Glamping Business: Beginner’s Guide

Glamping or glamorous camping is a new trend in the tourism industry that is quickly becoming popular worldwide. Today, many travelers want to stay in unique accommodation while still having access to luxurious amenities and services that are not necessarily provided by a traditional camping business.

The global glamping market size is huge, so starting a glamping business as an alternative to traditional vacation rental homes can be a great small business opportunity to explore. Keep reading to learn how to start a glamping business and decide whether it’s the right thing for you.

How to Start a Glamping Business: Things to Consider

First of all, you need to check the short-term rental regulations in your area to make sure there are no restrictions and follow the local laws that apply to your specific circumstances. You should also research your target market because it dictates what kind of accommodation, facilities, and even location you offer.

Glamping is for travelers who want to experience pure nature without setting up a tent and are looking for a luxury holiday while still sticking to a tight budget. It can be an appealing option for families who want fun outdoor activities, groups of friends, and couples (they often choose this option for their honeymoon).

Do you have space for a glamping site? Can you find some? The good news is that a luxury tent can be pitched just about anywhere. If you already own some land, consider what makes it attractive for travelers and emphasize this feature. If you do not have any land, do your research and find a beautiful and unique place with convenient transportation.

You should also decide what type of glamping accommodation you’ll offer. Glamping is not limited to tents and caravans. Some of the most common examples include yurts, tipis (traditional native American tents), treehouses, train carriages, tiny houses, and bubble domes.

Glamping Business Startup Cost

So how much does it cost to start a glamping business? You’ll need at least around $3, 000. The main expenses are purchasing land and tents. That’s best if you’re a property owner and can use your backyard.

The cost of buying or renting land depends on the location of the glamping site. And minimal costs of canvas tents vary from $1,600 to $10, 000. You should choose the ones that can meet the requirements of your target market and your budget.

You should also consider other ongoing expenses:

• Maintenance costs;

• Property taxes;

• Water and electricity costs;

• Furnishing;

• Amenities;

• Cleaning costs.

These costs can go up or down, depending on your involvement in things like cleaning and maintenance. If you don’t have time to do everything yourself, you’ll need to hire a team. Then you’ll benefit from using short-term rental software like Hospitable.com that will allow you to assign tasks for your team members automatically.

Glamping Business Income: How Much Can You Make?

Nightly rates are typically $125, but you can make more depending on your location and amenities. You should also remember that glamping business income fluctuates from season to season, with occupancy rates and income tending to fall in the winter months.

Still, you can expect you can make about $3,500 gross income in the first year that you start a glamping business. And considering that you won’t need to buy tents and furnishings in the following year, you can look forward to a higher income for the second season.

Glamping business is cheaper to build, manage, and run, so you should expect to get your ROI in a shorter time. But you need to promote and market your brand, which mostly means building a strong online presence to reach your target audience.

The more travelers will see your glamping rental, the more they may book a stay. You should create listings on such popular websites as Booking.com, Airbnb, and others, where most glampings are. To achieve even more exposure and even better ROI, create a website to get direct bookings.

The good news is that you don’t need tech knowledge to create a website for your business. With Hospitable.com, you’ll be able to get a new, fully functional website within minutes. And if you already have a site, you can easily embed our booking widget.

Glamping Business Plan

Considering the lower glamping business startup costs and the minimal build time, it’s relatively easy to open your own glamping business. But still, you need to thoughtfully plan everything because you can’t succeed without a structured idea of where you’re headed.

That means you need to create a comprehensive glamping business plan. At a minimum, it should include an analysis of your target market, an operations plan, marketing plan, and revenue management.

How to Start a Glamping Airbnb: Tips for New Hosts

Glamping is becoming a very popular thing on Airbnb and other OTA websites. It’s an attractive option for an enterprising Airbnb host because glamping rentals are easier to set up than an entire house. In fact, you can set up a tent in your backyard or use a previously undeveloped piece of property.

The definition of glamping isn’t super strict, so anything from a legitimate tent to 500 square foot tiny home may qualify as a glamping experience. The only real limitation is that your glamping rental on Airbnb must abide by the same rules as any other rental.

That includes adequate bathrooms, beds, and other amenities to ensure that guests have what they need to be comfortable. You may want to check out our Airbnb host checklist of essential things that you should have for your guests to guarantee them a positive travel experience.

Pick the right tent, yurt, or dome for your glamping site—think about form and function. Then prepare your space. Create a flattened area or a wooden platform with a tarp to keep it dry. Provide essential amenities, plus basics like comfortable mattresses. Think through lighting and other electric needs (solar-powered energy is a great option) and bathroom facilities.

Make being in nature cozy. Remember that your guests want to feel like they’re camping, but they actually don’t want to be camping as they connect with nature. So you should set up everything for them as you would in a traditional Airbnb rental.

Include single or double beds, tables, chairs, wardrobes, sofas, rugs, and other pieces of furniture to meet the needs of your potential guests. Get creative with your interior design and décor. Add lounge furniture, linens, and a few flourishes like local ceramics and plants, for example, hardy succulents.

Create a guest oasis in the outdoor area where your guests can spend some time relaxing in some shade, socializing, or viewing nighttime stars. Try to make it instagrammable by including a unique design, feature, or amenity worthy of your guests to talk about and share with their family and friends.

List your glamping tent on Airbnb. Highlight what’s unique about your space in your title and listing description, describe the basics, like location and amenities, and include high-impact photos. Provide details about your house rules, nightly rates, cleaning fees, and cancelation policies. Tidy your space and organize the logistics—set up your calendar and provide check-in and check-out details. Now you’re ready to accept Airbnb guests.

Automate as much as you can. Being a host involves a lot of responsibilities and is rather time-consuming. As with hosting any rental, you should automate guest messaging, pricing, availability, operations, and more with tools like Hospitable.com. This way, you’ll set your listing on auto-pilot and free up your time so you can work on growing your short-term rental business.

Bottom Line

As today’s travelers become more selective about the kind of experience they want and are seeking a greater connection with nature, glamping has experienced a surge of interest. Guests like it as they can enjoy the benefits of camping and have an unforgettable and instagrammable experience in nature with the added comfort of luxury accommodation in a hotel.

A glamping business provides an excellent opportunity for an STR host to make an income from an eco-friendly venture. With a little upfront work and low investment, you can join the growing glamping trend by hosting your tent, yurt, or dome on Airbnb and meeting adventurous travelers from around the world.