“My wife’s idea of camping is a hotel without room service!” …Anonymous
If you’re in a relationship where one of you enjoys the great outdoors and camping, but your partner does not take kindly to backpacking, sleeping bags, bugs, snakes, dehydrated food and no “facilities,” then glamorous camping may be an answer for you. Glamorous camping also known as glamping is not really new, but today’s post will give you a little background and serve to assist those who may want to consider “glamping” as a business opportunity.
First, a bit of GLAMPING history…
It is noted that the word “glamping” was first used in the United Kingdom in 2005 and by 2016 it was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary. It turns out that luxurious tent-living dates to the 16th century, including a diplomatic summit in 1520 between Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France. This summit was referred to as the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Step forward to 1920 and the African safari became the “in thing” for wealthy travelers to participate in enjoying comfort and luxury. According to Wikipedia:
“Glamping is its modern equivalent, combining both yesterday’s amenities and today’s technology. Also called boutique camping, luxury camping, posh camping, or comfy camping, today’s glamping features such structures as yurts, tipis, pods, bell tents, vintage caravans, vintage trailers, safari tents, tent cabins, and tree houses.”
The Glamping Industry in the United States
In 2013, USA Today published an article “Posh touches luxe up ‘glamping’ trend.” Interestingly, some glamping sites started to appear in 2005, but in 2013 there were no clear statistics about the exploding industry, no glamping trade association and the Outdoor Industry Association was not charting “luxury camping” statistics.
Since early 2012, a website about glamping has existed. It includes information about glamping sites in the United States and beyond. Additionally, on most any day you can find a news article about “glamping.”
- “Bear Cove Village Becomes Tennessee’s Third Jellystone Park Camp – Resort,” Sevier News Messenger, March 3, 2018
- “Wedding Parties, Honeymooners, and Families Achieve Stress Elimination With THE Iconic VW Westfalia Camper Van,” Cision PR, Brunswick, ME, February 28, 2018
- “A hipster glamping site is opening in New York City this summer,” Evening Standard, February 14, 2018
- “Glamping on the Cumberland Plateau,” WRCB.TV NBC, Chattanooga, TN, January 15, 2018
- “Glamping around the USA,” USA Today, August 29, 2017
- “Glamping: The 9 best resorts in the U.S.,” CURBED, July 12, 2017
- “I spent 3 nights at a luxury camp with the amenities of a five-star hotel – and I’m convinced it’s the best way to go camping,” Business Insider, June 8, 2017
- “Luxury camping retreats complete with in-tent massages could be the future of weekend getaways,” Business Insider, March 22, 2017
Moving forward with your potential glamping business
As we all know, it is one thing to enjoy products of a business, quite another to own the business producing those products. It is not unusual for people to experience something new, like glamping, and dream about getting into the business. If you have moved from the dreaming stage to the planning stage considering creating a business plan, purchasing the land, engaging partners, securing financing, applying for permits, hiring a designer, retaining building contractor, then you most certainly want to meet with your insurance agent. This will allow you to have a clear understanding for protecting your business and minimizing your risks.
At John Bailey Company we offer specialty insurance for those unique items or events rarely covered by standard policies. Additionally, we specialize in the Campground insurance marketplace. We are the only insurance agency in the country to partner with a past RV Park insurance underwriter for Gillingham & Associates, the past managing general agency for Arch Insurance and Gulf Insurance. We know the campground market, as our program administrator has competed against the competition in rating, underwriting, and now as an insurance agent.
If you’re considering owning a glamorous campsite, our team would love to talk to you about your specialty insurance needs.