'Glamping' Grows Up: ULUM's Bid to Create Approachable Luxury
Photo Credit: ULUM Moab overlooks Looking Glass Arch in Moab, Utah. ULUM
Skift Take
Under Canvas's new ULUM brand is going after a well-heeled, outdoors-centric crowd and sees the opportunity sitting between the glitz of Amangiri and the more minimal brand the company created with Under Canvas.
On Experience
Colin Nagy is a marketing strategist and writes on customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his writing here."Glamping" is an unfortunate term that somehow has stuck. At first, it meant an elevated, non-austere form of camping in nature, characterized by not only hospitality projects but brands like Japan's Snow Peak.
But as the category has matured, so has its reach and appeal: Brands like Autocamp have put together hyper-stylish, interesting footprints in Yosemite and Russian River. At the high end, Four Seasons has launched a tented camp product in Mexico called Naviva, and Aman has won accolades for its Camp Sarika, attached to Amangiri, created in collaboration with Luxury Frontiers.
Now, another brand is staking its claim on what it thinks is a sizable portion of the market: the elevated middle. Under Canvas started around 10 years ago in West Yellowstone, followed by interesting tented developments in nature areas with high tourist interest: the Great Smokey Mountains, Zion, and other places.
The initial iteration of the brand quickly found interest from guests but executing in this space is not easy. Outdoor destinations are not always well-serviced for several reasons: The challenges of operating in remote areas; the lack of experience in outdoor hospitality; variable weather and other unique circumstances; and the cost of development.
Now, with the launch of ULUM in Moab, Utah, the brand is creating a more elevated experience: Think electricity in tents, A
