How Glamping Saves Marriages

‘We had a family stay 3 or 4 nights. It was a husband, wife and two kids. Everything went well. They checked out, and the husband messaged me, saying “Thank you.”

I said, “Of course, no worries.”

He said “No, no, no. I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ve been married to my wife for 20 years. I haven’t been able to see her relax and enjoy a sunset for the last 10 years of our marriage. Thank you for providing the opportunity for us to unplug and really relax.”

And after that, I was sold. After that, I knew that this is what I wanted to do.’ 

That was the story of Lex Jones, owner of several glamping sites in California and Arizona. What started as just a normal Tuesday ended with a heartwarming tale of a woman being able to truly relax for the first time in a decade.

The crazy thing? Most operators have similar stories.

As glamping business owners, we know we’re not ending poverty, curing cancer or creating world peace. Hell, we’re probably all in this for selfish reasons. But that doesn’t change the fact that glamping can change lives. Or at least make someone’s life better for a little while.

Your guests have busy lives. If they’re not stuck behind a laptop 40 hours a week, they’re spending their time doomscrolling or worrying about their kids. By providing an escape to nature, you break the cycle. 

I can vouch for this personally. After an incredibly taxing 4 months raising capital for Posh Outdoors, I turned my phone off, drove to the Rocky Mountains and pitched a tent for the weekend (I know this is camping and not glamping, but give me some rope). I ran some trails, jumped off a cliff (into the lake, I might add - the capital raise isn’t that taxing), and watched the sun go down with a beer in hand.

On my return to the office the following Monday, I felt refreshed and ready to go for another 4 months. The two-day trip was everything I’d been looking for.

Nature is incredibly powerful. Add a dash of hospitality, and you create magic. I can’t promise starting a glamping business will make you a millionaire, but it will make people happy. And that’s probably more important.

🤔 What Is This?

Hi, I’m Nick Purslow. You may know me as the guy behind Glampitect North America, or the British voice you hear on The Unique Hospitality Podcast (formerly Start A Glamping Business). I’ve decided to start a newsletter, The Glamping Insider, giving my perspective on one big idea in glamping each week. 

If you’re a prospective or existing glamping operator, you should give this a go for a week or two at least. I promise you’ll come away with at least one thought-provoking idea each week.

As well as the big idea at the start of each newsletter, there will be some regular, smaller segments that I’ll be experimenting with. So if you’re down for being my test subject, keep reading.

💡 Idea of the Week - Treetop Stargazing Nets

The inaugural Idea of the Week goes to the nicest guys in glamping: Dappled Light. They have a beautiful 50-acre near Red River Gorge, Kentucky, and they had the brilliant idea of putting “skynets” among the trees.

Treetop playground by day; perfect stargazing spot by night. I can’t believe more glamping sites don’t use this concept.

Extra shoutout to the team at Dappled Light. They gave my brother and his girlfriend a free stay when they were on a road trip across the US. They’re the true embodiment of hospitality.

📰 The Posh Report

If you didn’t already know (you almost certainly do given the amount of emails I’ve sent about it), I’m in the process of developing my own luxury glamping resorts. I’m doing this through Posh Outdoors, the glamping revenue share startup I co-founded with a few guys I consider the A-team of glamping.

Whenever there’s an update to share, I’ll post it here. This could be the installation of the first units, a breakdown of our marketing campaigns, or anything that I think you might find cool or useful. Anything BUT a pitch to get you to invest (though you can invest if you want 😉)

As this is the first week, I’ll tell you where we’re currently at.

We started a crowdfunding campaign 5 months ago to get our first location into business. We’ve since raised $436,666 (spooky) from 75 investors. Much of this has come from the Glampitect community. We’ve placed an order for our first 5 units, and we’re due to open our first Rocky Mountain location in December of this year. 

If you’d like to learn more about investing in Posh, check out our crowdfunding page and either reply to this email or schedule a call. It’s a great way of getting into the glamping industry without the hassle of doing everything yourself.

🎧️ On The Pod

Want even more glamping in your life? I host The Unique Hospitality Podcast, where me and my co-hosts have round-table discussions with guest experts, sharing all our hospitality ideas and wisdom. It’s mostly glamping, but we occasionally dip into hotels, short-term rentals and everything in between.

This week, we spoke to Mike Baxter, creator of the coolest hotel I’ve ever seen. House of Gods is a rock ‘n’ roll hotel in Edinburgh that’s built for rockstars and encourages debauchery. 

Mike gave us some amazing insights on how to create a completely immersive experience for your guests; some cool ideas for upsells, and the bravery it takes to push ahead with a bold concept like House of Gods.

Check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Youtube. 

That’s it for this week! Next week’s instalment will be about how it’s often the little touches that mean the most for your guests. Expect it to spark some ideas, and to be at least 1% better than this week’s email. I’ll leave you to judge whether that’s a high bar!