit.

Quick examples:

1. If a campsite produces £150,000 gross revenue per annum and a multiplier of 2.5 is applied for valuation, the estimated value is calculated as:

   • £150,000 x 2.5 = £375,000

2. If the same campsite generates £220,000 of net operating income and a capitalisation rate of 8% is to be used for the purpose of valuation, calculated as follows:

   • £220,000 x 4% = £550,000

What’s the difference?

Technically, with limited detail passing through the official books of the business is can be difficult to evidence ‘method B’.

However, ‘method B’ does present a more favourable valuation for the vendor…£175,000 better off in fact.

The lesson?

Keep scrupulous books and evidence your financial position.

Your exit value could be greatly increased by this simple rule.

Using the Campsite Financial Analyser to calculate Gross Revenue and Net Operating Income

[Use our online Campsite Financial Analyser]

Next, you’re going to see how by using the Campsite Financial Analyser tool, accurate financial projections can be made.

It’s like a lens that helps you see the projected…

• revenue and;
• profit

…of any campsite as an instant snapshot.

All in all, a very useful strategic planning tool for EVERY campsite owner.

Here’s how it’s features will help you accurately estimate campsite valuation:

Step #1 – Set Your Season Dates:

Declare the exact dates  you expect your campsite to be open and available for receiving bookings…

Step #2 – No. of Available Nights:

From your site’s opening dates set in the previous step, the Analyser automatically calculates the available nights for booking at your campsite…

Step #2 – Choose Your Types of Pitch:

Plan the types of pitches your campsite will have and proportion by number of each type…

Grass pitches:

Grass pitches with electrical hookup:

Hardstanding pitches:

Hardstanding w/ electrical hook up:

Premium pitches:

Other accommodation:

Winter storage pitches:

Seasonal pitches:

Step #3 – Calculate Your Total Capacity of Short Stays:

The Analyser in this next step auto calculates your campsite’s total capacity for short stays based on previous input…

For the associated revenue figure – simply add you estimated on-site spend per booking

Step #5 – Calculate Your Income From Pet Visits:

By simply adding your additional pet tariff the Analyser calculates the related revenue…

Step#6 – Calculate Your Mean Revenue:

The Analyser gives you a useful breakdown of two key financial metrics for better management and decision making for your campsite business:- (1) mean revenue per booking and (2) mean revenue per pitch per night…

(Handy statistics for scenario planning.)

Step#7 – Estimated monthly nights available, occupancy, short stay bookings and total revenue :

Instructing the Analyser how many nights in any particular month will be available and the expected level of occupancy, allows the software to automatically calculate you revenue figures…

Step#8 – Calculate Your Annual Gross Revenue:

The Analyser does the job of bundling up your monthly figures into a neat annual gross revenue figure. This can be used for calculating campsite valuation by METHOD A above…

Step#9 – Calculate Your Net Operating Income:

Insert your percentage to arrive at your net operating income. The percentage used here is a broad brushstroke for now, but later on in the financial planning chapter we’ll take a closer look at defining a more accurate measure. Remember: NOI can be used for calculating campsite valuation by METHOD B above…

[Use our online Campsite Financial Analyser ]

Go To Part 8: https://campsitebusinessplan.co.uk/knowledge-base/campsite-repeat-custom

Go To Part 7: https://campsitebusinessplan.co.uk/knowledge-base/campsite-acquisition

In this post, I’m going to show you exactly how to run a financial analysis of ANY campsite business.

In fact, with this approach you can tell instantly if a campsite is worth:

• buying, or;
• selling

…and what needs to be done to make it much more profitable.

You’ll be using the our software programme called the Campsite Financial Analyser to achieve your calculation.

The following headers are the subsections of the programme and describe what’s involved:

Season length

The first step is to define the scope of your season.

Your season length is the overall container for which all your other metrics are stored.

A bit like a cup…you can fill it up to the brim, but that’s it.

The season length is often restricted by local government license to open.

Even so, regardless of regulatory constraint, you may still choose to have a close season.

Staying open in winter when you don’t expect much trade might not appeal.

You could consider taking time off to recharge for the season ahead.

No. of nights

A principal metric to have at your fingertips in the exact number of nights you plan to open in the year ahead.

Having the date range of your season committed to memory is worthwhile for general administration.

…you also want number of nights.

This will be for the sake of multiplying your units sales into a complete income figure.

No. of nights is your key baseline multiplier.

Types of pitches

Pitches are a great differentiator for campsite businesses.

They offer good way of providing a tailored service provision to guests.

Said differently, campsite customers each have something different they are looking for from their pitch.

Some want more space, others want amenities like electrical hook-up or sewage drainage…

Offering only one sort of pitch limits your ability to deliver exactly what your guests are looking for.

And the best part – to add more pitch types to your campsite business doesn’t necessarily cost a lot either.

Sure a full-service hook-up may cost some capital, but to offer larger grass pitches, for example, doesn’t.

Knowing your customer here pays off.

Number of pitches

The number of pitches is naturally constrained here by the size of your land (and perhaps planning permission).

There is a trade-off between scale and privacy with camp pitches.

Also, the you’ll want to save some room and space throughout your grounds for setting the landscape backdrop.

The danger of jam-packing out your site with pitches side-by-side is you don’t leave room for much else.

This would leave your site experience being unbearable and tasteless to guests.

In the long run your return visits will suffer.

Although you theoretically might be able to pack more numbers in at any time.

Fees

Each type of pitch offers a certain amount of value to customers.

The pitch fee you choose for each type of pitch will reflect the value given and your cost incurred.

‘Pitch nights’

Once you’ve defined your capacity in terms of number of pitches, across all pitch categories…

it now to multiply up your total number of bookings opportunities, from all pitches across your full season.

This figure is simply known as ‘pitch nights’.

If you multiply the corresponding fee per pitch type by the total pitch nights available per season…

what you get is a maximum earning potential of any given campsite.

An important figure for leading your decision making if you are interested in buying.

Also, a good measure to have on hand if you are selling.

Monthly occupancy

Now you have a maximum potential income figure for your campsite project…

…the next step, is to moderate this figure by your expected occupancy.

Occupancy is how many pitches that you plan will actually be booked per season vs. could be booked.

Armed with this actual figure. you are beginning to develop an idea of the overall earning potential of your campsite.

Ave. occupancy in that month

One modification you will have to make when estimating occupancy for your campsite throughout the year is seasonality.

Month to month customer demand will differ.

Does your campsite project follow the traditional campaign season?

You’ll have to adjust your figures to increase in the peak weeks and decrease in the low weeks. In the off-season (winter) – prepare for a complete drop-off in income because of closure.

If your campsite project is planned to open all year round, then perhaps your income continues during winter…

…but will you expect summer-like figures?

Probably not.

In which case, you’ll need a way of factoring in the ups and downs of expected trade.

No of nights stay est.

How long is each booked group, couple or individual likely to stay on-site for?

How many nights per stay?

This number gives you an estimate of the turnover of guests within your campsite project.

This number impacts other operational factors like guest welcome, onboarding and departure.

The higher your turnover of guests, the greater need you’ll have for putting on guest relations services.

Bookings

One question you might have at this stage of your planning is…

…how do I estimate the number of bookings in a season?

You get this number from dividing the expected room nights booked in a season by the average number of nights’ stay.

This gives you the number of bookings.

This is how you might go about estimating how many bookings you need in order to fill a certain number of pitch nights.

Mix of seasonal, winter storage & short stay

What about other types of pitch use?

Spreading about your income potential into a more diverse array of activities spreads your risk of loss.

By putting all your eggs into one short stay camping basket presents the danger of losing everything if that niche is disturbed by something unforeseen.

However, if you have other types of customer providing income in other ways…

…these earnings would be unaffected should your short stay market get dented by something peculiar.

Examples of diversified pitch income could be seasonal pitch hire or winter storage.

Accommodation breakdown (vehicle, rented pitch, chalet, lodge, etc.)

Pitch variety is one thing, but customers these days have a far more sophisticated expectation of accommodation type.

Chalets, lodge, glamping pods, shepherds huts are all value-added premium versions of camping accommodation.

Sure, they aren’t everyone’s taste, but some are attracted to these options.

Such accommodations offer a prepared, fully furnished and kitted out home-away-from-home experience – particularly popular with young families.

The price point of such accommodation is completely different to pitch hire.

If you plan on offering these, you’ll need to factor in the figures.

Pets

Over 1/3 of all campsite visitors bring a pet along with them.

Many sites charge a surplus fee for pet inclusion with every booking.

The fee is usually charged per night stay.

Your project calculations should include the expected revenue from pet arrivals.

Mean revenue (per pitch night, per booking)

Overall mean revenue per pitch night and per booking are very handy metrics for any campsite business.

Why?

To build an overall revenue or income picture – it becomes much easier when you can throw a single average revenue figure at every night spent or booking made.

From this figure of mean revenue, you can answer questions like…

“how much additional revenue should we gain if our bookings went up by 20%?”

or

“how much more income would we make if we extended our season by 10 weeks?”

On-site spend (domestic / international)

Aside from accommodation bookings, your site might be equipped with other revenue-generating potentials, like:

• convenience store
• activities (outdoor cinema, archery…etc)
• laundry
• vending machines
• mobile catering

These additional services might be used by guests, bringing in side-income to your campsite business.

Make an estimate and factor this on-top of your accommodation rental fees.

Expenses

As you have built up a complete picture of your campsite income, the next step is tallying expenses and overheads.

Profit after is income minus outgoings.

Without profit we have no earnings, so profitability is the principal market for sustainability in business.

It answers the question of,

“Can this business pay for itself and pay me and all those involved for our efforts?”

If after all expenses and overheads (inc. your time involvement) paid there is still money left in the kitty – then you’ve got a worthwhile venture.

The dream for many.

Capital

Outside of regular expenses and costs for running your business, you will have to make relatively large investments every now and again.

Think…

• replacing equipment
• repairing equipment
• upgrading kit
• servicing and maintenance

Although these are not routine, you’ll need to factor in the occasional cost of these to get a realistic figure of profit on your year’s trade.

Profit/Loss

Finally, the fruit of your labour.

Money available after all is paid off can go to so many functions:

• capital for expanding your scope and income potential
• diversification
• new venture investment
• exit savings
• more earnings

There are so many rewards at hand when you

plan prudently,

…and execute with excellence.

Go To Part 6: https://campsitebusinessplan.co.uk/knowledge-base/the-campsite-financial-analyser

Your campsite business is a personal investment vehicle.

Its purpose should be to deliver a financial reward that matches what you need, given your circumstances.

If you don’t set your sights on what matters, then you have no real aim for success.

So. let’s take a look at how to set some fundamental goals for building campsite business success.

Quantify your earnings expectations

Starting right where it counts the most.

Raising your aim for what earnings you expect to take home from running your campsite business.

Stay motivated

Motivation plays a MASSIVE part in running a sustainable business.

If you are to have any chance of keeping the wheels of progress turning every day, whilst bearing the strain of operation gladly…

Then getting back a meaningful return for your labour is paramount.

Otherwise, it just doesn’t make any sense.

Be realistic

Sure, there are lifestyle benefits to campsite ownership, like location and social interaction,

But unless it pays the household bills – it’s all but a dream.

Don’t neglect the bottom line pay off.

It might not be ALL about that. But running a campsite business would be a VERY expensive hobby, wouldn’t it?

Decide what your campsite should do for you

So, let’s run through a few questions,

The answers to which, will DICTATE the minimum level performance of your campsite business…

Here are those performance-related questions…:

1. What do you currently earn?
2. Does your current income cover all your personal expenses?
3. Do you have any debt?
   • Do you meet all your repayment obligations?
     • If no, what income would allow to catch up and to continue satisfying all current debt repayments?
     • At that rate of payback, when would you effectively become debt free?
     • Ideally, what would be your preferred (realistic) debt-free date – by which to pay it all back?
     • What therefore would be your target income (monthly) for achieving this repayment schedule?
4. What about your future ? Are their any personal financial milestones you’d like to reach?
   • Perhaps savings to:
     • travel
     • retrain
     • pay for a child’s wedding
5. Will this campsite business be your only source of income?
   • If no, how much time commitment must you give to your other work obligations?
     • …and what realistic time availability do you have to run this campsite business?
6. What staffing arrangements do you have in mind for running the campsite operation and manage the business?

Scope your working capital needs

The reality is…

Every start-up business takes a bit of time to start paying you back.

The same is also true of an existing business that you buy.

During this transition phase of settling into your stride, the business will actually be a liability.

(Not yet an asset.)

In other words,

…it’s going to need funding out of your pocket (either entirely or in part) until it can stand on its own.

What is working capital?

Working capital is the money your campsite business will need you to fund before it rewards you back.

Calculating how much working capital you need and for how long you need it is a MAJOR milestone in planning.

Why is it important?

It is the vital cash flow your business operations will need to stay afloat whilst it gets strong enough to carry you.

Without enough working capital, you fall behind in expenses and overheads.

This is one of the most DAMAGING blows an early business can suffer.

How much working capital is enough?

So,

…planning carefully just how much money you need to stump up in advance, is critical to clearing the first few hurdles.

In the case of your campsite business,

“How much” working capital depends largely if you are taking on a ‘going concern’, or not.

Working capital – when buying a campsite as a going concern

A going concern is an existing business.

It would imply (but is not always the case with such) that the business comes with a ready profitable, cash flow.

This would mean from day 1, it will begin to fill up the bucket of investment returns.

If run well, you can literally predict when you expect your returns to kick in.

Why?

You have bookings in the pipeline, a loyal customer base and an established market share.

In short, your business already works – you just have to keep peddling.

Working capital when – starting a new campsite business from scratch

But what about if you start up from scratch?

Well, it STILL is possible to meet that same schedule for returns as a going concern,

But you’d have to prepare for a MUCH STEEPER gradient.

(Which should always include some slippage for making mistakes and learning lessons.)

Couple that with a first attempt at the business and you’d do well to extend your working capital period somewhat.

Say, with a start-up from scratch you might need 24 months (personal and business) expenses saved as a lump sum.

Watch out – a going concern might have hidden costs…

A profitable, going concern might need less time to bring back returns, but in practice:

• You might hit some unforeseen snags…
• Some renewal payments might be due early on in your takeover…
• You might incur cost increases – like on land rent, for example…
• Also, your business might actually make as much as you thought on paper…

So, you’ll only REALLY know when you’re in the seat and running at target.

But 24 months might be a reasonable working capital budget.

Estimate your expected earnings vs. site capacity

Your campsite earnings are directly linked to the site capacity.

After all, you can only make as much sales revenue as the number of available pitches will permit you.

It’s like a cup.

If you have thirst for 2 litres and only have a 1-litre bottle,

You’ll be left wanting.

Capacity planning and income is the same relationship.

One is a container to supply the other.

For example,

Let’s say that your expected earnings from the campsite were £30,000 per annum before tax.

What size campsite would be appropriate to generate that personal income?

Some factors for consideration in your calculation would be:

• number of pitches
• types of pitches
• average price per pitch
• season length
• average seasonal occupancy rate
• net profit percentage

The factors above will play their part in

Below is an outline process that you might take to calculate the related size of campsite required…

Step 1: Reverse engineer turnover from net profit (earnings)

What’s a reasonable net profit be for a small to medium sized campsite with a mix of serviced and unserviced pitches?

Take this example:

Coastal 120 Pitch Campsite And Letting Cottages For Sale

St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, UK

• Asking Price:
  • £1,025,000
• Turnover:
  • £265,000
• Net Profit:
  • £125,000

(Source: UK Businesses for Sale)

Going by this (…albeit singular…) ‘real life’ example – we see a net profit of 47%.

Even if we downgrade that to 37% to remain conservative, we’d extrapolate a turnover figure of £81,082.00

Step 2: Estimate the season length

As is the case with most UK campsites, the season duration of your campsite might be 8 months of trade.

Step 3: Calculate average turnover per month

To achieve this, you’d simply divide annual turnover by number of trading months per year…

So, in this example we have:

£81,082.00 / 8

= £10,135.25 per month of trade on average

Step 4: Decide on an average occupancy level

According to the UK Campsite study, peak occupancy in May could be 70% pitches filled and at the other end of the spectrum 12% in December.

A mid-range average of about 35% annual occupancy of pitches spread evenly across all 8 months of trade might be a sensible guess.

Step 5: Estimate the number of available trading nights possible in the season

Simply, count the number of days within the chosen span of trading months:

March to October

= 8 months (inclusive)

= 245 nights of trade

Step 6: Work out the average turnover per night of trade

Equals £81,082.00 divided by 245 pitch nights

= £331.00 of turnover made per night on average across the whole season

Step 7: Decide on an average pitch price per night

Doing your research on existing campsite websites, you might find a mid-point rate per night of around £22.00, like with this campsite:

Manor Farm Campsite – Prices 2022

Step 8: Pin down your minimum number of pitches required to hit your turnover target

Divide average nightly turnover by average pitch price

= £331.00 / £22.00

= 16 pitches

…now, to adjust the figure to account for your average occupancy of 35%

= 16 / 0.35

= 46 pitches

Step 9: Identify the minimum size of campsite you’d need to generate your target earnings

You need a 46 pitch campsite minimum to achieve your earnings expectations.

Step 10: Estimate working capital required to compliment your start-up business plan

By our example above 37% of turnover would remain after running costs as net profit.

Therefore making annual running costs 63% of turnover

= £81,082.00 x 0.63

= £51,082.00

So, as a measure of prudence – you might want to account for between:

£51,082.00 and £102,164.00 working capital within your business plan.

Go To Part 5: https://campsitebusinessplan.co.uk/knowledge-base/intro-campsite-financial-analyser

Customer service is #1

According to experienced owners:

“…the most important factor for success when running a campsite is giving excellent customer service.”

Excelling as a host is the most precious business asset you can possess as a campsite owner.

It’s the very essence of hospitality.

Making your guests feel at home – away from home.

Cater to guest motives

Remember also that your guests will each have their own reasons for staying.

1. For some…it will be to fulfil a trip they had planned to VISIT the area or region.
2. For others…it will be to make use of a PERSONAL recommendation they received.
3. And there will be those who…want to take part in an ACTIVITY, like water sports, for example.

But whatever the motive, your job as a host is to be the ultimate hospitality partner to them getting MAXIMUM value.

Serve all comers & they’ll keep coming

Take note also that not all campers know camping.

Your customers will be of varying camping proficiency and experience.

Yet keeping all visitors in good comfort (but without ‘sticking your nose in’), will be your secret to keeping them coming back.

Campsite ownership tends to for the long haul

In fact, here are some stats on how long campsite owners tend to keep their investments:

• 33% owned their sites for between 10-24 years.
• 34% owned their sites for over 25 years.
• 18% owned their sites for less than 5 years.
• 15% owned their sites for 1-5 years.

(Source: Pitching the Value UK Caravan and Camping Alliance )

A Day In The Life of A Campground Owner

Here are 5 questions – asked of 3 campsite owners (from the KOA franchise website) with their thoughts on running their campground businesses:

(Note: these are examples from the US, but the theme is easily transferrable to the UK campsite industry)

Q.1 Why the campsite business?

Tim Johnson of the Pueblo South/Colorado City KOA Holiday

“My wife Elena and I were both raised in the hospitality business, so in a way, it was a natural fit.”

Diane Devine of the Livingston / Paradise Valley KOA Holiday

“It was a good way to raise our kids.

We have five children, and while they were growing up we were right there with them.”

Kendra Cooney of the Corbin / Laurel Lake KOA Journey

“My husband’s parents owned a campground, and it was [his] Jerry’s dream to own one too.”

Q.2 When does the day start?

Tim Johnson:

“…we start getting calls at 6:00 a.m. at our house, before the office opens at 8:00.

But it’s a nice, friendly wake-up call, so we don’t mind.”

Diane Devine:

“I’m at the store and office before 8:00 a.m.

My husband does the landscaping and maintenance on our campground, and he’ll usually leave the house a little later, but also comes home later.”

Q.3 When does the day finish?

Tim Johnson:

“…we’re in the office until after 10:30 at night, as guests may be arriving later than expected and we need to be there to greet them.

And we’re actually available 24 hours a day by phone.”

Diane Devine:

“…we’ll get calls at 11:00 at night from people who’ve been in Yellowstone National Park and suddenly realize they don’t have a site.

Others may not pull into the campground until after 10 p.m…”

Q.4 What are the key tasks?

Kendra Cooney:

“Check out, cleaning, then handling incoming guests.

Once we know who’s checking out and who’s checking in, any cabin turnovers are our first priority.

Then it’s getting to the sites to clean them up as well…

…but to be in the office as much as possible because it’s really important to me to be able to talk to our guests.”

Diane Devine:

“I handle a lot of the office tasks and bookwork at our campground, and I work in the store every day — more so right now because we had some unexpected turnover.

My husband does daily maintenance, but he also handles the security in the evening.

He goes around the entire campground, double checks the bathrooms to make sure they’re tidied and verifies everything is secure.

A lot of times he’s not home until after midnight.”

Tim Johnson:

“Once everyone pulls out, it’s attack the bathrooms and cabins, do housekeeping, mow and water the lawn and then get ready for the next group to come in.

It’s a bit of ‘peat and repeat’.”

Q.5 The best part of being a campsite owner?

Diane Devine:

“We live and work in one of most beautiful places in the world…this isn’t just our business, it’s our home.”

Tim Johnson:

“We’ve built so many friendships over the years. For us, it’s like having one big family…”

Kendra Cooney:

“Once they’re at their site, you can actually watch their whole body begin to relax. It’s like they’re thinking, ‘Yes! We’re here!’.”

So, there we have it – anyone can make a GREAT campground owner.

Pros and cons of owning a campground

Finally, a quick round-up if you’re still weighing things up in your head…

The Cons:

Every day, you’ll…

• work long hours
• have to juggle many disciplines including practical and clerical tasks
• have to consistently hit a spotless standard of presentation (…even when you don’t feel like it)

…BUT…

The Pros:

If you love serving people you’ll…

• make MANY loyal customers
• reap the rewards of 5* reviews and tons of repeat bookings
• live in a remote location surrounded by natural beauty and rare wildlife

Go To Part 4: https://campsitebusinessplan.co.uk/knowledge-base/campsite-financial-planning

We recently came across an economic study of the caravanning and camping industry analysing the views of 790 UK campsite owners + 7,501 campsite visitors (circa 2018).

The study answers the question: “what really makes the campsite business profitable?!”

[NOTE: It has views from both sides of the fence: the providers & the customers.]

The study crunched tons of data to provide unmissable take-home points for EVERY campsite owner to learn from.

Dive in…

Firstly, a UK campsite market overview

• There are an estimated 6,243 holiday parks or campsites in the UK.
• This amounts to 438,076 pitches.
• Producing 171,448 full-time equivalent jobs.

Takeaway: a highly competitive industry with very few added-value differentiators. A significant driver for the UK tourism economy (£5.3bn per annum or 8% of all tourism).

A bit about UK campsite owners

• 33% owned their sites for between 10-24 years.
• 34% owned their sites for over 25 years.
• 18% owned their sites for less than 5 years.
• 15% owned their sites for 1-5 years.

Takeaway: 2/3 campsite owners in the UK are experienced. Once bought in, they tend to hold on to their assets for over 10 years. 1/3 are relatively new to the industry.

What do the campsites look like?

Common amenities

• 53% of very small sites (1-5 pitches) had a shower
• 38% of very small sites (1-5 pitches) had WiFi
• Larger parks almost always have a toilet and a laundry

Takeaway: very many, very small sites now have bathing facilities and internet. Perhaps these features are being seen as non-negotiable.

On-site activities

• 39% of all sites offered no on-site activities at all
• 26% of all sites offered fishing
• 21% of all sites offered a swimming pool
• 51% of very small parks (1-5 pitches) had on-site activities

Takeaway: activities are no seen by campsite owners as vital for success. Setting up such activities tends to involve high capital expense. Perhaps smaller sites are looking to differentiate more with on-site activity.

Off-site local activities

• 95% of all parks and sites have local area cycling/walking routes
• 86% of all parks and sites have local area fishing
• 75% of all parks and sites have local area golf/pitch + putt
• 69% of all parks and sites have local area swimming
• 66% of all parks and sites have local area horse riding/pony trekking
• 50+ of all parks and sites have local area watersports, bike hire or tennis

Takeaway: the favourite British outdoor pastimes go hand in hand with a campsite and holiday park business model. Sites are feeders of such complementary practices.

Opening times

• 58% of all parks open seasonally (69% of these open March to October)
• 42% of all parks open year-round

Takeaway: the season is largely defined by the academic calendar. With low booking activity expected throughout the offseason, many simply shut their doors. But remembering the frequency of bookings from visitors – are there long term benefits to be gained from repeat out-of-season bookings?

Occupancy rates

• 70% occupancy in August
• 12% occupancy in December
• 30% occupancy in March

Takeaway: expect a bell-shaped curve of occupancy throughout the year as an owner. Perhaps you’ll even see a complete drop off of income during offseason months should you be shut down. Cash flow smoothing management will help you meet obligations when your income takes a dip.

Employment

• 14.2 full-time staff ave. across all (very small sites with 1-5 pitches had 0 staff across the board)

Takeaway: household family help suffices small sites (1-5 pitches). Above this complexity, staff is typically required.

What do the visitors look like?

Some general visitor stats

• 44% of visitors stayed on a campsite or holiday park at least 5 times in the last 12 months.
• 76% used their own: tourer, motorhome or tent.
• 16% rented a caravan
• 5% used a rented lodge/chalet/cottage
• 2.4 people – the average group size
• 25% of all visiting groups inc. children
• 35% brought a pet (usually a dog)

Takeaway: almost half of all visitors are REGULAR campers. It’s habitual – a handful of times per year. 3/4 have their own accommodation. Children and dogs are often onboard. 2 to 3 guests per party is to be expected.

Length of stay

• 23% of visitors stayed for 3 nights
• 14% of visitors stayed for 7 nights
• 3% of visitors stayed for 10 nights
• 2% of visitors stayed for 14-15 nights

Takeaway: over 1/3 visitors will spend the typical number of nights on-site (either 3 nights or 7 nights). Outside of this, there are exceptionally short and long visits. But they are to be expected from time to time.

Booking popularity by month

• 23% began their trip in May
• 8% began their trip in April
• 14% began their trip in June
• 13% began their trip in July
• 18% began their trip in August
• 13% began their trip in September
• 4% began their trip in October
• 3% began their trip in March

Takeaway: May and August show particular peaks of interest for bookings. Bank holidays and a looming return to school perhaps might have something to do with this. A short getaway to the country being the prescribed tonic.

Visitor spend

• £55 per day on-site for renting UK visitors
• £46 per day off-site for renting UK visitors
• £101 per day total spend for renting UK visitors

Takeaway: UK visitors will spend on-site in preference, compared with spending off-site.

• £53 per day on-site for UK caravan owners
• £36 per day off-site for UK caravan visitors
• £89 per day total spend for UK caravan owners

Takeaway: UK visitors will spend marginally more than UK caravan owners.

• £1,050 per visit (~£500 on-site per visit) for international renters

Takeaway: International bookings are worth over twice the income per visit compared with UK visitors. However, the return factor of locals could compensate for this.

Visitors choosing sites to visit

• 30% were visiting the area
• 27% were revisiting the area
• 13% had visited the region before, but not the area of the campsite
• 11% were visiting family and friends
• 11% saw an advertisement for the park in a magazine, newspaper or website
• 11% were recommended the site by someone they know
• 13% visited a site because their camping club membership communication mentioned it
• 7% visited a site to take part in specific activities in the area
• 6% visited a site because of an event or festival taking place nearby

Takeaway: location is a critical factor for campsite success. The popularity of the area, personal recommendation, advertisement or other local amenities all impact the decision to book. It literally pays to your homework before investing in a campsite business.

Go To Part 3: https://campsitebusinessplan.co.uk/knowledge-base/campsite-owner-interviews