Open Air Business February 2019

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
more flexible we’re hoping it will encourage
more corporate events.
“We started out offering family holidays
but now, with such a high proportion
of weddings and events, the sites lend
themselves more to having flexible sleeping
spaces that can cater for couples, individuals
or larger families come the summer. We
started to introduce this type of simple,
characterful accommodation with dining
and kitchen areas on outside terraces in
the second half of last year with our Garden
Rooms and we instantly saw a return.
WHAT MAKES FFOREST?
So, what is the secret to Fforest’s success?
“While I’ve always kept my ear to the ground
observing and thinking about what the
business needs, together with a focus on
infrastructure, we’ve always taken a soft
approach and to a degree just let things
happen. A lot is on instinct, see what
works and build on that. Saying that, food,
architecture and general design are what I’m
most passionate about and I’m very up to
date with those things – this is the lens I steer
the business through.
Funnily enough The Future Laboratory, a
trend forecasting agency, used us as a model
a few years back, and it came pleasantly
and completely true. Fforest is a big part
of domestic tourism in Wales, although
part of that success is down to the fantastic
relationship we developed with Visit Wales.
But while we have the location and resources
to create an experience that people want,
quality trumps everything.
“One of the disadvantages to having
a business in rural Wales is the stark
seasonality. The weddings are a good way of
spreading income over the year, and we’ve
been lucky enough to have help through
grants from Visit Wales and loans from the
Development Bank of Wales. The other issue
is if you want to get things done it can take
time. I’m not a local and it’s taken me a long
time to escape that. Unlike major cities,
where you meet people and stuff happens,
in our rural corner you need to create your
own opportunities – and to do that you need
resilience and resources.
“We just try to do things better than
our competitors. It took 10 years to reach
maturity and become commercially
sustainable, and that’s because of our
approach. We’re continually improving,
refining and evolving, but it’s about being
fair in your business dealings and how you
look after people, too. The character and
quality of this place are a lot to do with the
personalities that work for us. We employ
a lot of youngsters and their love and
enthusiasm for our place is very important
to us – if you set up the right conditions
that will happen naturally. If there is one
thing I’ve learnt in business it is dedicating
the right people to the right jobs. Bringing
people on, no matter their age or gender, if
they show promise, encourage them. I like to
evolve people in the business.
“I’m also really proud of the PizzaTipi
on Cardigan Quayside– we get 300 to 400
people visiting per day over a summer
weekend, which is great for what is a
relatively remote location. It’s a melting
pot of locals and holiday makers of all ages.
It’s important for our visitors to immerse
themselves in the culture here, but it’s
equally vital that the locals can feel at
home. It is something for everyone to enjoy
and there’s nothing else like it in the area.
A beautiful riverside courtyard location,
it’s also a little bit urban – so it goes down
well with the younger members of the
community.”
THE FUTURE
So, what does the future hold for the
business? James is in the process of
developing a hotel on the riverside built
on the same Fforest philosophy – creating
simple luxury the Lynch way. “It will look
fairly discreet and it won’t be obvious it’s
a hotel. It will have an event space for 200
people, a big restaurant, and a spa – but not
how one might think of a traditional hotel
spa, more in a sense of outdoors and nature.
So think Nordic sauna, Japanese onsen,
cold showers… all in the open air. I’m very
inspired by The College Hotel in Amsterdam,
which is run entirely by hospitality and
catering students, and I'm aiming to employ
young people learning on the job. Work will
start on that later this year and will take
around two years to complete.
“I’m also working on a preservation
project with the Church in Wales with help
again from the Welsh Government. We are
creating a series of hostels for touring cyclists
by putting mobile pods inside redundant
churches and chapels. The accommodation
will not interfere with the structure of the
churches but will create a sustainable model
for preservation and their upkeep.”
Despite the fact that James turned 60 last
year, he clearly doesn’t have any immediate
plans for retirement and his businesses show
no sign of slowing down either. By a process
of experience and introspection, James and
Sian identified what counted as meaningful
in their eyes. It may have taken a while to
work out but they’re making up for it now.
DETAILS
Fforest Camps Limited HQ
Bridge Warehouse, Teifi Wharf
Cardigan, Wales, SA43 3AA
Accommodation: www.coldatnight.co.uk
Weddings: www.fforestweddings.co.uk
Corporate: www.fforestfire.co.uk
Gather festival: www.fforestgather.co.uk
PizzaTipi restaurant: www.pizzatipi.co.uk
16 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM