This month we’re chatting with Yann Marlic, Director of Camping Le Brasilia, located in Canet Plage, France, which opened its doors in 1964. A campsite that enjoys a 5-star classification and is considered as one of the best in Europe.
Le Brasilia campsite began with a terrain of 1.5 hectares, reaching its current size of 17 hectares in 1973.
It has capacity for 705 lodgings divided into plots for tents and caravans (416), and mobile homes, chalets and bungalows (289). 2.5 hectares are dedicated to leisure, distributed amongst sports fields, a water park, playgrounds and clubs for children.
Brasilia’s clients are mainly foreigners. In the 2018 season, French customers accounted for 37% of overnight stays.
The campsite’s main advantages are: its location with direct beach-access, its vegetation and perfectly maintained green spaces, its family spirit and the friendliness of its team.
To attract customers, the first action is to ensure the success of their stay. This requires a full participation from management in paying attention to all the details. “It is important to be receptive and empathetic. The best commercial actions are useless (or almost) if the customers are not happy with their stay. This allows us to have the highest retention rate of the Yelloh! Village. A large majority of the commercial actions are done by our chain Camping Yelloh! Village (TV, internet, press …).” 14% of the total budget is allocated to marketing and advertising undertakings.
Brasilia has 25 permanent employees and 95 seasonal employees. The most important thing in maintaining a camp site, is perfect organization with professional and involved teams.
A series of permanent controls guarantees customer safety in collective spaces. “All areas of the campsite are designed for their maintenance and renovation. No sector is given priority, nor excluded. Everything is important.”
Brasilia also has many services (catering, bakery, newspapers, cellar, hairdressing …), which represent 15% of the billing and allow stays in the campsite to be prolonged.
According to Yann Marlic, the future of the camping sector will be positive if it offers quality. “The improved quality of campsites has attracted new clientele, which have discovered this type of accommodation. The campsites that focus on quality will attract and, above all, retain their customers.”
This year, the campsite renewed its commercial area and now it looks like a small town in the south of France. Le Brasilia plans to change part of the lodgings and has other projects that it wants to keep under wraps for the moment.
Yann Marlic wouldn’t change the campsite’s story, “we never rewrote history and it is precisely this history with its imperfections that has built Brasilia as it is now”.
For further information on Camping Le Brasilia, please click here.
