How Do I Set the Right Price for My Campsite Pitches?

Getting your pricing right is one of the most impactful decisions you'll make as a campsite owner. Price too high and your pitches sit empty. Price too low and you're working flat out for minimal profit. Yet most UK campsite owners set their prices once and barely touch them — leaving significant revenue on the table.

Here's a practical guide to setting prices that reflect your site's value, cover your costs, and keep your pitches full.

Understanding Your Costs First

Before you can set a profitable price, you need to know what each pitch night actually costs you to deliver. Many campsite owners skip this step and price based on gut feel or what the site down the road charges.

Fixed Costs (You Pay These Regardless of Occupancy)

Site rent or mortgage
Business rates
Insurance
Licensing fees
Permanent staff wages
Software subscriptions (booking system, accounting, etc.)
Loan repayments on facilities or infrastructure

Variable Costs (Increase With Guest Numbers)

Utilities — water, electricity, gas (especially for heated showers and hook-ups)
Cleaning — supplies and labour
Laundry — if you provide bedding for glamping units
Consumables — toilet rolls, soap, welcome pack items
Seasonal staff
Wear and tear — maintenance that increases with use
Payment processing fees — typically 1.5-2.5% of each transaction

Calculating Your Break-Even Cost Per Pitch Night:

Total annual fixed costs ÷ (number of pitches × realistic annual occupied nights) = your minimum cost per pitch night.

Example: £40,000 fixed costs ÷ (20 pitches × 120 occupied nights) = £16.67 per pitch night before variable costs.

Add variable costs of £3-£5 per night, and your true cost per occupied pitch night is around £20. Anything you charge above this is your margin.

Two Pricing Approaches

Cost-Plus Pricing

Start with your cost per pitch night and add your desired profit margin. If your cost is £20 and you want a 40% margin, your price is £28. This approach ensures you're always profitable but ignores what the market is willing to pay — you might be leaving money on the table.

Value-Based Pricing

Price based on the value guests perceive. A pitch with an electric hook-up, a river view, and walking distance to a pub is worth more than a basic field — even if the costs to you are similar. This is how the best campsite operators maximise revenue.

In practice, you should use both: cost-plus to set your floor (never charge less than this), and value-based to set your actual prices.

Competitor Benchmarking

Research what similar sites in your area charge. Look at:

Pitchup.com — the largest UK campsite listing platform, easy to search by area
Google Maps — search "campsites near [your location]" and check pricing on each site
Cool Camping, Hipcamp — particularly for glamping and premium sites
Direct competitor websites

Don't just look at price — compare what's included. A site charging £30/night with free showers, Wi-Fi, and a play area is offering more than a £25/night site charging extra for everything. You need to compare the total cost to the guest.

Warning: Don't automatically price below your competitors. If your site offers a better experience, price accordingly. Guests associate low prices with low quality — particularly in the glamping market.

Seasonal Pricing Tiers

Charging the same rate year-round is one of the most common pricing mistakes in the UK campsite industry. Demand varies dramatically by season, and your prices should reflect that.

A Typical Tier Structure

Peak (school summer holidays, bank holiday weekends): Your highest rate — this is when demand exceeds supply
High (May half-term, June, September): 10-20% below peak
Mid (Easter, April, October): 20-35% below peak
Low (November-March, if open): 35-50% below peak

For example, if your peak rate is £35/night:

Peak: £35
High: £28-£32
Mid: £23-£28
Low: £18-£23

Most booking systems, including CampManager, let you set seasonal pricing rules that apply automatically — so you set it up once and the right price shows to guests based on their dates.

Pricing Your Extras

Extras can significantly boost your revenue per booking without raising your headline pitch price. Common extras include:

Electric hook-up: £4-£8/night (this is almost pure profit once the infrastructure is in place)
Extra vehicles: £3-£5/night
Dogs: £2-£5/night per dog
Campfire pits: £5-£10/night or included as a premium pitch feature
Firewood bundles: £5-£8 each
Late checkout: £10-£20
Hot tub sessions: £25-£50
Bedding packs (glamping): £10-£15 per stay

Revenue tip: A well-managed extras menu can add 15-25% to your average booking value. Make sure your booking system supports adding extras at the point of booking — if guests have to ask about extras separately, most won't bother.

Dynamic Pricing: Is It Worth It?

Dynamic pricing means adjusting your rates based on real-time demand — raising prices when availability is low and reducing them when bookings are slow. Hotels and airlines have done this for decades.

For campsites, a simple version works well:

Last-minute discounts — reduce unsold pitch nights by 10-20% within 48 hours of the date
Early-bird pricing — offer 5-10% off for bookings made 3+ months in advance
Minimum stays — require 2-3 night minimum stays during peak weekends to prevent single-night bookings blocking more profitable longer stays
Midweek rates — lower rates Monday-Thursday to boost occupancy during quieter periods

You don't need sophisticated algorithms. Even manually reviewing your availability every couple of weeks and adjusting prices for periods that aren't filling up will make a meaningful difference.

Common Pricing Mistakes

1. Flat Pricing Year-Round

You're undercharging in peak season (when people would gladly pay more) and overcharging in shoulder season (when lower prices would fill empty pitches). Seasonal tiers solve this immediately.

2. Underpricing Because You're New

New sites often set prices 20-30% below market rate to attract bookings. This attracts price-sensitive guests, sets low expectations, and makes it very difficult to raise prices later. Start at market rate and use opening offers instead.

3. Not Reviewing Prices Annually

Your costs increase every year — utilities, insurance, maintenance, wages. If your prices stay the same, your margins shrink. Review and adjust prices each autumn before the next season's bookings open.

4. Charging Per Tent Instead of Per Pitch

Most guests expect to pay for a pitch that accommodates their group. Charging per tent, per person, and per car separately frustrates guests and makes your pricing feel complicated and expensive. Keep it simple: a pitch price that includes a reasonable group size, with supplements for extras.

5. Ignoring Your Booking Data

If you're using a booking system, you have valuable data about occupancy patterns, lead times, and revenue per pitch. Use it. If every weekend in June fills up three months in advance, your June weekend price is too low.

Data-driven pricing: CampManager's reporting tools show you occupancy rates by date, pitch type, and season — making it straightforward to identify where your pricing needs adjusting. You don't need a spreadsheet; just check your dashboard before setting next season's rates.

Getting Started

If you're setting prices for the first time or overhauling your existing structure, here's a simple process:

Calculate your costs — know your floor price
Research competitors — understand your market position
Set seasonal tiers — at minimum, have peak and off-peak rates
Price your extras — make them easy to add at booking
Review quarterly — adjust based on occupancy data and demand patterns

Pricing isn't a set-and-forget decision. The most profitable campsites treat it as an ongoing process, adjusting based on evidence rather than guesswork. Start with a solid foundation, and refine as you learn what works for your site and your guests.