Editor’s word: Each month, we prefer to introduce one in all our great Glamping Hub hosts and ask what impressed them to create a glamping web site. This month, we’re showcasing Glamping Hub’s Host of the Month for January 2023, Ken from Jonson City, Texas. What began as a love of glamping and fascinating lodging, quickly developed into a novel lodging house within the Texas Hill Country. Ken and his group share a ardour for nature and ecological property administration, which glampers can get pleasure from after they keep in one of many luxurious bell tents or the transformed gypsy wagon.
Tell us a bit about your self…
I spent the vast majority of my profession in IT consulting and staffing. Through a profession coach, I found a ardour and curiosity in creating a lodging vacation spot within the Texas Hill Country. I’m a giant fan of glamping, classic RVs, and distinctive lodging varieties. The pure atmosphere, the outside, and the ecological features of property and land administration are actually essential to me. I like to journey and discover completely different elements of the world. To expertise the atmosphere by means of a neighborhood lens as an alternative of staying in massive chains or inns and doing the preferred vacationer actions.
What attracted you to proudly owning a glamping property?
The inventive features of glamping and an curiosity within the outside atmosphere actually drew me in. Incorporating nontraditional lodging varieties with a small footprint additionally appealed to me.
Every glamping web site has a particular story, may you inform us about yours?
While renting the property out, on a extra long-term foundation previous to leaping into offering shorter-term visitor lodging, we unintentionally harbored a fugitive who owned a journey trailer restoration enterprise. Luckily the legislation caught up with him! It was a bumpy studying curve and required a big cleanup effort.
What are among the challenges you face and what have you ever discovered since opening?
There are quite a lot of them. We’ve confronted septic points, and properly pump issues inflicting us to not have water. Some infrastructure and contractor points resulted in encroaching on our neighbor’s land. As properly as putting electrical energy and water in very inconvenient areas on the property. Also, managing bookings and the backend features of the enterprise was a battle till we included reserving engines and monitoring software program that made it simpler to handle.
The greatest studying expertise has been in getting the suitable group on board as it will possibly make or break each the standard of visitor experiences and actually each side of operating the enterprise.
How was your first time internet hosting?
Just a little difficult! It took me longer than I assumed to scrub the unit and a few visitors needed to wait 30-45 minutes whereas I mopped the ground and made beds. Thankfully, I’ve gotten a lot better at this!
Can you inform us about your most memorable visitor expertise thus far?
Being woken up in the midst of the night time by a visitor that wanted first support! After getting dressed, fetching the equipment, and operating to the glamping tent it turned out to be a small reduce and one thing we may simply deal with on-site.
If you may have anyone keep at your lodging, who wouldn’t it be and why?
Willie Nelson and his band. It can be entertaining and fascinating to hang around with one in all our native musical icons.
Where is your splendid vacation vacation spot? Other than your glamping property after all!
That is an extended listing since I like to journey! Eco lodging on Saint John, one of many Virgin Islands. Visiting the small cities and villages of Belize, Italy, Greece, and France. I’d additionally like to go to Perth in Australia.
What do you like probably the most about operating a glamping web site?
The visitors and our group. It is nice having constructive interactions whereas offering a pleasant visitor expertise. The group collaboration and dealing relationships have been enriching, each to myself and the enterprise.
What recommendation would you give to anybody seeking to begin or enhance their very own glamping enterprise?
Get the suitable group in place as you scale up. Keeping in thoughts that dealing with bodily and structural issues, though a given, could be pricey. Get good electrical and plumbing contractors. Get a great reserving engine and back-end assist software program after getting a number of items.
Our group of hosts means every little thing to us right here at Glamping Hub, which is why we like to share their tales in our Host of the Month characteristic. If you like touring with pets then this transformed gypsy wagon, simply 1.5 miles from the doorway to Pedernales Falls State Park is for you! Looking for an adventure-filled glamping getaway close to Austin? Try this distinctive bell tent. Plan your subsequent romantic retreat to this tent surrounded by the fantastically wild Texas countryside for an splendid glamping getaway!
Have you stayed with one in all our unbelievable hosts not too long ago and want to nominate them for Glamping Hub’s Host of the Month? Send us a message by way of Facebook or Instagram explaining who you’ve chosen and why!
If you have an interest in making a glamping resort, discover out extra details about how we may also help you develop or begin a glamping enterprise by means of Develop with Glamping Hub.
