AutoCamp - Airstream Suite
CREATING HARMONY FOR GLAMPING SUCCESS BY TODD WYNNE-PARRY
H
armony is “a pleasing arrangement of parts” according to MerriamWebster’s dictionary. In the case of a successful glamping operation, harmony is required to exist between three major components: the vision, its built form and financial viability. The interplay between these conjoined parts is not always simple or easy to navigate. The inability of each of these parts to adjust or flex can cause tension and ultimately failure of a project. To the contrary, when each of these parts adjust to take into consideration the needs of the other a successful harmony is created. This means the built form (including its location and site) is able to deliver on the guest promise inherent in the vision and the project is economically viable. The burgeoning glamping or experiential outdoor accommodation sector of the hospitality industry has one intrinsic attribute that makes it completely unique to other sectors. That attribute is the common altruistic mission to create or facilitate opportunities for people to interact with nature. This was a powerful demand motivator for travelers leading up to the pandemic, but now has intensified globally. We are already witnessing the sector’s evolution from a small collection of early market entrants to institutional investors and brands launching their efforts to
scale. This is not a new phenomenon. The early days of the independent boutique and lifestyle sector of the industry looked very similar. That sector had notable early entrants such as Chip Conley with the Phoenix Hotel in San Francisco and Ian Schrager with Morgan’s in NYC. It then accelerated exponentially when Barry Sternlich of Starwood created and globally scaled the W Hotel brand and others quickly followed. That evolution started in the early 80s and by the early 2000s the sector was seeing investment from all the major hotel companies and institutional investors. With early adopter hospitality investors such as KSL (Under Canvas), Whitman Peterson (AutoCamp) and Barry Sternlich (Getaway) and the sector’s unique nature forward mission, my prediction is the glamping sector’s progression will be significantly faster. The point of making the above comparison is to highlight the importance of the visionaries in the glamping sector and how these people will create and curate the future body of brands and concepts. The sector has already attracted its share of truly inspiring and authentic visionary entrepreneurs globally. In the US market, stand out early entrants include Peter Mack of Collective Retreats, Neil Dipaola of AutoCamp and Sarah and Jacob Dusek of Under Canvas. Each
of these entrepreneurs established brands that provided proof of concept, attracted institutional investors and are now well on their way to scaling nationally. Then there are up and coming stars
Camp V - Wind Chapel
Getaway - Tiny Cabin
g l a m p i n g s h o w. u s | G l a m p i n g B u s i n e s s A m e r i c a s | 3 7
