What does it take to build a beautiful, thriving glamping brand from scratch, with no hospitality background, limited funds, but a whole lot of creativity? It takes guts to dream big with ambition but no experience, and we can all learn a lot from those who do it.
In this episode, we sit down with Eamon Heggarty, the founder of Coorie Retreats, to unpack the inspiring story behind one of the UK’s most talked-about boutique retreat brands.
From resourceful financing and clever design choices to mastering social media storytelling, Eamon shares the realities of building a dream business from the ground up. We also explore Coorie’s bold next chapter, with new sites planned in Edinburgh, Donegal, and the UAE, and how innovation (including their now-famous salt floating tubs) keeps the brand ahead of the curve.
Whether you’re a retreat owner, creative entrepreneur, or someone dreaming of escaping the 9–5 for a business in nature, this conversation will leave you inspired and full of ideas for what’s possible when passion meets purpose. In this chat with Sarah Riley, Eamon shares:
- How to launch a glamping business with little experience or capital
- Creative ways to finance and design on a budget
- Why authentic storytelling drives bookings better than ads
- The inspiration (and science!) behind salt floating tubs
- How to expand internationally while staying true to your brand
Starting Small, Dreaming Big: How Coorie Retreats Built a Vibrant Glamping Brand
Today’s episode is brought to you by Sarah Riley, a UK-based expert who helps people start and grow profitable glamping and unique holiday rental businesses designed to help you to start small and dream big.
Listen to this and previous episodes here:
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Get in touch with Sarah Riley
Glamping, retreats, events, and guest attraction – Courses. Guided Growth. Done-for-You Marketing.
Glamping Academy & Owners Club https://inspiredcourses.com
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All show notes: https://www.inspiredcamping.com/category/podcast/
The Glamping Business Podcast Shownotes
Additional Resources And Links Mentioned
- Contact Sarah Riley through Inspired Courses
- The Ultimate Glamping Business Guide
- Guest Booking Success Marketing Masterclass
- The Glamping Business Facebook Group (+ Unique Holiday Rentals)
- Tools and resources in the Inspired Courses VIP Lounge
- How To Start A Glamping Business
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TRANSCRIPTION
so, amen. It is just so wonderful to have you on the show today. I am really excited because we had some earlier correspondence on LinkedIn about something that I know others are going to want to hear about, which is a different kind of, well, something that could replace the hot tub, let’s say, but it’s healthier, better for the environment, and maybe I’m.
Grasping at straws might be less, uh, regulations around it. But anyway, we’re going to talk about that in a minute. But first of all, I’m really interested in your business, so tell me a little bit about that, where you are and what you’ve got for your guests.
Um, no thanks for having me on. Um, really excited and yeah, great to meet you as well.
Just at one point in time, very recently, it was a quick change, but yes. Um, we started putting retreats nearly three years ago. The idea came up, it was August, 2022. Um, and there was a lot of regulations in the sort of service accommodation industry, which I sort of was dipping my toe into at the time. And from that.
I realized that all with all the councils sort of shutting down service accommodation properties, it wasn’t really somewhere that I wanted to go. And at the time I was working a full-time job as a quantity surveyor. And that I just knew that wasn’t for me. And I sort of loved hospitality, design, construction, um, but sort of on my own terms if, if I could do it that way.
So from that I came up with idea to, to look into dumping sites, um, which I’ve seen were on the up. And it was a great experience. I actually, um, proposed to my now wife in a pod for the first time when I went to go to one the, was it,
yes, March, March, 2020, just before COVID Scotland and just absolutely loved with a hot tub, was over a river, just a great setting and just sort. So that was a couple years prior to came up the idea And yeah, from, from end. Find a piece of land, um, quite a cheap piece of land and then just sort of built it all out with a sort of construction background.
I tried to just do as much as I could. Also was working the main job. And then lucky enough about a year and a half ago I, I left my main job and um, the site was up and on about six months I could just see it doing so well. So I left that. And, um, here we’re today six units on site to our geo domes and for our admins and all have their own hot tubs and outdoor projector screens with barbecue, fire pits and uh, everything that’s sort of guests want.
And so far, so good.
So tell me a little bit about the area that you are located. So why do people want to visit that area? What’s there for them and what kind of things can they put into their day?
Yeah, it’s an interesting one. So the area, it’s in a wee place called, uh, port Patrick. Which is in the very, um, southwest of Scotland and it’s probably the most unvisited area of Scotland.
Um, it’s, it’s if you’re coming up from England, you’re not really gonna go direct west. You’re gonna just continue on up to Glasgow and then up to the Highlands. So it’s sort of got its own sort of unique sail point that there’s not much in that area. Not many people have traveled there, so they like to go down and it’s just quaint.
We villages and towns like Port Patrick Oyster, the, the uk I think it’s European Oyster Festival there every year. And it’s got lovely harbor and lovely walks and castles. And it’s also got the black forest, which is I think one of the, the best places in the UK to do star gazing. There’s very, very little light pollution.
So, uh, it’s got quite a lot of things going for it, but it’s just not a well traveled or documented place due to obviously the Highlands being so popular that people just go directly up there. But um, we can get. It’s a bit, an hour, 50 minute drive from Glasgow, maybe two and a half hours from Edinburgh.
Um, and I’ve had people from sort of all around the UK now come and visit. And so far so good. Everyone’s very surprised in a way about the area. Um, because again, it’s not documented that well, but once you get in and you see things, um, and the walks you can do, it’s, it’s very, very popular. And periods being there is now sort of like the destination to go in sort of that area.
And we’re bringing quite a lot of tourists to port Patrick, which is the bigger town a few miles away. Um, and yeah, hopefully if people are listening or being, eh. They can agree.
I think it’s interesting how some areas don’t have the natural footfall of tourism that it deserves. And often, you know, I hear people in the industry saying, oh, no, no, no.
You shouldn’t set up there because there’s not enough footfall. There’s not enough industry, there’s not enough tourism, so it wouldn’t work. Whereas actually. There’s enough there to attract the tourists. There’s enough there to give them stuff to do. It’s just about encouraging them and helping educate them of these new areas that suddenly become this undiscovered part of the country.
And so many times I’ve seen this happen where a very unique tourism business, just purely ’cause it’s so unique, has been enough to act almost as a beacon to attract attention for the tourist into that area. And the whole area has benefited from all visitors because of that. So I think this is where glamping really does stand head and shoulders above lots of other forms of tourism so often because it almost educates.
You know, the tourist about all of those amazing places that you can go to low season, off season, off the beaten track because there’s you know, there’s great things that we just don’t know about it. We just need to be educated. And I suppose that’s what a business’ you know, social media posts and, and everything else that it shares amongst its own customers can really help with in an area.
It’s kind of bigger than the business itself almost. Yeah. So what was it, so you obviously proposed to your wife and well done for remembering the date. You’ve got some husband brownie points there. I’ll make sure she listen
to this afterwards.
But what is it, what is it about the act of glamping that made you get into glamping?
I mean, there were o obviously other aspects, but what was it specifically about the act of glamping? Have you been an avid outdoorsman? Have you been very much into camping and being outside? Have you, have you. Always visited hotels but hated them. I mean, what’s, what made you want to get into the act of glamping and offer?
Yeah,
it’s a great question. I mean, it’s, I think when I, when I first ever went that one, it was, I’m very much like experienced based. I just loved different experiences no matter what it is and, um, was a new experience and I just absolutely loved it. It’s something that, you know, think I’ve said to a few people before, you can go to any hotel in the world and you can only get a balcony so big, but if you go gumming, that is your balcony like the outdoors.
So it’s such a big sort of pool and it’s such a good experience ’cause you’re outdoors is ever changing. If you’re in gumming, a view is obviously ever changing if you’re in a hotel, but you’ve only got a certain space. And if you go to a Compton site, typically if you get more and more experiences added onto it, like the site I’ve created, it’s, it’s everything that I love and everything I feel like, um, sites need to have these days and trying to aspire to have and trying to.
Keep guests going back because that is the destination. So like having hot tubs and, and pizza ovens, fire pits, things within the cabins as well, like high spec finishes. So it’s, it’s all of that combined is what what sort of got me into, and it’ll stand the test of time. And yeah, I mean it’s, it’s, it’s all about experiences for me.
Um, and I guess that’s sort of, that’s, that’s what I’ve got. And then that sort of leads me onto the, the wellness area that I’ve, I’ve built on site. Uh, again, that’s an experience and from my own sort of vision of how that could play out. And it’s all about the guests staying in the site, staying in the area with Patrick and enjoying as much as they can and not travel too far from where, where they’re based.
Um, and it’s just, yeah, I’ve just fallen in love with it and it, it’s, it’s a great, great industry and. I can see how many more people are sort of getting into it, but the just getting better and better. You know, like Airbnb 10 years ago was somebody’s in front or somebody’s spare bedroom. Now it’s hotel standards are bigger.
I think going along the same lines, it was odd in the field now it has to be, are very, very high spec unit, um, with a lot of amenities and things also on site, um, like a spa or a sauna or a, a salt protection bar. And yeah, that’s, that’s where I’m at and I think it’ll continue well.
I think this is the thing, isn’t it?
That it’s the experiential hospitality business. So it’s all about the experience. And way back in the day, the first days of glamping, when it really started taking off in the UK in about 20 10, 20 11, uh, it was certainly 2010 was when I first got in involved in the industry beyond what I was doing before, which was boot boutique hospitality.
And I just remember thinking, oh my goodness, the structures are amazing and all these different structures and they’re incredible. And that was part of the experience, wasn’t it? But now we are moving into a very much more mature industry. The structures aren’t the only part of the experience anymore. So we need to be thinking as business owners.
What else can we put on That is the experience. So obviously there’s the experience of what’s naturally in your local area, you know, the flora, the fauna, the, the natural things to look at, the views, the vistas, walks whatever it might be. But, but people want things to do literally as they step outside the door and they want to have something which is much more focused on wellness, wellbeing and reducing their stress and everything else.
And I’m well into that because I’ve been supporting people to run retreats for, for many years now and doing some of my own, but. I’m really interested in how this is suddenly becoming something more of a focus to a lot of forward-thinking, glamping business owners such as yourself, who are thinking, okay, how can I make my business last longer and how can I make my services seem more attractive for longer, and how can I keep my customers coming back over and over again, get those repeats going.
So is that another, or are those various reasons why you decided to put your wellness element onto your business?
Yeah, yeah. The wellness element was, was definitely even from the GetGo, it’s something that I planned to have. I think the, the, the design initially had just a sauna pod at the time, and I knew that that’s what people wanted and that’s the way, uh, people are moving towards, like, again, even speaking 10 years ago.
People at uni used to go out all the time. Now I know, um, friends that were at uni there recently, all they gotta go run clubs and wellness and so, so it’s definitely changing landscape, so adding that to the site, we’ll keep people that have stayed and haven’t had the experience going back will keep the things coming in, haven’t came yet.
Um, and again, to me it’s all just about creating, um, these stage where you really do remember it in like two or three years time. I think what a good time I’ve had. Um, and it wasn’t just sitting inside one week cab and, and maybe looking out at the landscape, which isn’t bad, but it’s, it’s, to me, it’s just about giving them a lot of things to do on site.
And I even I think it was about a year ago I was, no, it was more than a year ago. I was, I was told by a marketing lady owns a marketing company that the number one search term in Scotland for people abroad is where can I see Highland cows? So off the back of that, I thought a sort of light bulb.
There a farm about 30 miles away and Highland cows because have them our site and yeah, a month or two fencing and um, they had a stream of already there, so it a perfect site for two highland cows and go to giveaway to name them. And so I just brought everyone in that sort of journey and experience with us and we built them a wee house and they’ve got name plaque above it and all this type of stuff.
So it’s really, uh, it’s really been quite popular and just, again, it’s every guest that comes and stays no matter how many nights, we always give them like a wee brush and some cow feed. And we have a wee story about Angus and Winston, the two cows and where they’re from and how they got here. And people go up and, and just love it.
So yeah, again, albeit it’s somewhat of an experience, not many people have met Highland cows. To me that’s an experience and people, people just love it. So it’s, um. It’s something I sort of seen had like the moment and thought that’s, that’s what I think the site would benefit from and guests would benefit from, and I think they’re great.
Yeah.
Yeah. I think, I think you really hit the nail on the head there. It’s like not necessarily you. Amen. Thinking. This is what I want to give my guests. You actually took it from the other angle, which is, what do my guests want? What are they really looking for? Who is my ideal guest? You know, and all the different things involved in that.
For every guest segment, they’re all different. They all want different things. So I often say to people, when you are setting up your business, think about very clearly who do you want to attract and offer them what they want because that’s who you want to bring into your site. You could, you could try to be everything to everyone, but then you’ll end up being nothing to no one.
So the best thing is to really focus in on what do your specific ideal guests want? Ideal. So that’s really interesting you said about that. So you are trying to attract maybe more foreign guests. So is that one segment you are particularly focused on?
It’s probably, that’s where the information came from.
It’s something we don’t really get too much. Again, port Patrick isn’t. For people from 50 miles away might not even know where Port is. So I don’t think Americans or anyone abroad know where they’re from. Um, it’d be a different story, obviously, in the Highland or over nears, um, for example. But it’s, it’s more locals that to come to our site, 98, 90 9%, um, uh, there’s no airports.
There’s a boat across from Ireland that we might get a couple Irish people. Um, but yeah, it’s more, more targeted locals. And I, I’m happy with that in terms of can’t see that changing too much. But I think people who come, it’s just about giving them yeah, that experience and, um, keeping it fresh.
Like I planning them for three more units, um, at the minute. And I’m very big on trying to now do like different styles of, of, of units, um, which, which. Again, people that might have stayed could come back and try a different style. It might be an aframe, it might be, you know, something like a, something underground, an underground unit built in.
Um, but it’s another experience, something that we’ve maybe never done. And from a business standpoint, I can market that. Um, which, um, our, our site is, is doing really well in terms of social media aspect and presence and um, yeah, pushing that quite hard in terms of just guest interactions. You know, you have your different platforms and each platform has its own sort of range of what way you should do it.
Like TikTok, as it’s, um, more like in person interviews or behind the scenes with the staff. Instagram’s a wee bit more polished. And then Facebook is, um, more like basic with photos. So yeah, there’s a lot there and that’s what sort of my day to day is at the minute is trying to, trying to keep on top of that.
And, I figure another way to, to get guests to come by and keep the experiences at the forefront.
Mm-hmm. The social media audience loves glamping. Really does. Oh yeah. They love it. They love it. Which is great. You know, it’s lovely. But yeah, it’s so natural for people to want to share something connected to a business.
I mean, not every business model is able to have that bonus. I mean, it’s, we’re very, very lucky in the glamping industry. I mean, recently I’ve been very ha pleased to be speaking to people who’ve found businesses that provide mirrored domes and mirrored cabins and underground structures and trains, you know, repurposed trains.
I mean, they just, what you can do is just endless and, and, and fascinating and really interesting and, and also just gives the most amazing guest experience that. Just in the structure. But as we said, you know, the structures do get tired and they, people do move on and, and they change their taste and they decide maybe something that was very popular 10 years ago suddenly isn’t quite so popular.
So there are other ways to add interest to what you’re doing in your services. And, and we’ve talked a bit about what you are doing with your, I suppose for better word, would you call it a spa or a wellness? Is it a spa wellness area?
Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Spa we’ve called it, but yeah, in the same sort of breath, it’s like a wellness area.
Um, and yeah, it’s, it’s a, it’s a, an area on site that’s private to the guests. Um, and guests would just pick in an R slot. You get an allocated time, you go down on your robe and you open the door and close behind you and no one else can get in. And you have your, um, yeah, sauna. Infrared, which is sort of this dark room with, um, red light therapy and with heated lamps and the cold plunger regulated cold plunge, and then an outdoor warm shower, and then the salt potion bath.
And that’s a potion bath is being sort of a bit of a challenge because it’s, I don’t, I don’t know anyone else’s that done it. I’ve, I’ve, I’ve seen the ones where they’re like being made odds where you can sit in individually, but we came up with the idea of, um, buying. So our hot tubs have these automatic feeders from pellets, so they’re wood burning, um, hot tubs, all of our hot tubs.
And, um, the feeder we could take out and essentially make our own outdoor hot tub, which is a two by two meter saltation bath, because that needs to be a hot tub temperature. Um, so it’s all been sort of very bespoken handmade. Um. Surprisingly works, so people do float in it and, uh, it’s, it’s great. It really is.
So tell me a little bit about that, because there are a lot of regulations around hot tubs and I don’t think everyone who’s getting into the industry when they’re new really realize how many regulations there are around hot tubs. We won’t get into that, but you know, it is worth flagging that because people do need to be aware of it.
Uh, but it’s, there’s no doubt that it is a guest magnet. People want to go where there’s hot tubs, and I can totally understand that. But personally, I prefer salt. Rather than chemicals, I often call hot tubs alike chemical soup for me. Oh yes. Either way I think about it because I’m more of a natural swimmer.
I live by the sea. I love being in the sea. I’m very aware of the body’s natural chemistry because I’m a trained health coach and, and I have some training in it, but also because I love the fact that when I jump in the sea, it just makes me feel so much better. And the body is majority made up of salt.
So it loves the sea and it kind of almost equalizes or brings it to a balance by jumping in the sea. So I can see, really understand why being in a floating hot tub can a floating hot tub. It’s not hot tub, a floating. Pool, spa, whatever you wanna call it. Yeah. Can be really, really relaxing for a start, but also have a heap of health benefits.
But how do you maintain it? ’cause I can imagine that actually the amount of salt that you must put into it must be a huge amount. And how do you maintain that? How do you kind of keep it safe?
Yeah. Yeah. It’s, it’s definitely got its challenges. Um, it’s more or less a, a very, very large hot tub, albeit the water level doesn’t need to be that high.
It only needs to be around 30 to 40 centimeters high. Um, which is obviously different to a thousand liter hot tub, which needs filled up. But if for every thousand liters it’s 350 kilograms of salt there thereabouts, there’s a, there’s a, there’s an instrument that you can use and it tells you the density of the salt and within the water.
So. We, we try and use Epsom salt, which has its own health benefits as you, you, you may know, um, which is great. And we sort of asked, uh, guests char before and after because it does, it’s an incredible amount of salt on your body after it. And you could see people that if they touch something or had people go into the sauna, and even people accidentally putting salt water from the, even though there was a bucket hair, the, the water from the soap back onto the sauna stones.
And it was, the amount of soap obviously drying up after was incredible. But, um, yeah, it, it’s, it’s regulated like a hot tub and it’s, uh, it’s an experience. It’s, it’s dead sea.
It, it’s cleaned daily. Um, we have the dip stack, the same set up as the hot tubs, but the, the salt cleans itself. The water is, is self-regulating, so it doesn’t need emptied as much as a hot tub may, you know, after every change it would maybe change the hot tub. Um, but this last maybe five to six days. But everyone’s typically shown before and after as well.
So it’s a lot cleaner and all the readings are coming up great. And we using an external company as well to do all those ugly as the hot tubs. Um, so it comes with its challenges, but, um, we have a maintenance team on site that script it in the Leafs because it’s, it’s open to the, the elements. It’s, it’s covered, but it’s not covered at the side because you sort of wanna have that outdoor, indoor feeling.
Um, and uh, it’s got cover just to keep in keeping in the heat. And as I say, yeah, it’s pared by, um, pellets wood, so it’s pretty great for the. Environment environ instead of electrical one. And yeah, so far so good. Um, and from a guest standpoint, it’s, it’s just been a big, big hit.
Mm-hmm. And, and I imagine that all of your guests sleep like a log because Epsom salts are full of magnesium, which is what you need for good sleep.
So that’s a bonus, isn’t it?
Mm-hmm. Well, they’re not, they’re not takes us anyway, so they must be sleeping.
So also a bonus for you as well, ’cause you’ve got quiet guests. I think that’s really incredible to think differently about providing something that the guests want, but doing it in a slightly different way, which makes you stand out differently.
But also, I can imagine that people who would come to you and they’d have the experience of staying in your cabins and, and all of that good stuff. But they can also book the spa and they can. Stay in it. And then it gives them this experience and feeling of wellbeing. So there’s no doubt that when they leave, they’re gonna wanna come back again.
So it’s going to be become a regular thing on, in their calendar to say, you know, I think we are due a trip now, uh, to Cory retreats. So it’s, it’s something I think that really does help with that repeat guest booking element, but people feeling a little bit more like they would in a spa experience. And so is there anything else that you’ve been thinking of to boost your spa experience with maybe providing massages or getting external providers of massages to come in and, and things like that?
Is there anything you’re thinking along those lines?
There’s a couple things, um, that we’re thinking of adding. Well, we have like a, there’s an ask. There is and there isn’t enough space to have maybe somebody come in, um, you’d need to do, um, you could do it outdoors, you could do it in the infrared room with like, um, a, a massage treatment.
Um, it could be burn externally. Um, to be honest, it’s just been that full on recently that, uh, I haven’t had the time to, to sort of look at that in the area. What I have been pulling the idea of is opening it to the public, um, but only for a block set for people in the Port Patricks drawn our area, who would like to come and sort use that facility because typically they’re not gonna go stay on the, the units or the, the cabins or the geo doms just because they live so close.
But they could maybe get, uh, use of the spy on it, um, on like a monthly membership, which I’m thinking about. And that would mean that they could come between the times that guests typically wouldn’t use it and have like a three hour block period very early in the morning before work and after work late at night.
And then guests can have their R slot, um, within that. And I think that would be quite a good way to sort of bring in the sort of local community and, and have their buyin on it as well. And I think it sort ofs that initially had the idea of just having exclusive two guests on site. But I think when it’s up and running and it’s, it’s hot all day and it’s just sitting there and sometimes not used as much as it could be, it’d be great just to, to have it being used and having people enjoying it.
Um, so that’s what, that’s what I’m thinking, um, at the minute in terms of facilities I think maxed out. I’m gonna put in a changing cubicle because I’ll have to have people coming, but like a, a sort of natural outdoor one. Um, and I’ve been told they need to make sure to have a hair dryer for, I mean, ladies to come and, and use it.
So, uh, we’ll, we’ll get that sorted and that will hopefully be within the next three to four weeks and we can go live with people in the area and. Flyers and Facebook grips and whatnot, whatever we need to do. But yeah, I’m excited about that and really get its own sort of potentially personal profile, like a Google profile spa and people can then read it that way and, and, um, and comment at the retreat.
That way.
I think it’s a great idea because as well as, I mean, you are gonna limit the use even though you’re expanding the use because there’s only so much that you’re gonna be able to book it out to people. So you won’t be overusing your facilities, but you’ll be using them to the level that you planned for originally.
And the great thing about that is as people come in and use it, they’re obviously going to see and pass by your other units. That kind of really helps to bring it front of mind, that you’ve got hospitality, unique hospitality. So when they have friends that want to visit or family that wants to come down and stay, they can recommend your accommodation as a place that they could book.
So it is a great way of actually promoting the other side of your business. Yeah. Or the main side of your business, which is your accommodation. So tell me a little bit about the infrared. So we I have a club of small business owners and we get together on a weekly basis to talk about elements of business, you know, from financial setups, setting up, getting the money, uh, and then also to, uh, how to do the marketing, how to expand your facilities and amenities and things like that.
And we’ve been talking a lot recently about infrared because a couple of members have got family who aren’t. Particularly well, and they don’t like the idea of going into winter. You know, there’s the, in the UK it’s a bit damp, it’s a bit dull, they don’t get so much sunshine, that kind of thing. And infrared is something that is very much of a health bonus, but there’s two types of infrared.
So there’s the red light therapy, which is very much from my understanding, is just kind of surf surface level, red light. And then there’s the infrared, which is like the sun, but it removes the negative light that we get from the sun, which can cause the cancer and things, but it allows the good parts of the infrared light to go through your skin.
And it heats you throughout, but it also heals you throughout. I mean, is that your understanding of it? What am I missing out there? Because it’s, it’s really fascinating stuff.
Yeah, no, it, it’s incredibly fascinating and. You see a lot of places and people online wrote this and you know, it’s just a daily routine for them and it’s, it’s all about, yeah, wellness, as you say, it comes into your skin.
I think it’s meant to like mimic a fever, which brings out like white blood cells and that sort of rejuvenates your body. So it’s really it’s really something that’s, it’s feels like it’s quite new. Um, but it’s something that more and more people like the sauna, um, albe that’s been along for a long time and more and more people are using it and seeing the benefits of it.
And, um, like a sauna, I think it’s fut three times a week for quite a minute. Each time you reduce your risk, a heart attack, 50%. Um, some basic sta like that are coming out and I’m sure the same is gonna come out with infrared or probably have done. So yeah, that again, it’s, it’s all about, um. Wanna feel good, feel after, after bath, hot tub, plunge, anything like gonna experience And it, so it’s, it’s, I think business owners these days need to about adding these elements onto their site because that’s what’s gonna get, keep the repeat customers going back.
That’s what they’re gonna tell their friends at the dinner table and that’s what will hopefully keep the bookings coming in. Um, so if you’ve got any more tips of what things that I haven’t got on site, please let know because I would like to add.
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I had a very interesting conversation with Tori and Seth Bolt recently who are the owners of Bolt Farm Treehouse in, in America.
And they were talking about the types of treatments and accessories and everything else they’re bringing into their stays, which. Partly is to really elevate it so that they can charge more. ’cause they’re talking about adding value to the stay, therefore they can charge more for the nightly rate.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. And also so that they can use it themselves. So they have this idea that, and they book themselves time every week, that they’re always in their own facilities once a week. And they have things like their a hot tub that actually looks like. Part of the cliff side, you wouldn’t actually know it’s a hot tub.
It’s a cl it looks like the cliff side, which is incredible. So great views, great hot tub, looks like the cliff side. And then they, they do treatments with local providers, things like that. So all kinds of, you know, facials and, and things. But they, they’re not providing it themselves. They’re just getting local providers to do it.
And and, and lots of other businesses doing the same. You know, that they, they’re thinking about what do they like that actually makes them feel good. What is the health benefit? And then, and then they look at them bringing that in. So I have to ask the question, do you book out time for you and your family to go and stay in your own spa?
And if not, why not?
Once it’s just fully booked, no, no, no, it’s not. Eh, I wish I could, it’s I live. About two and a half hours from the site. Um, so I run, uh, the site sort of fully automated, let’s say fully hands off in terms of like, I don’t need to be down there. Um, and my sort of main focus is now just on the marketing side of things, which can be done, um, from afar.
Um, and that’s sort of been the way it’s been from the start because the piece of that’s all I could afford, the piece of land was that far down. And I love the Port Patrick. Um, I’ve been a couple times prior to that, but um, that site is now just ran sort of fully hands off with the cleaning staff and maintenance manager and, um, everything’s automated check-ins.
The systems are all automated and, um, guests are checked in not really meeting anyone, which I think is the way to go these days. I don’t think people like the whole, um, not everyone, but um, people just like to get in, get their keys, get into the unit and relax. Um, so. Um, I would love to go down more. I, I keep on promising myself a will and I, I just gotta go back to the spot and use that as much as I can.
Um, funny, I, I was thinking as well what you were saying about the, what additional could you use, it was the point idea of like a mud room as well. Um, which I know there’s quite a lot of benefits, um, depending on the, you get, I guess, but on your skin, but. Sort of stock plan. Its tried because I think that could be a recipe for disaster.
Um, depends who’s doing it and who’s, uh, who’s not, and who’s cleaning themselves after with the white tiles and the, and the white ropes. But, um,
yes.
Yeah, yeah. Maybe I’ll, I’ll go down and try and. Have a go at me doing it personally the month and seeing if that can works.
Yeah, I think that, I think you’re right.
That could be a real recipe for disaster. I’m sure everyone would love it, but I don’t think your cleaners would like it. No, not
at all. So I’ve,
I’ve gotta ask then, as you manage most of this remotely, I mean, what, what kind of tools do you use that you find the most helpful in that process in terms of allowing guests to gain access in and out during the times that they’ve been booked?
And as you said, you’ve got automated check-in processes and, and things like that. What have you used tools wise to help you relieve you from the burden of having to be there all the time, other than staff?
Yeah, I mean, um, so software wise it’s, um, like a PMS system, project management system. Um, had one, um, that we used for, for a long time, just switched to one called Muse, um, which just learning the ropes of that, it seems like it, it certainly had a lot more integrations in it.
Um, but the whole aspect from when somebody books through the website to then obviously getting their booking information, the check in time, and we have like follow up messages, emails. We have follow up WhatsApps, um, just to see if you would like that package. Would you like early check in checkout?
And again, it’s all automated where they can pay on a, on a book book on a payment link. Um, and it updates their booking. Um, and, um, whilst they’re staying, we could send a follow up email or after they leave we would then send a few, few emails to see if they would like to come back with discounted all sort of the general stuff really.
Um. Find to keep as auto automated as possible. Um, but not like robot automated but like personally automated. Um, and from that we just do, uh, a lot of marketing through WhatsApp, which I think there’s a massive, massive scope for. Um, I think it’s not as big as it probably could or should be. Market email marketing is obviously still very popular, but um, WhatsApp marketing is, is massive because I think the open rate and emails is 18% and the opening rate of a WhatsApp is like 95%.
So if
you have a trusted WhatsApp provider like your own WhatsApp, um, and it doesn’t look like spam or somebody trying to take your information, obviously you need to build that trust, but they provided the information they’re happy to be marketed to. Then that’s the sort of what we’re going down and it seems to be, yeah.
Yeah, certainly the best way in terms of getting opening. Opening and you can send certain links and videos to them. So that’s, that’s on the booking side of things. And then we, we use a, a system of go high level. Um, and that is where all emails, WhatsApp, Facebook messages, LinkedIn messages, and TikTok and Facebook all play into one system.
So instead of having six different logins, you have one login and you can speak to all guests there. And it’s, it certainly save a lot of time and, um, it’s a lot cleaner and you don’t miss as much. So, uh, that, that’s really, really been good. Um, and just trying to keep, keep that as sort of at the forefront of our mind whenever we’re, we’re speaking to guests, like where they’re coming from and who they are.
But yeah, they’re the two main systems and everything’s working really good and really hands off. So, and then the cleaning side of things, the cleaners have log into the PMS system where they could see cleans and packages, and everything’s automated that way in terms of what end of checking out and checking out after they’ve got a pizza package, a monthly package, birthday package, spa package, whatever it must be, they’ll have that instant, and it’s just like a sort of life cycle of how, how the business is operated now.
Mm-hmm. So how do you onboard your staff? Do you have to put them through the, the training for those particular systems so that they understand how it works? Because not everybody who is maybe in hospitality is happy using those automated services when maybe they’re a provider of a changeover and things like that.
I mean, how have you managed to overcome that?
Yeah, I mean, each. Obviously has, um, said, we switched to news quite recently, so I’m learning that as well at the minute. Um, and no one likes change. It’s, it’s, everyone pushes against it and it’s just the way we’re all built to think. But once you see it working and once you see it actually doing what, what you were promised and, and how it can save you time, um, it, it’s where well we’re sort of investing in.
And at the end of the day, everyone wants their time back, so everyone wants to have more time.
And
these systems, um, give you that. Training wise, there’s certain, depending on who you go with, that they’ll, they might have their own like training library that you can follow. Um, obviously YouTube, chatt, BT whatever and train, um, each s or could train you from each system because they’ll have the information in the background.
Um, so it’s just really how much effort you want to put in, sort of save yourself in the long run. Um. You’ll, you’ll save time in the, the way I see it. So that’s how it’s working. And from the of things, again, they’re just, they have the calendars and it’s all there’s not much training needed in their side of things.
It’s just, um, a live calendar with whatever they need. And that’s how we sort operate at the minute. And it’s, it’s going great.
Mm. I, I’ve spent a lot of time, uh, with go high level, and I know that it’s got this incredible number of you know, bonuses and pos positives for a business owner, but it can be technologically quite difficult to wrap your head around unless you are technology minded, let’s say.
And. And I, yes, I think these tools are really helpful, as you said particularly if you are trying to make the guest experience better, you’ve really got to use technology to do that. I mean, had a discussion not long ago with somebody who said, no, ai, no, it shouldn’t happen in hospitality because hospitality is all about one-to-one connections.
And, and while I do absolutely agree with that, and I, I don’t dispute that whatsoever, there is still this need because people want to have an instant response, even if it’s midnight, even if it’s two o’clock in the morning and they just so happen to be up with the baby or they’re up early because they’re about to go off to work and they want to send a, a message about their stay and they want an instant response, or they’ve got a query about their booking and they want an instant response.
And it’s those times, I think where AI and the automated systems can really help to enhance the guest experience. Take the pressure off the owner, the guest feels completely looked after. The owner feels like they’re not running around like a headless chicken trying to answer all of these things. And, and so I think it’s a win-win for everybody and I think that’s the kind of AI that’s really important.
And those are the automations that really important to kind of embrace the other in ais, which are, you know, completely writing your emails out to messages your email messages out to your guests isn’t necessarily the best. It’s good to have some level of, uh, personality in there from the owner and things like that.
And so what are your views on all of that? The AI systems are now available to hospitality hosts.
Yeah. Yeah. It’s a never changing sort of landscape, isn’t it really? It’s a, it’s, it is great, as you say, with those sort of FAQs. If somebody’s got an issue with. Could I turn on a light or a hot tub or the shower or whatever it must be.
Um, if, if that can be automated quite quickly and it’s quite a simple, this is how you do it. Um, there’s no reason not to do that. I think like the ai mark AI from a visual standpoint in terms of people like altering the way things might look and photos online and stuff like that, I don’t like too much.
I think that’s not given a true reflection of how, how the site might be or how, um, how, how the landscape might be. So when I see stuff that’s been altered and it’s not like that in real life, I don’t think that’s, that’s a good use of it. But I think from a guest standpoint, communication wise, it’s as long as you, let’s say, teach the AI the way you want it to be taught, and it comes from your own person and the way you speak and the way you see the site being and the way you wanna speak about the guest.
I don’t see an issue with that. And I think. Aren’t there, sort of speak to you per se. They’re there to experience a site and what’s in the site, and that’s totally away from the phone, hopefully. So if I can answer the questions with AI as quickly as possible and get them booked in as quick as possible, add a package as quick as possible, whatever it needs to be, and, and it’s all seamless and it gives them, again, more time to have experience instead of being on the phone or texting constantly and somebody takes 10 minutes to text back.
Um, I think that’s just a positive in that sort. Um, and yeah, to me it’s just really the big not worry that the thing I don’t like as much as I, if they’re all like photos, you don’t know what’s real, what’s not real these days too much. When you see like, you can even see like my face or are you an AI at the minute?
Who knows? Yeah. But it’s, it’s incredible how, how that’s changing. And that’s the bit I don’t, I wouldn’t like to see coming into the company industry where. People might have a cabin and then they tell AI to make it, have all these features outside it and people might book and they turn out just a carbon and no features
is
is, which I think is the, the worrying side of it, which I haven’t seen much of, but I just don’t know.
Yeah. Well hopefully people realize that to raise expectations too high and then people are disappointed when they arrive, will absolutely end up with loads of bad reviews and they’ll just be completely and utterly destroyed online by people who are expecting more. So hopefully that’s always gonna be the case that people won’t misuse it, but they will use it in a way that helps to make them more efficient and a better service for the guest.
I think that’s key, isn’t it? Making the service better. But that, you know, hopefully that will be the way I, I know that it’s could be quite tempting for some who, who don’t have quite such strong scruples that they might end up, using it and misusing it, but hopefully not. I think guests always vote with their feet and they will walk away from a business that doesn’t use it in the right way.
So as long as we’re using it in the right way, we’ll have guest bookings and those guest bookings will increase. And also the service for the guest will increase and improve as well as it goes forward. So there’s some interesting changes going on in the industry at the moment from some businesses experiencing great growth and strong bookings and other businesses not experiencing quite the same level of positivity.
There’s definitely ups and downs and I suppose a little bit of a lack of confidence because of what’s going on in the wider world view with the economies and you know, things happening in different countries, that kind of thing, which always seems to erode confidence levels. So what are. Your views at the moment of the industry in the UK and what’s happening across the board with glamping?
What’s your thoughts?
Yeah, I think it’s still, um, quite an exciting time for glamping. I mean, obviously post COVID, everyone wanted to go outside and I feel that’s when the boom happened, obviously with, with the glamping. I do think you were saying obviously there’s a few sites that, that are, are struggling.
I think it’s just sort of a natural selection process of whenever people up their game in an industry, it’s the ones that don’t try and up it with that everyone else are gonna get left behind. And that’s just where, where people need to either come in, um, and buy their sites out and develop them up.
If that’s possible, the owner might be willing to sell it. Um, I, I’ve a meeting tomorrow looking at this site of guys to Spain and it’s sort of near that exact sort of situation, um, that, that I would. He’s on one platform like brooklyn com. He doesn’t have his own website, he social media. And it’s like, I’m try trying to say to him like, this is, this is career treats.
This is what it could be like. Obviously I don’t want a competitor, but it’s, it’s, it’s just, it just needs to get up to the level that, that people want to come to it. Um, so that’s sort of what I’m doing at the minute. I’m trying to actively do and, and find these seats, uh, which, which could benefit me, could benefit the owner if they’re wanting to get out and they’re not getting the bookings to sort of cover themselves.
And, um, that’s just the way I see it going. I think it needs to just constantly develop, constantly, um, be at the top of the game and always just constantly think of the guest and what the guest wants as it’s 10 years ago, guests weren’t that much into wellness. Now they are 10 years from now, they might be under something totally different.
It’s just always trying to keep a finger on the pulse of where that’s going and change your sight as you see fit. And um, again, it’s the, the guest is always right. The guest is first. So that’s where I always look at it. Um. But I’m very, very positive with the GAMP in industry in a whole, I think it’s where everything’s going, 30 center breaks and people going out to bars and stuff like that.
Still there, but definitely not as much as it used to be. Um, sort of, um, this whole concept of, uh, no phones I think’s gonna be a massive thing in the next year or two. You go to actual, like hotels or grumping sites and you don’t have wifi, um, or you leave your phone at the reception of a hotel or you leave your phone locked in a cabin somewhere there’s be lockbox or something like that.
I think this is gonna be the next sort of like experience and the next sort of getaways that people, people will want because yeah, the ones that are coming in five, 10 years from now have just been glued to their phones and they’ll want, they’ll pay for experiences away from it.
Um,
which, um, is something that I’ll hopefully look at not too soon in, in the future because it’s.
It’s a better for everyone. Better for everyone whenever you’re off your phone, to be honest. And that’s where I think that’s gonna, people pay to be off their phone in the future. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I mean it’s really interesting you are highlighting there, we dunno what’s gonna happen in the future. We dunno where this is going.
And yet we are in probably one of the biggest times of technological change that we’ve ever known. This is akin to the industrial revolution when that happened. Yeah. And the amount of change it’s gonna bring. So in 10 years time, I mean, everything’s gonna look very, very different, isn’t it? And from my perspective as a business owner, I couldn’t possibly.
Advise myself or others on what’s gonna be happening then. But it’s very important to stay one step ahead and to be part of the flow of where it’s going and to be paying attention, staying alert and adjusting and tweaking as we go, as you also mentioned. And I think that is key for every business in every industry.
But the positive thing I suppose I’d like to mention is, so part of my day job, which is being conference director to or co conference director to the glamping show Americas, we had a guest on S stage very recently. He was a Microsoft well, he was a technological wizard who sold his business to Microsoft.
That’s how good he was. And he was now in hospitality and he was in hospitality more. Specific, unique hospitality. So along what we are doing, which is experiential, because he said he felt it was the industry that was going to be the strongest in the future because. There is always going to be that need for the unique and individual attention that is very important for hospitality.
That’s what people go for. That’s what they pay for, that’s what they want. And so that’s what we’ll we’ll be providing. And, and so his view is no matter where things go with AI technology in the industry, there will always be a place for hospitality and unique hospitality that makes people feel very special.
So I think that’s a really nice thing to hear when you are in the industry and you are being maybe concerned by the news, you are hearing, the things you are understanding, you know, is happening and out there and, and you hear that someone who was in AI was in a very high level technology industry, has moved to hospitality ’cause he feels that’s one of the safer places to be.
So for me, I’m celebrating, you know, I’ve got my arms out way. Yay. Brilliant. I mean, that’s. Fabulous. So yeah, I hope that’s good news for you and also for anyone else who might be listening. But if somebody wanted to find out more about you and what you do, where would they go to do that?
Uh, I’ve got LinkedIn, um, on LinkedIn, uh, post there, um, semi regularly, uh, but just all things grumping, um, and I just love it.
Um, so I’m very much in the industry and love talking about it. Um, and then if you wanna come check out Careers is cos uk. Um, and you can check us out on Instagram, Facebook, um, or our own website and it’s C-O-O-R-I-E restraints.
Brilliant. I will include all of those links in the show description, and I know people will reach out to you if they want to talk to you more about anything you’ve shared today.
And thank you for your time and sharing your inspiration. It’s fantastic to connect face to face again, even though we met at the glamping show recently, but Oh my goodness, me, my, my adult memory and my jet lag is playing with my mind, but so brilliant to connect again. It is great.
No, it’s been an honor.
Thanks for having me on. And yeah, I’m excited to see where, uh, you go with this podcast and the industry as well, so it’s, uh, exciting times. Thank you. It’s, thank you very much.
Thank you. See you again.
See you. Bye-bye.
