It is time to learn more about glamping and alternative accommodations

The outbreak of the pandemic and the new habits it brought into our lives had a tremendous impact on both the tourism industry and the hospitality sector, as well.

It is worth noting that till 2020 and according to the most recent data available, “traditional” accommodations are still taking the lion’s share, securing a market share of up to 82%. However, at the same time, it is an undeniable fact that, based on a key research Skift conducted in 2019 for Europe – undoubtedly, in more well-charted waters for the whole tourism industry compared to today – the market of alternative accommodations in Europe is growing nearly twice as fast as “traditional” accommodations, thus securing a rapidly increasing share compared to, until recently more popular, “traditional” types of accommodation (such as hotels, etc.).

Skift estimates that alternative accommodations will continue to be the fastest growing segment of accommodations in the European Union, since its team sees the sub-sector growing more than 1.7 times as fast as hotels, putting up a 7.4 percent CAGR from 2010–2020E compared to 4.3 percent annualized growth in the traditional accommodation sector.

Moreover, it is no coincidence that Greece is one of the few countries that quickly legislated glamping (according to the law 4688/2020), one of the emerging trends in global tourism demand which is currently gaining ground. CapsuleT turned to 2 startup teams, that successfully completed the third cycle of our Acceleration Program and offer services in alternative accommodations, to find out more about this particular sector; Campsaround and Villa4Villa are here to shed some light on the subject.

⇒ What is the current trend in the demand for alternative accommodations? In your opinion, which is the competitive advantage over traditional accommodations?

Campsaround: The accommodation options we offer through our platform represent the market of outdoor hospitality; accommodations in nature, harmonized with the environment, providing possibilities for exploring the local culture and habits, such as agritourism or glamping and all these, without missing the everyday or luxury amenities. When it comes to Greece, about 10% of the total inbound tourism chooses alternative forms of tourism in remote areas, with direct access to nature activities. It is worth noting that overnight stays in such accommodations have increased by approximately 17% per year in the last 3 years, culminating in the passage of the bill stipulating the special Glamping Mark.

Villa4Villa: We consider the current market trend to be in favor of alternative accommodations. Due to the crisis, Greeks tend to be more willing to rent one of their properties, in order to have a second income stream. Therefore, the available villas for rent every summer are constantly increasing. From our perspective, the main competitive advantage of Villa4Villa is that guests enjoy a luxury vacation at a much lower cost, compared to the standard rental cost of a villa. The only obligation for each member of our platform is to offer their own vacation home for exchange for a few days.

⇒ According to your insights so far, how do you think that Covid-19 affects your field of activity/services?

Campsaround: This year was the first year of our platform’s operation. Despite the Covid-19 crisis, our accommodations remained open during last summer and we noticed that many Greeks chose a different type of vacation in 2020. Indicatively, accommodations in nature, which are easily accessible by car from big cities, had a major increase in their occupancy. Moreover, we saw a big increase in RV/caravan rentals, since it was considered to be a safe way to vacation. Our next steps include the collaboration with even more accommodations that meet our strict criteria, so that our guests are safe even during the coronavirus pandemic in 2021.

Villa4Villa: Due to Covid-19, we believe that the demand for vacation homes is growing rapidly, which makes us want to respond to this need quickly. We believe that many tourists will prefer to stay in an accommodation in which they do not need to associate with many other people. For our part, one significant requirement is the intensive cleaning of the properties with a cleaning service team prior to each exchange.

A few words about the 2 startups

Campsaround is the first unified booking platform for glamping and alternative accommodations in Greece. An all-in-one solution including PMS, booking engine and content creation, exclusively for outdoor hospitality.

Villa4Villa is an online platform which enables people to exchange their summer houses. Its goal is to create a premium club through which people can swap their villas, based on a point system.