Most campsite owners think about revenue in terms of pitch fees and electric charges. But there is a third income stream hiding in plain sight: the things guests buy when they get here.
Gas bottles, kindling, charcoal, Elsan Blue, firelighters — these are not luxuries. They are necessities. And when you give guests a way to order them before arrival, something interesting happens: they spend more.
1. The "While I Am Here" Effect
When a guest receives a pre-arrival email two days before their trip, they are in planning mode. They are packing, checking the weather, thinking about meals. A prompt to order gas and kindling lands at exactly the right moment.
Online, with no queue pressure, people add extras. The kindling bundle becomes kindling plus firelighters plus marshmallows. Average order values consistently exceed what guests would buy at reception.
2. Guaranteed Stock, Guaranteed Income
Pre-orders solve the chicken-and-egg problem of stock management. You know you need six Propane 13kg cylinders for Friday because six guests have already ordered them. No guessing, no overstocking, no running out at 5pm.
Better still, if you use the "Pay Now" option, the money is in your account before the guest arrives. That is guaranteed income — not a "maybe" at the reception desk.
Click an available pitch to check someone in
3. Reduced Reception Bottlenecks
Every minute a guest spends at reception asking about gas is a minute another guest spends waiting. Pre-arrival ordering moves these transactions online, freeing your team to focus on check-ins and guest relations.
For sites with one or two staff members, this is transformative. Friday afternoon check-in becomes about welcoming people, not selling gas bottles.
4. The Seasonal Customer Advantage
Seasonal plot holders and long-term caravan owners are your most predictable customers. They know what they need. They order the same gas every month. With "Add to Account" payment, they order through the portal and it appears on their next invoice.
No cash handling, no awkward IOUs, no "I will pay you next time." Clean, documented, invoiced transactions.
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5. Data-Driven Stocking
Over a season, pre-arrival orders give you something you have never had before: demand data. You can see that 60% of weekend arrivals order Propane, that Elsan Blue peaks in July, and that nobody orders Butane after September.
This is not big data. It is simple, practical information that helps you stock smarter and negotiate better with your gas supplier.
The Bottom Line
A 20-pitch campsite that converts even 30% of arrivals to pre-orders at an average of £25 per order generates over £15,000 in additional tracked revenue per season. That is money that was always being spent — it was just happening at random, in cash, with no visibility.
Pre-arrival ordering does not create demand. It captures demand that already exists and makes it visible, predictable, and paid for upfront.
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