From room to canvas

How hoteliers entice guests to sleep outside

A hotel room alone is not always enough these days. More and more guests - even the business traveller or the slightly more affluent holidaymaker - are looking for something special. Something to talk about. A story, an experience, preferably outdoors. Luxury glamping fits in perfectly with this and offers a valuable opportunity for the hotel industry. It enables hoteliers to extend the guest experience outside, literally and figuratively.

Why not let your guests choose between a classic hotel room or a stylish safari tent, a designer cabin or a dome tent overlooking the stars? Especially if that glamping unit is on the same site, offers the same quality and service, but adds a totally different experience.

Glamping as part of a hotel concept has three major advantages:

1. Experience that surprises

Sleeping outside, but in comfort: your own sanitary facilities, a good bed and hotel service on demand. It is just outside your comfort zone, in a way that feels familiar. Think room service at your tent, yoga on the grass or a good conversation by the campfire. Moments like these linger.

2. Attract new target groups

With glamping, you attract not only regular hotel guests, but also young couples, environmentally conscious families, creative professionals and companies looking for inspiration. You offer something different from the standard offer - without compromising on quality.

3. Flexible and season-extending

Many glamping solutions are temporary or modular. Perfect for peak periods, pop-up experiences or arrangements around seasonal events, retreats or business strategy sessions. As a hotelier, you can therefore respond more easily to changing supply and demand.

But: glamping also requires a clear story. An identity that goes beyond 'good beds in a nice place'. Because without a vision, a safari tent is just an extra room - outside, with canvas. As Matthew Pollard says: "The story is the heart of the sale."

During my conversation with Caro van Eekelen for the podcast Leisuretalk, this became clear again. Caro is managing director of blooming, an inspiring company in Bergen that includes the blooming hotel, Het Hof estate, Zandhoeve restaurant and Soul Beach beach pavilion.

bloomıng (indeed without a capital letter and without the dot on the i - "because we like to put it there together with our guests," says Caro) is a place where everything is right. No separate locations, but one brand with a soul. A place where you blossom as a guest and as a human being.

And that is also the power of glamping - provided you do it well. Not as a separate 'hip' project, but as a logical extension of your brand. Whether you place a number of luxury tents on your site, organise a glamping pop-up or add an outdoor stay under your branding: make sure it fits who you are and what you want to project.

Today's guest is not looking for a place to sleep alone, but an experience that sticks. Something you feel, remember and pass on. Inside or outside - as long as it's right.

Interestingly, investors are also recognising the value of this concept. For instance, booking platform Glampings.com, the place for luxury camping experiences, recently raised EUR 1.1 million to continue its growth. Hotels can really make a difference here and benefit from the growth glamping will undoubtedly experience in the coming years.