No universal ratio: site capacity, local regulations and the business model determine how many units are possible.
How many modular accommodation units can be installed on a tourist site? It is one of the first questions asked by operators of campsites, resorts and estates considering adding units such as those of the AIIA Resort Collection. There is no universal ratio applicable to every site: the number of units that can actually be installed depends on three families of criteria that interact, rather than simply adding up: the physical capacity of the site, the regulations that apply to it, and the business model intended for its operation.
Understanding the subject
The first limit is purely physical. The Resort Collection models range from 25 to 99 m² of floor area, and each has its own footprint, to which must be added safety distances between units, the access routes needed to transport and install the modules, and any communal areas on the site. Before thinking in terms of number of units, the total area of the site must therefore be converted into the area actually available once these constraints are removed, which depends heavily on the topography and accessibility of each plot. This is precisely what a site survey, carried out on request, checks before anything is built, a point detailed on our regulations and installation page.
The number of units also directly affects the applicable administrative regime, with precise thresholds set by the French Urban Planning Code. For the creation or extension of a campsite, a development permit (permis d'aménager) is required as soon as the project exceeds 20 people or 6 pitches (Article R. 421-19); below this threshold, a simple prior declaration is sufficient (Article R. 421-23). Any extension that increases the number of pitches by more than 10% also requires a development permit, whether for a campsite or a residential leisure park.
Going further
One particular case is worth knowing about: the aire naturelle de camping (natural camping area), a lighter regime reserved for small sites. Under the French Tourism Code, a natural camping area may not exceed one hectare, for a maximum of 30 pitches, with a minimum area of 300 m² per pitch and an operating period limited to six months a year. These thresholds only concern this specific regime: a classified hotel resort or an estate adding accommodation to an existing site falls under different rules, to be checked case by case with the planning department of the municipality concerned. None of these thresholds should be mechanically transposed from one type of site to another.
Beyond physical and regulatory capacity, the number of units must follow an economic logic specific to the intended operation. A higher number of units is not automatically more profitable: each additional unit adds maintenance, cleaning and booking management costs, which must be covered by an occupancy rate that is genuinely achievable over the year, not over the best month of the season, as we explain in our article on rental investment.
Practical advice
Before setting a target number, four checks help frame the decision: measure the area actually available once access and circulation constraints are removed; identify with the planning department the administrative regime applicable to the site concerned (prior declaration, development permit, or the rules specific to an already classified establishment); check the density thresholds specific to the site category where the project falls under one, natural camping areas in particular; and model the business case on realistic annual occupancy rather than on the best season.
This sizing work goes beyond what a simple per-unit price comparison can reveal: it is an exercise specific to each site, which benefits from combining the perspective of the operator, that of the competent local authorities, and that of the supplier of the accommodation units. This is the purpose of the project study offered as part of our Outdoor hospitality offer, designed to assess these criteria objectively rather than put forward a figure in advance.
