The co-founder of Huttopia, who bought the OnlyCamp network in June 2021, wants to use it to preserve municipal and family campsites which are not of interest to the major operators in the sector.
L’Echo tourisme: Almost a year ago, Huttopia bought the network of OnlyCamp campsites , which brought together 8 small sites around the Loire. Campsites that seem far from the large infrastructures that are spreading in France…
Philippe Bossanne: The acquisition of OnlyCamp is our response to this phenomenon observed in the sector. We are convinced that camping, in its most traditional form, is terribly suited to the needs of modern society and tourism. It’s a light, reversible mode of accommodation, which uses a lot of local resources… provided that you don’t want to copy the club villages, hard. It is a less greedy form of tourism, which also makes it possible to meet many customer expectations: disconnection from everyday life, direct contact with nature, moments shared with family. Expectations that are all the stronger with the pandemic that we have collectively gone through.
What interested you in these campsites? Do their small sizes make it possible to reach an interesting break-even point?
Philippe Bossanne:We decided to buy OnlyCamp taking into account two observations. The first is that it has become difficult to create new campsites in France. We try to open 6 Huttopia sites a year, but more and more rarely in France… There is less and less land available, and urban planning and environmental constraints make it too complicated, in fact, to create new campsites. The second observation is that many small rural campsites, which are set up in magnificent locations, on the edge of villages, near urban centers… are closing their doors. We tried to understand why. And, very quickly, we linked their closures to the creation of motorhome areas. The creation of this type of area kills small campsites, family or municipal. It’s easier, and less expensive, for a municipality to open a beautiful modern motorhome area rather than renovating and developing the existing campsite. As a result, we end up with vehicles at 70,000 euros parked in places sold for 10 euros per night. The camper, who comes with his tent at 100 euros and his stove, no longer finds places to settle, and must pay double to stay in a sometimes aging campsite. It’s not normal. There is better to invent to accommodate in one place all types of campers in one place. can no longer find pitches to settle in, and has to pay double to stay in a sometimes aging campsite. It’s not normal. There is better to invent to accommodate in one place all types of campers in one place. can no longer find pitches to settle in, and has to pay double to stay in a sometimes aging campsite. It’s not normal. There is better to invent to accommodate in one place all types of campers in one place.
So OnlyCamp wants to restore its “social” aspect to camping?
Philippe Bossanne: I have always thought that there was a real demand for camping on free pitches. And yes, going camping with your tent is more accessible than renting a mobile home. As we strongly believe in diversity at Huttopia, with OnlyCamp, we want to create places where all types of campers can meet. Including motorhomes since an area will be installed at the entrance to the OnlyCamp sites. It will therefore be linked to the campsite, welcoming, and open all year round to meet the needs of municipalities to manage this type of vehicle. Inside the campsite, we will find this family spirit. The emergence of van lifemotivates us to create a type of campsite that meets the expectations of this clientele, who wants autonomy, close contact with nature, and who does not want to park their vehicle between two plastic mobile homes. We will keep as much of free pitches, that is to say at least 50% of the surface of the campsite, and will set up a few tents and tiny houses in wood and canvas, all simple, for rental. With this vision, we believe that OnlyCamp can be a solution for all small campsites that are in danger of disappearing.
What are the possibilities of this market, at a time when campsites with water parks and other leisure facilities are filling up?
Philippe Bossanne:The demand is there, we are convinced of it. It comes from the market – we see this in our Huttopia campsites and villages, which are victims of their own success – but also from campsite operators. When we bought OnlyCamp, the network had eight campsites. Very quickly, municipalities informed us of their interest in the project, and we welcomed three additional campsites from the 2021 season. We therefore decided to structure this activity. One of our executives, Axel Penin, took over the management, and we now have 19 Onlycamp campsites for this 2022 season. And we are not the only ones to believe it: we have just created a property company with the Banque des Territoires, subsidiary of the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, to facilitate the acquisition of these sites. By adding to this the marketing strength of our group and all the management tools we use for Huttopia, which we are going to adapt to OnlyCamp, these small campsites will once again become profitable and therefore sustainable. For many rural areas, such a full campsite is an important economic lung.
Will the development of Huttopia slow down in favor of that of OnlyCamp?
Philippe Bossanne:Although they share exactly the same values, they are different products. If the OnlyCamp concept extends over 19 campsites, Huttopia, which we created in 1999 with my wife Céline, has its colors installed on 68 sites (campsite, villages or citycamp) in eight countries, including the United States. (5 sites) and China, which will welcome new sites in the coming months (Florida, California, Hangzhou). We offer a lot of glamping type tents and some tiny houses. And, of course, free slots. In total, we market 13,000 pitches, and only a third is equipped with rentals. Huttopia is a product that works well, and which has not suffered so much from the pandemic, since it is aimed above all at local customers. Last year, we sold 2.3 million room nights,
