Guest Experience: Activities and Facilitating Fun

BY MIKE & ANNE HOWARD

You don’t need an activity director or a ropes course to offer incredible experiences. Just by being in nature, immersive activities abound (stargazing, bird watching, hiking, foraging, meditation, campfires, etc), you simply need to hone your camp’s strengths and how to best offer them up. Of the hundreds of glamping camps and resorts we’ve stayed at during our 9-year HoneyTrek, we find the most successful activity programs are those that have enough fun free things to do onsite and a menu of excursions to level up our adventures. Apply these tips below to stave off boredom and foster unforgettable experiences.

HIGHLIGHT YOUR PROPERTY’S BEST FEATURES

Most people go glamping to enjoy nature, so pinpoint the most enjoyable aspects of your land and how to enhance them. Owners often focus on perfecting the common areas, but overlook the ways their entire property can be explored and adored. At Panacea at the Canyon, we were hiking their swath of the Oregon high desert and loved that hammocks unexpectedly appeared in a grove of trees. At Schnepf Farms, we couldn’t help but bike across their hundreds of acres because we knew there was a secret library tucked deep in the pines. Where is your best viewpoint, grove, birding area, or sunset spot? Enhance those locations with inviting seating areas, games, books, binoculars, or whatever will make them a delight. A great way to help guests tap into your camp is to make a handdrawn map and check list of the must-do activities and selfie-spots to keep them exploring.

De Pier

Honeytrek

GAMES, CRAFTS & DIY ENTERTAINMENT

No matter your budget or staffing constraints, every camp should have games. If you’ve got a patch of grass and $100, you can offer a lively combination of cornhole, ladder ball, bocce, horseshoes, washers, croquet, and other lawn games to lend some laughs. To give people things to do on bad weather days have diversions available in the lobby and for check out. At the Sou’wester Historic Lodge & Vintage Travel Trailer Resort, their common area was a veritable toy chest. Not only did they have dozens of board games to choose from, they had a thousand music records and VHS tapes with their respective players for guests to take back to their Airstreams and Spartans. Without them, I may never have seen Return of the Jedi or listened to John Coltrane on vinyl. Get your glampers’ creative juices flowing with an offering of art supplies, like sketch pads, coloring books, origami paper, and string for making friendship bracelets. You never know what talent is just waiting to be tapped. And remember when it comes to old-school entertainment, retro is in! Scour your local thrift stores, you’ll save money and likely find some gems.

NIGHTTIME ACTIVITIES

Evenings are an opportunity to bring your guests together and savor the day. Set the tone with a Friday night happy hour. Start a campfire 30 minutes before sunset, layout throw blankets, s’mores fixings, and a bottle opener to let guests know they have place to hang out together. Level up the experience with a guitar, telescope, guide to stargazing, and book of campfire stories. Ideally your camp host will be there to get the momentum going and be schooled in the basics (a couple songs, the main constellations, and a few tall tales) but even when they can’t be there, guests will have the tools to let the good times roll.

Grand Canyon Western Ranch

Comfortably Wild

ADVENTURES FROM CAMP

What bigger adventures could be had from your property? If you have a body of water, offering kayaks, fishing rods, or inner tubes will inspire people to jump in. We were just at Camp Kapapa on Flathead Lake, Montana and they brought in a bit of sand and lounge chairs to make their little piece of shoreline feel like a delightful beach. Their tubes were complimentary and standup paddleboards were for rent, that way no matter people’s budget everyone could splash around. Bikes could be a hit if you have an expansive property, a cute town nearby, bike-friendly roads, or an accessible trail system. Just weigh the costs and value to guests before you make that investment. As for hiking, developing one nature trail (even if it’s a quarter mile) with interpretive signs or a mini guide to the flora and fauna is a great way to endear guests to your property. If you are near public land, see about connecting to longer trails. Either way, give guests a list of the best local hikes so they have ample opportunities to fall in love with your neck of the woods.

SEMI-REGULAR EVENTS

Make at least a few weekends a year feel like must-see events. Be them centered around music, yoga, cooking, or heritage, give a reason for guests to come and for you to make a splash. Cassiar Cannery in historic Port Edward, BC is a mom and pop shop, but you’d never think that from their Songs & Stories of The Skeena series, when they hire a jet boat, local musicians, and historians to guide guests down the river for an actionpacked ride and catered dinner at their cottages. Everyone needs help attracting guests during the off-season, even the wildly popular Treebones Resort in Big Sur, CA. Come winter, they offer live music on Monday nights and host midweek yoga retreats to keep their yurts and treehouses full through the chilly months. Another clever way many resorts are filling beds and building their popularity is by using the talent and followings of beloved wellness instructors and having them host retreats—they do the marketing, they bring the guests, and you share the profits.

Catch a Canoe

Honeytrek

USE LOCAL TALENT

You might not have the staff or facilities for a big adventure program, but your area likely does. When we were staying at Firelight Camps in upstate New York, we jumped at the opportunity to go on a wild foraging class with their local expert. Sarah met us on site and showed us the homeopathic and culinary wonders right under our noses (wild garlic for salads, cattail roots for antiseptic, dandelions for vitamin C, etc). Mendocino Grove didn’t have kayaks or bikes on site, but their neighbor Catch a Canoe did, so we rented their redwood outriggers to ply the Big River Estuary. Playa Viva has many fantastic onsite activities to partake in, but what helps elevate them to a world-class resort is their roster of local boat captains, ATV guides, surfing instructors, historians, and naturalists that let guests experience the full bounty of Mexico’s Guerrero coast. Reach out to your local outfitters, be it river rafting, mountain biking, fishing guides, or whatever your region does best, to see if they’d be interested in receiving referrals.

SHARE A PIECE OF YOUR WORLD

If there is something interesting that your staff does regularly, bring guests along. Every morning at Willow-Witt Ranch, Lanita milks the goats and feeds the babies (we would stay here again just to see this cuteness frenzy). Even though they were chores to her, they were unforgettable experiences to us. At Teton Wagon Train, a very unique outfitter featured in the “In Motion” chapter of Comfortably Wild, they groom the horses before each day’s ride and invite early risers to brush and pet their gorgeous Clydesdales. At Mulroy’s Irish Acres, Jane makes farm-fresh apple cider once a week in fall, though she tries to time it with the arrival of guests who’d enjoy the hands-on entertainment and juicy souvenir. Sharing a piece of your story with glampers could be as simple as a Saturday morning walk around your property, where you give a bit of history and point out your favorite flowers, birdsongs, and nuances of the grounds.

List out all your activities (even something as basic as board games) on your website and in-room welcome book so guests know how much there is do and love at your camp. Most people are easily dazzled by glamping, but giving them the assurance that they will never be bored helps them take the leap into your world of fun.

About Mike & Anne Howard

Traveling for 9 years across 62 countries, Mike & Anne Howard are global travel experts with a specialty in glamping. They launched HoneyTrek.com to chronicle their journey and have since written National Geographic’s bestselling book Ultimate Journeys for Two and the first travel guide on glamping in North America, Comfortably Wild (see advert on page 28 for info). Earning a Lowell Thomas Journalism Award for their guidebook and a seat on the American Glamping Association Board of Advisors, they work hard for the glamping community. Budding glampgrounds to established tent manufacturers have partnered with the Howards for their multifaceted skill set as photographers, writers, influencers, and consultants to improve their guest experience and share it with the world. Visit HoneyTrek.com/GlampingExperts

Mike & Anne Howard