Wigwam Holidays Proposal Document 2012

Proposal
Document
starting a site
®
The power of
Wigwam
for business
success
So you're interested in starting your own Wigwam
Holiday site?
That's great! This booklet will help you decide if you want
to take things further. If you do, we will journey with you
every step of the way with all our support, encouragement
and expertise!
1. Think big, think Wigwam
Join the UK’s number one alternative camping network
4. Think brand, think Wigwam
Our brand is key to your success
7. Think quality, think Wigwam
Crafted and developed over 20 years to tick every box
10. Think £££’s, think Wigwam
Likely return on your investment
11. Think easy, think Wigwam
No fuss, not complicated
15. Think winner, think Wigwam
Success stories from site owners
Big,
Think
Think
Wigwam
The Wigwam® Network
Wigwam® Holidays is a network of farms, campsites and hostels providing four
season camping in our unique, heated wooden Wigwam® Cabins. Established in
2000, we are fast becoming the market leader for “glamping” holidays in the UK.
That’s glamorous camping to you and me. All sites are marketed under the
Wigwam® banner representing fun, quality and value for money. Our core purpose
couldn’t be more straight forward;
History
To provide great holidays in the great outdoors.
20 years ago we designed our very first heated wooden Wigwam®. A fully insulated,
heated and genuine four season camping cabin. In June 2000 we launched
Wigwam® Holidays which now consists of over 50 sites all providing high quality
low cost and above all consistent accommodation, in our fantastic, heated wooden
Wigwams®. This is your invitation to join us and share in our success as the UK’s
most exciting, fun and innovative holiday brand.
Product Range
The Wigwam® has proved to be our most innovative, versatile and best-selling
product ever, and as the years have moved on so have the designs. Our range
consists of the Wee Brave , Big Chief and new for 2012 Running Water, with en suite
toilet and shower offering the last word in luxury camping, the ultimate glamping
cabin. With prices set at a fraction of the traditional chalet market, multiple
purchases to create your own site or Wigwam® village becomes a very attractive
option.
Manufactured to the highest standards by our sister company Wigwam® Cabins,
Ltd. Wigwams® meet the growing demand for low cost breaks at home and with
the recession not likely to end any time soon, there’s no better time to consider
opening your own site and cashing in on this growing market.
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2
3
Think Brand,
Think
Wigwam
A brand you can trust
It’s all about freedom! People love having year round access to camping in comfort
in natural, rural locations, enjoying campfires under the stars against a backdrop of
mountains, rivers, shorelines or forests. It’s not just time out in a stress-free
environment, it’s an exciting experience. Our branding which evokes that ‘great
outdoors’, feel good factor is key in ensuring that your business and ours goes from
strength to strength.
Over the last twelve years Wigwam® has grown to mean quality, consistency and
value for money. From the Islands of Shetland to the sun-kissed Coast of Cornwall,
our heated wooden Wigwams® offer a consistent and quality assured experience.
Electric heaters, super comfy clean mattress packs, robust practical sleeping
platforms and light and airy opening windows, all mean that a Wigwam® holiday
delivers time and again. The location changes but the cosy wooden Wigwam® stays
the same.
Trade mark
Wigwam® is a UK and European Community trade mark, only our licensees have
the legal right to market their business and the Wigwam® product under the
Wigwam® banner. We provide a comprehensive licence with an illustrated brand
manual and work with our licensees to ensure that every site delivers a high
quality, consistent product to meet the rapidly growing demand from both repeat
and new Wigwam® Holiday customers.
Membership
Membership offers a package of practical support and advice to help your site
achieve its maximum potential. You will become part of our national network
which will ensure a steady flow of clients to your business. You have the right to
market your business under our trade mark and brand identity. Membership of
Wigwam® Holidays is charged annually at just £115 per year per cabin with no
charge whatsoever in year one.
4
What are the
Benefits?
The Website
Your Wigwam® site will be showcased on our flagship website
wigwamholidays.com, which in the past 12 months has received well over 300,000
visitors generating in excess of 2 million page views. Each member can expect
approximately 15,000 holidaymakers to view their individual location details.
Your brand is not what you say it is; it’s what Google says it is.
Chris Anderson, Editor of Wired magazine
Wigwamholidays.com is not just a directory of campsites; it is your website offering
fully integrated online booking, photo galleries, Google maps, facilities and tariff
information. Wigwamholidays.com is a one stop shop making finding and booking
a Wigwam® holiday simple, hassle free and flexible. We work continuously on
developing and improving this seminal website listening to and responding to our
ever growing market.
Go Wigwam®
You will be included in our stunning “Go Wigwam®” leaflet which is distributed
throughout the network. This includes a list of all locations with full contact details.
What better way to get noticed?
Online booking
For a small commission we can provide you with a reliable, easy-to-use online
booking system within the Wigwam® Holidays website. People want to search
availability and book online. We have therefore invested in a simple, easy to use
and highly popular system which will literally make you money in your sleep!
Social networking
We have established a strong following on both Facebook and Twitter, which
allows you to reach a large audience of new media users.
Licence and brand manual
Our Wigwam® licence and brand manual provides a comprehensive guide to
marketing your Wigwam® site and making the most of the eye-catching Wigwam®
marketing material. It also ensures that every Wigwam® site delivers a high-quality,
consistent product.
5
Networking
Networking events, such as our annual conference, allow us all to get together and
share experiences and expertise. We also produce a quarterly newsletter to keep
you up-to-date with the latest developments and news.
Merchandise
We offer the option to buy competitively priced merchandise to sell to your
visitors which can be a very profitable addition to your business.
Team
Access to our Wigwam® team of experts - which includes professionals from fields
such as sales, marketing, PR, new media, website design, online booking systems,
graphic design and architecture. We even have team members who are currently
running their own Wigwam® sites. We are always on hand to provide help and
guidance where it is needed.
Signage
Wigwam® Holidays will provide licensees with road and gate signs, which reinforce
the brand and serve as a destination marker.
Ride our
Wigwam
Wave
6
Think
Quality,
Think
Wigwam
When considering a business venture you want to make sure it’s a wise long term
investment, so it’s reassuring to know that our Wigwams® have the life span
equivalent to a modern home. Manufactured to the highest quality and standards
in our Perth workshop, Wigwams® are reasonably priced, easy to maintain, and can
be delivered fully assembled anywhere within the UK.
With over 20 successful years in the wooden buildings business, we believe in the
quality and craftsmanship of our Wigwams®. Made from home grown European
Larch or Douglas Fir the Wigwam® is the perfect eco camping cabin.
Spoilt for choice, the Wigwam® range offers the Wee Brave, Big Chief and Running
Water cabins. For more information please see our Wigwam® Camping Cabin
document.
Fully insulated and heated
Hand crafted from sustainable resources of home grown timber.
Frame ledge and braced solid wooden doors
Double glazing
Sturdy wooden sleeping platforms and internal seating
Built to last
And remember that quality is consistent from one great location to the next;
a brand you can trust.
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9
Think £££’s,
Think
Wigwam
So what kind of profits can you expect from setting up a Wigwam® site? Well the
good news is that because Wigwams® are a genuine four season product, letting
seasons are longer meaning higher revenues for sites. Each site determines its
own tariff from around £12.50 - £17.50 per adult per night with discounts for
children and longer stays.
Revenues and Cash Flow
Assuming an average occupancy of 2 to 3 per
night at a tariff of £15 and 140 nights booked
per year, each Wigwam® would generate an
annual income of £5,750. Due to the diverse
nature of our sites and the different locations
and facilities on offer, revenues will vary but
the lowest would be around £3.5k per Wigwam®
per year and the highest could be in excess of
£7k per Wigwam® per year. We can provide you
with a detailed business plan to help you
take those first steps towards being part of
the Wigwam® Community.
The spin offs from providing Wigwam®
holidays can be very profitable. Some sites
have a small shop selling basic essentials and
official Wigwam® merchandise. One site has
reported making £18,000 annually from selling
bags of logs to guests to burn in fire pits
outside the Wigwams®. You may dedicate
your site to a particular interest such as
wilderness training, pony riding or various
courses, attracting additional activity fees.
10
Think Easy,
Think
Wigwam
Site preparation and delivery
Getting your Wigwams® up and running on site couldn’t be easier. No complicated
ground preparation is needed although if the ground is marshy you will need to
lay a hard core base. The Wigwam® frames have 6 feet which sit on levelled
concrete slabs or block foundations, holding the building off the ground. This
ensures continual ventilation of the structure and eliminates durability problems
associated with long term ground contact.
Once ordered the units would typically be delivered within 2 to 4 months. They
are delivered fully assembled and we recommend they be positioned with easy
vehicular access. Once unloaded and connected to mains electricity, (water
supply and drainage for the Running Water cabins), they’re ready for occupation.
Being portable and self-contained they can easily be moved to other locations on
site at a later date, if required. Delivery is not included in the price but the cheapest
option is to have two cabins delivered at a time on a flatbed lorry. To unload the
wigwams you would need a 3.5 tonne agricultural fork lift or a lorry mounted
crane.
Service building
Each site needs a central service building with toilets, showers and basic washing
up facilities. Larger sites will offer a camper’s kitchen, launderette facilities and
even a lounge. Costs of the service building will vary depending on the facilities
supplied but for a site with 6 Wigwams® you will need a minimum of 2 toilets and 2
showers. Your local authority will be able to advise on specific numbers. The
general guide is one toilet per 15 people. A service building could be ‘stand-alone’ or
incorporated into an existing outbuilding and costs will vary between £5k and
£25k for the complete building.
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Drainage also has to be considered and we include some basic figures for this in
our sample cash flow. It’s worth thinking big when planning your service building
as your site may expand quickly and need more ambitious facilities.
As an alternative to the service building our Running Water Wigwam® can be
purchased. To save on all the service building costs, demand for the Running
Water Wigwam® is higher than ever.
Planning permission
For planning purposes Wigwams® are classed as static or wooden caravans.
Generally, unless permission exists, you will need to apply for a caravan site
licence but your local planning department will be able to advise you on this.
We would be happy to discuss any of these aspects in more detail and if
appropriate, visit you on site.
Siting Your Wigwams®
We would be pleased to offer help and advice with the general layout and
structure of the site. Factors to consider are vehicle and pedestrian access,
proximity of the wigwams to landscape features and each other, orientation, views
and service block location. With over fifty locations every site is unique but the
general principles remain the same.
Other costs
Wigwams provide an ideal start up project or great diversification opportunity. It is
worth considering factors such as electricity/ water supply, landscaping and
access infrastructure when planning your wigwam holidays site. We can prepare a
comprehensive business plan with a full capital schedule, potential occupancy
figures and cash flow projections. The business plan considers both financing the
development and ongoing overheads. We have worked with many start-ups and
can help you prepare relevant financials suitable for banks and other funding
bodies.
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14
Think
Winner,
Think
Wigwam
The proof of the pudding is in the eating and who better to recommend being a
Wigwam® Holiday site owner than the people already in the business. As far as
they’re concerned it’s a winner!
The Wigwams® are the best cabins
of their type on the market - and that's been
confirmed by numerous customers.. The
wigwam team were particularly helpful
and attentive to detail and delivered on
price and on schedule . Wigwam® Holidays
offered valuable assistance with all sorts of
practical details including help drawing up
our business plan and marketing.
Ian Richie, Glentress
Wigwams, Perthshire.
We get a lot of people coming back. It’s a cheap break at around £40
per night for a family. Our clients are mostly young couples with children
attracted by the idea of camping but without the tent. The kids love the camp
fires, climbing trees and playing around the stream
Sandy Guthrie, Newmill Farm Wigwams, Perthshire.
15
We’re proud to be part of a national
holiday network. It’s the freedom that the
children enjoy that really attracts young
families. It’s camping but with a little bit
more glamour. It appeals to those who are
maybe not quite ready for full on camping
under canvas. We sell logs on site and
everyone loves sitting at night with the fire
burning, toasting marshmallows etc
Rena Baillie, Strathfillan Wigwam
village, Perthshire
I think they’re absolutely excellent
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a complaint
about a Wigwam® in ten years of
running the site. They’re almost maintenance free and are as good today as they
were when we first bought them. They’re
also totally windproof. We had severe
storms not long after getting them and
although hundreds of farm buildings in
the region were damaged and an area of
woodland beside them was flattened,
they never moved. People are ringing up
all the time to book our Wigwams®.
Archie Wight of Barnsoul Farm
Wigwams, Dumfries & Galloway
We did a lot of market research
- and Wigwams ticked all our boxes.
We chose them because they are of
good quality and innovative design far above and beyond what you see
elsewhere and user friendly all year
round. They not only look good, they
feel good when you walk inside there's nothing to let them down. It
was also buying into an established
brand with a ready made on line
market and following
Richard Barnes,
Tehidy WIgwams, Cornwall
As a company they provide a
great brand plus excellent marketing and
customer service - it's good to be part of a
quality UK network
Christine Whiteford,
Pot-A-Doodle Do Wigwam® Village
Northumbria
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Contact Us
Sales in UK & Ireland
Strathfillan
Tyndrum
Perthshire
FK20 8RU
t: 0131 4507126
t: 01838 400331
[email protected]
wigwamholidays.com
Find us on:
www.facebook.com/wigwamholidays
www.twitter.com/wigwamholidays