US show report

from Glamping Business Americas | December 2022

To F&B or not to F&B? Food and

It was a welcome return for the Glamping Business team to the Arapahoe Fairground in Aurora – after two years of travel restrictions. In the meantime, we have launched a dedicated magazine for the market – Glamping Business Americas, the official publication of the American Glamping Association.

The Glamping Show Americas is organised by David Korse and his capable team. David and his partner Sally have grown the expo and the conference hugely in the past couple of years and now there is also an entire day devoted to start-up businesses the day before the main conference and expo starts.

This day is organised in collaboration with the Glamping Association – headed by Ruben Martinez. It kicked off with a ‘Shark’s Tank’ style pitching session featuring several businesses at different stages of expansion and looking for funding to achieve this. These included a Cowboy style glamping and chuck wagon offer, a ski and zip line adventure park, a real estate developer and someone who built a tent in their back year and started an Airbnb empire. All were incredibly well researched and presented with opportunities to scale up and this is probably the main difference between say the US and UK market – in the US it seems a prerequisite to think bigger – even from the very outset.

The conference hall could seat in the region of 700 – all of whom paid to attend sessions and were offered a great breakfast and lunch as part of the package. There was standing room only at several of the talks and there were breaks between the talks to allow for networking as well as an opportunity for delegates to get to see the exhibits.

The Glamping Association also presented its first awards this year which were won by the following:

• Innovation & Pioneer: Timberline Glamping • AGA Glamping Choice Award: Terramor Outdoor Resort • Manufacturer of the Year: Secret Creek • Technology of the Year: Campspot • AGA Member Award: Eco Structures

Mariarchi band entertaining the crowds

David Korse and Peter Rusbridge

Glamping Business Americas also hosted a drinks reception for advertisers and contributors on the first evening before the expo opened as a thank you for their support.

The expo itself was split between indoor and outdoor exhibits. There were more exhibitors than ever before this year with around 111. Indoors, we noticed more technical offers such as apps, marketing services and booking systems.

International companies represented at the show included Autentic, Eco Structures, Bushtec Safari, Yurts for Life, Creative Structures, De

Cedar Bound

Waard Tenten, Glitzcamp, Trudomes, Boutique Camping and Glampitect, which has established a North American base. Other consultants included Todd Wynne-Parry from HTL Horwath – also a columnist for Glamping Business Americas, who brought along his own Airstream which doubled as accommodation and a stand base!

The Honeytrek couple Mike and Anne Howard also brought their van along and their book – Comfortably Wild. They too contribute to the magazine regularly and have become de factor glamping experts and ambassadors.

For others who wished to stay over at the agricultural ground – there was glamping offered for the first time this year. This was organised in conjunction with supplier Stout Tent and was sold out. Barbeques and social gatherings were provided during the evenings, including a Mexican Mariachi band and tacos, which did a spicy salsa with the techno emanating from the Jupe stand – whose striking tall tents (designed by a team from Tesla and incorporating a battery powered base which the whole structure can pack into) and free bar provided an unofficial party central.

The majority of outdoor exhibits were still canvas-based, however, the diversity of glamping structures is growing fast. Alongside more traditional tents from the likes of Davis Tent, White Duck, Stout Tent, Rainier Outdoor, Reliable Tent, Life InTents were some hybrids like Cedar Bound – a gorgeous two-storey tent with timber frame. There was the classic covered wagons from Conestoga Wagon Company and Plainscraft – intrinsically American and stunningly created.

Safari and lodge tents were popular with Eco Structures bringing along several models, Tentmasters, the US distributor for YALA, De Waard with its Big Oak and the Bushtec Safari team all putting on glorious displays.

AGA Award winner Secret Creek had the ultimate attention grabber in the form of Margie the mule – their company mascot – who at one point had hooch in her harness to offer guests! They had both tipi and yurt – yurts were well represented this year.

Living Intent Yurt Company also did exceptionally well at the show, taking a significant number of orders. Also showing was UK-based Yurts for Life and Lonesome Yurts and Treehouses.

Domes are proving popular in the US and UK-based Trudomes has set up a US division and warehousing. “This has made conversations with our customers much more productive during the show,” said the company’s director Kelda Bassett. The company sold the dome off its stand and had an extremely positive show. F.Domes and Domos Geodesicos Cosmotec/East Domes LLC as well as Asian supplier Glitzcamp also showed through its US distributor Glitzcamp USA and Harmony Domes based in Colorado were also exhibiting.

A quick mention has to go to Nomadics Tipi Makers – such a worthwhile company with a beautiful, authentic product, that invests a significant proportion of its profits into supporting good causes, being as sustainable as possible and giving back to the Native American community. Also, something we have never seen before – Universal Rocks – a supplier of lifelike, artificial

Steph Curtis-Raleigh testing a bed

rocks created a kind of prehistoric Flintstones cabin with en suite, outdoor hot tub and shower unit – all of which were really quite incredible.

Cabins worth noting including the beautiful Drop Structures and the Cavco Park Model and Zook Cabins, all of which would work well in RV Park or glamping site settings.

The entire show, the organisation, the effort put into the stands and the quality of the speakers was hugely impressive. Most of all, what struck our team was the absolute enthusiasm of everyone involved!