To think we can start a glamping business

[Glampinggirl]

We have always dreamed of running a glamping experience but it seems to me that the market is a bit oversaturated. However my family seem to think it’s a wonderful idea. We would need some investment with a cash injection from ourselves also. Would live onsite with our son and his family. Separate annexe for us. Could this work (yabu) or am I right in thinking there are already too many (yanbu). This would be in North Wales

I think that the difficulty is that you will need to service a mortgage and (possibly) pay Investors before you break even, let alone make enough to live on
Also, if your son and his family are involved they will need an income too
Finally, living in close proximity to your son and working togther could cause some major issues and business difficulties could bleed through to family difficulties

I really hope that you have got at least £500,000 in your back pocket. Laying drains, electric, gas and making roadways, paths and individual pitches is going to go away quickly when putting in the ground work and services .

Not to mention buying the cabins, having them installed, and fitting them out!

OP, what figures has ChatGPT thrown up for you? As a total cost?

The wonderful woman who runs our favourite site told me absolute horror stories about running the site. We are good guests and just assumed everyone was, but it turns out that is not the case! She's gone in to clear up after guests only to find the place covered in vomit, people thinking they'd be hidden away so inviting loads of friends for a party.
The thought of a hot tub after what she told me... 🤢

😧

Re finance. Will you be able to purchase with a residential mortgage or will you need to have a commercial mortgage. Commercial mortgages are about twice the interest rates of residential, you’ll need to factor that in.

I think the majority of people offering this set up do so with land they already own. It’s been long paid for and they have other income streams eg farming. You will
be competing with neighbouring campsites who are not paying off mortgages and investors who can therefore charge less.

Re family. What’s the long term plan? What happens if your son and his wife want out? Can you buy them out? What happens if you want to retire? Can you stop working? What if you want to exit and take your money to live elsewhere? What if actually you and your DIL can’t work together and drive each other up the wall.

They already have 4 kids and aren’t planning anymore. All school age

These guys do it well.. south wales.

www.penhein.co.uk/

I have added the chat gpt stuff here.

Glamping is very popular and if you get it right it could be a very viable proposition. Lots to consider though. Not as easy as it might look. Even if you have/can get the land. Unless you are going to do all the cleaning yourselves (which is a lot...more than hotel rooms for instance, you need to be close enough to a village to recruit staff. Toilets/showers and other plumbing must be really good.. no hitches ...people don't want to rough it. Would need meals on site people don't always want to drive out somewhere to eat. They want breakfast etc on tap...so paying a reliable cook and helpers. Income in the winter when bookings are low/cheaper or non existent? A lot to consider but with the right amount of investment probably possible. The bit that I think needs even more careful consideration is where you say you will live in an annex with family? That bit definitely not for me. Working together all day, stresses and hiccups of starting up, who does what, what money needs taken out to live on ...then at the end of the day nowhere to get away to. Most people need space from their ordinary everyday working life at the end of each day...without it being with family ...with the worries of a start up business thrown it. Could go amazingly ...you might not be speaking to each other at the end of the first year. Too big a risk for me.

Do it , but keep it small and offer the whole site as exclusive availability to one booking only. Target market would be family celebrations, hen parties and corporate weekends.

Get an outdoor cinema and I’m there!

@Glampinggirl Not owning the land is a huge drawback. Most people that go into this sort of business already have fields and it is often a secondary income anyway, not their main source. Also I absolutely echo @ComtesseDeSpair 's comment on the family dynamics. My parents went into a holiday business with my brother and sister in law. They lived in an annexe of the main house and sank a shed load of money into the venture. Resentment set in after a couple of years and it turned very (and unexpectedly) unpleasant. My parents lost a lot of money and they never really recovered (financially or emotionally). So think this through OP.

I'm lolling hard at ChatGPT thinking you're going to make a post-tax profit of more than £80,000 per year, running a small glamping site in North Wales 😆

I’d agree with this. The risk of needing to buy the land and having to work and live with family would completely put me off.

I know a couple of people who have done similar but one had a single hut in an annexed off piece of land that she managed herself and the others had a farm, farm shop and other businesses on site. Land they already owned.

Well this is what I thought 😂 Where has it gone wrong in the estimation as I can’t see it. I need to be enlightened

Well, for a start, what does "55% occupancy" mean?

• 55% occupancy, year round? Not going to happen.

• 100% occupancy 55% of the year? Not going to happen.

Will this be the only source of income OP. Will anyone be bringing in other money? Is this part of a wider retirement plan for you? What's the deal? Working in hospitality and actually owning something are two entirely different things. On the face of it I'm afraid it all looks very pie in the sky.

OP's DH and son are going to have full-time jobs, from which they will return to be roped into helping run the glamping site. Weekends will be the busiest time for the site, even with low occupancy.

Nothing can possibly go wrong!

The fact that you're asking on mn worries me.

Do a business plan - it's cheaper to fail on paper than in reality!

It's rarely a good idea to self-fund as whether you can get investment is a good marker of whether your business plan is sound.

Also, be cautious of using chatgpt, remember it's slanted to tell you what you want to hear!

The best advice in starting a business, is the advice you don't want to hear!

THey're only self-funding the purchase of the property. It seems like they're expecting "investment" for the actual works and fitting out.

OP, I'm less worried about you and your family than I was. There is clearly no way that this will happen.

Also, OP, you need to learn a bit more about ChatGPT. You need to ask it to challenge everything you tell it, and every solution it comes to. Otherwise you end up with a load of "That's the sweet spot" type replies. As you have found.

ETA: Cross-posted with you @Stompythedinosaur there, about the dangers of using ChatGPT!

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.

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

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.

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.