September 29-30, 2026
Arapahoe County Fairgrounds
Aurora, Colorado

Q

Get Strategies and Solutions to Grow Your Glamping Business
at the GSA Business Conference

(September 29-30, 2026)

This isn’t just another conference… it’s where glamping’s brightest minds and boldest ideas come together. Whether you’re launching your first site or scaling an established brand, these two days are packed with actionable insights, innovative strategies and real-world solutions tailored to the outdoor hospitality industry.

A panel discussion is in full swing at the GSA conference. THe testimonial reads: This was the bucket list item we didn't know we needed. KV Glamping Adventures

Compelling Sessions Deliver a Competitive Edge

Led by pioneers in outdoor hospitality, our program explores key areas from enhancing the guest journey to securing unique funding to elevating your marketing. Each session is crafted to equip you with valuable knowledge and ensure that you come away with concrete steps to advance your glamping business.

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

8:30 am – 9:30 am

Beyond the Data: What Will Still Work in Glamping in 2030, and What Won’t?

This session gives exclusive insights on the future of glamping investment, guest behavior and business models in the USA.

But the glamping industry is evolving rapidly, so it’s essential to understand what’s really working now and will survive the next 5 years, and what’s likely to be left behind?

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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.

Speakers: Whitney Scott, Walden; Scott Bahr, Cairn Consulting Group; Shari Heilala, Sage Outdoor Advisory

Geodesic dome glamping tent on a wooden deck beside a calm mountain lake at sunset, glowing warmly inside, surrounded by pine trees with snow-capped peaks in the background reflected in the water.

10:30 am – 11:30 am

The Bucket List Family: From Capturing Adventures to Creating Them

Jessica Gee is the co-founder of the globally recognized Bucket List Family, a travel and storytelling brand followed by millions around the world. What began as a family decision to sell everything and explore the world has evolved into a powerful media company, inspiring audiences to seek meaningful adventures and unforgettable places.

Now, Jessica and her family are taking their passion for travel one step further—transitioning from documenting extraordinary destinations to creating them.

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As founders of The Bucket List Collection, Jessica is helping develop unique outdoor hospitality experiences designed around storytelling, nature and memory-making. Their mission is simple: build unique, bucket-list destinations around the world for families to enjoy together.

In this keynote, Jessica shares how authentic storytelling, community trust and powerful brand narratives are reshaping how modern travelers discover and choose destinations.

Speaker: Jessica Gee, The Bucket List Family

 

A smiling Bucket List Family—Garret and Jessica Gee and three young children—stand together on a garden pathway, holding hands and wearing casual clothes and wide-brim hats, surrounded by greenery.

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

The Modern Hospitality Demand Engine: Build It Once. Fill It Forever.

Demonstrating smart scaling with techniques used by top glamping operators to engineer demand, increase ADR, reduce OTA dependency and take back pricing power.

What if you could engineer demand instead of always chasing it?

In this advanced workshop, Ben Wolff, hospitality developer, operator, marketer and founder of a growth agency serving $1M+ revenue properties, unveils the architecture behind a modern, content-driven demand system built for serious operators.

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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.

Speaker: Ben Wolff, Onera, Stay Oasi and BAYA

 

Modern elevated treehouse cabin with dark metal siding and wood accents, built around a large tree, featuring a small deck and staircase, surrounded by lush forest at Onera.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Where Glamping Meets Transformation: How Retreats and Wellness Are Reshaping Revenue

In this session, you will learn how to unlock premium guests, deeper impact and year-round demand with a purpose-led glamping model.

Wellness isn’t a trend… it’s a business model with staying power and the key to repeat bookings.

In this inspiring session, Shannon Jamail (The Retreat Ranch) and Keva Niver (Boheme Retreats) reveal how their different business models combine glamping, transformational retreats and wellness experiences to attract high-value guests, fill the calendar year-round and create businesses that feel as good as they perform.

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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.

Panel Speakers: Shannon Jamail, The Retreat Ranch; Keva Niver, Boheme Retreats; Led by Sarah Riley

 

Vintage pink-and-white camper trailer set up in a wooded campsite at Boheme Retreats, with a striped umbrella, two retro lawn chairs, and a small fire pit with logs in front. The camper door is open, revealing a cozy interior, and a chalkboard on the door reads “Adventure with Rosa” with camping-themed doodles.

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

8:30 am – 9:30 am

Beyond the Bank: Creative Funding Strategies That Actually Work

Learn how today’s glamping operators are launching big projects without just relying on traditional loans.

Think you can only get a bank loan to bring your retreat vision to life? Think again.

In this empowering session, Nick Purslow (Posh Outdoors) and Leslie Martin (Lagom Retreat) share how they’ve raised capital and launched stunning boutique hospitality brands, without relying solely on the conventional financing route.

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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.

Panel Speakers: Nick Purslow, Posh Outdoors; Leslie Martin, Lagom Retreat; Led by Steph Curtis Raleigh

 

Curved wooden glamping cabin with a glass front, showing a cozy bed and small kitchenette inside, set on a raised deck with two chairs and surrounded by trees at Lagome Retreat.

10:30 am – 11:30 am

“Viral Stays Design” – How to Build a Project That Markets Itself

What happens when hospitality throws out the rulebook?

In this jaw-dropping session, Travis Chambers, the visionary behind Outpost X, reveals how to design projects that don’t just look different… they spread.

This is about building spaces so intentionally, so experientially and so visually magnetic that they eliminate the need for heavily paid marketing campaigns.

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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!

Speaker: Travis Chambers, Outpost X

 

Adult and child posing with toy lightsabers beside a futuristic, speeder-style vehicle in a desert landscape, with mirrored cabins and a geodesic dome in the background. A familiar scene at Outpost X.

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Designing the Hospitality Unicorn: How Destinations Become a Category of One

The data suggests certain amenities drive higher ADR. Yet what if the real differentiator isn’t features, but perception?

Most founders try to build a brand inside an existing category: glamping, nature resort, wellness retreat or landscape hotel. But the destinations that outperform their peers don’t compete inside categories. They create them.

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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.

Speaker: Janice Wilson, Menizei

 

Modern dark wood cabin at Menizei with a steep roof and large window revealing a sauna interior, set on a small deck surrounded by lush forest and ferns.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Profit Without the Price Tag: Low-Budget Strategies to Launch and Scale Your Glamping Business

In this practical, idea-packed session, discover how a small operator has launched and scaled by prioritizing ingenuity over investment, leveraging free resources, local assets and creative positioning to generate buzz, bookings and brand recognition from day one.

This is about working smarter, not bigger, using creativity, resourcefulness and free tools to build momentum without big capital.

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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.

Speaker: Halley Fleming, Ozark Mountain Adventure

 

Glamping tent illuminated by string lights in a forest clearing at night, with a fire pit and seating nearby under a sky full of stars at Ozark Mountain Adventure.

Add Real-World Insights to your GSA Schedule

Create an action plan for your Glamping Show Americas experience. Use the buttons to filter sessions by day, then click “Add to Calendar” to create your personalized agenda.