YOU DON’T HAVE TO
BE BIG TO
g n i p m a Offer Gl GLAMPERS FIT RIGHT IN WITH OTHER GUESTS ON MIXED-USE FACILITIES BY MIKE GAST CanvasCamp
A
little more than a decade ago, “glamping” was a word that seldom surfaced in everyday conversation. When it did, it usually referred to some odd, out-of-this-world luxury tenting experience with butlers and private chefs. It was only available at a handful of top-end resorts and was only within the reach of the richand-famous “glamper.” Oh, how the world has changed. Even prior to the pandemic year of 2020, glamping had entered the average/ordinary person’s lexicon. New glamping resorts began popping up all over the world, offering a wide array of price points and bringing a new market to the outdoors. It was a market that didn’t have a regular relationship with nature, but certainly wanted one - on its own terms. These glamping-only resorts came with luxury camping amenities at many price points. They all catered exclusively to those who wanted to drive up to their accommodation with a light suitcase and the clothes on their backs. At these resorts, there wasn’t a recreational vehicle or groundsleeping tenter in sight. Then, about five years ago, something changed. Smaller existing businesses decided to get in
on the action. Working farms and wineries in desirable locations, for example, found that they could create a decent revenue stream by strategically placing a safari tent or two with some nice interior features. Adding glamping to a business or adding a glamping site or two to your own land was suddenly a great way to generate immediate income.
Commercial campgrounds also saw the opportunity. After all, campground owners know how to take care of campers, and they already have the land. Adding a few high-end cabins with bathrooms, big safari tents, yurts or even Conestoga wagons became an easy way to get their share of the growing glamping consumer market.
HOW HARD CAN THIS BE?
CanvasCamp
3 4 | G l a m p i n g B u s i n e s s A m e r i c a s | g l a m p i n g s h o w. u s
There are a plethora of tent and other, unique accommodation vendors to research when you decide you want to provide glamping. Just look through the pages of this magazine, and you’ll see a dizzying array of choices. I asked officials with two companies on different ends of the price-point spectrum their thoughts on getting started in the glamping industry. Robyn Smith is the Vice President of Sales and Business Development for CanvasCamp, a worldwide provider of large canvas tent structures. She says 80% of her business used to involve selling directly to individuals for private use, with only 20% sold to a business wanting to expand into glamping. That’s rapidly changing. “Our business-to-business sales in the past were mostly commercial customers buying a large
