How did Kampaoh turn empty pitches into money?
Instead of building its own campsite, Spain's Kampaoh put furnished, ready-pitched tents on the least-booked pitches of existing campsites. The story of a model that started with five tents in Tarifa, and its lessons for small campsites.
Teknovan Editorial Team ·
Most campsites have a few pitches that hardly fill all season. They're a bit far from the toilet block, short on shade or awkward for the entrance. Even in the busiest week of August, they stay empty. Kampaoh, a company from Seville in Spain, put exactly these pitches at the centre of its business model. It didn't build its own campsite. It brought guests to existing ones.
The story is interesting for campsite owners for two reasons. First, it shows that glamping doesn't need a big investment. Second, it shows that even a campsite's weakest pitches can become valuable with the right product.
A trial that began with five tents in Tarifa
Kampaoh was founded in 2016 by Salvador Lora. According to the Spanish start-up press, the first step was a small pilot at a campsite in Tarifa, in the province of Cádiz: five tents and basic equipment on a budget of about €5,000.
The idea was simple. There were people who didn't want to load a tent, sleeping bags, mats and a kitchen set into the car, but didn't want to shut themselves away in a hotel room either. Offer them a tent that was already pitched and furnished, and they would come camping. According to El Referente, the first tents had an air bed, bed linen, electricity, towels and a beach cool box. Not luxury. Ready.
The trial worked and the company started to grow. As of 2023 it was reported to have more than 3,500 tents at over 80 campsites in four countries (Spain, France, Italy and Portugal). Turnover announced for the same year was around €23 million.
How does the model work?
What sets Kampaoh apart from other glamping brands is that it doesn't own land. The company makes agreements with existing campsites. As described in the press, the campsite hands over the running of its lowest-occupancy pitches to Kampaoh. Kampaoh puts up its own tents on these pitches and sells the stays on its own website, and the campsite takes an agreed share of those sales. There are also sites that work on a lease agreement.
The division of labour looks roughly like this:
| Who | What they do |
|---|---|
| Campsite | Provides the pitch, the shared facilities (toilets, showers, pool, shop) and order on site |
| Kampaoh | Designs and makes the tent, puts it up, markets it, sells it and handles after-sales support |
| Guest | Arrives with an empty car and moves into a tent that's already pitched |
The tents aren't bought in. According to the company's own material, they're designed and made in its workshops in Seville. That means full control over the product: the same standard, the same look and the same photos at every campsite.
What did it do differently?
It chose partnership over land. Opening a new campsite means permits, infrastructure and years. Kampaoh didn't take that on. The toilet block, water, electricity and reception were already there. The company only added the missing piece, the "ready-to-stay" product.
It turned a campsite's weak spot into value. Pitches that rarely fill are dead stock for a campsite. Kampaoh's offer was to put a price on that stock. The campsite owner gets a share from the space they use least, without selling anything.
It targeted people coming camping for the first time. A furnished, ready-pitched tent is a way in for families and young people with no camping gear at all. This isn't a campsite's usual customer. So Kampaoh brings the campsite a new audience rather than its existing customers.
It centralised sales. Guests see dozens of campsites on one website, compare them and pay there. That's visibility a small campsite couldn't reach on its own.
As it grew, it added new tools. At the end of 2022 a €14 million investment round was announced. In September 2024 the company announced a €50 million investment vehicle called Naturally Invested, to lease and buy tourism assets in nature. There were also press reports that it was working on a franchise model. So a company that started with a partnership model is gradually moving towards owning assets too.
The limits of the model
It's worth saying that this model doesn't suit every campsite. When another brand does the selling, guests remember that brand, not the campsite. Much of the control over pricing passes to the partner. Because the tents stay up all season, those pitches are no longer yours. The revenue share and the length of the contract are the parts a campsite owner needs to read most carefully.
Questions to ask if a partnership offer comes in
In Türkiye, too, start-ups may appear telling campsites "give us your pitches and we'll handle the rest". When an offer like that lands on the table, it helps to get written answers to these questions before signing:
- What is the revenue share calculated on: does it include VAT, and are cancellations and refunds deducted?
- When and how often are payments made?
- Whose job is it to set up and maintain the tents, take them down at the end of the season and store them?
- Who deals with it when a guest complains or damages the shared facilities?
- How many years is the contract, and what are the terms for leaving early?
- Do you choose where the pitches go, or does your partner?
The answers to these questions decide whether the offer is extra income for you or extra work.
What a campsite in Türkiye can take from this
There's no company bringing Kampaoh to Türkiye yet. But the logic of the model is simple enough for a small campsite to apply on its own.
- List your least-booked pitches. Look at last season's occupancy records. Which pitches stayed empty even in August? Those are the first candidates for a ready-pitched tent or a simple glamping unit.
- Start small. Kampaoh started with five tents. You could try two or three ready-pitched tents for a season. A bed, linen, a light, a socket and a small cool box are enough for most guests.
- Think about the new audience. City families without gear, foreign tourists, couples on a weekend break. These people don't want to hire a tent, they want to "go camping". Write your listing in their language.
- Your shared facilities are half the product. A guest staying in a ready-pitched tent shares the toilets, showers and kitchen with you. The Kampaoh model works at campsites where these areas are clean and working.
- If you work with a partner, read the contract carefully. The revenue share, the term, end-of-season dismantling, damage and cancellation terms should all be in writing. Ask who keeps the guest data, too.
- Sell each unit separately. A ready-pitched tent, a campervan pitch and a tent pitch are different products. Each needs its own photos, price and capacity.
We've collected examples of what small campsites can do with online sales in our post on how small campsites win online. For brands that grew glamping on their own land, see the Huttopia and Under Canvas story.
If you want to manage your pitches, ready-pitched tents and bookings unit by unit on a single calendar, teknovan.io was designed for exactly that.
Sources
- Kampaoh, de camping con el confort de un hotel (El Referente)
- Kampaoh capta 14 millones de euros para su expansión por el sur de Europa (El Referente)
- Kampaoh lanza un vehículo de inversión para comprar activos de naturaleza (10minhotel)
- Kampaoh lanza su modelo de franquicia (Emprendedores)
- Kampaoh company profile (Dealroom)
Image credits
Photos illustrate the region; they are not photos of the campsites themselves.
- Ayvacık: Kadı, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
