Canopy Standards

Here we outline the equipment, operational and quality standards that all accommodation must adhere to as part of the Canopy Camping Escapes collection. These standards ensure the quality of experience that people booking one of our escapes can come to expect.

WHY DO WE HAVE THESE STANDARDS?

Today, word-of-mouth is more important than ever before. With the increasing proliferation of online review-based travel sites, reputation has more influence than any amount of promotion or marketing.

It’s often the small details that can make all the difference - and while it’s great for different escapes to have their own character, all of our escapes benefit when there’s a consistent feeling of quality across the collection. It’s what will make our current guests, our future ones.

HOW DO WE ENSURE THEY ARE MET?

We – or one of our representatives – will personally experience each escape in our collection, usually before taking bookings from the public. As well as this, every time a guest stays at one of our escapes, they’ll be sent a short satisfaction survey to assess their experience. This will give us, and you, a good indication about how guests are enjoying the experience. You'll also get useful feedback to help improve your escape. By ensuring that each escape measures up to the advertised experience, we safeguard the interests of all the escapes in our collection.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE STANDARDS ARE NOT MET?

If standards are not being met, we’ll work with the escape to address the areas of concern and, if necessary, help come up with a solution. Ultimately, if a host fails to comply and this causes reputational damage, we will discontinue our relationship and no longer promote the accommodation under the Canopy Camping Escapes brand.

The standards for all escapes that become part of the Canopy network follow below. However, please note that some standards may be relaxed in exceptional circumstances, for example, where the overall experience outweighs a minor inconvenience. Please talk to us for further information about this.

PROPERTY AND LOCATION STANDARDS
- PROPERTY FEATURES
  The below standards ensure that the property and location offers a viable glamping experience, and will be appealing enough to attract and sustain ongoing guests.
  
  The specific accommodation must have:
  - natural and pleasant surroundings
  - private and peaceful environment
  - unobtrusive or no road noise
  - unobtrusive or no view of other man-made structures eg. houses, powerlines, farm buildings etc. (This includes your own house).

HOSTING STANDARDS
- WARM WELCOME
  Hosting people well on your property requires genuine enthusiasm. A warm Kiwi welcome and friendly, hospitable hosts will leave a lasting impression. Because of this, we need our hosts to be committed to providing excellent customer service and a memorable visitor experience.
  
  A warm welcome can either be in person or via a text or call shortly after arrival.
  
  Things we recommend including in your meet and greet are:
  - Health and safety briefing
  - Some background on your property and the cultural history of the area
  - Mention of any special cultural or historical sites in the area that guests may wish to visit.
- ON SITE ASSISTANCE
  
  Hosts will need to either live onsite or close by to ensure they are on hand to assist with any guest issues relating to facilities or equipment (for example, hot water issues).
  
  If hosts don't live nearby, a property manager or other contact must be a phone call away to assist if needed.
- WELCOME GUIDE
  
  All escapes must provide an up-to-date Welcome Guide to explain how things work, things to do on and off the property and how to stay safe on the property.
  
  An example Welcome Guide is provided to you to help get you started.

FACILITIES STANDARDS
- GLAMPING ACCOMMODATION
  
  Glamping accommodation may take a number of forms. Luxury tents, bush huts, tree houses, caves and stylish vintage caravans are all forms of glamping accommodation. What makes them glamping is their individuality and incomparable access to nature. Whether a form of accommodation ‘fits’ Canopy Camping Escapes and the glamping genre, is at the discretion of Canopy Camping Ltd.
- BEDS
  
  Beds must be comfortable, and have clean and tidy, high quality new mattresses, with mattress protectors. Beds must have a base, except where additional portable beds are supplied for children (eg. camp stretchers or roll-out futons).
- LINEN & BEDDING
  Linen and bedding must be provided and should be:
  - Duvet Inners must be wool, feather and down or other 100% natural bedding.
  - Sheets must be good quality 100% cotton and cotton or linen duvet covers must be provided (no polycotton or polyester)
  - Pillows should be either natural (eg. wool, feather or latex) or good quality polyester and have pillow protectors.
- HEATING
  
  NZ can be cold even during summer. A form of heating must be provided to guests, in at least one indoor guest space. Some options are wood-burners, flued gas heating or ethanol burners. No unflued gas heating is allowed in enclosed areas such as tents or huts.
- LIGHTING
  
  Good lighting must be provided in all areas of the accommodation, including bright lighting options for kitchen and bathrooms, and low-level or atmospheric options for lounging and bedroom spaces.
  
  Where there is a walk to the bathroom/toilet, portable lighting must be provided to ensure a safe, well-lit walk.
- KITCHEN
  The following kitchen facilities must be provided:
  - An undercover/all-weather proof cooking and dishwashing facility
  - Adequate food storage and food preparation space
  - An appropriately equipped kitchen, eg. pots, pans, glasses etc
  - Hot water
  - Equipment for washing dishes, preparing food and storing food
  - Potable water at the site
  - BBQ and gas rings for cooking. Open fire cooking is a recommended optional extra
  - A fridge for keeping food cool. Off-grid escapes must either provide a gas or solar powered fridge
  - Pantry basics - oil, salt and pepper
  - Eco-friendly dish and hand wash.
- INDOOR TABLE AND SEATING
  
  Escapes must provide a proper table and chairs, and a coffee table and comfortable low seating (such as lounge chairs, a sofa or other comfortable seating).
- OUTDOOR TABLE AND SEATING
  
  Escapes must have comfortable outdoor seating. This could be outdoor chairs, a picnic table or patio setting. A shade option for this area must be provided (shade sail, umbrella, tree etc).
- TOILET
  - The toilet must be pleasant-to-use and odour-free.
  - The toilet must be contained in a building of some description (pleasant and private) and kept free from insects, clean, dry and tidy at all times.
  - Composting or 'bucket-loo' style toilets are acceptable but must be either in a separate building or accessed from a door outside the main internal areas of the accommodation.
- BATHROOM FACILITIES
  - Hot water showers or baths and basin must be provided
  - Eco-friendly bath/shower and hand wash must be provided
  - Can be under shelter or open air, as long as there is sufficient privacy.

GUEST EXPERIENCE STANDARDS
- ACTIVITIES
  A stay at a Canopy escape should be an experience, not just a place to stay. All Canopy escapes must provide the following experiential factors to be part of our collection:
  
  Compulsory:
  - Indoor activities - board games, cards, indoor darts etc.
  - Outdoor bath or hot tub
  Optional, but highly recommended:
  - Fire pit or campfire area
  - Sauna and/or plunge pool
  - Walking or swimming options on the property
  - Outdoor activities - petanque, archery, outdoor darts, swing rope, walks on the property with maps etc.

DECOR & ECO-CREDENTIALS
- DECOR
  The decor and general vibe of your escape should be appealing and unique. Special attention should be paid to:
  - The main bed should have a headboard and be well put together, with an attractive and up-to-date look.
  - The key 'lounging furniture' - whether a lounge suite, sofa, bean bags, etc.- must be of good quality and stylish in appearance.
  Taking care of some key elements will make a difference to your guests' impression and provide a good opportunity for creative and interesting photographs—a critical part of marketing your property.
- ECO-FRIENDLY
  We strongly encourage you to be as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible in the set-up of your campsite. Apart from being a good thing to do, eco-travel is becoming more and more popular with many overseas and domestic tourists and is also compatible with the glamping/outdoor experience.
  
  At the very least, escapes MUST provide:
  - Eco-friendly shower/bath/hand wash, dishwashing liquid
  - FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) registered toilet paper
  - Recycling facilities (separate bins for sorting) and recycling processes
  - Composting bins for food waste.
  We also encourage you to think about pest control and bird habitat protection.

MAINTENANCE STANDARDS
- CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE
  Prior to guest arrival ensure:
  - Fresh linen is provided for all beds
  - Floors are swept and surfaces are cleaned
  - Toilet and bathroom are clean and tidy
  - BBQ is clean
  - Gas bottles are full and not likely to run out during a stay (guests should not be required to change gas bottles)
  - Supplies are re-stocked and unlikely to run out (toilet paper, dishwashing liquid etc)
  General Proprty Standard:
  - Grass mowed - keep the grass around the escape mowed to reasonable standard
  - Keep property (within a reasonable distance of tent) free of dead animals, (or anything else too unsightly or unpleasant!)
  - Pathway/walking track between tent and toilet amenities is kept tidy and easy to use in all weather conditions
  - Guest access to the property is maintained to the standard agreed with us (Canopy Camping Escapes) at the outset
  - Reasonable measures taken to reduce animal interference and pests (possums, rats, mice etc) in and around the property.
- EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE
  All equipment needs to be repaired or replaced when needed and maintained to a reasonable standard - particular attention needs to be paid to the following:
  - Solar power (if applicable) is generating the required power
  - Gas bottles/supply is sufficient
  - Mattresses and pillows are in good condition
  - Linen and bedding - no rips or tears, staining
  - Bathroom amenities are in good condition
  - BBQ is clean and well-maintained
  - Kitchen and BBQ utensils, glasses are kept in good working order and replaced if chipped or damaged.
  - Tent (where applicable) well-maintained, including mesh windows and zips.

WHY DO WE HAVE THESE STANDARDS?

HOW DO WE ENSURE THEY ARE MET?

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE STANDARDS ARE NOT MET?

PROPERTY AND LOCATION STANDARDS

HOSTING STANDARDS

FACILITIES STANDARDS

GUEST EXPERIENCE STANDARDS

DECOR & ECO-CREDENTIALS

MAINTENANCE STANDARDS

Searching Escapes