We'll be joined by George VanderMeer of Leavitt Recreation & Hospitality Insurance, Inc. who will be leading a discussion and answering questions regarding insurance in the Glamping Space.

Join Blake Smith, founder of Walden Retreats as he speaks about starting a glamping operation from the ground up and what it takes to run and expand an operation. Blake will speak about his experience with land acquisition, raising capital, operations and scaling a thriving business outside the Austin area.

Sarah Dusek is Co-Founder of Under Canvas; the leading US adventure-hospitality company offering luxurious glamping accommodations just minutes from America’s most popular and iconic national parks. In 2017, under Sarah’s leadership Under Canvas received a spot on the coveted Inc. 5000 list and Sarah was named to the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women list from Ernst & Young. Under Canvas has set an unprecedented new standard in ecological development while also re-defining experiential hospitality in a meaningful way.

Sarah believes passionately in empowering women to reach their full potential and enabling them to grow in their leadership. This commitment extends to her broader mission to help grow scalable, sustainable businesses that have the power to transform communities, cities and nations. 2019 marks the launch of Enygma Ventures, a private investment fund focused on investing in women-led businesses in Southern Africa.

David Leventhal is a regenerative (social and environmental) impact entrepreneur and investor.

A Biz Dev guy at heart, his background is in sales and marketing in emerging media and technology. Over the last 20 years, his endeavors have focused on real estate and hospitality and follow his values for regenerative, environmental and social impact.

Through Playa Viva and Regenerative Travel Inc, they have endeavored to leverage hospitality (and real estate investments) to bring capital (social, market, intellectual, natural and financial) to work in improving the ecosystem, both people and planet, to create vibrant, resilient, healthy and profitable systems for all participants. It takes a "slow money" committed investment and it's working.

United Park Brokers is a Texas-based firm, working with affiliate brokers nationwide who represent properties for the outdoor hospitality industry along with land brokerage services. https://www.unitedparkbrokers.com/

With over 25 years of experience with RV Resort management, in 2003 Randy formed Horizon RV Resorts Inc., third-party Management firm exclusively serving the outdoor hospitality industry. Rapid but responsible growth, fueled by the need for Horizon’s unique services, has resulted in a current managed portfolio of thousands of RV and Glamping sites, with a portfolio value in excess of $150M.

The success of Horizon RV Resorts was the catalyst in forming Horizon RV Resort Development LLC, dedicated to Feasibility Studies and construction management, as well as 1 Horizon Brokerage Services, Inc., a full-service Brokerage firm specializing in the acquisition and disposition Outdoor Hospitality assets.

From 2003 to 2006 Randy served as Vice President on the Board of Directors for CalARVC, where he chaired the Communications committee and was a Director on the CTPA Services Board. Randy returned to the CampCalNOW (formerly CalARVC) Board in 2012, recently serving as President, and also served on the AZARVC Board of Directors from 2006 to 2008. In sum, Randy has served 17 years on State Boards, and counting. Randy has been featured in industry articles and has presented seminars and speaking engagements on a State and National level. Randy also serves as Industry Advisor for the American Glamping Association, a National association promoting the Glamping segment of the Outdoor Hospitality industry.

https://campv.com/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sorensonimpact/2020/04/07/four-points-funding-revitalizes-hope-in-rural-colorado/?sh=100e661e221d

https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-binder-6231525/

Binder, who has spent nearly two decades in the luxury hospitality industry, is with her business partners, architect Jodie Wright and husband Bruce Wright, bringing upscale camping to Naturita Colorado. 

The 120 plus acres with 14 cabins, known as Vancorum was built by the Vanadium corporation in 1942 to house the engineers who worked at the nearby Uranium Mill. It was affectionately called Snob Hill as it was home to many of the bosses of the former mining company that ultimately closed down in the 1970’s.
After the mill closed, the property was bought by Pat Smith and maintained as a year round rental community until September of 2017 when the property was acquired by StudioVille Crew. To honor the past, but also create a new future, we renamed it VANcoreOM or CampV for short.

So please come ready to ask any questions that you might have about this topic, and please let us know if you need anything in the meantime. Looking forward to connecting and remember to accept the meeting invite so we can plan for the proper size of the group. Thanks!!

Kelsey Sheofsky <> Founder Shelter Co.

Leveraging events in your glamping business 

https://shelter-co.com

Our guest will be Kelsey Sheofsky, founder and CEO of the glamping event rental and production company based in California, Shelter Co. She will share her story of founding Shelter Co., the future of events in the glamping space and how events could benefit your glamping business. 

Leveraging Economic Development Resources To Elevate Your Glamping Business

CHRIS HAYDON, PRESIDENT- AUTOCAMP

Chris is AutoCamp’s President, previously serving as CFO, and CIO. He is focused on development of the property pipeline, capital sourcing and structuring, M&A, strategy, and team oversight. His background includes investing on behalf of hedge funds and private equity funds, investment banking, hospitality, and several entrepreneurial ventures. Chris is passionate about building inspiring businesses that will have a lasting positive impact on society. He attended the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and earned his MBA from Columbia University

Steve Nunez (Principal at Whitman Peterson)

Ongoing Series- Capital in the Glamping Industry

Steve is a Principal at Whitman Peterson. Prior to joining the team, Steven spent over five years at Barings Real Estate Advisers where he worked alongside senior management in the acquisition of new investments in the Western U.S. During his time at Barings, he was involved in the acquisition, underwriting, due diligence, and closing of over $2.0 billion in new investments. Prior to Barings, Steven was an analyst at Center Square Investment Management where he worked in acquisitions and was involved in the oversight of a $430 million portfolio. Steven earned his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and has a B.S. in Public Policy, Management, and Planning from the University of Southern California where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

President of CampCalNow

Attaining the proper permit for your glamping property and operation can be a difficult process because every project is unique and each county within every state can approach the process differently. Dyana will walk us through the key items to consider as you navigate state and local entities and she will answer any questions that you might have about your specific project.

Bio-An avid outdoor enthusiast from birth, Dyana took her first RV trip as a newborn baby. At only a week-old mom and dad, packed her into a banana box and took her on a trip to Crowley Lake, Ca for the opening week of trout fishing season. She grew up in the outdoors of the Eastern Sierra and spent many a summer in a hand-built log cabin on Upsata Lake in Montana. This truly set the stage for a lifetime of passion in the outdoor recreation industry. Dyana has traveled by RV to the 48 contiguous states (Alaska is still on the bucket list), visited 26 national parks, and hiked many of California’s most beautiful trails, including portions of the John Muir and Pacific Crest Trail. She holds an associate degree in Recreation Management; Parks and Leisure, is a Certified California Naturalist, and maintains a Wilderness First Aid certification. Professionally, she has worked as an outdoor recreation guide for REI, started and run multiple businesses in the fitness industry, has a seat on the board of CalTravel and serves on the Government Relations Committee.

Site Selection, Land Acquisition and Development 

Todd Wynne-Parry

CEO- Founder, Montare Hospitality Advisors

One of the hardest aspects of a glamping operation is choosing your project site. There are a lot of great choices and yet there is no such thing as a perfect piece of real estate. There will always be compromise and glamping real estate is no different.  Todd will speak about some of the basic concepts around how small, medium and large glamping operators and development teams are looking at site selection and key items to consider as you look at your first acquisition or looking to expand and scale. 

A seasoned growth leader in the industry, Todd brings more than 30 years of hotel brand, management and investment experience.   Having held senior leadership positions at several major hotel brands and most recently AutoCamp and Commune Hotels + Resorts/Two Roads Hospitality. He was instrumental in the development efforts for IHG, Starwood and Marriott in the Asia Pacific region and for Commune and Two Roads Hospitality in the Americas.  Todd is passionate about the outdoors and the hospitality industry.

So please come ready to ask any questions that you might have about this topic, and please let us know if you need anything in the meantime. Looking forward to connecting and remember to accept the meeting invite so we can plan for the proper size of the group. Thanks!!

Sarah Dusek (Under Canvas) Founders Story

Sarah Dusek is Co-Founder of Under Canvas; the leading US adventure-hospitality company offering luxurious glamping accommodations just minutes from America’s most popular and iconic national parks. In 2017, under Sarah’s leadership Under Canvas received a spot on the coveted Inc. 5000 list and Sarah was named to the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women list from Ernst & Young. Under Canvas has set an unprecedented new standard in ecological development while also re-defining experiential hospitality in a meaningful way.

Sarah believes passionately in empowering women to reach their full potential and enabling them to grow in their leadership. This commitment extends to her broader mission to help grow scalable, sustainable businesses that have the power to transform communities, cities and nations. 2019 marks the launch of Enygma Ventures, a private investment fund focused on investing in women-led businesses in Southern Africa.

David Smith is currently in real estate capital markets and investments with Whitman Peterson. Prior he was a Senior Director at RobertDouglas, a boutique real estate investment banking firm focused on the debt and equity capitalization of real estate assets and operating businesses in the hospitality sector. During his five years at RobertDouglas, including postings in New York City and Los Angeles, David advised on over $1billion of hotel financing assignments, representing leading ownership groups in North America, Europe and Australia.

Prior to joining RobertDouglas in 2014, Mr. Smith was a credit analyst covering corporate structured finance at Macquarie Group in New York City, where he was involved in over $500 million of transactions.

David is a graduate of the Master of Management in Hospitality program at Cornell University. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney and has also studied at the HKUST Business School in Hong Kong. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Cornell Hotel Society

Join Blake Smith, founder of Walden Retreats as he speaks about starting a glamping operation from the ground up and what it takes to run and expand an operation. Blake will speak about his experience with land acquisition, raising capital, operations and scaling a thriving business outside the Austin area.