Conceptualizing Your Dream Resort

Last week, I covered the bare essentials to consider before you even think about entering the outdoor resort business. 

This week’s dispatch, the second entry in a 7-part series, will teach you how to get out of the starting blocks. 

You probably have a million ideas spinning around your head. How your dream resort would look, what it would feel like, your ideal guests, and so on.

Today is all about narrowing down those ideas into a single concept.

This is where it starts getting fun.

The Glamping Insider, reporting for duty.

Conceptualizing Your Resort

Creating the Experience

One great thing about this business is the sheer variety of models that can succeed. You don’t have to follow a strict path to make a ton of money.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest names in the industry and the experiences they offer:

• Bolt Farm Treehouse - A romantic, adults-only escape for couples, with the specific aim of encouraging reconnection

• Paws Up - A 37,000-acre family friendly dreamland, with a smorgasbord of activities to partake in 

• The Fields of Michigan - A community-centered luxury camp, full of interaction between staff, guests and locals

Point being, the possibilities are endless. 

It’s fun coming up with ideas for your dream resort. Not all of them need to be realistic. The process of thinking through 100 crazy ideas can be enough to spark something genius.

Don’t rush into creating a vision, either. Let your ideas marinate over time. The best ones may come in the shower, or while walking the dog.

Once you’ve figured out the general vibe, the rest becomes easier.

Identifying Your Target Market

This goes hand in hand with creating the experience. Often, the experience will dictate the target market.

If you’re creating a romantic escape for couples to reconnect, like Bolt Farm Treehouse, you’ll want to be adults-only. If you’re going for a Paws Up-style family resort, you’ll need to cater to kids.

Knowing your demographic also informs a lot of what follows. It will help you design your resort’s layout, decide which lodging units to use, and figure out your marketing strategy.

One thing to note on target market: if you’re charging $300+ per night, you’ll probably want to target people aged 25 and over. Sure, you can still cater for 21 year olds, but most people in their early 20s simply don’t have the resources to afford a trip like that.

Selecting Your Lodging Units

I talked about analysis paralysis in last week’s dispatch, and the process of choosing lodging units is one of the biggest culprits. 

Lots of people spend months, and even years, deciding on what kind of structures to use. They’ll agonize between domes, cabins, tents and everything in between.

My hot take? It’s not that important.

Creating a world-class guest experience and getting your marketing right are far more important than whether you opt for domes versus A-frames.

As long as your units check the following boxes, I wouldn’t worry too much about the specific structure type:

• Durability - your units should be well-built and made to last

• Instagrammable - do they catch the eye and make someone want to book?

• Comfortable - your guests shouldn’t be crouching to avoid headbutting the ceiling

• Built to code - don’t buy structures that won’t meet building inspections

The alternative to buying modular structures is to build your units on-site. People like Ben Wolff of Onera are advocates of spending extra dollars to make your accommodation super-unique.

I get where Ben’s coming from. In a perfect world, I’d stick-build my units and make them completely unique. 

But we don’t live in a perfect world. In most cases, modular units are more than good enough. Just make sure they hit the criteria above, and make sure all other aspects of your resort are top notch.

That’s it for this week. I’ll be back next week to teach you how to find the perfect property.