Starting Out
Glamping in Your Garden, a Low-Risk Way to Start
One unit, one calendar and a few rule checks is a sensible way to see if guests will pay to stay in your garden.
You’ve got a quiet corner of the garden and a feeling that someone would pay to stay in it. They might. The low-risk way to find out is to check planning and insurance first, set up one unit, and take bookings through one calendar. Glamping in your garden lets you test demand with a single shepherd’s hut, pod or bell tent before you spend serious money. Some owners grow from there into several units, but you don’t need to plan that far yet.
Whether glamping in your garden is allowed
Not automatically. Letting a unit to paying guests can count as a change from ordinary home use, so you may need planning permission, and the rules differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Your local council’s planning team is the place to start.
Ask them three things. First, whether your garden unit needs permission as a use of the land, or as a building. Second, whether it makes a difference if the unit is moveable, like a hut on wheels, or fixed. Third, whether there are limits on how many nights a year you can let it.
Then check the paperwork you already have. Your deeds, lease or mortgage may restrict business use. Standard home insurance often doesn’t cover paying guests, so tell your insurer what you plan to do and get the cover in writing.
What to sort out before the first guest
Guests need to feel they’ve gone away, and you need to still feel like your garden is yours. Privacy, access, parking and facilities do most of that work.
Place the unit so it faces away from your own windows if you can. Guests notice a neighbour’s kitchen light just as much as they notice a view.
What garden glamping costs to set up
The unit is usually the biggest cost, and the price depends heavily on the type, so get a few quotes. The rest sits in a handful of categories that are easy to forget.
| Cost category | What it covers | Where you can save |
|---|---|---|
| The unit | Shepherd’s hut, pod, bell tent or cabin | Choose the simplest type that suits your garden |
| Groundwork and access | Base, path, gates, lighting | Use ground that’s already level and close to the drive |
| Power, water and waste | Electric hook-up, water supply, toilet and drainage | Place the unit near existing services |
| Furnishing | Bed, linen, heating, kitchen basics | Buy durable basics first and add extras later |
| Insurance and permissions | Planning fees, public liability and property cover | Compare quotes from insurers who cover holiday lets |
| Extras | Hot tub, firepit, outdoor seating | Leave them until you have bookings and reviews |
| Photos and website | Listing photos, a simple site with a booking calendar | Start with good phone photos in daylight |
What a garden glamping unit can earn
Your income is the nightly rate multiplied by the nights you book, minus what it costs to run. That’s the whole sum, and it’s worth doing before you buy.
Gross income is nightly rate times nights booked. From that, take off cleaning and laundry, utilities, insurance, listing site commission, repairs and your own time. What’s left is your profit.
Look at similar units near you on Airbnb, CoolStays and Canopy & Stars to see what they charge, and expect midweek and winter nights to book less often than summer weekends. A back garden holiday let is also income, and income from letting is usually taxable. An accountant can tell you how it works for your situation.
How to get your first bookings
Listing sites get you in front of guests quickly, and your own website gets you bookings without the commission. Most small owners use both.
If you want to put a shepherd’s hut in your garden and list it on Airbnb, you can reach a lot of guests from day one. Canopy & Stars and CoolStays are UK glamping listing sites with their own standards, so read what each accepts before you apply. Keep one calendar as the master and sync it to every listing so you don’t get double bookings.
Listings don’t stop guests looking for you directly. Plenty of people who find a place on a listing site then search for the owner’s own site, hoping for a better deal. If your site isn’t there, or is hard to use on a phone, they go back to the listing.
We built the website for Millie the Hut, a shepherd’s hut and Shack near Presteigne. It brought 42 direct bookings in its first year, saving the owners over £3,000 in commission.
Starting small and growing
Start with one unit and run it for a full season before you add another. One unit tells you what guests pay, which nights book and how much work the changeovers are.
- Get the planning and insurance answers in writing.
- Set up one unit and take good photos.
- List it on one site and open your own booking calendar.
- Collect reviews and note which dates book.
- Decide in the off-season whether to add a second unit.
The off-season, October to March, is a good time to do the planning and website work, so you’re ready when the spring enquiries start.
FAQs
Do I need planning permission for glamping in my garden?
Often you do, because letting a unit to paying guests can count as a change from ordinary home use. Rules differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by structure. Ask your local council’s planning team before you buy anything, and use a planning consultant if the answer isn’t clear.
Can I put a shepherd’s hut in my garden and list it on Airbnb?
You can list it once the practical side is sorted. That means planning, insurance and any lease or mortgage terms. Airbnb sets its own listing rules, so read them for your area. Other sites such as Canopy & Stars and CoolStays have their own standards, so check what each one accepts.
Is a back garden holiday let worth it?
It can be, if the nights you book cover the running costs and the set up. Work it out with a simple sum of nightly rate times nights booked, less costs. A single unit is a cheap way to test demand before you commit to more.
Do I need my own website for one garden unit?
Listing sites are enough to get started. But guests often search for the owner’s own site after finding a place on a listing, hoping for a better deal. A simple site with a booking calendar lets you keep more of each booking.
Get ready to take bookings
Send us your website and we’ll tell you, for free, what’s stopping it getting bookings. Start your free website audit. We work with glamping owners across the UK.