Glamping Business Conference Delivers
Expert Strategies and Best Practices

Pre-show Workshop: BRAND NEW FOR 2022!

8:30 am – 11:30 am

Glamping Investment Connection

Find the information and capital to propel your dream forward.

The Investment Connection is an in-person event designed specifically to assist businesses in the glamping industry hone their pitches to obtain access to capital and resources for new and existing glamping projects.

We have arranged for active investors in the glamping and outdoor hospitality space to listen to a selected number of pitches from qualified businesses and give valuable feedback to help them refine their quest for capital.

Even if you're not ready to pitch your idea, but would like to learn how others prepare their plans for funding, this half-day program can serve as a tutorial.

For more information to apply to pitch your business plan or to attend and learn more about acquiring capital, click the appropriate button below.

For Application Information Register

Pre-Show Workshop

1:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Glamping Business Basics

From Concept to Launch and Beyond: What you need to know to start a glamping business.

Launching and running a glamping business is more than setting up tents and a website.  Whether you are in the planning stages or ready to launch, make sure you have your important business basics covered. This session is designed as an overview of those business areas that you will encounter in your journey.

Find out about those "check list" items that every glamping business must complete before opening for business to site selection and finance options and more.  You'll also hear from experts----and those who have been in your shoes---who will share information and personal stories that will make your glamping business adventure easier and more successful.

This session, organized by the American Glamping Association, is a must for everyone thinking about or ready to launch their glamping vision.  Don't miss this chance to learn from others who have been on your journey.

The program includes:

"State of the Industry" Report
Presented by Ruben Martinez of The American Glamping Association. An update on the growth of the glamping industry and where it's headed.

Start-Up Checklist
What you need to do and know before jumping into your new venture.  Topics include risk mitigation, ADA, disaster management, insurance, permitting and more.

Financing Options
From bank loans, to equity investment, inventory financing to friends and family.  Learn where and how to tap the various potential sources of capital.

Property Purchase or Land Lease?
The ins and outs of site selection is covered here as well as how to weigh the options of purchasing or leasing land for your business. 

Founders Stories:  
Hear how two operations began with small steps to achieve their glamping vision.

Speakers: Ruben Martinez, American Glamping Association;  Blake Smith, Walden Retreats; Irene Wood, The Fields of Michigan; David Smith, Outside Capital; and more.

Special Keynote Presentation

9:00 am –10:00 am

Glamping: From Niche to Mainstream

For a word that was just introduced in the dictionary 5 years ago, glamping has taken the hospitality world by storm. Learn about the evolution, trends, perceived expectations and experiences that define the world of glamping.

Showcasing Terramor's Glamping Research for the first time, COO Whitney Scott will blend new glamping specific data with recent and historical real-life findings from both Terramor and KOA in this can't miss keynote presentation.

Speaker: Whitney Scott, Chief Operation Officer of Terramor Outdoor Resort and Chief Marketing Officer of Kampgrounds of America, Inc.

11:00 am – 12 noon

Investigating Off-Grid Solutions

Whether your glamping site is in a remote location or not, off-grid options for power, and even water and wastewater, might be on your radar as a consideration to be more eco-conscious or fiscally prudent.

 This session will bring together operators who have come up with solutions to taking some elements of their businesses off-grid. Find out the advantages they've experienced and gather info on what your options may be in tackling the challenge of moving toward a partial or total off-grid business.

Come hear what they've done and discovered with regard to battery and solar technology, costs and permitting, water, wastewater and more.

Moderator: Ben Quiggle, Editor, Woodall's Campground Magazine; Panel: Antonio Gonzalez, Co-Founder and COO, Jupe and Lauren Roth Venu, Principal, Roth Ecological Design International

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Growing Your Business Through Growing Your Brand: Lessons Learned from AutoCamp

If you've wondered what "branding" is, why brand development is important to your business and how to start, this session for you.  Even if you have already started on your "branding journey," pick up tips from a company who has been successful in building their brand.  This session will cover some of the basics and more:

• Brand equity and value alignment
• Brand design, touchpoints, and consistency
• Long-term growth of brands and how to take yours to the next level

Come with questions and prepare to learn something new.

Speaker: Taylor Davis, VP Marketing, Autocamp  

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

The "Scoop" on SBA and USDA Loans

Find out if an SBA or USDA loan is a fit for your new or existing business. You'll learn what the loans are available for and the criteria to qualify for this type of funding---from loan amounts to what makes you the ideal candidate and how to pre-qualify.  Whether you're in the market for capital now or will be in the future, grab this chance to learn about a possible funding option for your glamping business.

Speaker:  Bruce Hurta, VP Government Guaranteed Lending, Ameris Bank

9:00 am – 10:00 am

How to Grow Your Business with Influencer Marketing

Get the inside track on influencer marketing and discover how niche content creators can elevate your glamping operation. In this talk led by Mike & Anne Howard, the travel influencers behind @HoneyTrek and authors of the glamping book Comfortably Wild, find out how to connect with the right influencers, work with them on the ground, and make the most of the content they create. No matter your marketing budget (even $0), there is an influencer out there to improve your photography assets, grow your social media presence, and level up your glamping business.

Speakers: Anne and Mike Howard, Honeytrek

11:00 am – 12 noon

New Technologies for The Outdoor Space

Technology can not only streamline your operations, but it can also save payroll dollars, predict demand, and assist in targeting your marketing to the markets that matter.

Join Kathleen Walsh, CEO of Advanced Outdoor Solutions as she explains how the industry has "Grown Up," and now offers technology and integrations that are light years above what it had just a few years ago. 

Reservation systems and OTA (Online Travel Agent) will be addressed and there will be ample time for Q&A. 

Speaker: Kathleen Walsh, Advanced Outdoor Solutions

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Retreats, Events and Remote Workers

What are the opportunities offered by different types of group bookings? Following lockdowns, groups are looking to reconnect in nature - including ex-office workers who now work from home who wish to reconnect, or digital nomads for whom the world is now their office. Then there are weddings and other celebrations that were cancelled that are being rescheduled in the open air.

Steph Curtis-Raleigh and panel explore the opportunities and drawbacks of these types of bookings and what special requirements these guests may have. 

Moderator: Steph Curtis-Raleigh, Editor and Publisher, Glamping Business Americas.  Panel: To be announced.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

How to Increase Online Bookings

Even the perfect camping spot needs effective marketing to maximize bookings and a healthy return on your investment. With so many methods to attract campers, you need to focus on what's most effective, from building your own website, to partnering with OTAs, to managing online reviews.

What is the best use of your limited time to drive your business? We'll talk with different operators to find out what they have learned works best.

Moderator, John Hayden, President, The Dyrt.  Panel: Vinny Cuneo, Autocamp; and more.