According to new research, the rise in the demand for glamping in the past few years helped a lot of UK farmers renting their land for glamping trips in an effort to boost their earnings.
In a report, Sykes Holiday Cottages expressed that diversification in the agriculture sector is becoming increasingly sought-after, with the number of people seeking to lease glamping accommodations, including huts, pods, yurts, and log cabins, growing by 56 percent since 2019.
The pandemic has undoubtedly been a factor in this increase in interest, with more people planning to visit the UK after several plans were cut off last year.
As a result, Sykes reported an increase of 45 percent in glamping bookings in 2021 compared to 2019, something positive for UK farm owners who’ve decided to diversify their holiday rental business.
It also said that before the pandemic, the average Sykes Glamping owner made an annual income of £13,000 from a pod, hut, or yurt, as well as a log cabin.
However, the number has increased by 30 percent this year to £17,000 because of a rise in demand.
For those pondering the best place to invest, Cumbria and the Lake District are popular destinations for glamping, and Cornwall, along with East Anglia, also proves desirable with guests.
Regarding the features guests want from their glamping accommodations, owners are likely to increase their earnings by 56 percent when they have an on-site hot tub, and an open flame can boost profits by 7 percent.
Other facilities like a barbecue and a pizza oven are suggested to enhance the glamping experience for guests. Having Wi-Fi hinders the revenue of glamping facilities, as many people prefer an absence of technology.
Sykes Holiday Cottages Chief Operating Officer Bev Dumbleton said that even for some time before the pandemic, they have been noticing strong demand for glamping or farm-based holidays amongst British holiday-goers.
“Customers are always looking for a different type of holiday experience, and glamping offers exactly that,” he said.
Dumbleton also expressed that the growing popularity of this type of holiday offering a clear investment potential to farmers or landowners, “means that many are coming to us with questions on how to unlock the potential of their land”.
“With a stronger UK staycation market likely to remain a fixture for years to come, the long-term revenue opportunities for those considering entering the market now could be substantial.” Dumbleton ended.
Glamping has become increasingly popular following the pandemic, as people couldn’t travel to other countries.
Some companies have also witnessed a surge in the glamping industry.
Cool Camping said it had tripled the number of glamping bookings in 2021 compared to 2019, partly due to an increase in the number of people searching for glamping holidays and partly down to a growth in inventory.
A spokesperson said: ‘It’s an area where we’re continuing to see growth, with particular interest this year in winter glamping and glamping accommodation with hot tubs.”
“Our hot tub glamping landing page is currently the most visited page on our website this month, with more hits than our homepage, and holidays in November were up by 230 percent on last year and 200 percent on 2019,” the spokesperson added.
“Since cozy interiors and fireside glasses of wine make for instagrammable retreats, too, we expect that holidaymakers sharing their trips on social media will only continue to fuel the growth of winter glamping and the growth of glamping more widely.”
In addition, Glampingly said this year, reservations have grown by 300 percent in comparison to 2019. There are more minor changes, such as the length of an average stay, which has increased by about 15 percent.
“The highest number of searches we see is for people looking for hot tubs and browsing the high end of the market – especially treehouses – but when it comes to bookings, its mid-range accommodation such as pods that sees the highest volumes and ‘weather-proof’ structures like pods and shepherd’s huts that are in most demand over and above canvas offerings.” the spokesperson ended.