Last weekend’s blizzard dumped nearly 30 inches of snow on our campground in Promised Land. It immediately took me back to earlier this winter, when I spent a full day on the property during the first real snow of our first winter being open, with guests staying at both The Rex and Ferncrest.
During that cold day on property, I took my camera with me and filmed everything, and the most interesting parts of that experience were just posted in a YouTube video (it’s a must watch!)
It was one of those trips where the “plan” disappears fast.
A heater setup that’s burning through propane in a day.
A sauna pickup that had to happen before the storm hit.
A door that wouldn’t close all the way while maintenance couldn’t get in because of the snow.
And it reminded me of two lessons that matter if you’re building a glampground (or thinking about one).
Lesson #1: Seasonality is a strategy choice, not a default
Staying open in winter wasn’t about “being year-round” for the sake of it. It was a math and risk decision.
We intentionally:
- Reduced operations from 24 units down to 9, then to 6
- Closed entire sections of the property to avoid plowing costs
- Designed infrastructure specifically to handle freezing temps
The result?
- Over $40k in November bookings with reduced inventory
- December hit $25k on just six units, and January will be the same.
- Operating costs nowhere near that revenue…meaning we are profitable despite the small scale.
The key takeaway:
You don’t need to be fully open to be profitable. You need to be intentionally open.
More units open ≠ more profit.
More complexity ≠ better business.
Lesson #2: Hospitality is never passive. It just changes where the work lives
At one point I’m literally trudging through the snow with freezing hands to fix a door because a screw popped out and a guest couldn’t close it. Yes, I’m handy…but not always the fastest (watch the video and you’ll see what I mean).
That door having an issue is not a failure of systems. That’s reality.
Even with things like smart locks, staff, processes, and remote operations…someone still has to care enough to solve problems as they happen.
I live 1,100 miles from my property, but when I’m there…I might be the person that needs to solve a problem like a door not closing.
So if you’re building this thinking it’s passive, you’re going to be disappointed.
If you’re building it knowing the work evolves from physical to strategic over time, you’re building something durable.
Winter will not hurt Ferncrest… It’s making it stronger.
And demand is certainly not an issue. But poor infrastructure is and that’s something we need to work to improve (and we are!).
Because bad reviews don’t care what season it is. A frozen pipe in January hurts July bookings too.
I captured a lot of this on video while I was there. If you want to see what these decisions look like in real time (not a spreadsheet), the YouTube episode is here:
Happy Glamping!
Brian
