A look back at an incredible winter at the campsite…

There’s nothing quite like photos to help you relive the winter atmosphere at Iscle de Prelles. You’ll find plenty of photos, all jumbled together, throughout this article…

Some absolutely crazy figures

From a personal perspective, there’s no doubt about it: we’ve had an excellent winter. Seasoned sports enthusiasts who’ve taken up ski touring. Families who’ve discovered holidays in the snow. Regulars on skiing holidays who’ve discovered winter sports whilst camping. And, of course, the residents and loyal guests of L’Iscle de Prelles… We’ve spent this winter surrounded by campers and holidaymakers who are as friendly as ever…

But we are a business – a small-scale one, certainly, but a business nonetheless. So to take stock, we need to look at the figures! Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with numbers; there are only two that really matter to us: occupancy and satisfaction.

Occupancy -> +30% !

Occupancy reflects our ability to build customer loyalty, of course, but also to capitalise on our marketing efforts through our website, our search engine presence, and our partnerships – in short, to ensure that holidaymakers are aware of the campsite and want to spend a few days there. And the figure that seems most appropriate for measuring changes in occupancy over a period is undoubtedly the number of overnight stays. Every adult, teenager, child or baby holidaymaker who spends one night at the campsite counts as one overnight stay. Three people on a pitch for one night count as three overnight stays.

And it has to be said that the hard work is paying off! Overall during the winter period, the number of overnight stays jumped by 30% compared to last winter:

• Overnight stays on bare pitches for campers in vans, caravans and motorhomes increased by 39%.
• Overnight stays in chalets and unusual accommodations increased by 25%.

Customer satisfaction -> 4.62 /5 on Google !

Customer satisfaction is our ability to ensure that holidaymakers who have trusted us to stay with us leave delighted and thoroughly satisfied with their stay. It’s our ability to bring smiles in the moment and create lasting memories… And there’s one obvious way to measure satisfaction: reviews. The world of tourism and leisure simply couldn’t function without reviews! They are our compass.

• Everyone is familiar with Google reviews. Spontaneous, sometimes arbitrary reviews. This winter, 8 holidaymakers left a review, giving us an average rating of 4.62/5 on Google.
• Camping2B reviews are based on a proper questionnaire covering 6 criteria. These are solicited reviews, but they are verified and certified. In complete line with Google, over the same winter period, 24 holidaymakers completed the questionnaire, giving an average score of 9.37/10.
• For complete transparency, you can view all reviews from all platforms here.

Absolutely mad, mad, mad conditions

We asked for snow, and we got it! Snow is obviously one of the key factors behind this excellent season. And at the same time, it was the one thing that had us sweating right up until mid-January, because there was so little of it! And then, all of a sudden, the snow tap opened! And it snowed, snowed, snowed – often at night – so that holidaymakers could enjoy the sun and fresh snow during the day, whilst I, for my part, became an expert in snow clearance! And since mid-February, we’ve had a return to fine, warm and dry weather…

This year, both seasoned skiers and families experiencing a snow holiday for the first time have enjoyed some rather extraordinary conditions…

Little pleasures…

Little pleasures or pleasant surprises – we’ll take them! And this winter, we can note :

Absences !

Absences of technical problems, and in particular absences of problems caused by frost. No faulty track markers, no frozen pipes; the water has continued to flow smoothly from the taps and down the drains. The roofs have held up well despite the weight of the snow, and all the facilities already seem ready to reopen for spring!

We did have an electrical fault with the water heater in the toilets right at the start of the season, but when the stars align, there’s always a holidaymaker who happens to be an electrician and sorts it out for you in a matter of minutes!

It’s a real treat when the technical side of things runs smoothly.

A presence !

A TV feature! A report by BFM DICI on the theme of ‘Christmas at the campsite’! Watch it as much as you like… You’ll also notice from the footage the lack of snow at Christmas. There was a bit up in the hills, but down at the campsite, we were desperate for some!

Nowadays, camping is the go-to choice for summer holidays; there’s no reason why it shouldn’t become the go-to choice for winter holidays too…

Think about it… For next winter…