The hottest hotel rooms right now are luxury tents and RVs. They can cost more than $2,700 a night.
24.04.2024 - 21:03
/ insider.com
Forget high-rise hotels and all-inclusive beachfront resorts — the world's most popular hotel companies see a future in luxury tents.
If it seems like a third of your friends are going "glamping" these days — a portmanteau of glamorous and camping — you'd be correct. Luxury and traditional camping comprised 32% of all vacations in 2022, with more than 10 million households going on a glamping trip that year, according to campground giant Kampgrounds of America, or KOA.
Over the last few years, scores of boutique luxury camping properties have popped up around the US to meet growing demand, from Getaway's Instagram-famous matte black tiny cabins to RV-rental platform Outdoorsy's growing portfolio of luxury canvas tent resorts.
Now, hotel giants want a slice of the high-end camping pie.
Hilton and Hyatt have both recently announced partnerships and properties to expand their glamping portfolios.
Earlier this year, the former said its members could soon earn and use Hilton Honors points to book AutoCamp's chain of luxury campgrounds.
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The brand's resorts are best known for their stationary Airstream trailers turned hotel rooms, although they also offer "traditional" glamping accommodations like tiny homes and high-end canvas tents with beds.
It's Hilton's first move into the glamping industry. And it's starting with a pretty successful partner.
Like other glamping and camping properties, AutoCamp saw a boom in bookings during the COVID-19 pandemic as travelers shunned cruises, planes, and traditional hotels for road trips and the great outdoors (remember that?).
The glamping company has grown quickly: Four of its seven resorts launched after 2021, and two more locations are now underway.
Hilton hasn't disclosed how many points travelers need for an AutoCamp reservation or when they'll become available. Still, the glamping company isn't known to be as affordable as camping. In the summer, a weekend stay can range from about $300 to $670 a night.
For its part, Hyatt has taken the same approach as its opponent.
On Wednesday, the competing hotel giant announced World of Hyatt members can now earn and spend points at more than 700 of high-end hotel brand Mr and Mrs Smith's properties. This includes five of its 17 glamping resorts, like a bed under the stars in India's Pench National Park, and a thatched-roofed hut in Sri Lanka's Yala National Park.
Hyatt plans to add more Mr and Mrs Smith properties to its World of Hyatt collection every quarter. No word yet on whether it will include the high-end hotel brand's 12 other luxury camping resorts.
But if you think AutoCamp's Airstreams can get expensive, wait until you see Mr and Mrs Smith's glamping accommodations. The most expensive of the five