Not Done Weekly - The Alternative Accommodations Issue!

Coming up on Not Done, I sat down with Ben Wolff, Landscape Hotel & Glamping expert — co-founder of OWASI (a hospitality growth agency managing $65M+ in portfolio), co-founder of Onera (exited to Summit Properties in the first public REIT glamping exit), and now founder of Bia, a next-gen landscape hotel brand blending nature, farm hospitality, and wellness.

What you don't want to miss:

• Landscape Hotels ≠ Glamping. Hard-sided, nature-immersive structures cost 15–20% more to build but crush it on RevPAR, occupancy, and maintenance. The math isn't close.

• The 99-Year Land Lease Play. Bia's secret weapon: variable-cost land leases with farmers at a third the carrying cost of purchasing — and it still qualifies for traditional construction financing.

• "Hotels Are Terrible at Creating Their Own Demand." Most hotels compete for existing demand on OTAs in a race to the bottom. OWASI's cinematic video storytelling drives guests directly to the website — different guest, different mindset, no price shopping. They're launching a course in the next 90 days to teach operators the system.

• Biggest Mistake That Made Him Better. Ben was cheap on talent early and confused hustle for operating. The shift: great people are expensive, but the right ones are 1,000x force multipliers.

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THE STATE OF PLAY: WHO'S DOING WHAT IN ALTERNATIVES

Here's a snapshot of how the major hotel players are positioned in outdoor and alternative accommodations heading into 2026:

Marriott — Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy Acquired Postcard Cabins (1,200+ cabins across 29 U.S. sites) and struck a long-term agreement with Trailborn Hotels for boutique properties near national parks and gateway destinations. The Adept Traveler Also launched the Marriott Bonvoy Outdoors digital platform, letting travelers search by activity — skiing, surfing, hiking — not just destination. The most aggressive play of the big three: an outright acquisition, not just a partnership.

Hilton — AutoCamp Partnership Entered an exclusive partnership with AutoCamp Hotel Dive to bring boutique glamping — Airstream suites, luxury tents, modern cabins — into Hilton's distribution and Honors loyalty ecosystem. Hilton's Outset Collection has more than 60 hotels in the works across the U.S. and Canada Hotel Dive as its broader lifestyle and independent brand play.

Hyatt — Under Canvas Partnership Partnered with Under Canvas Hotel Dive to integrate luxury safari-style tenting near national parks into World of Hyatt. Points-earning glamping stays. The most "purist" outdoor play of the three — genuine tented camps, not cabins.

INDEPENDENTS TO WATCH - THE INNOVATORS

The big brands are playing catch-up. The independents below are the ones actually defining the category:

• Onera — The original landscape hotel. Two Texas Hill Country locations, 50+ keys. Treehouses 35 feet up, green-roofed units, A-frames over creeks. ADR ~$450–$500. First public REIT glamping exit (Summit Properties, 2022). The proof of concept.

• Bia (Ben Wolff, pre-launch) — Nature stays + farm hospitality + wellness. First location: 25-acre exotic fruit farm in Miami-Dade. Second: 300 acres outside Asheville. 7–10 location roadmap via 99-year land leases. Follow @iambenwolff.

• Piaule — 24 modernist prefab cabins overlooking the Catskill Escarpment Garrison Architects. Scandinavian-Japanese design, onsite spa, farm-to-table restaurant. Only five of 50 acres disturbed to build Field Mag. Travel + Leisure It List winner. The Northeast's landscape hotel.

• Trailborn Hotels — Blue Ridge Mountains, Grand Canyon gateway, Carolina coast Marriott, Mendocino, Rocky Mountain National Park. Design-forward conversions with curated F&B. Marriott Bonvoy integration, independent brand identity. Rates from ~$158/night. Most accessible entry point in the category.

• Outbound Hotels — Jackson Hole, Mammoth Lakes, Stowe, with Yosemite (104 cabins) and Sedona (138 rooms) opening 2026 PR Newswire. Park City 2027. Backed by Waterton, managed by CoralTree PR Newswire. The brand most likely to scale without diluting.

• Collective Retreats — Founded by Peter Mack (ex-Starwood), $46.3M raised Tracxn. Luxury open-air retreats in Vail, Hill Country, Governors Island. Less than 5% of bookings from third-party channels Collective Retreats. Average guest net worth $2M+. The institutional-capital, ultra-luxury play.

• Bolt Farm Treehouse — Mountaintop retreat in Tennessee Marion County, 45 min from Chattanooga. Treehouses, domes, mirrored cabins. Featured on Netflix. Expanding from 14 to ~80 sites Nadi Group. Proof that killer content and an emotional brand can build a months-deep waitlist.

• LOGE Camps — Finds forgotten motels near outdoor towns and brings them back to life LinkedIn. Rooms, bunks, campsites, gear rentals, fire pits. Nine open, eight more coming Lane Report. Rates $110–$150. Partnered with Schulte Hospitality Business Wire for scale. Not chasing luxury — chasing community.

THE OPERATOR'S FIELD GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS

Build hard-sided or don't build. Soft-sided has a fraction of the useful life and can't be uniquely designed. Hard-sided costs 15–20% more per key but delivers higher RevPAR, lower CapEx, and architectural differentiation. The math is settled.

Horizontal development costs more than you think. Developing glamping resorts is often more expensive than traditional hotels because horizontal development over large areas costs more than building vertically. Sageoutdooradvisory Dispersed units mean longer utility runs, costlier housekeeping, and higher infrastructure spend.

Study the 99-year land lease. Ben's Bia structure — variable cost tied to revenue, a third the carrying cost of purchasing, still qualifies for construction financing — is the smartest financing play in the space. If your land basis kills the pro forma, start here.

Win the direct booking war. 64% of glampers prefer booking directly. Hotel Online Single-site glamping operators routinely have more social media followers than entire hotel brands. Sageoutdooradvisory Cinematic content that drives guests to your site creates a guest who's emotionally committed before they see the rate.

Solve staffing before you open. Remote locations make staffing challenging — on-site housing is a necessity in many cases. Sageoutdooradvisory Seasonal hiring without retention strategy gets you crushed by turnover every spring.

Build for four seasons, not two. Mixed accommodation types, wellness programming, farm-to-table F&B — give guests reasons to visit year-round. Ben's Bia thesis (farm + wellness + nature) is partly a seasonality play.

Modular construction unlocks mid-scale. The white space is below $500/night. Nature-immersive product, modular build, staff-light model at $250–$350 ADR. Whoever cracks this finds an enormous market.

Zoning will eat your timeline. The easiest-to-build states already have the most product. The aesthetic attracts bookings; infrastructure protects profit. Rentals United Budget 12–18 months for permitting in regulated markets.

Cheers,

Sloan