The Outdoor Hospitality Podcast

Send us Fan Mail We explored beyond the world of glamping this week and interviewed Nathan St Cyr of Howzit Hostels. He broke down the hostel business model; how Howzit obsesses over the guest experience; and how to create a sense of community at your resort. Nathan's Links: Howzit Hostels The Hotel Investor Playbook Posh Outdoors Links: WeFunder page Schedule a call Nick's email: nick@p...

Send us Fan Mail Hal Feinberg is the founder of Clear Sky Resorts. Clear Sky is the largest dome operation in the US, with resorts in Utah and Arizona. Hal joins us to discuss his journey to this point, his special interior designs, how he scaled to a second location, and much more. Posh Outdoors Links WeFunder page Schedule a call Nick's email: nick@posh-outdoors.com Live Oak Bank Links Webs...

Send us Fan Mail Learn what your outdoor hospitality business is worth and how you can maximize your value in a sale.  In this episode Connor interviews experts Bob Kaplan of NAI Outdoor Hospitality Brokers and Shari Heilala of Sage Outdoor Advisory.  Find out how your business is valued by appraisers and brokers in the current market.  Learn the strategies about maximizing the value of your busin...

Send us Fan Mail Jacob Halverson joins Connor and Nick to discuss all things recruitment. How do you find staff for your hospitality operation? What questions should you ask them in interviews? How does the process change according to job role? Links: Posh Outdoors Schedule a call re Posh Outdoors Glampitect North America The Glamping Insider (Nick's newsletter) Sage Outdoor Advisory This pod...

Send us Fan Mail In Connor's first solo-hosted episode, he speaks to Ken Barber of Wildhaven Glamping in California. Ken has pulled off the notoriously difficult task of starting and scaling a Californian glamping operation, and he dives into his initial capital raise, Wildhaven's mid-marketing positioning, and the art of scaling a glamping business. Links mentioned: Wildhaven Sonoma Wil...

Send us Fan Mail We're back! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Nick and Connor are excited to return with the first episode of the new year, and boy is it a good'un. We're joined by Michel Girardin and (rejoined by) Andrew Murphy to talk all things African glamping. This industry traces its roots back to that amazing continent, and there's a ton we can learn from...

Send us Fan Mail Jacob Halverson joins Nick and Connor for a bumper Christmas special! We discuss our favorite glamping resorts, glamping naughty and nice lists, and our favorite Christmas movies. The podcast also begins with an update on our plans for the podcast in 2025.  Thanks to all the listeners, and have a very merry Christmas! Links mentioned: The Glamping Insider (my newsletter) Posh Outd...

Send us Fan Mail Sorry for the delay on this week's episode - my laptop is broken! Everybody thinks of glamping as a summer activity, with the sun shining and the leaves in bloom. But have you ever considered glamping in minus 40 temperatures? The good people of Saskatchewan, Canada do, and we think winter glamping will become more and more common as the industry matures. We're certainly...

Send us Fan Mail Today's guest is the opposite of every previous operator we've had on the show. And his counter-intuitive strategy may give you your next great idea. Introducing Travis Chambers, Founder of Outpost X. Travis isn't trying to create luxury at Outpost X. He's comfortable with 20% of his guests not enjoying their experience. To him, the goal is to transport guests...

Send us Fan Mail Derry Green returns to the podcast to reveal his secrets for social media domination. He tells us how Secret Garden Glamping accumulated 1.2 million followers and became an online phenomenon; how he designs his sites around social media engagement; and why TikTok holds the key to succeeding on Instagram. Links: Posh Outdoors Schedule a call re Posh Outdoors Glampitect North Americ...

Send us Fan Mail Jeremy Budge was one of the earliest hires at Under Canvas, the pioneering glamping brand that was acquired for over $100 million in 2019.  He left Under Canvas at the peak of its powers to start Backland Glamping, a secluded Arizona retreat, just a stone's throw from the Grand Canyon. He joins us to discuss the lessons he learned at Under Canvas, how he applied those to Back...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is a special co-production with the "Behind the Stays" Podcast. Zach Busekrus and I were joined by two of the biggest names in the unique hospitality space, Ben Wolff and Isaac French.  You'll learn why their philosophy is "build less, spend more"; why Ben is betting big on wellness; and how their approaches to scale differ. Subscribe...

Send us Fan Mail With daily rates of $800+ per night and near-100% occupancy, Bolt Farm Treehouse is arguably the most successful independent glamping business in North America.  Tori Bolt, one half of the husband-wife founding team at Bolt Farm, joins us to pull the curtain back on how they reached these heady heights. Topics covered include the secret to rave guest reviews, the personal brand ap...

Send us Fan Mail There's a growing class of glamping consultants that cut their teeth at the venture-backed brands like Getaway (now Postcard Cabins) and AutoCamp. The experiences they gained from scaling high-end hospitality quickly equipped them with a wide range of skills that they take into client projects today. Samuel Morton and Nico Turek from Topos Ventures are great examples of this....

Send us Fan Mail Connor's boss joins us on the pod this week!  Shari Heilala is the Founder of Sage Outdoor Advisory, the leading provider of feasibility studies in the glamping space. Sage have been collecting data on the American glamping industry for years now, and they presented their 2024 findings at the Glamping Show in Denver earlier this month. Shari joins us to share the key findings...

Send us Fan Mail Bryan Auchterlonie is one of the most knowledgeable people in the outdoor hospitality space when it comes to capital. Through his firm, Destination Capital, he's worked with some of the biggest players in glamping, including Under Canvas, AutoCamp and KSL. He joins us on the pod to discuss everything from picking the right form of capital to his favourite hospitality destinat...

Send us Fan Mail In what's rapidly becoming our favorite episode format, two of the best operators in the business join Nick and Connor in a wide-ranging, round-table glamping discussion. Blake Smith of Walden Retreats and Bygnal Dutson of Open Sky never disappoint when they're on the pod, and today is no exception. Links: Posh Outdoors Schedule a call re Posh Outdoors Glampitect North A...

Send us Fan Mail We love niche concepts at The Unique Hospitality Podcast, and this week we were delighted to talk LGBTQ+ hospitality with Randy Henry, Ops Manager at Campit Resort in Saugatuck.  Campit is a campground that caters specifically (but not exclusively) to the LGBTQ+ community. As well as discussing why this is important, we covered separate issues such as selling branded merch to your...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Baxter loves three things: hotels, rock 'n' roll, and partying. That's what led to the creation of House of Gods, a completely immersive rockstar hotel in the heart of Edinburgh. In a wide-ranging conversation applicable to all hospitality operators, we discuss how to create a completely immersive experience for your guests; some cool ideas for upsells, and the...

Send us Fan Mail Nick Parker (Live Oak Bank) returns to the pod! He and Connor have worked on many hospitality projects together, and they have the inside track on the operators that get funding for the unique hospitality developments. You won't be surprised to learn that there are plenty of common traits among the most successful. We break down three projects that Nick Parker and Connor have...

Send us Fan Mail AutoCamp is one of the world's biggest glamping brands. After starting small with their first Santa Barbara location in 2013, their growth rate exploded following a $115 million investment from Whitman Peterson, a private equity firm, in 2019. Will Spurzem joined the company as Senior Design Director that same year, and he was the design genius behind the locations that follo...

Send us Fan Mail Unreasonable Hospitality is a bestselling book by world-leading restauranteur, Will Guidara. Guidara found fame and fortune through Eleven Madison Park, his high-end New York restaurant that would go on to win 3 Michelin Stars and multiple James Beard awards. In the book, Guidara distils the principles of Unreasonable Hospitality, which is his unique approach to serving guests tha...

Send us Fan Mail Ben Wolff and Irene Wood are two of the most successful entrepreneurs in the boutique glamping / unique stay space. Despite their similar results, their models of hospitality couldn't be more different. At Onera (Ben's landscape hotel), guests won't see any on-site staff for the duration of their stay. It's all about that privacy and seclusion. At The Fields (I...

Send us Fan Mail Unique stay aficionado, Zach Busekrus, is back on the Unique Hospitality Podcast! This week, we discuss the coolest unique stays Zach has come across; why nature gives glamping the edge over hotels; which parts of the US are experiencing a short-term rental boom, and much, much more. Links Invest in Posh Outdoors Glampitect North America Auberge Resorts Staywatch The Cave at Hocki...

Send us Fan Mail A "bring me my champagne" button; zorb balling through Chinatown, and serving Gatorade at dinner. Get your creative hat on, as our aim this week is to give you your next great idea for your unique hospitality business. Nick and Connor are joined by friend of the podcast, Jacob Halverson, to discuss some of the "cool shit" we've seen or done in the industry...