Campsite Phone System: How Embers Camping Took Its Calls Mobile Across Multiple Sites

How a multi-site campsite operator replaced desk phones with 3CX softphones and 15 business SIMs matched to the best network at each site.

About Embers Camping

Embers Camping is a UK campsite operator offering low-impact camping and glamping experiences in scenic rural settings, with many of its sites run in partnership with organisations such as the National Trust. The locations are a big part of the appeal for guests, but they also mean the team has to work in places where conventional office infrastructure and reliable mobile coverage can’t be taken for granted.

With staff based at different campsites, working from home and moving between locations as the season demands, Embers Camping needed a single, recognisable business phone system that could travel with its people, keep the main company number in use and stay simple to manage. 

The challenge: A desk phone system that couldn’t follow the team

A handset tied to one building is of little use when the person best placed to take a call is at another campsite or working from home. Relying on personal mobiles instead would have left call handling fragmented and hard to oversee. The business faced a number of challenges, including: 

Coverage was the biggest concern. Rural sites a short distance apart can perform very differently on the same network, so putting every employee on one provider would simplify the contract but wouldn’t guarantee dependable service on the ground. Embers Camping needed a solution that treated coverage as a site-by-site requirement. 

Why Embers Camping chose The VoIP Shop

The engagement began with a Teams meeting rather than a generic quote. The VoIP Shop focused on how Embers Camping actually operates: where staff are based, how calls are handled and which devices the team already uses. The proposed platform was then demonstrated live, so the team could see the user experience and management tools before committing. 

Unlike a standard telecoms package, The VoIP Shop was able to deliver: 

The ability to choose the right mobile network for each individual campsite, rather than forcing everyone onto one provider, became a major deciding factor. 

The solution

The VoIP Shop designed and deployed a mobile-first communications solution that brings cloud telephony and business mobile together in one manageable service. 

3CX Cloud Phone System with Softphones 

A 10-user 3CX Cloud PBX was deployed, giving Embers Camping one shared business phone system without installing a desk phone at every location. Staff use the 3CX softphone app on their existing PCs and laptops, providing: 

The solution included:

Because the phone system lives in the cloud, where an employee happens to be working no longer affects how calls are answered. Staff can move between campsites or work from home and still use the same business system. 

15 Business SIMs Matched to the Right Network 

Alongside the phone system, The VoIP Shop supplied 15 business SIM cards across the UK’s major networks: 

• EE 
• O2 
• Vodafone 

Each location where a SIM would be used was assessed individually, and the network most likely to provide the best coverage at that campsite was selected. Network choice became part of the solution design rather than an administrative assumption, giving staff a mobile service that reflects the real conditions at each site. 

Number Porting 

The existing main business number was ported to the new 3CX service, so customers and partners could keep using the familiar point of contact while the technology behind it changed. 

No New Hardware Required 

Because the system runs on softphones, staff use the computers they already have. There were no desk phones to buy, lease or install, keeping the move practical and the cost low. 

The results

Embers Camping now has a joined-up communications setup built for a team that rarely works from one fixed location. 

The project delivered:

Explore the Solutions Behind This Project

Embers Camping brought softphones and multi-network business SIMs together across rural sites. Here is what makes it work for mobile and multi-site teams.