A NUMBER of Glastonbury Festival goers have been left without ‘glamping’ accommodation – and potentially tickets – after the collapse of an off-site camping firm.

Yurtel, which is not affiliated with the festival itself, offered ‘luxury’ accommodation to Glastonbury goers – with prices ranging from £10,000 to £16,000.

However this week, people who had booked with the Wiltshire-based firm received emails informing them the company had gone into liquidation and ceased trading on May 8 – and they would need to source alternative accommodation.

Deposits paid by Yurtel hopefuls would not be refunded, the email said, advising details of a claim process would be provided to creditors when liquidation has officially started.

The BBC reported on one festival goer, Lydia, who paid £10,000 plus VAT for tickets and accommodation for two via bank transfer.

“I tried to get it [tickets] through the normal Glastonbury route and wasn’t successful and then booked quite soon after that,” she said.

“I’m just absolutely gutted,” she added. “This was a very, very expensive thing that people would save for. It is no drop in the ocean.”

Glastonbury Festival said Yurtel was an off-site provider which have ‘limited access’ to purchase hospitality tickets for their guests – but Yurtel had not done so.

A Glastonbury spokesperson said they have “no records of their bookings and are unable to take any responsibility for the services and the facilities they offer”.

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“Anyone who has paid Yurtel for a package including Glastonbury 2025 tickets will need to pursue any potential recompense available from them via the liquidation process as outlined in their communication to you. We are not able to incur the cost or responsibility of their loss or replacement,” they added.

The festival is encouraging Yurtel customers to email Yurtel@btguk.com to confirm their consent for them to share their personal data and details of their party with them.

“We will then be able to provide details of alternative potential sources for those customers to purchase tickets and accommodation for this year’s festival,” the spokesperson added.

A number of off-site glamping ventures operate around Glastonbury.

A number of glamping sites do run on the official Glastonbury site – but a number operate outside the fence. Picture: Paul Jones/Somerset Leveller

Your Leveller have previously investigated several operations, with the vast majority operating in a reputable way.

However, in previous years, some have been left disappointed with the service received, having paid thousands for ‘glamping’.

Our investigations do not to relate to any glamping site operating at Glastonbury this year.

We spoke to one operator of a glamping site which has been serving punters at Glastonbury since 2011, who said running such a site was “more challenging than people think”.

“As with events in general, there’s a lot of planning that goes into it,” they said. “There is a lot of legislation to comply with to ensure people not only enjoy it, but that they do so safely.

“There are a lot of risk assessments, and we are visited every year by the licensing authority.

“If you are doing it right, a lot of people are involved.”

The glamping operator said “the vast majority” of other unofficial glamping sites are run properly and had earned trust among guests who return year after year.

Meanwhile, the festival also previously warned people heading to the event about the dangers in booking at unofficial campsites, outside the festival boundary.

“As a consequence of our popularity, there has been an increasing demand for unofficial off-site camping,” said Michael Eavis on the official website.

“Some of these sites have done a good job, by being fairly priced and well managed. Unfortunately, this is not true for them all, and I have had to bear the cost of some of these outfits who have made off with the money they’ve received, but not provided the camp sites.

“We also continue to hear of people falling victim to third-party ‘concierge’ services, who claim to be able to source tickets, often at above face value, which they ultimately fail to deliver. Please do not become a victim of this fraud (if you are offered tickets by any third party, please contact us).

“I want to warn anyone who might be spending their money on these sites that we are not responsible for them, and cannot guarantee that they won’t let you down.

“If you would like to get in contact with us before parting with your money, we can guide you in the right direction.”

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