By William Coleman
With the current surge in site bookings, it could be hard to get your space reserved before they sell out. With CaravanCloud, you can find all the latest availability and more.
It is no secret that the average age of the UK caravanner is getting younger with each year that passes. Seeing this new trend, Connor Ennis saw an opportunity to rebrand his business to an online one-stop shop for all things camping and caravanning.
Following some recent market research Connor decided that it was time for a change which would lead his business into a completely new direction which would serve the touring industry in the UK well.
CaravanCloud will incorporate all things camping and caravan related, from buying and selling caravans to booking campsites.
The idea and site have been designed to appeal to a younger, eco-conscious audience. With luck, the new website will help further build the number of newcomers to the outdoor living world who want to become leisure vehicle owners.
The timing seemed to make perfect sense to Connor. Despite a lot of companies tightening their belts at the moment, he saw a silver lining to the global pandemic that would actually help boost his business. “Up until the Covid-19 pandemic our target customers for caravan and motorhome sales tended to be young families to retirees,” he says.
“However, since holidaying abroad has become more complicated, we have seen our usual target customer base broaden massively. Over the lockdown period, I have seen a large increase in younger people, young families, and wealthier middle-aged customers eager to buy caravans and motor homes.”
It’s no secret or surprise that Covid-19 has shown lots of people the value in a caravan holiday but Connor feels that it’s the modern design and improvements that have been a major factor in the renewed interest.
“I think that maybe ten years ago caravanning and motor homing may not have been considered as a desirable holiday option by the majority of the British public,” he says.
“However, in the last five years caravans and motorhomes have become so luxurious and have all the amenities you would find in a holiday home – and I believe that’s part of why they have increased in popularity. Holiday parks now have five-star facilities with spas and gyms and a lot more emphasis has been put on holidaying within the UK.”
Based in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Connor founded his site in 2015 when he was just 18 years old. He grew up in a family that is synonymous with the caravan industry: Ennis.
Ennis Caravans was founded by his grandfather in Llanelli and soon became the largest caravan dealership in Wales. It is safe to say that he has caravanning in his blood.
Having been working in the caravan industry since leaving Sixth Form, Connor wanted to create a tool that would make caravan sales easier, after looking at the sales process and how people book trips a light bulb went off in his head.
“As the job went on and I started to learn a lot more about the industry I also saw an opportunity for a new and fresh approach to making things easier for sales but also for camping holidays. It was from this moment on that the idea of CaravanCloud was born,” he said.
“CaravanCloud was created to bring all aspects of caravanning, camping and everything in-between in one modern and easy to use place, simplifying the buying and selling process of caravans and motorhomes and also making it easier to find a campsite, caravan park or glamping site.”
Does the industry need more online booking directory and rental sites? We see this as nothing but positive and love the idea of more people investing in this world to ensure there are enough vans and pitches to meet the ever-growing demand.
