Meet Our Members- Conestoga Ranch

We are thrilled to introduce Conestoga Ranch as our newest member.

https://conestogaranch.com/

How long have you been in the glamping industry and how did you or your organization begin your journey into this industry? If you are the founder of your company, what made you jump into your entrepreneurial effort? Was is a slow or fast paced start?  

Years ago I consulted on a development called Fireside Resort in Jackson Hole. That project and an image of a big beautiful conestoga wagon glowing at night sparked my interested in a unique glamping resort concept. I partnered with 4 others and we chose bear lake as the perfect location for our first resort, Conestoga Ranch. We began building the resort in March 2015 and opened for business on July 1 that same year.

What did you do before you got into the glamping industry?

I am in real estate brokering, real estate development, real estate investing, private club development and resort development. I’m based in Jackson Hole, Wy.

What was the best advice someone gave you before starting your glamping operation/position? Was there advice you wish you had gotten, but didn’t before you started? 

We went into this project a bit blind. It all worked out and the resort is a great success, but I think having someone with glamping resort development experience as a consultant offering advice would have been rather valuable. We now offer that advice to other outdoor luxury resort developers through American Safari Consulting.

Everything takes longer than expected. I wish we would have projected a longer timeline from breaking ground to opening for business. Would have dramatically lessened everyone’s stress levels.

What makes your business stand out?

I think our Conestoga Wagons are what originally made us stand out. We now sell our wagons to other resorts through our business Conestoga Wagon Company. As such, the “circle the wagons” concept is a less unique than it once was. We do love that people are enjoying our wagons all over North America!

What excites you most about your organization today?

We are excited to have proven success at Conestoga Ranch. With proof of concept in hand, we now look forward to a fast and furious expansion of the Conestoga Ranch brand and other outdoor luxury hospitality brands across the inter mountain west.

In addition to the accommodation, what other amenities or experiences do you offer that you’ve found to be popular among guests?

We offer a number of fantastic amenties at Conestoga Ranch. Upon arrival guests and their luggage are delivered by electric people carriers to their accommodations. We have campfire attendants who light and put out campfires. Every guest receives a complimentary s’mores kit. We serve breakfast lunch and dinner at Campfire Grill. Our bathhouse offers private, spa quality shower rooms. Our Rendezvous lounge tents allow guests to cook their own meals. And we are happy to announce a new mobile chuckwagon, which larger groups may rent for on property chuckwagon dutch oven dinners catered by the Campfire Grill.

What are the biggest challenges you think you will face over the next 2 years? 

 Staffing remains probably our biggest annual challenge. In retrospect, seasonal resorts can be financially successful, but it is certainly difficult, time consuming and resource heavy to train a mostly new staff each year. Further, it can be expensive to open up and shut down the resort before and after each season.

Do you have any new or exciting updates that you would like to share with the glamping community?

We have 3 new locations in development and look forward to announcing them in the next few months.