The Glamping Show Americas released its third Glamping Industry Report on Tuesday (Sept. 30), highlighting key trends in the glamping industry.
Compiled by Scott Bahr, president of Cairn Consulting Group, the report is in its third year.
It was presented during a morning session, which included Bahr; Sarah Dusek, of Under Canvas and Few and Far; Whitney Scott, of Walden Insights; and Todd Wynne-Parry, of Aramark. The panel was moderated by Steph Curtis-Raleigh.
Some of the key takeaways of the report include:
- Demand and pricing are up with operators reporting Average Daily Rate (ADR) averaging $251/night, up 21% vs. 2023 and 11% vs. 2024.
- The cost to enter the sector has surged, but revenue has kept pace. Since 2023, startup costs have doubled.
- Product mix is diversifying with a rising share of operators maintaining both on-and off-grid offerings. Private in-suite bathrooms remain most common.
- Minimum-stay policies are split; about half require 2-plus nights, and pet fees remain common.
- Amenity strategies are focused on recreation first, wellness next.
- Location thesis: Nature-led with urban adjacency.
- Barriers persist and are converging. Financing remains the top impediment.
The panel spoke about the importance of glamping going beyond the novelty.
“The experience has to be about more than just a unit,” noted Bahr. “It also has to include an experience.”
“We’ve been talking about this for 10 years,” Scott noted. “We built this market around the accommodations. On the idea that accommodations drove bookings. But really, as we’ve seen, what drives extended stays, what drives repeat guests, is the experience and amenity in service that you put around the accommodations.”
Scott explained that the majority of the camping market includes families and that families are looking for stays under $250/night.
“That’s why we see a lot of glampers in traditional campgrounds, because they have bigger amenity sets, they benefit from efficiency of the scale right there on the park, because they have 300 sites, and they have a splash park, and they have RVs, and they have accommodations,” she highlighted.
One of the other key things mentioned during the session was that individuals seem to be approaching industry data as a way to validate their existing ideas, instead of exploring whether the project is a good fit.
“It is all about the mindset of exploring a little bit and looking around for great ideas and what will work on a certain piece of property,” Scott explained.
