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Tap into the £2.5bn camping market via the online boom Farm Business Innovation Dan Yates November 2014
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Tap into the £2.5bn camping marketvia the online boom
Farm Business Innovation
Dan YatesNovember 2014
Introduction
Why camping and caravanning?
The online boom: rocket fuel for your business
Getting started
● More than 1,200 campsites and holiday parks in 12 countries bookable○ biggest agent in this sector in Europe for immediate online booking○ 750 bookable locations in the UK - including over 200 farms and all of the ‘big
four’ chains - plus 450 outside UK
● Over 18,500 bookings at 200 farm sites throughout the UK and Ireland over the last year○ 85% growth in farm campsite bookings on 2013○ Up to £29,000 annual sales via Pitchup.com: average £6,461
● Full breadth of allocation available - from lodges, static caravans and pods to yurts, hardstandings and grass tent pitches
● Winner of multiple awards, including:○ Best UK Travel Site○ Best Travel Mobile Site○ Member of Red Bull ‘Future 50’
● Based in Chiswick, west London
Leading online agent for campsites and caravan parks, founded in 2009 by lastminute.com alumni
Introduction
Why camping and caravanning?
The online boom: rocket fuel for your business
Getting started
Note: 2014 assumes -3.5% growth on 2013 (YTD as at July 2014)Source: VisitEngland
More than 15m domestic trips per year, accounting for £2.5bn spending
Domestic camping and caravan trips
Trips (‘000s)
Share of overnight trips (%)
Millions
‘Staycation’ not a myth...
Source: VisitEngland
Note: 2014 assumes 7% increase on 2013 (YTD as at Sep 2014)Source: National Statistics
...and foreign trips to UK at all-time high
Thousands
Holiday trips to UK by foreign residents
‘Glamping’ growing quickly and attracting new types of customer, albeit not yet as big as perceived
10x more Google UK searches for “camping” than
“glamping”
“Camping”
“Glamping”
Introduction
Why camping and caravanning?
The online boom: rocket fuel for your business
Getting started
More than 70% of domestic overnight GB trips now booked online
Source: VisitEngland
Source: Benedict Evans
Source: Benedict Evans
Customers switching to mobile fast: looking and booking
More than 50% of Pitchup.com traffic now comes via tablets and smartphones
Not just for last-minute travel○ mobile bookings made 36
days beforehand, vs desktop 47 days
m.pitchup.com voted best travel mobile site at the Mobile on Marketing Awards 2014
Introduction
Why camping and caravanning?
The online boom: rocket fuel for your business
Getting started
Average (~4 units allocated) £6,461 Pitchup.com sales (inc. VAT)
Top-selling (~20 units) £29,000 Pitchup.com sales (inc. VAT)
Average length of stay 3 nights
Average party size 3 people
Party composition 50% adults only
Average price per night £19 (traditional camping/caravanning)£30-£75 (camping pods)To £100+ (glamping, lodges, cabins)
Traditional farm campsiteOpen March - September
Typical farm site with traditional camping/caravanning
(open March - September)
Percent of arrivals
Source: Pitchup.com
Occupancy can be low in shoulder season, but it’s not all about the school holidays
Planning permission
● Customise your site (e.g. season length)
● Delegated decisions common: target 8 weeks for decision with appeal
● Expect conditions - access, ablutions, LPG storage, etc.
● Seek advice from planning consultant / surveyor / solicitor
● Site licence also required○ tents: for 42+ days
consecutively or more than 60 days/year
○ caravans/motorhomes: any use
No planning permission
● Various options○ 28-day rule (tents)○ 10-year / 4-year long use
(legal test - LDC)○ Exempt organisations (200+) -
but members only
● Engineering works and other development may still need planning permission
● Health and Safety, Occupiers’ Liability, rights of way rules still apply
For more info and tourism stats for your application, visit www.pitchup.com/start/
● Exclusivity? - am I missing out on customers? could I achieve a higher price?
● Members only?○ for customers with only one trip / year, why join?○ penalty in online price comparison○ can you advertise on third-party websites? If not, how big is potential audience
relative to annual 15m domestic camping and caravan trips taken in GB?○ can your campsite be booked online? Only 30% of domestic bookings ‘offline’
● Set-up costs? Tie-in period? - more common for booking systems where on-site support provided
● Committed allocation? Withdrawal penalties?○ how much do you have to pay to get your allocation back and how quickly does
it happen? owners ran out of allocation during the ‘staycation summer’ in 2009
Pitchup.com has no exclusivity, no fees and no penalties - we simply take a 15% commission (inc. VAT) when you receive bookings
Questions for your booking agent
● We only get paid when you do - no sign-up fees, no listing fees and no minimum sign-up period
● Instant confirmation by email, with calendar integration and Excel downloads for bookings
● Easy-to-use portal with acclaimed support by phone and email○ Synchronise pricing, allocation and bookings via API
integration (currently available with Anytime Booking/RMS)
● Stay in control of your pricing and allocation: change instantly, with no penalties for withdrawal
● Fully integrated payment system for balance payment○ choose payment on arrival or in advance
● Customise our system to suit you○ Block bookings up to 72 hours before arrival○ Receive confirmations at multiple
email addresses○ Receive alerts of arrivals and new reviews
How we work
● Over 250,000 customers took a Pitchup.com holiday
● 7.4m visits, up 40% on 2013
● Sales milestones○ Exceeded 1,000 bookings / day○ Exceeded 1,000 bookable sites○ Most successful sites achieved
over 1,400 bookings each and more than £150,000 in sales
● Over 200 farms now listed○ 18,500 bookings in 2015, up
85% on last year
Record-breaking year in 2014
Millions
Visits to Pitchup.com
● Added currency conversion to website and entered 10 new countries
● Major new features○ launched new ‘manager portal’
(back-end)○ newly launched mobile platforms
won Best Travel Mobile Site at the MOMAs, beating Hotels.com and Heathrow
○ launched ‘Payup’ automated payment service
● 48 items of national media coverage
Record-breaking year in 2014
Visit us at stand F436
Get startedwww.pitchup.com/start/
0208 434 7444
What next?
