To think we can start a glamping business

I would start with 55% occupancy for 1/3 of the year. Your figures will look much worse then. There is no way you will have 55% occupancy year round

Glamping is expensive to set up and very niche.

But, if you’ve got the funds, and happy to take the risk, then go fo it.

It will largely come down to area op. Where in Wales....if it's walking distance to a holiday beach with nearby decent cafes, pubs and bakeries/ coffee/ groceries then it would definitely be a goer. If it's the back of beyond with no amenities close by you may have a much narrower pool of prospective customers. One thing I would advise if you do go for it is installing EV chargers to future proof.

I imagine you would need planning permission from the local council.

There have been a lot of messages posted already mainly against it. I have been around hospitality in various forms over my lifetime from a small child and would like to try to put some realism into the idea.

There was a massive boom in staycations due to COVID. That has now died. I have recently bought a motorhome and visited several lovely sites around the country out of season over the last 9 months. Most were virtually empty. These ranged from Caravan and Motorhome sites, their certified sites (where landowners can get a licensing arrangements to offer limited pitches) to up market premier camping sites.

If you do this business you need to clean the place every day. Even if only one yurt, one cabin etc is used. Plus you need to cut the grass weekly at least, hedges, flowers etc regularly.... rural areas may lack people who can be employed to do this.

You will need to live very near by, there is noway you can have a hands off approach. If you think you could employ a manager, they will want paying...so at least at a minimum £26,500 will need to be earned a year just to pay them unless you give them housing....plus national insurance contributions plus setting up a pension scheme.

You're also dealing with the general public, who will give you a trip advisor review of 1 if it rains all week.

So it boils down to: are you prepared to work 52 weeks a year. Or more realistically not have any time off during the summer and peak times? Can you cut hedges and mow grass and be prepared to do it whatever the weather? Do you want to clean toilets every day? How are you with dealing with complaints, are you thick skinned enough to accept something you love might not be seen that way by others?

My friend had one for about 10 years plus a few cottages. The glamping was incredibly hard work, cleaning, lugging bedding etc. helping people light wood burners, maintaining the site, renewing things that got broken, being present all through holidays and summer weekends and never having a break themselves. It did not look fun from the outside

people tend to do only a weekend glamping so there are more turnovers. They made v little profit on the glamping side. the cottages were far more profitable and less labour intensive

I’d advise watching some fairly recent episodes of 4 In a Bed. You could look online and identify the episodes with glamping. There have been a few glamping sites on there. Some are what I’d genuinely call glamping but others that were horrors when it came to cleanliness and facilities.
Your season is going to be very short because of weather so you need to have a real USP to make it work.

Sounds such hard work. I’d rather buy a B&B. Think of the constant rain and mud.

Are you familiar with the challenges facing the Welsh tourist industry at the moment?
The self catering industry, in particular is facing a bleak future in Wales.

I think you sound delusional and the whole plan seems absolutely ridiculous 🫣

Exactly; suggest you check out the issue for holiday cottage owners in Wales who need to let for 182 days to avoid second home council tax. A lot of them struggle even with a full-week letting model.

Aim at the family market - provide a few bits of play equipment, particularly swings.

If you provide children's play equipment, you will have extra insurance responsibilities. You will need to declare it under your public liability insurance.

A breakfast café. It is amazing how many campers will pay for a bacon butty and hot coffee after crawling out of their tent, instead of firing up their own mini gas stoves.

If you provide breakfast, or any catering on site, you will need to register with the council as a food business, and undergo inspections from the FSA, and get your rating out of five.

Small laundry area with coin machines.

More expense. Washing machine(s), drier(s), plumbing...

Consider also an evening café - though running a proper café is a business venture in itself and a lot of hard work, needing lots of staff, it does mean an extra income stream on site.

It will not be an extra income stream.

It certainly is possible - I’ve done it! Going well so far (not in N Wales though am in UK)
feel free to PM any questions 😊 x

Have you ever seen Four in a Bed? There was an adult-only site featured on the programme which came in for criticism. I would recommend you watch some of these which feature glamping sites to get an idea of what does and doesn't work.

As others have said, start with old-school camping, which requires nothing but flat grass on each pitch site. Plow the money into communal facilities:

Aim at the family market - provide a few bits of play equipment, particularly swings.
Spotlessly clean toilet and shower blocks, included in the price, with good hot water supply, cleaned and serviced several times a day. Have a separate block for unisex showers outside the male/female toilet rooms (good for families), as well as a couple of single sex showers in each of the toilet rooms.

Small laundry area with coin machines.

On-site shop for basic food, adult treats, treats for the kids to spend holiday pocket money on, and outdoor game toys (footballs, rounders bats, etc.). Aim to have your guest spend money on site instead of going elsewhere.

A breakfast café. It is amazing how many campers will pay for a bacon butty and hot coffee after crawling out of their tent, instead of firing up their own mini gas stoves.
Consider also an evening café - though running a proper café is a business venture in itself and a lot of hard work, needing lots of staff, it does mean an extra income stream on site. If not, get mobile food vans in on fixed nights and advertise the timetable. Provide a large covered seating area for the rainy days.

Fire pits for hire and seasoned wood for sale.

The site needs good views of open countryside. I went to a camp site which was a very large field, but in a wood completely surrounded by evergreen trees. Depressing and claustrophobic after 24 hours.

I think you're allowed to use a field for pop up camping for 30 days a year, I've been to a few. They need to be farmers, who use a barn with pre-existing electricity to host most facilities, but also portable facilities, e.g. posh portaloo cabins and festival shower blocks.

But that would still mean choosing the property based on a slow-build business.

I am actually vaguely considering this sort of thing myself, but that's because we keep finding properties we like that have a random acre we'd have no purpose for.

It sounds like every other glamping site. What would make yours stand out? I know that makes me sound really bitchy but why would I choose yours over another one? Sell it to me!

OP, if you still want to do this, I think it would be a far, far better idea to buy an existing campsite.

And then ask yourself: "Why is this campsite for sale?"

i think getting planning permission and then getting the right knid of utilities set up could be extremely complicated and expensive

Bear in mind I doubt you will get many booknigs at all between November and March. And oustide high summer you may still struggle to fill away from the weekends.

Even with the lower-level year-round camping idea, which does sound like a great starting point, OP is still going to have to build a loo/shower/kitchen block, with drainage, sewage, water etc. So that's about £100,000 at least.

This sounds like a very stressful way to get into debt. Where is the fun bit OP? Why has cleaning toilets and changing bedding been your dream for so long?

Second this as something desirable.

I can't justify spending hundreds of pounds on a luxurious field AND it is a much bigger investment risk.

I would develop the plan over time:

Phase 1: camping with lovely communal facilities.
Phase 2: add some luxury options with regular camping - e.g. pre-pitched bell tents, air beds, electric hook ups.
Phase 3: huts.

But tbh, phase 1 and 2 would be good for me. Things like a TV room, nice bathrooms etc would appeal way more than a hut.

Emptying the hot tub after every visitor? Blimey, think about the water charges!

Also OP, if your son and DIL have four school age children - who's going to be taking them to clubs, and parties, and sports etc, at the weekend and/or evenings? Because your DIL will be working with you, at the site.

Speaking personally, I discount any site that doesn’t have a nice pub, that serves food, within walking distance.

This is what I would ask myself…

Have I taken the stormy weather into account? sheltered spot out of the wind. Stable trees. No flooding risk or soggy ground.

Is there a view so that each cabin remains private but also gets a good view from inside as well as from a deck.

Is there room to park a vehicle very close by without it being in the eyeline of other cabins.

Does the site get plenty of light/sun. Could I position each cabin to maximise light, yet maintain privacy.

Can I afford en suite facilities, cooking facilities, log burners inside as well as fire pits and hot tubs outside. Am I prepared to empty, clean and refill hot tubs after each couple.

Have I spent a summer there, in the evenings, to measure the extent of Mosquito problems.

Is there a local attraction eg farm for milk and eggs, waterfall, bird hide, pretty picnic spot, lake, castle, hill top, village, in walking distance.

Is it a Dark Sky area with no light pollution. And no sound pollution.

Shepherds huts work well in Wales for weekend couples most of the year round providing they are beautifully equipped, with a log burner, free logs, a view and a private hot tub.