This is MC Fireside Chats, a weekly show featuring conversations with thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and outdoor hospitality experts who share their insights to help your business succeed. Hosted by Brian Searle, the founder and CEO of Insider Perks. Empowered by insights from Modern Campground, the most innovative news source in the industry.
Greg Emert:
All right, and after three unsuccessful attempts to start that and a little bit of teasing with the intro video, here we are live. Thanks, everybody, for joining us for this week’s MC Fireside Chats. I am your guest host, Greg Emert. I’m the co-founder of Camp Strategy. We are an end-to-end solution, and we do consulting for campgrounds and landfronts across the United States. We’re based in Ohio. I’m happy to be here as your guest host today. And joining me, I have an esteemed panel of guests, both recurring and special for this week. So why don’t we take a trip around the board, and let’s just go around Brady Bunch style. We’ll start with Susan, make our way to Gordon, and then keep going around the board. So Susan, give us an introduction. Tell us a little bit about who you are and where you’re from.
Susan Smith:
Well, I’m Susan Smith. I’m in Wimberley, Texas, which is about 30 minutes east of Austin. And I am the owner and operator of Senya on Lone Man Creek, which is a glamping site. And it’s one unit and it’s kind of a little Africa in the Texas
Greg Emert:
And that sounds lovely. And by little African, you mean that the safari tents are very African in nature, correct? You don’t mean that you have, there are no rhinos, lions, elephants? All right. As little as that would be. I would, I would sign up for that if there was like a no trampling clause in there somewhere, but I. Yeah.
Susan Smith:
No, just Texas animals. All right. Fair enough.
Greg Emert:
Well, those are beautiful as well. And so moving on now to Gordon, who I believe is also
Gordon Cook:
How y’all doing? Gordon Cook. I have Al’s Hideaway Cabin and RV Park, named after my wife’s grandfather that was from the area. We built it. We run it. It’s all family owned, operated. We have 12, 13 cabins now, 13 long cabins, two belt tents, 10 RV spaces and an old school bus. here on the property that we’re in now. And I’m sitting right now in our big 60 by 40 outdoor pavilion with a fireplace, big outdoor kitchen over there, swimming pool, pool table, all that. And I’m located in Pike Creek, Texas, which is between San Antonio and Bandera on Highway 16, not far from Wimberley.
Greg Emert:
Lovely. So, y’all are neighbors at this point, Susan and Gordon. All right. Well, maybe next time we can get a tour of that. Gordon, that sounds beautiful. We’ll have to get you next time. We’ll get that camera mobile and we’ll take a look at all that stuff, because it sounds like you’ve got quite the eclectic mix of accommodations, which I’m looking forward to talking to you about. That school bus sounds interesting. Yeah. So moving on, Angele, thank you for joining us today. Tell us a little bit about you and where you’re from.
Angele Miller:
Hi, everyone. I’m happy to be here today. And I am in Atlantic Canada. and I’m a co-founder of a resort called Creekside R&R Glamping. We’re an award-winning resort and we offer nature experiences where we have geodesic domes in nature, we have 10 accommodation on site, up to a lobster fishing boat accommodation as well, which is kind of new for us and very beautiful and fun. And we also have a Nordic spa, a meditation yoga center, and many activities as well on site from canoeing, paddle boarding, kayaking, fat bikes, you know, all that fun stuff. So really happy to be here joining everyone today.
Greg Emert:
Lovely. That sounds like an amazing place. Like I was saying, before we got in the room, I’m interested to talk to you a little bit about the conservation side of what you do, because I think that’s something that maybe gets overlooked sometimes. It’s more so accepted in Glamping, I think, than it is RV parks, which is sort of my strong suit. You know, you see a lot of RV parks, they look like a city built under trees, and they sort of lean away from the reason that I think a lot of people get into it, to enjoy nature, but sort of safely on their own terms, right? Like some people are still petrified when they see a spider, but they want to go camping in places where there are spiders because that means they have trees and blue skies, right? And so I applaud you for doing that. I think that’s something that people need more in the industry and out of it. Moving on, Chris, is these
Chris Jeub:
Well, thank you for having me on the show.
Greg Emert:
Yeah, I don’t know why I’m the host if we literally have a guest.
Chris Jeub:
So tell us about the domain was available and I picked it up. That’s a good name. Good. I run Monument Lamping out of Monument, Colorado. We have two properties. I’ve taken a step back this last year and really solidified the permitting that was required on both the properties. So I have only eight units open right now, but that was a step back from 13 we had at the most in the past couple of years. But we’re permitted for 36. So I’m locked and loaded to really develop. So we’re eyeballs up in in permitting and are not permitting but land development site development is what they call it in the the government bureau, the bubbleheads like to call it that. But I also run GlampingGuy, GlampingGuy.com, and that’s my educational arm. I’ve been doing it for about a year. I just launched a podcast myself. You can see it at GlampingGuy.com. I just finished my third interview of a glamper out in Shenandoah Valley. Honestly, all of you could be guests on the Glamping Guy podcast. Because the series that I’m going through is called the Glamping Masters. They’re people who are really walking the walk and doing really, that’s honestly what I wanted to have when I was starting off and clunking along and not knowing what I was doing. Just feeling like, man, if I could just be a fly on a wall of somebody who’s doing what I think I’m doing right. And that’s what I’m hoping to have Glamping Guide be, is that, hey, here’s your opportunity to peer inside the lives of glampers and see how they’re building safe, legal, and profitable glamping operations on their private property.
Greg Emert:
Well, what a wonderful and Chris, I’m going to guess I know you’ve got a an education background, so that kind of slides perfectly into what you’re trying to do there, right? To educate folks about glamping and your experience.
Chris Jeub:
I left English teaching to do glamping.
Greg Emert:
All right, well, but you’re still in the educational realm, right? Because you can’t get rid of that, but it sounds. Can’t help myself. It’s a bug I just can’t get rid of. you have also always had a bit of a serial entrepreneurship because you even took your educational side and turned it into entrepreneurship, right? So wonderful. You saw a need and filled it.
Chris Jeub:
That’s great. The market calls. You just can’t ignore it.
Greg Emert:
That’s right. And I’m sure as everyone here is an entrepreneur, you know that once you get into it, it’s really hard to go back to anything else, regardless of what you may have done in your former life. It’s a bug that bites you and you’re kind of stuck with it. and a Good for you, man. That’s awesome. So I think we’ll circle back at some point here, because I have a feeling everybody’s going to have those development growing pains type stories. And maybe you can speak to what you’ve been going through recently. And last, but of course, very, very much not least, we have Tess from Ranchlands. And Tess, thank you for joining us. Tell us a little bit about where you’re from and what you’re doing.
Tess Leach:
Yeah, thanks for having me, Greg. I just relocated to north central Wyoming. We moved from Colorado, actually right down the road from you in Monument. And we are large-scale ranch managers. We run ranches across the West. And on many of those ranches, we also run hospitality operations. We have just opened our newest location here on the Paint Rock Canyon Ranch. in Hyattville, Wyoming, a town of about 79 people is what’s on the population side. But we have about 80,000 acres on the ranch, and then it backs up to BLM Forest Service, and we guide trips up into the mountains from working on the ranch, workshops with writers, artists, sportsmanship instructors, just masters at their craft based out of safari style tents that we have set up alongside the paint rot creek. We are doubling our number of tents next year to 14 and really putting all of our emphasis on this new property that we have up here in Wyoming as we transition out of Colorado. So yeah, I mean it’s different in that we don’t offer one-night stays. Guests come for five nights or more, and it’s an all-inclusive sort of thing. But we’ve been operating for 25 years with guests and really feel so grateful to be able to do it into the future.
Greg Emert:
Yeah, and I looked and I think we’re just going to jump right in and test. I’m going to stick with you because I think your property is really unique. Before we do, though, of course, I want to thank our sponsors this week, which is Horizon Outdoor Hospitality. Scott and his team of outdoor hospitality experts over there really lead an excellent organization. So if anyone is watching and interested in third party management for your camping or glamping property, highly recommend checking out Horizon Outdoor Hospitality. There we go. Now, this is the part where I wait for, I think they’re going to send me like $20 for something so nice. I’ll probably be waiting on that. I don’t think I’m going to get that today. But I would like to go back to Tess. Tess, I was looking at your properties earlier. And I think, you know, we spoke a little bit earlier to, I was speaking backstage, and just some of the uniqueness that glamping really taps into, you know, it is Campgrounds are learning the experiential side of hospitality, but glampgrounds, I think, are sort of forced to do it, right? Because you can get a pretty piece of property and put tents on it, but what do I want to go there for, right? Are you near something? What are you offering that brings someone in? Or you want to talk about unique experiences. You have found a way to sort of tie in the conservation of ranching, which is, as you point out well on your website, and most people probably know, it’s sort of a… It’s a dying industry, right? There are fewer and fewer young people staying in it, and it’s not something that people look at as a business or lifestyle that much anymore. Things have sort of shifted digital, but you have found a way to promote it via your stays. Can you tell us a little bit about how you came to the realization that by bringing people out, putting them on your land, you could not just drive revenue, but also drive awareness for your industry?
Tess Leach:
Yeah. Yeah, well, that I mean, that is exactly where it came from. My dad grew up ranching in Mexico and moved to the US during college, and worked for an old school ranching family in eastern Colorado, managing properties And one day he was meeting with, the guy’s name was Dale, Dale. And Dale said, well, I think, Duke, that we need to look at hospitality. And his response was, you know, over my dead body. I’m a rancher. I don’t want to be dealing with city slickers coming out and, you know, getting in the way of everything. And then fast forward many years later, he leased a large ranch outside of Colorado Springs. the first thing you look to to pay the lease was hospitality, in addition to revenue from livestock. So for us, it’s ranchland stay is what we call our hospitality arm, has really been a solution to being able to stay on the land and stay competitive with the lease rates. And so it’s one of the number one things that we do on the property that we manage if the owners are interested. And then on the other side, Greg, to your point, it’s an amazing way to communicate the realities of ranching and the importance of ranching to conservation to the general public that lives, I think 98% of the population lives in urban centers. So getting people out to come to a poetry workshop or an art workshop, but they’re painting cattle and horses and interacting land, creating that relationship has really gone a long way in creating a community that looks at our industry differently and, you know, gives us hope that it might last into the future.
Greg Emert:
Yeah, what a wonderful approach. It’s and I applaud you for finding that because I think sometimes, you know, we and I know I did this. My parents bought a campground when I was 20 and they were like, you want to be a part of it? And I said, sure. And I thought, Well, I’ll get to camp. Yeah, I was just an idiot, right? So then within a year, I realized, no, what I was actually going to do was work harder than I ever thought possible. We did that for 26 years. But for the last 10 or so, I got to steer the ship. And I thought, jeez, if I’m going to do this, I want to go to work someplace that I really enjoy being and someplace that I want to be. So I selfishly started turning it into more of a conservation-based theme, right? And we led hikes. And because I’m just a nerd, and I want to share everything beautiful in nature with the world you have found a way to do that very much with you know with your industry and there’s nothing selfish about it at all do what you love right and and you never work a day in your life okay we all know that’s garbage you’re gonna work really hard still however you’re gonna enjoy it more right and so that um that kind of leads me back over through to Angele’s property where she is leaning really hard into the nature side of it. And since we’re talking experiential, why don’t we go there for a minute. Angele, why don’t you tell us how you How do you lean into that and how do you sort of attract that demographic? Is it through your marketing? Do you make sure to tell these folks, hey, this is what you’re getting into? Or do you find that people come there and then sort of fall into it once they arrive?
Angele Miller:
Yeah, for sure. I mean, that’s a really good question, you know, and I think for us, it really has to do a lot with the marketing as well, more than, you know, people coming. I mean, there are some people for sure that will book, maybe because they are in their region, and they’re looking for accommodation. And then, they kind of get that experience. But for us, it’s really the core of what we created. So we really do show that through our marketing and, you know, how we’ve been introducing our resort. We’ve really been targeting a lot of people that, you know, they they’re maybe in the city and, you know, we have busy lives and we want them to be able to go and in nature and have that experience and really relax but also with the amenities they would be used to in their home resort style amenities uh in nature so that’s uh what we’re really focusing on here uh and we’re really highlighting uh the beauty of the the nature in the region like we’ve really work hard to keep all the trees, you know, everywhere. You know, we have a lot of apple trees, cherry bushes, you know, blackberries, everything. And we’ve really made sure to keep that through the property so that the wildlife comes in. So we have a lot of deer and little foxes and like you know uh raccoons and other cute animals but they uh you know and the guests you know it’s become a thing too that when they come they love that experience and they get so excited if they see a deer or something they’ll send us a message and say oh look what I saw and they’ll send a picture uh but it was a really big part of us when we built the resort is to preserve that and really show that uh that we are that type we’ve been attracting so the city and some people to get out of the city or to go in nature and work uh in a dome so we say why work from home when you can work in a dome so we do that you know great tag yeah great tagline so they come and they enjoy um the experience and you know we’ve really made sure we preserve all the bird habitats so we have so many different bird habitats there like you know we have a lot of eagles but we have a lot of blue herons that nest right in our creek where we are, and so many different birds, it’s unbelievable. So it’s really fun, you know, so people when they come, they really get that nature experience, but we’re still not far from a city, you know, we’re just 30 minutes, but we’ve really worked hard to bring that experience and really keep nature alive, you know, through the resort for sure.
Greg Emert:
Yeah, that’s wonderful. I think I just, I love hearing stories about owners incorporating what they’re passionate into, into that experiential side, because, you know, all the market data shows us that the things that glampers expect Sadly, the top one is Wi-Fi, but whatever. I want it too when I’m out. I hate to say it. There are certain trips that I grab my backpack and I head down a trail, and when I see there’s no more signal, I go, OK, I’ve arrived where I want to stay. There’s an awful lot of trips where I still need that connectivity. So they need their Wi-Fi and their resort level accommodations, which you touched on is very important. But also, it’s that experience. What can you give them when they get out there? You and Tess definitely have a unique approach to that. And Susan, you’ve got a bit of a unique approach to it too, because, you know, bringing a bit of Africa to Texas is quite a unique approach, whether or not you have the elephants. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your operation and what you do there to sort of define the guest experience and maybe some of the unique things that you do there to build on that, that builds that connection for the guests where they want to come back and repeat.
Susan Smith:
Sure. A lot of our guests are return guests. Anniversaries, engagements, people come to work. We do have Wi-Fi. We don’t have TV. This is the TV out here. I’m actually on the porch of the tent. But Senya is a custom-made African authentic tent. And it has a big king-size bed with down cushions, Nespresso coffee maker, clawfoot bathtub, outside shower, which is wonderful, and a hot tub. We’re right on the creek and there’s a seasonal waterfall. So similar to what you are talking about, people come here because it’s beautiful. We’re kind of on top of the hill and the trees. You can hear the birds and see the sunset and the sunrise, um, hear the roosters and the coyotes. Um, but people just come here to be quiet and get out of the hectic rat race, um, just to come and reconnect with each other. So we also have massage therapists that come in that do coupled massage or spa treatments. Um, so it’s just kind of lovely, quiet. know, recharge plates that we offer. And I love it. I love sharing it with people.
Greg Emert:
And that’s really key, right? If you if you are an owner that enjoys sharing that opportunity with somebody else, it’s sort of the difference between you know, maybe a fisherman and a fishing guide, right? That fishing guide, he might like to go fishing, but my goodness, the joy that you get out of standing there and watching somebody else hook up when they’ve been trying all day, because you get to share the experience. It’s very much what you’re describing, and it is, it’s, I know for me, it’s also very, very rewarding, even though I’m not in that business anymore.
Susan Smith:
It is. Yeah. Go right ahead, please. I think it’s one of the best places about having Senya for me. I also have a vegetable garden. People can get veggies and herbs and cook. And most of the return guests we know and sometimes we text back and forth. So it’s just it’s great for everybody. It’s just a great spirit, calm place for people to come and take a little bit back to real life, hopefully.
Greg Emert:
Absolutely. And speaking of unique, we’re going to move down now to Gordon, because Gordon, I said before we started, Gordon wins. best hat, best beard, best background for the year, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know what Brian’s going to say when he gets back, but Gordon, you got it all going on there, man. Tell us a little bit about, you mentioned some really unique accommodations, I believe you said a schoolie, their converted school bus as well. Tell us a little bit about your unique accommodations and sort of how you arrived at adding them. Maybe before we start, how much of your property is RV versus how much is glamping and accommodations?
Gordon Cook:
Not a lot of it’s RVs. Like I said, I only have 10 RV space. We kept it real small, and we’ve done that for a reason, you know. Smaller, less crowd, less rules, more relaxation you have. But we have 10 RV spaces, 12 log cabins that look down into the meadow, and I’ve got one log cabin up here that kind of overlooks the hills and everything. then the old schoolies back there in the woods and then we got two bell tents back over here and then back back by the creek back here we got a teepee actual real teepee back there that you can camp in or camp around and hang out in or whatever but when we bought the we bought raw property and we come out here and we spent five, six months just camping, actually camping on the property, clearing, cleaning, trying to figure an idea of what we had, the layout we wanted to do, and we saved every tree that we could, and it’s worked out great. We have a lot of guests that come from the San Antonio area, Austin, Houston, Dallas, And they come to get away from the city, the noise. And it’s really, we got really lucky. I don’t know if y’all are familiar. I know Susan is. There’s a lot of exotic ranches in the Texas Hill Country. That’s where we’re at in the Texas Hill Country. There’s a lot of exotic ranches. Well, just like any other ranch with animals, they get loose. So if you’re sitting down there in one of your cabins and drinking your coffee in the morning and you look up and a bighorn sheep comes walking through the meadow, don’t call to wake me up. You’re going to see zebras, you’ll see camels, bighorn sheep, axis deer are everywhere. I’m sure y’all got plenty of axis deer just In fact, the hunting season on access here, there is no season there. It’s open hunt on them. Monkeys, we got the lemurs, the little monkey from Madagascar. They’re running loose out here. The ring-tailed cats are running loose out here. And because of that, when I cleared my property and built the campground, I put in two large aerobic septic systems. If you’re not familiar with aerobic, what an aerobic septic system is, it’s basically a water treatment plant underground. And it’s got water sprinklers. So we go through a drought. We’re in drought just about year round out here. Every five, six years we get a little bit of rain. But with my aerobic system, that waters, I got a seven acre meadow down there that’s opened up and all the cabins are lined along the outside of it and the RVs are up here looking down at it, but I got 20 water sprinklers heads out there that water my meadow. So I pretty much get to mow year round. I’m probably the only person in Texas Hill Country that gets to mow year round.
Greg Emert:
My goodness. Yeah, that’s a unique attraction right there. Green grass. I think you could market that probably.
Gordon Cook:
We just mowed this morning. After I cleared, I went back and I planted the native ryegrass for the deer, for all the animals and stuff that come through here. Turkeys, we got a flock of turkeys. There’s about 60 turkeys in a flock. I mean, when they come parading through, the show is on. And people just love sitting up on their porches and watching. And I got Armadillo, I got one Armadillo out here, the state record. Biggest Armadillo you ever seen in your life. He is huge. You better not leave the keys in your car, he’ll take it to town.
Greg Emert:
Now if you could send a few of those, you said zebras and camels, you send a couple Susans, Wayne, she really does have an African plains experience. Yeah, they’re in Texas. I mean she’s right up the road. She don’t have them because there’s a lot of exotic Yeah, the the the Texotics is uh is definitely a thing down there, isn’t it?
Gordon Cook:
And they get loose. I mean they get out.
Greg Emert:
They sure do. They sure do.
Gordon Cook:
So, they trap them, catch them, put them back up. They get right, they get out.
Greg Emert:
They get right back out again. And so, Chris, tell us a little bit about your place. I want to start on your offerings and sort of the same thing, like how you differentiate yourself, what’s your unique experience or your value prop there. And then I do want to talk a little bit about your expansion, your permitting, because I think that’s going to be pretty valuable to a lot of the folks watching today. I am sure that anyone out there who’s built something or is expanding something either has a migraine or has had a migraine from the the permitting and the entitlement process.
Chris Jeub:
Yeah, I started. I had no idea about permitting. I fell into glamping by accident.
Greg Emert:
Your mic might be off, Chris. Are you still… I don’t have you muted.
Chris Jeub:
I thought I did. Can you hear me now?
Greg Emert:
Yeah. I don’t hear you.
Chris Jeub:
Nope. Can everyone else hear me?
Greg Emert:
and
Chris Jeub:
I didn’t have this figured all out. And so, however, I got into trouble, but I got out of trouble. And I really started just working it and making sure. Oh, someone else. Wait a minute, Greg. Can everyone hear me?
Angele Miller:
Yeah.
Chris Jeub:
Yeah. Okay. Okay. I think it is on your end, Greg. So someone text Greg. Because I see it coming up in the text. I’m just rolling with it. Okay, we’re gonna keep going. Anyway. So, however, that journey has been very educational, and really enlightening, and profitable. I think the money is what’s drawn me into it, you might say. However, I really resonated with what some of you are saying. I think it was Was it you Tess or Susan? I can’t remember who said it, but you, you said something like you really enjoy. It’s almost like an adrenaline rush, isn’t it? When, when people come to your property and then you give them a good time and they, they just had, they’re blown away and they just, I could go on and on with stories about how the, the young couple, the, the mom, dad, couple kids, the, the, the people who come to the property and just are, have a wonderful time. It’s something that just blooms in me and my wife. We really have discovered a love for hospitality we didn’t know we had before we got into it. And then we start legitimizing our business and start building and creating more venues and more experiences for people. I’m at the point right now where I am becoming more and more unique. Some of you are really unique and you found your groove. I feel like I’m still finding my groove because I’ve modeled some of the big guys, the big dogs, and I don’t know if that was such a good idea. Like the whole idea of glamorous camping, the pampered camping, the food and beverage, the spas and the saunas, I just kind of envied all of them. And I don’t know if that’s really who I am. My wife and I are kind of rebranding Monument Glamping and being hassle-free camping, meaning it’s still a luxurious stay. You still get the queen size bed and you get the propane stove, but everything’s done for you. Just show up with your food and beverage and have a nice outdoor experience. And that has been how we’re kind of transitioning and that’s 2025’s Monument Glamping brand is hassle-free camping. You’re outdoors. You’re close enough to civilization. You’re not out in the boonies. And where, you know, where people might be afraid to be outdoors and be afraid to come camping. But they’re really just local. I mean, we’re really a stone’s throw away from town. And people like that. The avatar that I’m trying to attract, they really do enjoy that. It’s more of the staycationer. than the rugged outdoorsman who was kind of like me. I kind of built the campground for me rather than for the market. The market really is for people who are busting out of Dodge, busting out of Colorado Springs, busting out of Denver, and they just want to have a nice experience outdoors with their loved one, and then I’m there ready to accommodate for them. That’s who Brendi and I really like. We really don’t like the howdy-towdy types that want everything done for them. We don’t really like those kinds of guests. We like the kind of guests who are some of our favorite guests, like a single dad who has custody of his kids for the weekend. Boom. We’re all over that. We love it. Hey, stay in the tent, ride the zipline, play in the creek. That’s what we would like versus the honeymooner who really does expect more than we’re willing to give. And that to me is really where I’m at personally in trying to address a market need, the glamping groove that I’m trying to get into.
Greg Emert:
That’s really excellent that you point that out because I think it’s very important to build. You want to build the property that you want to be at because you’re going to be there working it. Even if you’ve got somebody like Horizon, today’s sponsor of the show, if I can throw that in. Even if you’ve got somebody like them and they’re running the third party for you, you’re going to have to work this thing at some point. It’s not going to be totally hands-off, right? You want to have someplace that you enjoy going, that the experience that you provide, you enjoy providing. Otherwise, those 10-hour days feel like 30-hour days. You feel like there’s no respite if you’re constantly providing something to a guest that you just don’t enjoy. So really, congratulations on discovering that, because I think that takes a long time for some people. They end up feeling like, Well, that guy is really successful. I just want to be like that guy. And they don’t take away what’s really important from that guy, which is how they found their way to being successful. They think you just you take that person’s recipe, you add other ingredients, and then it’s going to work for me. And it doesn’t always work that way, as you just so well put it.
Chris Jeub:
Yeah, and let me piggyback on that, because it kind of took me five years to figure this out. I feel like almost an idiot. Why didn’t I come up with this five years ago? Because it would have been awesome. But I already mentioned the single dad. That was a real situation. He didn’t know what to do with his kids the weekend, and he rented my place, and it turned out to be the time of their lives. And that just almost moves me to tears, because it’s like, man, I’ve really filled a need. On the other adverse fact, I got a couple from Chicago and they just raked me personally, like to my face. They called me in and they said how bad the place was and we expected this and we expected that. It was such a bad experience as a host. But then we were, Wendy and I kind of talked about it and said, do we really want people like this here? Maybe not. And so why are we branding ourselves as this beautiful, glamorous camping, glamorous glamping site? Um, love much like, um, like I’m trying to think of, uh, um, open sky, you know, open sky will blow all of our minds. I bet, man, it’s just a beautiful place and five star hotel type of place. Um, that ain’t me. It’s just a doc. And I don’t really want to be that. And so that it’s a bit of kind of like addressing the market with a little bit of humility. You know, like I’m not going to be like these people. But honestly, that’s actually a sweet spot to find when you can figure out that you are your unique self. And people here are coming here for an experience, a Monument Glamping experience. and um and they get did they do get a big piece of chris and wendy jupe you know we we make we make homemade wine we make homemade kombucha we we put together these little these camping packs we call color cookouts and things like that so you do get a little bit of our personality when you come even though we don’t You know, we’re not camping down there with you. But it is a little bit of, they want to experience who their hosts are to an extent. And I believe we’re getting better and better at providing that. And our reviews are getting better from that. When we finally made that decision, it was a few months ago, we were assimilating to this decision. Some of our messaging and our emails and how we respond to people and how we greet people has been adjusting to, instead of blowing your mind with this five-star hotel type of thing, we are, hey, don’t You don’t have to bring your camping supplies. We’ve got those for you. That’s been kind of our language, our discussion, our rapport. It’s gotten better. Our Google reviews have gone up and our Airbnb and all of our reviews have been better because of that.
Greg Emert:
Yeah, you offer an authentic experience. That’s what it is. It’s authentically you because you’re not, you’re not selling camping. You’re not selling, you’re really selling yourself. And that’s, that’s something that takes folks a while to figure out. Gordon, I think you were trying to, uh, to share something with us.
Gordon Cook:
Add to that, you know, uh, look, look, pull us up on Google anywhere you want to. I run a 4.9 on Google. You can’t please everybody.
Greg Emert:
That’s right.
Gordon Cook:
But, and what Chris was saying, I am a five-star place. Okay. You look at booking.com, you look at Expedia, you look at all of them. I’m at the top of the charts. We just won a commendation of the year in the state of Texas from Texas Campground Association, campground owners, from Taco. And we’re simple. We are simple. We keep it simple. When you come here, I treat you just like I would if you was anybody else. You know, it don’t matter. Me and my family, we’re just, we’re here. And you’re welcome to come, relax, have a good time, enjoy yourself. And people love that.
Greg Emert:
Indeed they do. Yep.
Gordon Cook:
And and I think that’s that seems that that’s a very common thread between all of our guests today and in fact And we did too we also did because I was just like Chris, you know, we gotta be this No, you don’t No, you don’t you just Be you and create a place that you want to go. If you create a place and you look at your own website and you’re like, damn, boy, I’d like to go stay there.
Greg Emert:
Then you’ve got it.
Gordon Cook:
Then you’re going to attract like-minded people. And you’re not going to have, you know, when we started this, I heard all kinds of horror stories about people. They do this, they do that, they’ll trash this, they tear that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I was scared to death. I was, man, how are we going to do security? But we built the place that we, what we want, the place we had come to. We attract like-minded people like us. It’s simple. You know, our grass ain’t manicured. You can walk across our grass. It don’t matter. And you’re comfortable doing it. You know? Yeah. And just like Chris said, the big payment is when you have a family that comes out here and they throw their kid their fourth birthday party. Seven years down the road, that kid’s coming back to have its 10th, 11th, 12th birthday.
Greg Emert:
Because absolutely. Yeah. Because you were intentional about your authenticity, which it really comes through to the guests. And again, that’s kind of a missing puzzle piece that takes people a while to figure out. And Susan, I think you. You kind of leaned into that a little bit in the beginning when you talked about just how passionate you were. It’s very easy to see on your face and listen to your voice and hear how connected you are to that place. Did you have an aha moment like this early on where you thought, you know what, we need to build this, like the other two gentlemen here were just saying, we need to build something that we’re really going to love to come to and that way when we’re selling it it’s not so much like we’re selling we’re just telling people how we authentically feel and then they get an idea for what they’re going to get when they come here because it’s just it’s just that natural well i was lucky enough to buy this three years ago
Susan Smith:
And then I’ve done upgrades and kept it up. But I I love to stay here when there’s not guests here. So so you’re right. It’s like if if it’s something you like, you’re going to attract like minded people. And it’s very luxurious inside for a free bottle of champagne and this and that candles battery, of course. But then outside, it’s you know, it’s rugged. And so you have kind of both. And I think also the thing that I like is it’s only one unit. There’s no one around you. That’s what kind of makes Senya a little different is no one’s right by you. You can’t see anybody and it’s just quiet. It’s you by yourself. Before my guests come, I send them an app, some information with everything about the property, how all the appliances work, how to get here. restaurants to go to, just about everything you can imagine. So they know what to expect and then when they get here, they know how everything works. They, you know, they can call me and text me anytime, but at least they have an idea so they’re better prepared on the kind of stay they’re going to have and if they want to, you know, bring something or add something. But, um, I’ve had engagements and then couples back for their comeback for their first anniversary. And, um, I’ll never forget a couple came and they had just lost their baby. And we sat out in the garden for hours and talked and cried. yeah there’s just a spirit of connection here and it’s kind of really what it’s all about and to offer people you know a luxury glamping it’s air conditioning heated completely shut off to the outside it’s like a little house but then you can come outside and you know it’s complete nature so it’s been a blessing for me and I think everyone that comes here
Greg Emert:
It sounds like it. And you can, again, it’s very easy to see on your face and hear in your voice just how much you are intentional about your authenticity there, just like Chris and Gordon were talking about. And you mentioned a little bit of pre-arrival communication. And that leads me to a question that I have for Tess, because Tess, you’ve got maybe the most unique setup that I’ve ever seen or heard of. I think it’s really cool what you’re doing with the Ranchlands model. But I’ve got to imagine that you’ve got a lot of really unique things that you need to communicate to your guests before they get there, right? Yours is very unlike anything else they’re going to find. So maybe can you take us through a little bit about what you do to manage those expectations so that when they show up there, they understand what they’re getting themselves into?
Tess Leach:
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Well, it’s been a long learning curve, and just taking feedback and incorporating it, as we all do. But we do have online booking, but no booking is confirmed until we have a phone call with the guest to talk through the stay and be sure it is actually what they think it is and what they’re wanting. And that really generally sets us up for the right type of client post-relationship. And then we have a pre-arrival profile, we call it, that we send to every guest that just collects information about who they are in life, who they are physically, what they’re expecting, what they’re hoping for from the vacation. And that information is you know, as relevant and distributed with staff. And so everybody is very prepared for all 14 guests that are coming for that week. They’re given a packing list. And then we have, you know, any last minute needs, of course, on site. We’re about 45 minutes from a grocery store or gas station here. So it’s relatively isolated. So guests do need to come with what they need. And, you know, our stay is very much a nature immersion. There is not Wi-Fi. There is not even a cell signal for most of the stay. So I think the type of client that is looking for that experience, you know, is a little less fussy in terms of what they need creature comfort wise. But the tents that we have are, you know, fully outfitted with you know, curated antique bedding, furniture, down comforters. And we partnered with Filson out of Seattle to outfit all of the tents, hot showers. You know, you have all of those creature comforts in your tent, and then you just go out and have a big adventure during the day. And then the last thing is just a high percentage of our clients are returning guests. So they mostly know what to bring or tell their friends what to bring. So that really works for our benefit.
Greg Emert:
That’s awesome. And you’re actually a very high-touch, hands-on approach. So you’re doing some things that a lot of folks are trying to get away from right now. You’re having phone calls with your guests before you’ll even complete the booking. You don’t have the Wi-Fi. still being very successful with it. So I applaud you for that, because that is, you know, if you’re out there and you’re just reading market reports and contacting other glamping properties, they might tell you, oh, you can’t do without the Wi-Fi, you have to have it for extended stays. Well, all of your stays are extended. So you’ve done it by creating the experience that they want, right? And That phone call, tell us a little bit about that. It almost sounds like it might be sort of an interview for your customers pre-booking to make sure that they’re on board. Does that sound like a decent description?
Tess Leach:
It is similar to that, yeah. Some of our stays are very high up in the mountains and in the back country where if a guest gets hurt, they have to be medevaced via helicopter. reassurance from them that they are, you know, in physical condition to do this trip. And they acknowledge that that is the reality of, you know, getting hurt could happen on a horse based vacation. You know, it’s for us, we have a person dedicated to taking bookings over the phone and following up with online bookings. ensuring that that pre-arrival document comes in as it needs to, and then doing the follow-up contact as well. So, yeah, I mean it is a whole person dedicated to that, but for us it’s been really important to have that human element with our guests.
Greg Emert:
Absolutely. Nothing more important than managing those expectations. And that starts with your your marketing and advertising goes all the way through to when your guests depart. Right. And Angel, I would imagine that you also have some of these similar not struggles, but challenges, right? Because you, even though you’re close to town, you’re really embracing nature. And as I said, I did that with my campground and I certainly had lots of guests who were really into it. And then I’d have other ones that would, you know, see a mosquito or something and jump on their picnic table and freak out and, or a raccoon goes through their site and they think it’s gonna, you know, eat their children or something. And it’s like, well, you try to explain, but this is part of the experience that you came out here for, right? So, Do you ever have any issues with that? And if so, how do you manage those expectations to sort of inform people that, well, we’re going to embrace this stuff, folks. We’re not going to make this a sterile environment for you. We want you to see these animals and be one with nature for a little while while you stay with us.
Angele Miller:
Yes, you know, that’s a really good point. And for us, luckily, like from all the years we’ve been in operation and we’ve opened, we’ve only had one person that’s ever had an issue with bugs, you know, kind of being around. But obviously, that, you know, that’s part of nature. And like, we’ve heard on this, on this, this call is that you can’t really make everybody happy. You know, there’s always that one person that may come that have a situation or may not kind of be surprised by that. But overall for us, we’ve never really had an issue with that. People know when they book, they’re booking to go glamping. So they know it’s a form of elevated camping that they can, you know, be prepared that they are going in nature and You know, and a lot of people that come, they love camping. We’re really like where I am in Atlantic Canada, there’s a lot of rural communities. So people are used to being in the country and kind of have a bit of those experience. So I think that’s kind of been a big thing. But for us, what I found really challenging, and maybe that’s a Canada thing because we have colder weather right out here. But the hot tubs for us, that was a must. You know, we had to have private hot tubs at every accommodation. 90% of people that called here were asking if we had a hot tub. That was really a big deciding factor. So when people went glamping, the expectations out here have really high expectat want to if you’re enjoyi your nature, they’re asso the hot, the high end barb So we had to put all those things there. And, you know, and there’s also like, you know, as the hospitality, the outdoor hospitality has really grown and evolved. And I found so much for us here in the Eastern part of Canada since COVID, you know, when COVID happened and people start traveling and traveling overseas or an all-inclusive resort, the parks, Like even a national parks in Canada has seen such an increase in numbers of people going outdoor that want to go camping and have those outdoor experience. So it’s really grown really big in my region. you know it went from no glamping resort to over 50 resort now in a small province that has under 1 million in population so it just shows but as people as the industry grows and evolves everybody’s trying to elevate those experiences in nature. So the expectations of customers get higher and higher all the time. So, you know, and so for us, it’s been a big thing and a challenge to really keep up with those expectations and always keep elevating that experience, you know, so. But the hot tub was a must, you know, and we, you know, so we’ve included hot tubs at every accommodation, the green egg barbecue, but also the expectation of the local food, like we really focus on local. For us, we’re really big on local and the local farms and local artisans. So we do a lot of co-partnership and we do a lot of food deliveries package. We do private oyster chucking because we have a lot of oyster farm here as well. So we bring someone to do private oyster chucking right at your dome and our accommodation. But it’s really been something that we’ve really had to work hard as a team to keep that and really listen to the customers, listen to what they’re looking for, what they want, and really try to keep innovating and really keep making sure that everybody has, you know, a wonderful experience.
Greg Emert:
Yeah, that’s excellent. And I think what’s really unique about outdoor hospitality, and I’m sure other industries too, but this is the one I know, so we’re going to talk about this one, right, is that There are, so we’ve got a panel of what we have five of you here today. You’re all five in the same industry. The five of you have five different approaches. Uh, Angel is chasing a very high end user experience. Gordon has said, Hey, my place is simple and that’s how I like it. Chris has his way of doing it. Everybody has their own way of doing it. You’re all successful at what you do. So for folks out there watching really important thing to take away from this is there is no one way to do it right there’s no but but watch shows like this contact these folks after the show is over everybody’s so happy to share what they’ve learned it’s such an open industry and you can find a hundred different ways to do it the most important part is just finding the way that resonates for you and with your guests and then making that work and that’s that’s where the joy comes from Um, and the success. So I think we’re down to, we’re down to about four minutes left. So I want to go through, we’re going to go rapid fire. We got a minute, less than a minute for each of you. We’re going to go through the list and just find out what you got coming up and whether or not Gordon, we’re going to start with you, Gordon, are you going to be going to the glamping show here at the, uh, in the beginning of September? And if, uh, beginning of October, sorry, beginning of September would require a time machine. And if so, uh, is there anything in particular you want to see?
Gordon Cook:
No, I’m not gonna be able to make the show this year. Unfortunately, our calendar is just so booked. We got a big motorcycle rally, Rumble on the River, here the last weekend of September, and we gotta start getting ready for Halloween. I’ve come out with my own beard products. All right. Some beard shows. We got a full schedule.
Greg Emert:
That’s awesome, Gordon.
Gordon Cook:
We really wanted to come to the Glamping Show this year, but we’re gonna have to pass it. But I would like to say this, real quick, what you said a while ago about building your campground, what we’ve done, me and my wife, we travel a lot. We picked out five things that we like about campgrounds, and that’s what we based our building our campground on, those five things.
Greg Emert:
And that really fast, what were they? One, two, three, four, five.
Gordon Cook:
The bed, clean place to stay, a big, nice, hot shower, a big pavilion, swimming pool to hang out and enjoy each other’s company and barbecue, cook and eat, and nature.
Greg Emert:
Now, you know that’s more than five, but I’m gonna let you have it. That’s all right. Thank you, Gordon. I appreciate you sharing that and test. How about you? Are you gonna be headed to the are you gonna be heading to the glamping show?
Tess Leach:
And if so, you got anything in particular you’re looking forward to seeing Not no, we’re not heading to the show Unfortunately, but In terms of what’s upcoming for us We have a book that we just published with Rizzoli It’s called ranch lands. That’ll be launching October 16th We’re gonna do a big tour Around the coast and in parts of Europe with that and a launch big launch party here at the ranch and we are one of the it didn’t really talk about at a time, but we do a lot of content around ranching and You know that is a marketing piece in many ways, but also an education initiative And that is all going to be moved under a nonprofit for us called the ranch lands collective Um, that is going to be rolled out here, right when the book launches. So those are two things upcoming for us.
Greg Emert:
And that is wonderful. Obviously very near and dear to your heart and really fast. Where can folks find your book?
Tess Leach:
ranchlands.com will be available on our website or in any, any bookstore anywhere.
Greg Emert:
Awesome. Awesome. Thank you for sharing on gel really fast. Are you going to be heading to the glamping show? Somebody please say yes Okay, even if you’re not going to be going with somebody just please humor me and say yes.
Chris Jeub:
Yes, I’ll be there, but I’m neck
Angele Miller:
I’m not going to be, unfortunately. I would love to be though, definitely something for me to look forward to in the near future, definitely like a place I’d like to be. But yeah, so no, for me, what I’ll say is, you know, there’s so many, you know, the outdoor hospitality industry is growing and it’s so nice to see so many great experiences, you know, featuring from Ranchland, you know, into just nature experiences, you know, all across North America and all over the world. And for me here at Creekside, one of the things we’ve been doing quickly is we’re franchising. We’re franchising our model of glamping resort as well. So if anybody ever wants to learn about what we’re doing, you can look at rnrglamping.com as well.
Greg Emert:
Awesome. Thank you, Angel. Thank you so much for being here. And we’re a little over. So Susan, I apologize, but you’ve got to go. I can’t even work the screen anymore. Susan, are you going to be at the glamping show? Oh, I think I lost sound. I don’t know if you guys can hear Susan, but I cannot.
Susan Smith:
Can’t hear you, Susan. I took it off because the wind is so- There you are. No, I can’t. I wish I could. I’ve got some personal stuff coming up. But next year, I’ll be there next year. All right. And we’re just getting ready for the cool weather in Texas.
Greg Emert:
Awesome. Well, thank you for being on the show today. Thanks for having me. And maybe we’ll catch you next time. And now, rounding it out with someone- I will be at the glamping show. Yes, I will be there alone.
Chris Jeub:
I will be there as well, Chris. In fact, I’m one of the speakers. I’m speaking for the glamping show, American Glamping Association, but also for the White Duck Tent. They have a little display that they are going to have me there, so I’ll be talking the thing. I live only an hour away, so I don’t know why all you ain’t going, but I actually commute. It’s very, very simple for me to get up there, and it’s quite the show. I’ll be doing a little recap on Glamping Guy of the show. I’ve got some big plans for connecting with the American Glamping Association, talking them up and helping spread the word about how awesome glamping is.
Greg Emert:
Indeed it is. And thank you for being here today, Chris. And I look forward to seeing you. I’ll get to meet you face to face at the show in a couple of weeks. And we are a little over, so we’re going to call it for today, folks. But thank you for being here for this, for today’s MC Fireside Chats. Again, brought to you by Horizon Outdoor Hospitality. And I had, I’m, I am. Completely I’m sweating and because I get nervous doing this does my first time hosting Hopefully Brian doesn’t wield his axe and chop me and I get to do this again because I really enjoyed the conversation We promoted the sponsor a heck of a lot more than Brian ever has so that’s awesome horizon way to go horizon I’m watching my I’m watching my app and I’m not seeing any dollars come through yet But I’m hoping that maybe there that you know, there’s a kickback involved so anyway, thank you everyone for tuning in today and thank you all for joining us and Have a great day and yeah, go glamping industry, right? It’s just, it’s great.
Tess Leach:
Thanks guys for being here.
SPEAKER_00:
Thanks for joining us for this episode of MC Fireside Chats. With your host, Brian Searle. Have a suggestion for a show idea? Want your campground or company in a future episode? Email us at hello at moderncampground.com. Get your daily dose of news from moderncampground.com. And be sure to join us next week for more insights into the fascinating world of outdoor hospitality.
