MC Fireside Chats – November 30th, 2022

[00:00:00] 

Brian: Welcome everybody to another episode of MC Fireside Chats. My name is Brian Searl with Insider Perks and Modern Campground I guess. But here normally, [00:01:00] as always with Cara Csizmadia. My co-host from the Canadian, Camping & RV Council, she has just messaged me and said she’s writing a few minutes late.

She’s sitting in one of her many amazing board meetings that help further the industry here in Canada. So we’re super excited to welcome her in a few minutes as soon as she finishes up that call. But in the meantime, we have a ton of awesome guests here. This is our kind of weird, odd show that’s our fifth week that happens on those months that have that extra Wednesday in it.

So we’ve got not in any recurring guests like you’d normally see on our show. But we have a, a couple of super cool special guests here that are primarily, I think, involved in the glamping industry, but really from all corners of the world. So really excited to let them introduce themselves and talk a little bit about glamping and Camping and the things that are happening in their respective areas.

We have, and I’m definitely we’ve already discussed this prior to the show. Earing gonna mess up probably everyone’s name here except Stephanie’s, but Jacomo, did I get that right? Jacomo is from Italy. We’ve got [00:02:00] Valentina from Serbia Croatia. Lia is from Serbia, but not currently in Serbia.

She’s in Abu Dhabi. Did I get that right? Dubai. Dubai, alright. I’m just, I’m learning here. And then we got, I was at least regionally close. 

Announcer: I know, 

Brian: from Illinois, guess the country, right? Yeah. So little bit of credit, right? But super excited to hear their takes on their different glamping businesses, what they have going on.

And I wanna just really turn it over to them and let them foster a conversation, especially among Jacomo from Italy and Croatia and Serbia just to hear about what is happening in those countries, because I feel like the majority of our audience is in the United States and Canada, and I feel we probably don’t get as much exposure to that Camping, glamping, campsites market as maybe we should, because there are a lot of lessons and takeaways that we can learn from people who are operating on the other side of the world, but do many of the things similar to us, and in some cases do them better.

And so who wants to start? Anybody, any volunteers Who wants to lead off? [00:03:00] Or I can just pick someone if you want. 

Announcer: I 

Olja: can start . All right. Good evening once again. Thank you for pronouncing my name correctly. As you rightly said I’m originally from Serbia, but I’m Dubai based. I’ve been living in and out of United, Alabama.

It’s both Abu Dhabi and now Dubai since 2014. And back in 2019, I decided to go back home in Serbia and start the first ever glamping resort in the country. Again, just to brush up on what you just asked what’s happening in terms of Camping or glamping in Serbia? We are talking about the south of Europe.

So for those who are not really familiar with our part of the world cro. And Serbia bordering Italy is obviously very close to to us, to the Balkans. So it’s quite nice that all three of us will have a chance to present and talk about what’s happening in the industry, in our respective countries.

So going back to Serbia I am the representative of the first ever glamping resort in Serbia that opened up only last year. And obviously they’ll have a chance to talk about [00:04:00] it a bit to start with. Glamping is at its start in Serbia and the first ever glamping resort, as I said, was opened last year.

It’s called Lala Vineyard. And it’s quite an interesting one that combines a very nice nature. Based Lumping resort or vineyard based cluing resort with wine inspired experiences and programs. So we’ll talk about it a bit later so I can give a chance to the others to present themselves as well.

Jacomo, you wanna go 

Brian: next? 

Giacomo: Yeah. I’m from Rome. I’m designer and architect. I have a passion for for the technology and I start designing with a lot of architecture studio, architectural films like Architect. And so I can improve my skill to control the [00:05:00] shape and and form. So my skill improve to, with the generate and all the skills

is transferred to to work. I start with the bubble retreat project that is in Spoleto, and I am the architect, design manager of this structure. So we opened one of the first clamping in Italy with the genetic dome bathroom inside with a lot of the Must have.

And now we start with a new project that is easy clamping. In Italy we have a lot of of clamping, but there is no unity is a, he is all a single element. So we try to to start this new business for strategy planning, product sale eCommerce r and d of product [00:06:00] like, we try to be a new player in our country.

We have this very difficult contest because we have a lot of bureaucracies, so we have a lot of problem between style, glamping structure. There is a lot of of law in Italy that give us a lot of of problem to improve. But way we are really proud about our new project.

And we are developing a new solution with a lot of r and d with 3D printing and with with the AI to help us to find new solution for and for constructive system about planting. So we have our design deposited. We have a lot of a new idea that we want to propose and share. 

Brian: Awesome.

Thank you so much for sharing. And I think I, I may be so bold to say we all have problems that we’re trying to solve, I think, in our respective [00:07:00] countries. And I’m very excited to just talk to people who are trying to push that forward and trying to solve problems. Because let’s be honest, there are a lot of people who don’t.

So it’s great to talk to a group of people here that are definitely trying to do that. Valentina, do you wanna go next? 

Valentina: Yes, thank you. So I’m Valentina Ko Rich. I’m from CRO Croat. So I work in camp. I’m front office manager. And is on the island? Correct. So is the northern, Northern Searl we are, this camp in this shape now is there from 2018 and from then we are.

Every year we are trying to make something better and something different. We have at the moment, 138 mobile homes, so it’s like a tiny home. You have inside two bedrooms, two bathrooms one [00:08:00] living room in the kitchen. And we have also in the campsite around 300 pitches. We call them pitches, but in US they told me it’s a site, so we are completely covering.

So if you have motor home or. Travel trailer, you can come to us or if you don’t have anything, you can also come to us. And we have so on creation, categorization the highest level in Camping, the biggest quality is if you have five stars. And we are one of the campgrounds with five stars. 

Brian: Awesome.

Congratulations. Thank you. So great to have you. I can’t wait to talk more about your pitches and you’re all right. It’s camp sites or RV sites over here, but I like pitches better, so maybe we’ll try to convince the Americans and Canadians over here to change their lingo. [00:09:00] Can we do that?

Cara, you’re from the national welcome Cara from the Canadian National Association, who is my co-host here. Just to catch you up a little bit, Cara, we’ve got Jacomo from Italy who has been working with Bubble Retreat and is an awesome designer of really cool 3D things that we’re gonna get into some glamping designs and stuff like that.

It’s really forward thinking. We’ve got Olia who is, let’s see if I can get this right. Originally from Serbia, but is now in Dubai. Wow. Did I, I said Abu Dhabi the first time. And then we’ve got Stephanie who still has to give her introduction in a second. Stephanie, we didn’t forget you from Illinois. And then we have Valentina who just introduces herself.

She runs a Camping. What is it? Wait, is it Camping sites? I know they’re pitches, but they’re camp sites is what you refer to the Campground. Okay. Yes. Who runs a camp site that also has a little bit of glamping and accommodations in Croatia. So we got a really good cool little show here going on.

I’m super excited to dive into the Spiras from the Canadian National Camping Association Canadian, Camping &, [00:10:00] RV Council. And so she of works with suppliers and glamping and camp sites all over the country of Canada. So 

Announcer: yeah, I apologize. 

Stephanie: I apologize for being 

Announcer: late. I’m very sorry. I actually was in an owner’s Campground owners meeting in Nova Scotia this morning.

Yeah, lots of good stuff happening, but those meetings sometimes go a bit longer than we expect. . 

Brian: No worries. So let’s let’s let Stephanie, before I forget, let’s let Stephanie introduce herself from Illinois. Stephanie, go ahead. Thank you. 

Stephanie: So I am at Camp Ceremony. We are a boutique Campground and event venue in Illinois, United States.

We have 11 glamping units. They are safari style tents that we worked with a company based in South Africa to bring in. We also have our event venue, which is located on the site of a former Brickyard. So we renovated the entire property. There is about a hundred acres here and we do a lot of events, a lot of weddings and corporate retreats.

So when they have their event [00:11:00] with us, they can also stay on site in the 11 rooms. We’re the first of our kind in Illinois as well as the kind of greater Midwest area. So we’ve seen really explosive growth this last year. We’re about two years old now, so it’s been super exciting. 

Brian: Awesome.

So I think I wanna start with you, Stephanie, just because you’re in Illinois, and admittedly I know, as I’ve told our guests before the show starts, I know way more about the glamping and Camping industry in North America than I do yet hopefully as I continue to grow and learn in Europe and around the worst of the world.

So I’m interested one, how do you get into glamping? First and then two, what interests me too is since we’re talking about globally, how do you end up sourcing your glamping accommodations all the way from South Africa? 

Stephanie: Yeah camp ceremony is my family’s business, was my mom’s idea. And she had been on a farm that offered pretty primitive cabins and had a great [00:12:00] experience there and wanted to bring something like that to our area whereby very popular state parks.

So there’s a lot of tourists that come through this area. So once we had the property she actually went to the glamping conference over in Colorado and she met with a lot of different vendors. She met Bush Tech, safari and the guys from there. And the rest is History . And there was a second question, right?

I already forgot it. , 

Brian: I mean I think you maybe answered it with Bush Tech Safari, but how do you end up of all the, cuz I was just at the glamping show. I don’t know if you’re at the most recent one and for those of you in Europe there is a glamping show in the uk but we’re talking about the glamping America’s one that happens in Denver, Colorado every year and has been going for about five years.

But I don’t know if you were at the most recent show, but there was, I think to our count 77 different accommodation types set up outside. So how do you go through all that and look at it and decide that Bush tech safari from South Africa are the people for us? 

Stephanie: I think just quality seeing the [00:13:00] construction of the tents, the materials that they use and the success that they’ve had world worldwide with other resorts.

It was a pretty great partnership from the beginning and we had concerns about winter because Winter and Chicago is very cold. And they assured us that the tents would be fine. And we are now going on our second winter of them remaining up. We do have to close in the winter time, so our Campground is seasonal but they have withstood the temperatures and the horrible snow that we get.

It was a good choice. And we’ve talked about adding on other accommodations too, maybe some tiny houses next year so that we can remain a year round business. 

Brian: And I guess that was my next question is what does the future hold for you? Because I do want ask all of our guests that I think we’ll maybe start with the basics of what does Camping glamping look like?

And I’m just prepping our guests, look like in your respective countries as it is. And then maybe we can transition a little bit into the future, which I know Jaima is gonna have a ton of [00:14:00] awesome things to contribute to. But what does the future look like for you guys in an idea world? 

Stephanie: Sure. So we had a very hard time, I would say, defining who we are.

We started with the word glamping, and then we tried the word luxury Camping. And now we’re currently saying boutique Camping. We provide all of their meals while they stay with us. So we definitely have a added level of service. The meals are included in their room rates. It’s still Camping.

You’re gonna see some bugs, you’re gonna maybe be cold on a walk. So there’s definitely those primitive aspects that we wanna keep intact. And most of our guests are coming out of Chicago, and a lot of them have never built a campfire. They’ve never seen the stars at night without light pollution. So it’s been fun to figure out, what is boutique Camping at Camp Ceremony.

And I think now with, a year and a half under our belts, we know what that means. The future for us, I think has a lot to do with just creating great guest [00:15:00] experiences. Like I said before, our event venue and our Campground, they go hand in hand. So when we do have weddings, people are staying on site.

The guests are having a whole weekend experience instead of just one day, a few hours at a wedding, they’re getting to spend the whole weekend with the people that they care about out in nature, which people come here to feel unplugged from the city. And with those experiences they, we want them to choose Camp Barney.

And another thing would just be adding more accommodations. We’re very small right now with just 11 safari tents. So being year round, having some structures that are available, I think will definitely take us to the next step. 

Brian: I think you touched on something super important with respect to glamping or luxury Camping, or whatever you want to call it.

, and this is something I. Came to the forefront for me when I was at the glamping show recently, and there was people there from 37 different countries all around the world, including, South Africa. , but especially the uk there was a big representation of [00:16:00] companies and vendors who were coming across, the ocean to to market and bring their businesses into North America, which is in many respects, far behind.

. And what I think we, what stuck out to me is, we’ve always referred to it in North America as glamping, but it’s been in the UK for many years and they don’t call it that over there. . And I think one of the things that the industry is struggling with, at least in my view and from the people I’ve talked to is what do we call ourselves?

How do we label ourselves? Is it clamping? Is it luxury Camping? Is it just Camping? And I’m, so I’m interested to hear our guests take on that as we go forward too. Valentina, do you wanna start? I think this is a good place to start with Valentina because you own both a campsite that has traditional recreational vehicle or camper van type sites, and then you also offer the accommodations.

So how did you decide to add that accommodations piece? Or did that come at the same time? 

Valentina: So I think that [00:17:00] campgrounds in US and in Europe mostly, I would say in whole Europe, not just Croatia, are quite different because I research something on the internet and I would say in US that campgrounds are more natural in uh, Europe, in Croatia, we are a more developing, I would say, luxury campaigns because we do not, there are Some campgrounds have these clamping things, but more and more Campground ORs or components.

They would like to have these tiny homes, we call them mobile homes. And at the beginning we decided to put some mobile homes, insite, and some for sure you have to have pitches because older people for them, [00:18:00] if you don’t have pitches or just one area where they can put their motor homes it’s not for them Camping, but trains in Croatia are now that some companies who are.

Doing new campgrounds, they are planning to rehab In Croatia. You have this mobile home and next to mobile home you have private pool. That mobile home is in the first role next to Searl because mostly people coming is the main motivation for all the guests in Croatia who are going in chemicals.

First motivation is Searl and it’s unfortunately the biggest offering Croatia is quite long. It was just sun and Searl. But now we have to develop and to offer [00:19:00] more because each year they are expecting more and more when we have to have a lot of. Things to, they have to have lot of things to do, but Camping industry in Croatia, it’s one really growing industry.

And I think in a few years we will have a lot of, 

Olja: Luxury 

Valentina: campings, not glamping, just luxury campings. I think that, go ahead, can, it’s a quite different area because in US, people are living in really big cities and they are looking forward to go in nature and in Croatia and in Europe, the main motivation is DC and Son, we are family.

I would say family Camping because arming guests are [00:20:00] families with small children up to, I don’t know, 14, 16 years old. And in the big season, mostly older people from Germany and Austria, they like to have some more quiet. And in September, October, the weather is nice still nice and it’s not cold.

But it’s a big challenge for everyone in CRO to give to the guests what they are asking. 

Brian: Yeah, I think in many ways, We are a little bit similar in that we you’re right, that you’re right that you did that research. And there are a lot, and maybe Kara can talk about this too, in Canada there are a lot of, there’s a lot more land over here in the United States in Canada first off.

And that I think, allows us to have a greater diversity of Camping experiences [00:21:00] than Europe would by just the very nature of there’s so much extra space to put everything. And so you’re right, we do have a lot of rustic style experiences that are in Canada and the United States, but we also do have those luxury Camping resort experiences too.

We have, we do marketing for campgrounds. have huge water slides and wave pools and hundreds of cabins and all kinds of entertainment at their properties too. I would say that those are definitely in the minority, but you’re right, they are growing just like you’re indicating that they’re growing in Croatia.

And I think there’s a lot of similarities there. More people are interested in getting outside people’s expectations of that are, as you indicated, changing as we move forward. I’ve been and done this now I maybe want to do that again, but add something to it and it’s really fascinating to me to hear that they just want to go by this I think that would be the behavior to go by the Searl in the [00:22:00] United States, except the Searl sometimes is really far away depending on where you live in the United States.

Yeah. 

Announcer: Yeah, I agree. I think it’s really interesting to note that there’s some 

Stephanie: interesting parallels around demographics. Specifically, the family came to the family, 

Announcer: Dynamic and things like that. We’re seeing that, all of that stuff over here for sure too. But yeah, 

Stephanie: We do 

Announcer: have, a significant 

Stephanie: advantage in terms of, 

Announcer: Tangible space spread out in.

And that does provide us with a 

Stephanie: variety of landscapes 

Olja: and things to go and seek 

Stephanie: out and see, right? You can plan a 

Announcer: trip around going to the Rocky Mountains or, 

Stephanie: seeing Cape Breton or 

Announcer: there’s so many different natural landscapes and so that allows us to have a ton 

Stephanie: of diversity that way.

But I 

Olja: think overall we have a. 

Stephanie: a lot more similarities. Typically, campers wanna be outside. They want to experience 

Announcer: nature and disconnect from, chaos of the world. 

Stephanie: And it’s [00:23:00] great or interesting to me to hear that’s the case, 

Announcer: All over the globe. 

Brian: All right. As always happens during our show care, there’s something crazy that has to happen and that is that it is negative 18 Celsius here in Calgary.

Yes. And my dog needs to go out right now. Apparently she’s decided to do that. So I’m gonna turn it over to Oya for a second, cuz Oya, and I’m gonna be listening and I’ll be right back in a second. But I’m really interested to hear how, living in Dubai, being from Serbia, but what made you decide to go back to your roots, so to speak, and begin a glamping business in Serbia?

Olja: Yeah I literally dunno where to start now because through the previous presentations I picked up on a couple of things that I really wanna expand on as well. So I’m just gonna go back to your question first. I’ve been living in the United Arab since 2014. And at about 2016, actually, the uae and Dubai in particular started developing glamping resorts on the northern side of the Emirates.

And now you guys might not be aware, but United [00:24:00] Arab Emirates has actually seven different Emirates. They’re like a small republics, independent, but then joined in together. And the Northern Emirates are quite nice. They’re quite rocky. There’s quite, they’re quite mountainous. They’re different landscapes.

There’s a bit of desert. And it’s quite nice. They started investing a lot in tourism. And one of the s that really by obviously is Russell Kama as well. So they started developing all these different glamping. And it sparked an idea for me personally, thinking about my own homeland, which is Serbia and the nature we have and Camping industry Camping and both clumping now talking about both.

And I, I do think there’s quite a lot of difference between the two, and I’ll expand on that a bit later. I realized that we really haven’t done much now, Serbia is not naturally a destination that you think of going on your holiday when the summer comes or in the autumn or whatever.

Now obviously due to our own fault we never consider tourism as as an industry that is important for, important enough for us to focus on. But that’s changing [00:25:00] and that’s the whole beauty of this story. We’ve finally started all of us collect. We’ve started investing in tourism.

So there’s a lot of projects, there’s a lot of being developed at the moment. And not only hotels, but a whole new destinations are being activated recently. The east of the country is getting quite a lot of support from the government and obviously government is really trying to to push forward and to put us on the map of the world travelers now simultaneously my background is tourism, hospitality and event management.

And as I was living in Abu Dhabi previously here in the United Arab Emirates, as I said having witnessed the rise of glamping here in the country, I thought, why wouldn’t we in Serbia do something about it? Because clearly we have something to show to the world, and I know people will be happy to come and explore our nature that is completely untouched.

And not only that, the world travelers didn’t know and they were not aware. Of the natural beauties that Serbia has to offer, but not even Serbians. Were aware of the natural beauties we have in our own country. Obviously the idea was forming in [00:26:00] my head and I did a lot of research.

I was following up on the projects, not only here in the uae, but also globally. And I was obviously Croatia is a big big tourist destination that the entire regions Valenti and your colleagues have done an amazing job to really put your guys out there on the map and we all look up to you.

Yeah, I was following up on the developments in Europe, in Australia, in Africa, in the States as well. And decided to move back to go back. And open this or create, design, develop, and finally open the first glamping resort. Now just to put things into perspective and to continue from what Valentina was talking about earlier about behaviors of the travelers that go into Croatia.

Croatia has a beautiful coastline. It has one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. Serbia quite contrary is a landlocked, we don’t have a Searl at all. . From the early start I knew I had to think differently and think completely out of the box and really focus on the nature outside of the Searl sand and sun [00:27:00] because we simply didn’t have it

We did, however, have a lot of national parks. There’s quite a lot of wine producing that was back in old Yugoslavia was quite sign. On a world scale and wine producing recently and recently, I really mean 10 to 15 years back started really growing in in Serbia due, not only due to the climate changes, but also we have quite a lot of history.

There. So the first vineyards were actually planted by Romans, of course, JCOM High. We were the part of Roman Empire and the soldiers from Roman Empire actually planted the first vineyards in in the territory that is presently under Serbia. I’ve decided to go back. So I formed this idea and moved back to the country with the idea to to actually, before we even my husband and I, before we even started with a with this first resort we wanted.

And we set an aspiration to become an international glamping developer and operator. Now we’ve only chosen Serbia because that’s where I’m from as our first location for our first resort. We [00:28:00] obviously, like Tacoma was talking about earlier it wasn’t without hurdles being the first one or being a trendsetter always comes with strings attached.

And we had to overcome a lot of hurdles to get the project off the ground in a country that pretty much nobody actually knew what glamping was. So from there, early on, even while we were still doing, while we were still in construction obviously we started with our marketing, with our promotion, with our social media, with our website, and we had to educate.

First of all, we started from local customers. Obviously we started, we had to educate the local guests, local future guests. What glamping actually was, what we are trying to say, what we are trying to achieve there. And we called, the brand that we created is called Lala Vineyard. Lala is a Serbian name for Tulip.

And it’s a glamping resort based on the vineyard. It’s a glamping resort that is based on sustainability, on local experiences, and more importantly, based around wine production and local wine experiences. So we are, we started very small as the first [00:29:00] lumping resort in the country. We just had to because we wanted to take that gradual approach to the growth and kind of while educating the market continue developing.

So at the moment we have four Safari tent units. Each one with on suite bathroom. We have an infinity salt water heated pool overlooking the river. We are blessed to have the River Daniel floating through Syria and we are actually based in the most important wine growing region in the country.

So the mountain we are on is called . I know quite a lot of very difficult names to pronounce. And I’m not expecting you to to remember, although Brian, I might have a little quiz for you at the end. , I 

Announcer: can’t look any 

Brian: work that I normally do on every other show, . 

Olja: So anyway, so we’ve we’ve really decided to put our flag down, as I said, to this most important wine growing region, to base our activities around very sustainable and local experiences.

So that’s quite important to us. Now talking about demographics and attraction [00:30:00] that we. To my surprise, obviously bear in mind we’ve opened in 2021 Corona was still present. There was quite a lot of challenges on the world travel scene already. A lot of people were still stranded. A lot of restrictions were still imposed on international travelers.

Even in those conditions we managed to attract, even in the first year of operation we managed to attract 30% of international travelers. And when I say 30% of international, I really mean it everywhere from Canada to the States, to South Africa, to Australia, and everything in between. And the feedback was amazing and interestingly, It’s we actually attracted similar to what Stephanie was talking about earlier.

So you guys are close to Chicago, so you have the Chicago as your main market. It was quite similar for us. So in a, in still a pandemic world back in the last, back in last year, people were really out to go in the nature to spend time in the nature, but obviously without [00:31:00] sacrificing all the commodities that are used.

So they didn’t wanna sacrifice or they didn’t wanna go into a facility that doesn’t have a bathroom or they didn’t wanna be disconnected. They wanted to be still connected and have wifi. They wanted to have nice facilities and the pool. So we had a lot of people coming to us just because we had all of that.

So we had, we have wifi, we have a pool, we have really nice, luxurious safari tents with bathrooms. And obviously sustainability. Sustainability was quite an important factor for for us from the beginning. So we went far and beyond making sure that because we are the first lumping resort in the country, we really wanted to make sure that we do it.

So from the start we’ve invested quite a lot of funds through a development phase to make sure that we are sustainable, that we are re recycling our water, that we are treating our waste water, so it could be reused for irrigation and so on. So there’s a number of initiatives that we introduced there, but yeah, talking about demographics, we’ve realized that our biggest markets are actually big urban centers.

Not only our capital Belgrade but [00:32:00] also big urban centers from around. So we had people from London, we had people from Paris, we had people from Dubai as well. We had people from Sydney. So all of these big urban areas travelers who really wanted to escape into the nature have a real true local experience.

And they really enjoyed staying with us. , 

Brian: will you talk a little bit for me, cuz it interests me specifically, but I’ve heard it from other businesses, both in glamping and outside glamping. Especially at this glamping show we just went to in Colorado. They were talking a lot about off-grid sustainable solutions.

This is important to me personally. But talk a little bit about the benefits that you see, not just from an environmental standpoint, from a business standpoint of doing some of those things. 

Olja: It’s, I think travelers are becoming sustainable friendly as well. And especially after the pandemic, I think we all started to question our our holiday decisions as well.

Are we right in going to cruise ships? Is are the cruise ships good for the environment? What are we actually doing to make this world a better place? And then you all [00:33:00] remember drone videos of cities that that were completely empty during covid times. And and then we had a bit of more snowfall and everybody was started questioning whether the temperatures in the winter and the amount of snow we were having in our ski centers was directly linked to reduced reduced traffic and not so many planes flying during those years.

So I think we all, I kind of of hope that we all started to question our decisions and our impact on the environment, not only in our present lives, but especially when we are traveling. When we are flying, how we are flying, how are we getting to destinations, where are we staying? Are we eating local food or are we tourists?

Are we actually contributing to local economies or are we not? So going back to your question, , I think it’s not cheap. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of funds to produce or to create sustainable, environmentally friendly environment when it comes to glamping. I’m gonna, I’m gonna talk only about glamping now because we are not really so much into something.

And I’m gonna, I’m gonna take it from my own [00:34:00] example. So for instance, what was really important to us was to make sure that we absolutely minimize the use of the concrete whatever and whatever possible. So we did also being local, being in Serbia, being landlocked, being in the country that is not so popular as a travel as a destination tourism destination we really wanted to showcase.

The true, or as I like to put it, charmingly local elements to our travelers. So when they come and stay with us they go home and they bring those memories that they could only have if they were with us in Serbia. But more importantly, from the early beginning we were not only developing Lala Vineyard as a clumping.

But we were developing really a community around us and purposely we have not designed ourselves as all inclusive. Glamping resort, we said, okay, we’re gonna provide you a breakfast, we’re gonna provide our guest breakfast because you’re hungry in the morning. You need to make sure that you’re fed.

But we really want you to go and explore. We want you to first of all try some local teas and meats and milk and eggs from the farm that is right next to us. We [00:35:00] only serve local wine that is sourced in 50 kilometers around around where we are. We have a really good corporation with small suppliers around our location being that suppliers that supply experiences or they have a farm so they can.

Horse riding experience or obviously being in a most important wine producing region in the country. We have a corporation with over 12 really and top, high, top quality boutique wineries around us. So everything we do serves not only for our own promotion, but really for promotion of a destination and that entire ecosystem because then we talk about slow tourism and we talk about sustainability.

Really, 

Brian: Jomo, I’m so sorry it took me 40 minutes to get to you and I really wanna keep asking all of you questions for probably hours, but I know especially Olia is up super late and we appreciate your being here. So I don’t wanna take more than my allotted hour time, but Jao it really is interesting to me what Oya is talking about and some of the other [00:36:00] people are as well.

We struggled to define this word, glamping. But I think it really is more about the experiences, at least it is in North America. And from what I think Olia just described, it is the difference of something that really stands out to the guest, to the consumer. And whether that is arranging local travel with, horse horseback riding or hiking or, all inclusive, if that’s what your thing is, so many different ways that you can do this.

Sustainability being another one, just something that really sets you apart, sets the guest experience apart, I think is what really is gonna help drive this industry to even further heights, whether it is in the UK where they’re ahead of us or in, north America or Croatia or Serbia where we’re just getting started in this.

But Jacomo talks specifically about, and I know your expertise is more in the design. You know what caught my eye first and why we reached out to you was some of those amazing designs that you have with 3D printing and technology of what glamping [00:37:00] accommodations or experiential hospitality might look like in the future.

And I think just as much as sustainability is, and local curation is, and experiences are, I think that experience is where I’m staying, what my accommodation looks like, how it’s designed. So touch on a little bit about what you do and where you think the future of glamping is going. 

Giacomo: We must start, in Italy, we have this big problem about law.

We have an international national ator, but it was not raise bit from a region and a municipality. So we are moving in this, in, in this contest. We can do only temporary structure. With no foundation and so we have a lot of limits to, to move in in this contest. As I saying, the sustainability the upgrade [00:38:00] solution and the insulation of this structure will be the future of development.

And we are trying to use this new technology. So the must be like a traditional construction. So in Italy we can’t use this technology to make a tiny house or something similar because. We need a lot of authorization that can be done. And I think that we must, before in Italy solve this problem.

Then we can start to use this new technology. But anyway, we are trying to do the best with what I have. What we have

is giving us a lot of solution about this temporary structure we have all inside. So we are developing a platform with all, all inside. So insulation, we have IT system, an infrared system. [00:39:00] To extend the decisions and to guarantee to work all the year. We are also working on the design of this extra, but yeah, this is our our vision need need to solve this problem. We have this problem so we, that we can work together also outside Italy to, to propose our solution and our idea in technology about blending. In Italy we have an Saudi contest about natural. We have in the center of Italy the A lot region in which natural wind we have also Tuscany, but in Tuscany, the natural was prise.

We don’t have the infrastructure, the hospitality infrastructure. So the glamping solution will be the future of alternative hospitality. And what say about this, we are living in a [00:40:00] totally new revolution. The, I give us a new opportunity to disrupt the creative process as we know we, we are living in a really revolution because this technology.

we change old and give us these opportunities. So in the GL field we can find a new solution, as you say, Brian. Searl, we can find an unbelievable shape and design for our structure. This perspective and give us the opportunity to go ahead with with the great future for the, 

Brian: one of the things that is interesting to me, and I remember reading just because you were talking about temporary structures in Italy.

Just start there briefly. One of the things I remember reading about 3D printing specifically, and maybe you’ve heard this, maybe you haven’t, and maybe you don’t, maybe you’re more of a design than the [00:41:00] actual execution of it. But I remember reading that NASA. In space at the International Space Station will 3D print tools and then they will recycle them and print them into new things.

Is that something that could work on a temporary structure basis or is that not ready for large scale projects yet? 

Giacomo: Yeah, there are a lot of unbelievable solution about 3D print. And in in Italy we develop a house, a tiny house 3D printed with the the material that you can find in place. So this is the revolution.

You, in America, in the Virginia University you have developed a solution with a seed inside the 3D printing and the heart inside the the object. So when the. Building is finished, it will will become green. The green, all the building will change [00:42:00] as a green element. There are a lot of a sample of how this technology will help, has, but yeah, in Italy, we need first to solve this this issue about the ator.

And then we want start to 3D print and to improve this the GL solution with this technology. 

Brian: That’s one of the things I think that fascinates me most about this is admittedly over here in North America, there’s very little. Understanding of how far advanced 3D printing already is.

We did have a vendor or a supplier who showed up at the Glamping show who was, focused on 3D printing in concrete, which obviously isn’t, as we’ve discussed before the most sustainable solution or the one we’d probably like to see long-term. But I think just taking recycling one step further, whether it’s the recycling that gives us the sustainability or whether it is the ability, we’ve looked at all your designs that you did on LinkedIn.

Again, we’ve talked about, those [00:43:00] unique structures. But the ability of using that technology to adapt our own businesses, to suit a consumer who, as Valentina said, is always adapting and changing and wanting something different. I think 3D printing fills that void too. Because you can change, you can adapt, you can modify, you can recycle, build something totally new the next month.

Giacomo: This is the real skill of the 3D printing. You can integrate a design. When you build your house, you or your wall. You can work, they should phase as you want. You can be, you can create a natural, so phase as a as as a tree or as a leaf. You can this technology give us a lot of new solution and totally no.

In in [00:44:00] Dubai. There, there was the expo this year. And the, an Italian company, 3D print, a papa store for the or. And all the skin of the building is designed with the motive of Dr. So you can find a 3D effect with the D pattern. I think that this is an unbelievable skill of 3D printing.

You can have any shape and you want, so this is the real, yeah. As you say, this is the one of the best skill of the 3D print, this flexibility without, at the. You need only to design and you have no cost for real eyes. The machine make only a different movement, but it’s the same machine. You have no cost to add.

Yeah, [00:45:00] I think that the , 

Brian: and again, I think I could talk to you all for hours, but we’ve only got, I think, six minutes left now in the show. But yeah, all that stuff really fascinates me and I definitely wanna check in with all of you again in 2023 and see, maybe we can allow some more time to dive into exactly what’s happening in your respective countries, and especially with Joo.

Not to pick on any of you else, but I’m really a geek and just super fascinated by what he has to say with 3D printing and things like that. Because I think it’s really going to change for owners and operators of both glamping and camp sites and pitches and campgrounds and whatever you wanna call them, all over the world.

The ability for us to offer these amazing experiences in. Croatia, you can print a shipwreck that you could stay in by the Searl, in Serbia, you can print a wine glass that they can stay in. Just the amazing experiences that you’re gonna be able to create with this technology. And it is not that far off.

It is here already, and I think [00:46:00] it’s really gonna be amazing to see what some innovative people can come up with. Definitely. So let’s do this the last five minutes, let’s say any final thoughts, we’ll go around the room and then say, maybe we’ll put you on the spot and say, what would you invent if you had a 3D printer sitting right next to you for your accommodations right now?

Valentina, do you wanna go first? 

Valentina: I have to think 

Olja: about it.

Brian: Let me give you a chance to think. I’ll give you a minute to think and tell you. Here’s what I’ve talked to, and this is maybe something that Stephanie can use too. But she’s, feel free to give her own idea. We’ve talked to clients about putting up unique glamping experiences with the recycling that once it’s can be scaled outside of major cities for things like sporting events to where you can print during football season and football, not soccer nfl American football putting up helmets and then recycling those.

And maybe you can stay in a basketball during basketball season or you can stay in a baseball bat during baseball bat season [00:47:00] and you can print these and design them that are. On temporary structures, they don’t require that infrastructure. And you can put them near where these fans will go tailgating and want to have these unique experiences.

So that’s one example that I’m interested to see if anybody comes up with. But Valentina, did that give you enough time?

Valentina: I would say that we could bring something I don’t know at the moment. We are, we do not, we have some playgrounds, but I would like to have a big playground with the castle for children because we have really a lot of children in the Campground. We have also I didn’t say that. We have a little farm in our Campground and it’s really interesting for the children and the little lake.

And it would be really nice to build, to bring a big [00:48:00] castle next to this farm where children can play all the day. That’s the thing I’m missing in our camp. 

Brian: You’re not wrong cuz there’s actually, and I’ll give you guys something to check out. There’s a amazing guy I’ve been talking to that needs to be on the show and it doesn’t have to do with 3D printing, but his name is Tyson and he runs a a company out here called in Canada, actually about an hour from me called Charmed Resorts.

And he’s basically taking experiences like castles and from the fairy tales and he’s creating these amazing, unique, glamping accommodations and they’re not 3D printed. , they’re really unique like Bell and Rumble, stilt skin and all kinds of things like that. And so I think you’re not like, that’s very reasonable, not just for a place structure, but imagine people’s kids and families staying the night in one of those things.

Yeah. So I’m excited to see where that goes. Stephanie, do you wanna go next? Do you have any ideas for I 

Stephanie: don’t have any specific ideas. I think it’s exciting to [00:49:00] consider how it’ll affect the cost of everything. Just adding more accommodations and hopefully being more cost effective. I think that’s something to look forward to.

Brian: Yeah, that’s what, you’re not wrong there either, because I think the 3D printing, as we’ve seen is already more affordable than a lot of places. And you don’t have to have the shipping costs, at least that come with it here, I know for a lot of providers in the United States and Canada. And so I think that’s gonna level the playing field a lot too.

Yes. 

Announcer: O yeah, 

Olja: definitely. Maybe not necessarily a 3D printing is an answer to this, but you mentioned earlier grid solutions. I would love to see a solution that is actually proven and viable, and especially when it comes to heating. In the colder climates. Now Stephanie can probably relate to that as well.

Our winters are quite harsh too, , so we would love to see a solution whether 3D printed or some other technology that can actually solve a problem of seasonality and really help us out on a more sustainable way to heat our resorts. 

Brian: . I think there’s [00:50:00] opportunities for us to continue working together all around the world on innovative solutions like that.

Especially Cara working at the Canadian, Camping, &, RV, Council. It’s, as I said when I let my dog out, it’s negative 18 Celsius here today, so our winters are cold too. I feel like Chicago’s really got nothing on us. Yeah, it’s very interesting because I think if we can solve that problem, and whether that’s through somebody that ends up being a supplier or a vendor in Canada, or somebody who comes up with a unique solution in Serbia or Croatia or anywhere else around the world, that is something that the whole world can benefit from.

Announcer: Definitely. Okay. 

Brian: Jacomo, any final thoughts? What would you, what would Jacomo that’s a good question for you too. What would you build, if you could build anything right now, what design is your favorite? 

Giacomo: Which kind of a building? I would build whichever 

Brian: one you want. You tell us the sky’s the limit.

Giacomo: I think that the best solution is the interaction between the nature and building. So I love this this morphosis between [00:51:00] natural and the traditional building. So I think that if you, if we will found a solution, In which our object, our tiny home, will be integrated into the nature.

We, we do a good job and the great experience also for the customer because how to be 

Announcer: To, 

Giacomo: to dream into a mushroom shape, tiny house or I think that can be an extension of the experience of the glamping. The glamping a natural experience. So if we 

Announcer: give more 

Giacomo: and more of this experience we do everything.

Brian: . Awesome. Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward [00:52:00] to it too. And all those kinds of unique designs seeing how it comes. We’re already over care. Do you have any final thoughts before we let all these amazing people go who have given their evenings to us except over day for her?

For 

Stephanie: her too? Yeah. 

Announcer: No. Thank you guys so much for your time and apologies again 

Stephanie: For being late and missing out on some of this great conversation. I’m excited 

Announcer: to listen back 

Stephanie: myself and hear what I missed. So great, like I said, to, 

Announcer: to see trends and things happening around the world that really mirror what’s happening here and also gives us tons of inspiration and cool new stuff to 

Stephanie: take forward into the future.

Announcer: Thanks. Thanks for your contribution to the industry. 

Brian: Thank you everybody again. Yeah, please stay in touch with us. We definitely wanna learn from you, from your experiences. We want to cover you and share your experiences. As you’ve all mentioned, you’ve had guests here in the United States and Canada, so we’d love to write about you in Modern Campground.

We’d love to tell your stories of your respective colleagues and businesses and suppliers and all those kinds of things. So again, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. [00:53:00] Joo, Olia, Valentina, Stephanie Cara, as always, really appreciate you guys and we’ll see you guys next week on another episode of MC Fireside.

Chats. Take care, 

Stephanie: guys. Thank you. Thank you so much.