Glamping isn't a trend, it's a business model: lessons from Huttopia and Under Canvas

The word "glamping" used to conjure up Instagram photos full of luxury tents. Today, in many parts of the world, it's a business model taken as seriously as hotels. The two stories that explain this shift best are Huttopia from France and Under Canvas from the US. Both started small, both put nature at the centre of the product, and both kept their identity as they grew.

Huttopia: hut plus utopia

Céline and Philippe Bossanne founded Huttopia in France in 1999. The name combines the German "Hütte" (hut) and "utopia". According to the company, the couple's idea was to bring to Europe the simple, close-to-nature experience they had seen in North American national park campgrounds: tent cabins of wood and canvas, little concrete, lots of trees.

Huttopia added comfort without turning the campsite into a holiday village. Shared spaces, nature activities for children, a layout that feels like a village and a focus on sustainability became the brand's signature. The group has grown under several brands over the years, and as of 2025 it is reported to run more than 160 campsites in France and abroad. It has sites in North America too.

Lesson: More comfort doesn't have to mean less nature. Huttopia's guests don't come for luxury, they come to be comfortable in nature.

Under Canvas: at the gates of the national parks

Sarah and Jacob Dusek founded Under Canvas in 2009. They opened their first camp in West Yellowstone, Montana, close to Yellowstone National Park. According to Sarah Dusek, the company took no venture capital in its early years. It grew on bank loans and family support.

The Under Canvas formula was clear: hotel comfort in big safari tents right on the edge of national parks. Real beds, tents with en-suite bathrooms, evenings round the campfire, and the park five minutes away the next morning. In 2018 an investment from the private equity firm KSL Capital started a new phase of growth.

Lesson: Location is the biggest asset in glamping. Under Canvas sells guests the chance to sleep next to the best view. The tent is just how you get there.

What the two models share

Five lessons for glamping businesses

1. Nature has to be at the heart of the product. The best glamping spots sell themselves on the view. In Türkiye that means places like the Kaz Mountains, the Lycian coast, Olympos and Karaburun, and every country has its equivalents. Solutions that keep construction to a minimum help you both with regulations and with guests.
2. Add comfort in the right places. A good bed, hot water and a clean bathroom. Most guests don't expect more than that.
3. Shared spaces make the experience bigger. A fire pit, a communal kitchen, activities for children. These are the words that turn up most often in reviews.
4. Stretch the season. Heated tents and off-season events can carry occupancy beyond the summer months.
5. The booking experience is part of the product. A guest who can pick the tent they saw in the photo, see a clear price and pay straight away asks fewer questions and books more.

What teknovan.io does

The biggest headache for glamping businesses is managing every unit (tent, bungalow, tiny house) separately. With teknovan.io's 3D map editor you put your site on a map unit by unit, let guests choose which tent they'll stay in, and manage the calendar and bookings from one dashboard. Find out more at teknovan.io.

Sources

• The Huttopia company
• Huttopia spirit
• Huttopia: sustainable tourism, ONLYLYON
• Huttopia takes over Aquadis-Terracamps' 18 nature campsites, Hospitality ON (French)
• Under Canvas enters next phase of growth with investment by KSL Capital
• The Glamping Pioneers: Jacob and Sarah Dusek, Hospitality Design

Image credits

Photos illustrate the region; they are not photos of the campsites themselves.

• Beldibi: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons