AGA Member Spotlight: Alex Burkett, CEO of Outdoor Alliances
Alex Burkett is the founder and CEO of Outdoor Alliances, the fastest growing marketing firm serving the glamping and camping industries. Burkett has almost 10 years of experience in the industry working at a campground in sales/operations and marketing prior to founding his company.
Outdoor Alliances has worked with dozens of campgrounds, RV parks and glamping resorts across the country including parks in the Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort system, multi-property ownership groups such as Beyonder Camp and Legacy RV Resorts, plus management companies and individual park owners.
Burkett’s other roles include working in digital media for RVBusiness and Woodall’s Campground Magazine. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU).
Q: Tell us a bit more about why you started a company in the glamping industry.
Like most entrepreneurs, my business was started because of a problem I was trying to solve. Coming from the operations side of the camping business I would hear the questions guests were asking and how it affected our front-line staff. We did not have the adequate resources to respond effectively, and I could see it was a bottleneck for our business. When I looked externally, the current marketing providers in the industry were delivering a lacklustre experience with generic service offerings. Nothing was personalized. That’s why I started my company. To deliver what I thought was missing in the industry.
Q: Tell us a bit about your glamping business and where it is today? Where do you see your business in the future, what’s on the horizon?
Our business continues to grow day by day. The glamping industry has always excited me. Similar to the camping industry, the community is rich and well-connected. There’s a great sense for operations and improving the guest experience to create memorable stays. For us, we’re developing some glamping-focused educational resources and service offerings, along with enhancing our customer service and growing our team. The future looks very bright.
Q: What are you most excited about within the glamping industry moving forward and your glamping business specifically?
The exciting part about joining the glamping industry right now is the amount of innovation and new players entering the space. We’re very happy to be a part of that growth. Overall, it’s great to get in on the ground floor and build something successful. There are plenty of opportunities as consumers grow more sophisticated and expect more. Hotels will continue to shape the way glamping destinations operate and I think there are lots of opportunities on the table.
Q: Do you have any advice for those that are just starting out?
My advice to anyone entering the industry is to constantly learn and never settle for lower goals or easier challenges. My drive is to help others and become better and improve what they’re doing. Be bold and do things others aren’t willing to do. Our success as a company has come from trying to be different and approach things differently.
