Glamptuary Attends The Glamping Show 2025 - Key Takeaways, What Stood Out, And What Was Missing
THE GLAMPING SHOW IS ALWAYS FUN TO ATTEND.
IT’S FULL OF EXCITED OUTDOOR HOSPITALITY PROVIDERS, EAGER VENDORS LOOKING TO NAB SOME NEW BUSINESS, AMAZING GLAMPING STRUCTURES, INFORMATIVE PANEL DISCUSSIONS, AND A PALPABLE BUZZ OF POSITIVITY WHICH COULD BE FELT ALL OVER THE ARAPAHOE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS DURING THIS 3-DAY EVENT.
WITH ALL THE GOOD, THERE WAS ONE THING MISSING THAT REALLY SHOULDN’T BE WHEN IT COMES TO OUTDOOR HOSPITALITY.
WE’LL COVER IT ALL IN THIS ARTICLE, WITH PICS, AND THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE FOR NEXT YEAR.
Ariel view of the 2025 Glamping Show in Aurora, CO
This is my 5th year attending the Glamping Show Americas, and my 4th year in a row seeing the show in Colorado. My introduction to the show was back in 2018 when it was called “The Global Glamping Summit”, and it was held in Long Beach, CA. Way back then, it was all held indoors and had a few hundred people in attendance.
Renamed “The Glamping Show Americas” back in 2020, the show has grown up in more ways than one.
Attendance estimates this year are rumored to exceed 3,000, and now a majority of the show footprint takes place outside. Which makes sense for a show that supports outdoor hospitality. The show is now 3 days long versus 2. I feel the quality and quantity of panelists has grown. And I was impressed with the food trucks on premise this year.
The number of vendors sporting the best-of-the-best in glamping structures also grew in quality and quantity, with a noticeable shift towards structures designed to function all year round, in any type of climate. Gone are the days where yurts and safari tents were the dominant glamping structure on display. Now it’s tiny homes, mirror cabins, and what I would call small houses that held court on the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds.
Below are 10 structures that caught my eye, in no particular order:
Having run this blog and podcast for the past 3 years, I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with some wonderful people in the outdoor hospitality industry.
The Glamping Show brings a lot of these people together, and for me it was a chance to actually meet some of these folks in person!
First, I was able to meet Ben Wolff. He was a guest on The Glamptuary Podcast this past season, and he is a trailblazer in the outdoor hospitality industry.
Ben Wolff and Bobby Marsden
Tori Bolt of Bolt Farm Treehouse was also speaking at The Glamping Show this year AND… she was also a guest on The Glamptuary Podcast last season. I was lucky enough to bump into her AND her husband (and business partner) Seth Bolt.
Tori Bolt, my Wife Christina, Me and Seth Bolt
My wife (and business partner) Christina made it for the end of the show and we grabbed a group pic before the show shut down.
My favorite part of the show was bumping into all the likeminded folks who believe that we are healthier when we’re having a great time in nature. Below are some other pics with some pretty amazing people.
Bruce Hurta of Business Finance Depot
Ruben Martinez - Founder of The American Glamping Association
Kudos to Ruben Martinez for putting on another great show.
This was the first year the show was co-produced by an outfit called Emerald. I’m not sure I saw any major differences this year besides a larger panel of speakers and an extra day added to accommodate said speakers. The full list of panelists can be found here, and if the added support from Emerald is the reason for more panels, then I am all for it.
Which brings me to what I thought the big miss was.
Out of all the panels that were hosted over three days… only one panel discussion was focused on sustainability.
And of the dozens and dozens of glamping structures on display, only one was featuring sustainable features like a compostable toilet, recycled water systems, and solar panels that allowed the structure to be powered 100% off-grid.
Outdoor hospitality needs sustainability to be featured, talked about, and ultimately adopted as a mainstay business practice.
Outside the United States, sustainability is more prevalent.
The United States is also one of the fastest growing markets for outdoor hospitality.
Maybe the U.S. can grow the outdoor hospitality industry sustainably?
I also hope that the 2026 Glamping Show has more panels, vendors and conversation focused on sustainability.
Maybe the next season of The Glamptuary Podcast will focus on sustainability?
One can only hope.
Safe travels everyone!
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