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Overspending on Non-Essential Amenities
One of the most common traps is investing heavily in features and amenities that, while seemingly crucial, do little to enhance the guest’s experience. Through trial and error at Ferncrest, we learned that extravagance does not always equate to a memorable stay. Guests seek unique experiences, comfort, and connection with nature. For instance, it’s not the high-end espresso machine they’ll remember, but the warmth of the fire pit under a star-filled sky.
This is not to say you should avoid spending money on luxurious amenities overall… There are plenty of things worth investing into that move the needle for guest experience. At Ferncrest we’ve found that to be things like private wood-fired hot tubs paired with each of our dome tents. These are a significant expense but help us create unique and valuable experiences for our guests because they spend hours interacting with it.
Takeaway: Pick and choose your amenities wisely and you will find a path to maximum ADR (average daily rate) and a customer experience that didn’t cost you a fortune to create.
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Underestimating the Impact of Weather
Glamping is all about the outdoor experience, but it’s easy to forget that nature doesn’t always cooperate. Not accounting for rain or bad weather can significantly dampen the guest experience. At Ferncrest, we didn’t take this into account as well as we should have for our first season of operations (which turned out to have a historical number of rainy weekends!).
Since then, we’ve been adding more covered communal spaces and adding games and other activities guests can do when the weather is poor.
Takeaway: As you plan your glampground, think about what you can add to ensure that your glampground stays “glampy” and doesn’t turn too “campy” when it pours.
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Ignoring the Importance of Seamless Operations
Efficiency and smooth operations are the backbone of any successful hospitality business, yet they are often overlooked in the excitement of developing a glampground. Difficulty in booking, checking in, or navigating the site can sour a guest’s experience before it even begins. At Ferncrest, we focused on streamlining these processes, making them as seamless as possible.
Takeaway: Your ability to drive direct bookings on your website and create a seamless guest experience that reduces hands-on management is an excellent way to boost profitability and guest experience.
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Neglecting Online Marketing
As we often tell those we coach, when you run a glampground you are actually running an online business. That’s because all marketing and bookings happen online. Because of this, don’t just assume that “if you build it they will come”. In fact, a beautiful, well-equipped glampground will struggle to attract guests if it’s invisible online.
Our success at Ferncrest is not because we built the most amazing glampground (far from it!). Rather, by focusing on online marketing (namely via social media), we significantly increased our bookings and profitability. In our webinar next Tuesday, we’ll share insights into how we did this and how you can too.
Takeaway: It’s not rocket science or magic – anyone can find success with marketing their glampground if you know what to do.
To learn more, be sure to join us for our free live webinar next week where we’ll dive deeper into these topics. Learn from our experiences as we guide you through the journey of creating a glampground that delights guests and thrives financially. Sign up now and take the first step toward avoiding these common mistakes and paving your path to glampground success.
Happy Glamping!
Brian & Joanna Linton
