Glamping Investment Connection: Finalists Announcement
We’re excited to announce that the first finalists for The Glamping Investment Connection 2022 have been selected!
We started the Glamping Investment Connection, to connect everyone in this unique stage of development with investors who are active with the industry. Operators face unique challenges in launching their businesses - such as permitting, finding off-grid solutions, and legal classifications - which can be confusing and add a level of complexity to operators and capital providers who are newer to the industry and are more familiar with other traditional hospitality ventures.
The event will take place on October 3rd, 2022 and the AGA will be selecting a handful of AGA members to pitch their businesses and take Q&A from the attendees.
Meet Our Finalists
Jillian & Jason Chernofsky
After spending over a decade in Breckenridge, CO being ski bums and mountain town entrepreneurs, Jason and Jillian made Salida their home in 2014 and purchased Creekside Chalets on Monarch Pass at the end of 2016. The beautiful groves of aspen trees and the vibrant creek running through the resort seemed to perfectly capture the best of the Arkansas Valley. The chalets have a unique layout that creates an ideal atmosphere for socializing, relaxing and enjoying the dynamic mountain energy of the property. Over the last six years of ownership, we have improved and updated all of the interior and exterior of the chalets as well as the 10 acres of property grounds. Now that the chalets and landscaping have been refined, we are looking to expand our operations by maximizing our unused property and adding glamping sites along the creek frontage.
Creekside Chalets has a very loyal customer base and we have increased our occupancy levels to over 85% year round. Due to the increase in customers, we would like to expand our operations by offering Creekside Glamping. The property has 350+ feet of creek frontage that is ideal for adding 4-9+ year round glamping sites. To be able to offer the glamping expansion, the property also needs to improve our maintenance facility to handle the growing demands. The linen and maintenance facility includes a workshop, linen & housekeeping facility, guest laundry room, upgraded water treatment room, office, bathroom and a two bedroom one bath caretakers suite on the second floor. This new building will be better equipped to handle more visitors to the property, allow for an onsite caretaker, improve our water sanitation & pumping capacity and allow for further development on the property and to the adjoining 1.76 acres. We are excited for this opportunity to create more quality unique lodging options for our guests to enjoy.
Jon Schaefer
“Excited to participate at the investment connection at the American Glamping Association and have the opportunity to share our project and meet others interested in the same space we are.”
Jon’s family owns and runs Berkshire East Mountain Resort, Catamount Ski Area, Zoar Outdoor, the Warfield House Inn, and Big Red Cats (Canadian backcountry ski business). Embedded in these businesses are 5 zip line tours, one of new England’s biggest adventure parks, one the United States biggest downhill mountain bike parks, a mountain coaster, great food and beverage and more. Berkshire East is also the only ski area in the world to produce 100% of its own onsite renewable energy. With a home base of activities, in the Berkshire’s the Schaefer’s have a customer base of several hundred thousand and are located close to NYC and Boston.
Acting as project manager, Jon has built many of the elements of these resorts, from the wind turbine to ski lifts, to snow making ponds, and lodges. Jon Schaefer was a 2021 SAMMY award winner, the ski industries leadership award, and a 2020 Outside Magazine Outsider of the Year award winner. A graduate of Middlebury College, Jon is the father of two beautiful daughters and is married to Maria, a practicing Physician Assistant.
The Schaefer’s family goal has always been to build a dynamic experiential tourism business that justifies real estate development and along the way they have made decisions and investments that support that endgame including; land purchases, the installation of utilities (septic, power, water, parking) and have a suite of businesses that bleed experiential tourism. Their properties are ripe for outdoor lodging. The Schaefer’s are looking for a partner / capital that supports their vision of great facilities, the can bring jobs and investment to the small towns that they call home, and who can see the long term future of the Berkshire’s. As a self performing general contractor with heavy equipment, good connections in the building world, Jon believes that great facilities can be constructed at fair prices, and those savings compared to market price are how investors can reduce risk in the investment.
There are multiple locations at their Charlemont location that can support an outdoor lodging investment. They own several thousand acres and have utilities in multiple locations. As builders with lots of raw materials, the entry cost, and the vision has never been the issue. It has always been committing the amount of capital to create a great facility.
Why? Because these projects are not just lodging, or a great pitch deck and trendy pictures, you have to get the facility, the community ties, the activities for the non adventurers - or children, the food and beverage component and more all ‘right’ to be a destination.
Chris & Wendy Jeub
Chris & Wendy Jeub started Monument Glamping in 2019 with a remodeling project. They built a simple platform and moved their master bedroom outdoors into their hunting tent. After the remodel, they rented their tent for the rest of the summer hosting interesting people from all over. They were hooked! Since then they have grown to eight glamping units on their 6.4 acres in northern El Paso County, Colorado. Venues consist of safari tents, bell tents, and one container home. Unique features include a flowing creek, a zip line, and popular area attractions and hiking trails a short distance away. Chris and Wendy desire to help the Pikes Peak Region become a glamping hub for travelers and staycationers in this beautiful part of America.
We have three phases to the growth of Monument Glamping. First, we will develop our own property. We attained a special use permit with El Paso County in July and are currently in the development stage for a successful venture in 2023. We fully expect to finance this stage with our personal funds. Our second phase is developing more properties in the area to help the Pikes Peak Region become a prominent glamping hub for travelers. This will take purchasing land and developing teams of Monument Glamping managers and staff. The third phase is helping other areas of the country develop glamping operations modeling the development in Monument.
Missy Fotjik
The domes are located toward the middle of the 145 acre property featuring several ponds, creeks and trails for exploring filled with natural wildlife as well as some interesting artifacts and installations secreted away for the amusement of the guests, and that is what our concept is all about...amusement. Just that, nothing more, nothing less. So come kick off your shoes, and take a walk in the clouds with us, we are only a daydream away.
Jeff Wilson
Jeff Wilson is CEO and Chief Designer at housing technology startup Jupe, which makes off-grid shelter and infrastructure for exploring deep nature. Wilson formerly founded modular housing ADU startup Kasita and is also known as ‘Professor Dumpster’ for the year he lived in a 33 sq. ft. modified trash dumpster. He loves travel, trash, and wearing jumpsuits.
Ken Kleban
In 2004, Mr. Kleban joined the family real estate business with his father Albert and has overseen the vast growth of that business. Mr. Kleban is a Connecticut state certified firefighter and a 18 year veteran of the Weston Volunteer Fire Dept. He is very active in local civic affairs as founder and board Member of FAME, Fairfield Accelerator and Mentoring Enterprise. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Mercy Learning Center in Bridgeport and is a member of the Advisory Board to the Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University.
He is currently raising capital to complete one of his projects— a 24 acre site in Orange Beach, Alabama that will consist of 180 deluxe RV sites, a clubhouse, a pool, and a country store.
We’re excited to work with Ken and to see his pitch at the Glamping Investment Connection at this year’s The Glamping Show USA.
Ryan Glass
“My family and I feel extremely blessed to attend the 2022 American Glamping Association Investment Connection, to highlight the progress of our development, to learn from others, and to find new collaborators.”
Meet our first finalist, Ryan Glass, owner of Blazin’ M Ranch— an 8.7 acre Chuckwagon Dinner Theater Venue with over 6 acres of unused land. In 2021 he, and his family, purchased the Blazin' M Ranch Chuckwagon Dinner Theater in Cottonwood, Arizona, reviving the venue from an 18 month hiatus due to COVID. With their passion to spread joy through entertainment and unique experiences, the Glass family welcomed over 23,000 customers to the ranch in their first year as owners. Six acres of undeveloped land included in the purchase of the ranch led to the birth of "Dream West", a western-themed glamping resort set to open in the summer of 2023.
The Company has re-opened the dinner theater and with this fundraise plan to add 30 Plainscraft Conestoga Wagon glamping “rooms” and 2 ADA glamping yurts, along with a community building, check-in center, and wedding/meeting center. This is an unparalleled opportunity to develop a unique hospitality product in a market with high barriers to entry and low competition.
The Glamping Investment Connection will take place at this year’s The Glamping Show USA as part of our pre-show event series. And to learn more about the event please click here and find out how to register.
