This powerful session cuts through the noise and reveals the real story behind the data. Discover where the smart money is going, how guest expectations are shifting post-2025 and which glamping business models are already showing signs of burnout.

You’ll walk away with:

• Insight into long-term growth opportunities across the USA
• A clear picture of changing guest behaviors and must-have features
• A wake-up call on what to stop investing in, and what to double down on

If you want to build or scale a glamping business that’s future-ready, financially sound and aligned with what guests truly want, this session is your roadmap. It will help you future-proof your vision, protect your profits and stay ahead of the curve.

You’ll discover:

• How seller financing, crowdfunding and revenue-share deals really work
• The pros, cons and potential of partnership-led capital
• What to watch out for, and how to keep control of your creative vision

Whether you’re just starting or scaling your next site, this will give you the insight (and courage) to explore alternative funding paths and move faster without sacrificing ownership or authenticity.

So, if you want to learn more about smarter funding, faster launches and more freedom to do it your way, make sure you attend this session.

This is not surface-level marketing advice. It’s a strategic framework designed to increase revenue, strengthen ADR and build long-term brand equity without over-reliance on OTAs.

Drawing on deep operational experience across luxury outdoor hospitality brands, Ben will share a high-value perspective on the techniques used by high-performing properties to stay booked on their own terms.

You’ll gain insight into:

• How to build a positioning strategy that commands pricing power
• Short-form storytelling that fuels demand
• Strategies that integrate seamlessly with revenue management
• When and how to use paid amplification strategically… not reactively

Ben will also touch on how agritourism, farm hospitality and wellness are aligning with what the modern traveler wants now, and why these concepts are uniquely powerful for content-driven growth.

If you are operating at scale, or planning to, and want to build a strong demand engine that gives you control over your bookings, brand and margins, this session with Ben will deliver serious value.

You’ll discover:

• Why experience-first hosting is the future of boutique outdoor hospitality
• How to structure retreats that drive both impact and income
• What it takes to build a brand that guests connect with on a deeper level

If you’re ready to go beyond just bookings and start building a glamping business that changes lives… including your own… this session is for you.

The US glamping industry has so much to learn from international pioneers who have already navigated the path from scrappy start-up to category-defining brand. The Secret Garden’s story is one of the most powerful examples anywhere in the world, and hearing it first-hand is a rare opportunity.

Derry will take you inside the real journey: the early struggles, the breakthrough moment, the mistakes, the pivots and the decisions that turned a backyard idea into one of the UK’s most-booked glamping brands.

You’ll hear:

• What Derry is planning for the US market, and what American operators can take from the UK franchise model right now
• How a single viral post became the foundation of this thriving business, and what that taught Derry about brand, experience and timing
• What it really takes to build a distinctive concept that guests return to, talk about and book months in advance
• The inside story of securing investment from Dragon’s Den, the UK’s equivalent of Shark Tank, and what happened next
• How Secret Garden made a strategic move into wellness, and why that decision has been transformative for revenue and reach

Whether you’re just starting out or already running a successful site, this session will challenge how you think about brand-building, resilience, and the power of a story well told. Derry’s journey proves that the most successful glamping businesses aren’t just places to stay… they’re experiences people can’t stop talking about.

You’ll learn how Outpost X is reimagining glamping through foam, micro-cement and radical innovation, while embedding virality into the architecture itself.

This is architecture and layouts designed intentionally for virality, while also creating art installations and experiential elements that blend with hospitality.

In this session, Travis will also share his practical influencer strategy including:

• What size influencers to work with
• What to pay them
• What types drive bookings

Experimental design can command attention and premium rates, and Outpost X is turning wild concepts into unforgettable, Instagram-viral guest experiences. So, if you’re ready to ditch the cookie-cutter approach and craft spaces that spark wonder and generate their own demand, this is your masterclass.

Dream bigger. Build the unimaginable.

Welcome to the future!

Janice Wilson, founder of Menizei—the retreat that pioneered the concept of Forest Cocooning™—explores how category design transforms a destination from one option among many into a category of one.

Drawing from her background engineering large-scale AI systems, Janice examines why over-reliance on industry data often traps founders in a cycle of amenity stacking and reactive design. Participants will gain an inside look at how a hospitality category is designed from the ground up. And why novelty fades, but category ownership endures.

This session challenges one of the industry’s most common assumptions—that differentiation comes from features rather than perception. You’ll discover:

• Why over-reliance on industry data leads to a crisis of sameness
• What it really takes to command a premium ADR
• How category ownership translates into pricing power, media attention and long-term demand
• Why design is not a line-item cost but a strategic, long-term appreciating asset
• How to identify your “North Star” and build a destination around it

The most successful destinations don’t compete for guests. They redefine what guests are looking for.

You’ll explore:

• How to turn natural surroundings, from stargazing to woodland walks, into premium guest experiences
• Creative ways to use local partnerships and community assets to reduce start-up costs
• Free and low-cost marketing strategies that build visibility and early traction
• How to craft an irresistible offer without expensive infrastructure, and to make the best of local resources you might have previously ignored

If you’re starting lean, pivoting carefully or simply want to increase margins without increasing spend, this session will challenge the idea that growth requires huge capital.

More imagination. Less spend. Real momentum.