The results of the 2023 season are very positive for Campings.com and its host partners. The Group’s sales volumeincreased overall by 54% compared to 2022. This first season with BungalowSpecials.nl and FerienparkSpecials.deconfirms the Group’s development potential on a European scale. Campings.com has crossed the milestone of €200 million in turnover, in line with its objectives.
The acquisition of BungalowSpecials.nl (at the beginning of the year) and FerienparkSpecials.de fueled growth, allowing hosts to exploit a privileged route contact with Dutch and German customers (whose bookings increased by 67% on the Campings.com platform). Overall, Campings.com’s number of stays booked by foreign tourists has increased tenfold.
A challenging season
The 2023 season for Campings.com, as forecasted by the company itself, was challenging to face. The attractiveness of open-air accommodation facilities continues to remain high, but at the same time customers are particularly attentive to their holiday spending budget. Inflation is holding back the long-awaited “return to normality”, i.e., to a market comparable to the one before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Although all the players in the HPA (hôtellerie de plein air) sector in France can be satisfied with the growth in bookings at the beginning of 2023 compared to 2022, the first quarter did not go well enough to compensate for the structural slowdown recorded later, in the second quarter.
Focus on France
The strengthening of the multi-channel model promoted by Campings.com benefits all customer accommodation facilities, and in particular French independent campsites: this year they have recorded a 24% increase in their sales volume. For Campings.com the 2023 season sees 92% of French customers booking pitches to stay in France.
For the France destination, Campings.com recorded data comparable to those before the pandemic crisis, with the same seasonal trend. Summing up the key data for France, Campings.com recorded an 18% increase in high season bookings compared to 2022, with a peak in the first three weeks of August.
The price increase, relating to the 2023 season for Campings.com, has above all resulted in a clear decline in longer stays in the high season, while in the low season, 14-day stays increased by 19%. By contrast, Campings.com recorded a real explosion of short stays in April, May, and June, favored by the 2023 calendar and more attractive prices. “In a context where families are extremely attentive to their purchasing power and compare offers, it is important to maintain consistency with the market to be successful,l” explained Anne-Marie Ciamous Augier, Director of Revenue & Capacity Management.
Suppliers: how to optimize earnings and booking rates?
Prudence, consistency, and adaptability remain key to optimizing the value of the average cart. Although Campings.com’s remuneration system is also linked to the average cart, its experts recommend paying close attention to whether the price offered is consistent with the customer’s expectations. This, in fact, guarantees a good filling speed of the accommodation. Furthermore, they underline how overexposure of the tourist offer on all marketing channels is the best option to strengthen RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room).
