The possibility of booking camping online is increasingly an important variable in the process of choosing the accommodation facility by the end user. On the European scene, one of the leading companies in this area is ACSI camping.info Booking, which was born in the spring of 2021 from the vision of two of the most important players on the camping market, the Dutch ACSI and the German camping.info.
The two companies have joined forces to create the largest online booking platform for campsite. Affiliated campsites are visible on the two largest booking platforms in Europe and profit from access to a huge number of campsite visitors, around 40 million.
For years, both companies have offered campsite visitors the opportunity of finding and booking a campsite online, and both are determined to remain frontrunners in the camping industry. ACSI serves campsite visitors throughout all of Europe via, among others, eurocampings.eu, campingcard.com and their corresponding apps.Camping.info is the largest campsite platform for campsites on the German-speaking market.
Access for more campsite visitors
In their search for possibilities of making it easier for campsites to allow their pitches and accommodation to be booked online by a larger group of campsite visitors, ACSI’s CEO Ramon van Reine and camping.info CEO Maximilian Möhrle found one another. The fact that two competitors decided to collaborate may sound strange, but it is actually rather logical.
“We work together in the areas in which we can realise solutions. This enables us to offer a better service to both the campsite and the campsite visitor”, explains Möhrle.
“The platform works on the channels of both camping.info and ACSI. This allows us to continue to develop more quickly and link as many campsites as possible. You could compare it to the automotive industry, where one company’s platform is used for different brands of cars”, adds Van Reine.
A full-service solution for campsites
The success of ACSI camping.info Booking lies in the full-service solution for the campsites. “We are building the booking platform together with the campsites and step by step we are also improving it. We are committed to providing campsites with the best solutions in order to provide them with a comprehensive service”, says Möhrle. The focus is therefore on sustainable collaboration. “We want transparent cooperation with campsites: we only work with campsites that have chosen to be able to be booked via our website. Together, we offer the largest European offer, which is a great opportunity for a campsite”.
Van Reine adds: “We will not be advertising the good reputation of a campsite on Google. Campsite visitors who already know about the campsite book with the campsite itself. We do not want to interfere in this. We want to provide the searching campsite visitor with the best campsites in a specific area. All the campsite visitor has to do is make a choice and book immediately”.
No fixed costs to use ACSI camping.info Booking
It’s easy for campsites to link up with the booking platform. “The threshold for participation is very low”, explains Van Reine. “We work with the principle of no cure, no pay. Campsites do not pay any fixed costs and pay only a low commission (5 to 10 percent) on the booking. Furthermore, the commission is based on the amount the campsite receives. This means there is no risk for the campsite if there are cancellations and no-shows. Invoices are only sent after the customer leaves”.
Not only in the high season
The campsite determines what is offered, the rates and booking conditions. Immediately after making a booking, the campsite receives all customer and contact data, then the campsite visitor pays the campsite directly. Campsites can place both pitches and rental accommodations on the booking platform.
Another important benefit is that ACSI camping.info Booking also attracts campsite visitors outside of the high season. “Many campsites are able to regulate their occupancy rate in the high season themselves but experience more difficulties in the low season”, says Van Reine. “If we look at the distribution over the past year, we see that at least 49.8% of the stays are outside of July and August”.
Linking with back-office systems
At this time, ACSI camping.info Booking is linked with the most popular back-office systems (PMS or Property Management Systems). This means that a lot of campsites can also link up with the booking platform without a great deal of extra work.
Most of the links go through Secureholiday (Ctoutvert) but Pod.Camp (Remedia) and RoomCloud are supported too. And there are also links to Estar, SGS, HolyDayGraf (Web Nubes), Campgest (KoobCamp), Code One (Booking Expert), and EasyCamp (MGM). Links to Phobs, MaxCamping and Camping.care are also possible. In addition, the number of links are constantly being expanded and, if a campsite has another PMS or has none, other solutions are possible.
More and more bookings
Booking on ACSI camping.info Booking have grown rapidly lately. Compared to 2021, the number of bookings in 2022 grew strongly and, despite the political, economic uncertainties, and extreme weather condition, continued growth is expected in 2023. The first months of 2023 confirm this.
The number of bookings at Italian campsites rose sharply. With 22% of the bookings, Italy is the next most popular destination after France (34%). Most campsite visitors who chose an Italian campsite came from Germany (47%) and the Netherlands (21%). What is striking is the substantial growth from German-speaking countries, with Austria at the forefront.
Hot to join ACSI camping.info Booking
There are now more than 1,800 campsites linked to the booking platform and this number is increasing steadily. “We want to offer campsite visitors as many campsites as possible, so this is a good development”, comments Van Reine. “With one contract, a campsite can achieve 40 million visits. And under very reasonable conditions. Actually, participating campsites have nothing to lose and everything to gain”.
If you would like to know more about ACSI camping.info Booking, visit acsi.eu/acsi-booking. Alternatively, you can make a call +31 (0)488 452 055 or write an email sales@acsi.eu.
