Meet Our Speakers

Vinny Cuneo heads up Group Sales, Revenue Management and Reservation Sales for AutoCamp. AutoCamp is a growing brand of outdoor hospitality properties focused on simplifying adventure by connecting its guests and visitors with the great outdoors. Prior to joining AutoCamp Vinny spent time in Senior Revenue Strategy related roles with Noble House Hotels and Resorts, Pacific Hospitality Group and the Oxford Hotel Group. Vinny started his career in Hospitality with what at the time was known as, Destination Hotels and Resorts, spending a few years in Operations and Group Sales before shifting over to the Revenue Strategy side of the Hospitality Business.

Steph is the editor and publisher of Glamping Business USA and a Director of Upgrade Publishing, whose other titles include; International Glamping Business, Holiday Parks Management, Alt.Accom and Free Range - a title for Farm Shops. She was invited to be a judge for the Rural Business Awards 2018 in the UK and is keen to promote alternative tourism as a way of boosting local economies and encouraging people to consider the environment in their travel and buying choices. She is a co-founder of GlampAid - a charity which helps glamping businesses to donate used equipment so that they can be used by the homeless. Steph has been a magazine editor for 20 years in the trade press and also runs a small PR and marketing agency.

Taylor is AutoCamp's Senior Director of Marketing responsible for brand level and property marketing strategy, innovation, and execution. Under her leadership, AutoCamp has grown to a national brand and media favorite, with regular articles in Forbes, USA Today, and Conde Nast Traveler.

Before joining AutoCamp and venturing into hospitality, Taylor worked in community building and network effects, B2B technology marketing, and lifestyle journalism, with bylines in publications such as Santa Barbara Seasons, Edible Magazines, Montecito Magazine, The Bold Italic, and more. In fact, she wrote a piece covering the opening of the first AutoCamp property in 2013.

Taylor resides in San Francisco where she's always searching for the next best cup of coffee or next dozen oysters.

Traveling for the last 10 years across 63 countries, Mike & Anne Howard are travel experts with a glamping specialty. They launched HoneyTrek.com to chronicle their journey, and have since written National Geographic's bestselling book Ultimate Journeys for Two and the first guide to glamping in North America, Comfortably Wild. Earning a Lowell Thomas Journalism Award for their book and a seat on the American Glamping Association Board of Advisors, they are committed to the success of the glamping industry. Businesses from budding glampgrounds to established tent manufacturers have partnered with the Howards for their skills as photographers, writers, influencers, and consultants to improve their guest experience and share it with the world. For more info, visit www.HoneyTrek.com/GlampingExperts

Bruce Hurta is a small business lending specialist. For the last 25 years, Bruce has promoted the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) government-guaranteed loan program for several lenders including banks, licensed nonbank lenders, and a credit union. Bruce offers not only the SBA loan program for small businesses, but he also offers the USDA Business & Industry loan program for businesses in rural areas, and the USDA Community Facilities loan program for non-profits in rural locations.

Bruce has a Finance degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He started his banking career as a bank examiner for the State of Texas Banking Department. Bruce has a long career in Houston banking including two community banks where he served as president. Throughout his career, Bruce's focus always remained on small business lending.

Bruce served as past president of the Houston Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders. He is an Advisory Board Member of Houston SBA SCORE. He is a past board member of the Houston chapter of the Texas Association of Business Brokers, as well as the University of Houston Small Business Development Center. All of Bruce's marketing efforts are aimed at educating small business owners and their advisors about the SBA and USDA loan programs by blogging, public speaking and networking with small business advisors.

Bruce is married to wife, Susan, since 1986. Susan is a consultant and former special education administrator. Their son is an attorney in Houston, and their daughter is production coordinator for women's apparel in New York.

Ruben is the Co-Founder of GlampingHub and the American Glamping Association. GlampingHub is the largest transactional glamping booking platform with properties listed worldwide. GlampingHub now offers over 35,000 listings with offices in Denver and Seville, Spain.

Ruben completed both his Undergraduate degree and his MBA with a focus in International Business at Regis University. He is an affiliate faculty member at Regis University teaching Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the MBA program. Ruben resides in Colorado with his wife and two daughters

Ben is the editor of Woodall's Campground Magazine (WCM) and its affiliated website WOODALLSCM.com, which provides news and information on the outdoor hospitality industry. With a background in both TV and newspapers, he has experience working in a variety of mediums, including video and social media. He lives in Michigan with his wife, Ferron, and their four children, two cats, four rabbits, 6 chickens, a beehive, and a dog.

Whitney oversees operations, business growth and development for Terramor Outdoor Resort, as well as all marketing efforts for Kampgrounds of America (KOA).  Whitney manages a multi-million-dollar budget while directing brand architecture, strategy and partnerships, as well as marketing technology, digital media, loyalty programs and international marketing. She also oversees the marketing and brand development for the KOA's Owned and Operated Campgrounds.

A Montana native, Whitney received a degree in PR from Boston University while concurrently earning a gemology technical degree from the Gemological Institute of America. She went on to receive an MBA from the University of Montana.

Whitney honed her marketing skills working for a variety of diverse businesses including The International Diamond Exchange and TerraEchos, a government contractor that developed big data solutions for security applications. In 2013, she joined KOA, quickly rising through the ranks and was named CMO of Marketing in early 2021 and COO of Terramor Outdoor Resort later that summer. Whitney was instrumental in the concept and launch of Terramor Outdoor Resorts.

As interest in outdoor experiences continue to accelerate, Whitney is excited about the future. "We're focused on honoring the traditions of camping while also reinvigorating the business with new technology, innovative ways to make the outdoors accessible for everyone and new thinking. It is wonderful to be a part of an organization that promotes an appreciation for the outdoors in individuals; it's an exciting time."

Blake Smith is founder and CEO of Walden Retreats, a luxury camping experience located along the Pedernales river in the Texas Hill Country. A Dallas native, Smith earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Georgia and an MBA from the Acton School of Business in Austin, TX. He co-founded Aokola Jewelry, a social enterprise providing education and income to women living in rural villages in eastern Uganda. There he met his wife, Sarah, and was inspired to create Walden Retreats in 2017. From design and construction to guest experiences and marketing, Smith aims to redefine the outdoor experience, and bring a unique, unforgettable getaway to Central Texas. Smith is a third generation Texan who resides in Austin with his wife Sarah and their two boys. He is an avid cyclist, skier, BBQ enthusiast and lover of the outdoors.


Rooted in a deep love for the great outdoors and providing environments for people to create memorable experiences in, Smith has created something that combines the two. Named after Henry David Thoreau's classic novel Walden, the property showcases Smith's love for the countryside and how he hopes Walden Retreats can be a place of solitude, relaxation, and comfort for guests. This is the first of Blake's anticipated portfolio of luxury camping properties, which will all have the common goal of providing a welcomed escape from the city.

Lauren Roth Venu is an ecopreneur, a TEDx speaker, a published author, who is passionate about developing strategic, innovative solutions to build water resiliency. She was named Top Emerging Designers by Pacific Edge Magazine (2014), Top Forty Under Forty Business Leaders by Pacific Business News (2014) as well as a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year for Clean Tech by HCVA.   In 2006, she formed Roth Ecological Design International that provides integrated water resource management planning, green infrastructure design and delivery of innovative solutions for onsite water management to build water security and resiliency for both public and private sectors.  Her continued passion in climate resiliency drove her to form 3Rwater, Inc that develops software and data platforms to help municipalities and private properties to adapt to climate change by increasing the accessibility and equity to green infrastructure solutions.

Lauren holds an MSc in Oceanography from University of Hawaii and a BA in Environmental Science - Water Resources from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is also a fellow of the Water Environmental Federation (WEF) Leadership Program and the United Nations University /East- West Center's ProSPER.net Leadership Program and is certified by WEF as a National Green Infrastructure Certification Program Trainer.  She has served on a variety of board of directors, committees and advisory groups over the last decade for non-profits, the state of Hawaii, and city and county of Honolulu to support water resiliency measures.

Kathleen Walsh, CEO and Founder of Advanced Outdoor Solutions, has been at the forefront of outdoor hospitality since 2003 when she developed her first multi-million dollar beachfront property. She has since developed and managed over $180 million in RV Park and Campground investments across the country. Kathleen served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer for a large RV development company before branching out on her own. Advanced Outdoor Solutions is a full service management company specifically focused on the outdoor hospitality industry. She is a highly sought-after speaker and thought leader in the industry.