Glamping marketing
How to Fill Midweek Bookings at Your Glamping Site
Quiet Tuesdays to Thursdays are fixable. Here is what to price, package and promote so weekdays book too.
Your weekends sell out and Tuesday to Thursday sit empty. Almost every glamping owner hits this, and it rarely needs a big marketing budget to fix.
To fill midweek bookings, give guests a reason to travel on a weekday. That might be a package or a lower rate. Then let those dates book without awkward minimum stays, and tell the people who can actually travel then. This guide covers each step, plus winter and last-minute dates.
Why midweek dates stay empty
Midweek stays empty because most leisure guests are at work Monday to Friday, so they book weekends and school holidays first. Your own rules can make it worse.
A two or three night weekend minimum can leave a one or two night gap between bookings that nobody can take. A shepherd’s hut booked Friday to Sunday and again the following Friday has four nights in the middle that only a flexible guest will fill. So the fix is part pricing, part rules and part finding the right guests.
How to fill midweek bookings with prices that change behaviour
Pricing works when it gives a guest a clear reason to move their dates. Pick one tactic and make it easy to understand, rather than stacking several.
| Tactic | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Midweek rate | A lower nightly price for Sunday to Thursday | Sites with steady weekend demand |
| Longer stay discount | A reduced rate for the third or fourth night | Guests who can stretch a weekend into midweek |
| Flexible minimum stay | Allow one or two nights midweek, keep your weekend minimum | Gaps between bookings |
| Gap filler | A discount on the nights between two existing bookings | Short gaps that would otherwise stay empty |
| Short-notice offer | A reduced rate for dates inside the next week or two | Dates that are still empty close to arrival |
Millie the Hut’s booking page puts the availability calendar, a short enquiry form and a seasonal rate card with midweek and weekend prices and minimum stays on one page, so guests see the midweek price before they get in touch.
Build midweek packages that give a reason to come
A package gives a guest a reason to book a weekday without you dropping your price. It works best when it is simple, specific and built from things you already have.
| Package | What to include | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Wellness break | Hot tub time, a breakfast hamper, a local therapist or yoga class if you know one | Couples and friends needing a reset |
| Stargazing | A star chart, blankets, a hot drink on arrival, a note on the best spot on site | Couples and families who like the outdoors |
| Remote work escape | Reliable wifi, a proper desk or table, plenty of sockets, a view | Freelancers and remote workers |
| Cosy winter stay | Logs for the burner, hot chocolate, a board game, a late checkout | Off-season couples |
| Celebration | A bottle of something, flowers or a cake from a local maker | Birthdays and anniversaries |
Reach guests who can travel midweek
The guests who fill midweek dates are the ones whose week is not fixed to a 9 to 5. Write your offer for one of these groups rather than for everyone.
| Audience | Why they can travel midweek | Where to reach them |
|---|---|---|
| Retired couples | No work schedule, prefer quieter sites | Email list, Facebook, your own site |
| Remote workers and freelancers | Can work from anywhere with wifi | Your remote work package, search |
| Shift workers | Days off often fall on weekdays | Social posts, short-notice offers |
| Families in school holidays | Weekdays are free during the holidays | Holiday-period offers |
| Friends and small groups | Planned celebrations and catch-ups | Email, social, word of mouth |
Holiday lets can add another group. Contractors and workers on longer jobs often need parking, a washing machine and a kitchen, and a property with those can fill weekdays that leisure guests never touch.
Midweek guests need a reason to come, not just a lower price.
Increase off-season bookings with winter marketing
Off-season bookings come from selling what the quiet season does best. Cold, clear weather is part of the appeal of glamping, and guests often want a hot tub, a log burner and a short walk in the frost.
Add winter photos to your website and listings, because summer pictures make a December stay feel like a risk. Write about the log burner, the heating, the hot tub and the nearest pub, and put those details early on the page. Consider a lower minimum stay for the off-season, so a guest can try a one or two night break. For a holiday let the approach is the same, with cosy photos, a flexible minimum stay and a note to past guests before the quiet months start.
Fill last-minute gaps
Last-minute bookings come from a short, simple offer and a booking process that works on a phone. Guests who book at short notice decide quickly, and often search on mobile.
Open the offer for dates in the next week or two, and tell your email list and social followers. Keep your calendar in sync across Airbnb, Booking.com, Canopy & Stars, CoolStays and your own site, so a night you have discounted is not already booked somewhere else. If your calendars do not sync, a last-minute offer can cause a double booking.
Promote midweek where guests already look
The cheapest places to promote are the ones you already own. Start there before paying for anything.
- Email. Past guests already like your place. Send them one clear midweek offer rather than a general newsletter.
- Your own website. Put the offer on the homepage and the booking page.
- Google Business Profile. Post the offer, and keep your photos current.
- Social media. A short post or video of the hut on a quiet weekday, with the offer in the caption. Paid Facebook ads can work for a specific date range.
- Listing sites. Keep your calendar and rates up to date on the sites you use, with the midweek rate visible.
Listings do not stop guests looking for you directly. Plenty of people find a place on a directory, then search for the owner’s own site, hoping for a better deal or because they know the owner keeps more of the money. So your own site should show the midweek offer too.
Track midweek separately
You can only see whether this works if you measure midweek on its own. Occupancy across the whole week hides it, because full weekends make the average look healthy.
Pick one change at a time, run it for a month and compare. A single new package or a more flexible minimum stay is easier to judge than five changes at once.
FAQs
What is the quickest way to fill midweek bookings?
Offer a clear midweek deal and tell people who already know you. A lower midweek rate or a simple package, sent by email to past guests and posted on your own site, costs almost nothing and reaches the people most likely to book. Check your minimum stays too, so midweek dates can actually be booked.
Should I discount midweek stays?
A lower midweek rate is the most common tactic and it works well for many sites, but a package can do the same job without cutting your price. Try adding value first, such as a breakfast hamper or late checkout. If dates stay empty, use a midweek rate, and keep weekends at full price.
How do I increase off season bookings for a holiday let?
Sell what is good about the quiet season. Show winter photos, a log burner, a hot tub and cosy extras, and lower the minimum stay on off-season dates. Email past guests before the quiet months start, and make sure the off-season offer is on your own website.
How do I get more last minute bookings for a holiday let?
Open a short-notice offer for dates in the next week or two, and tell your email list and social followers. Keep calendars in sync across every site you list on, so a discounted night is not double-booked. Make booking quick on a phone, because last-minute guests decide fast.
If your website makes any of this harder than it should be, send us your website and we’ll tell you, for free, what’s stopping it getting bookings.