Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Emilianowicz.
Hi Kelly, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We started our glamping tent business while living full-time in an RV and traveling the country. We decided right after getting married that we wanted to do a 6 month honeymoon which quickly turned into an entire lifestyle change as we decided to sell all of our belongings and live nomadically. We were always camping ourselves in really cool areas of the country and thought it would be so much fun to rent out a traveling tent that we could pop-up next to us wherever we went. We had been living and traveling in our RV full-time for about 4 years and we had lots of friends and family come visit us along the way so the glamping tent became a pop-up guest suite for them and eventually we decided to go full-time into the glamping tent rental business and it’s been a crazy ride ever since.
As the trend to host more outdoor events grew in 2020 so did our glamping tent business. We have expanded our fleet to include canopy rentals, lounge area rentals, glamping tent villages, emperor tent bridal suites and we can even style and provide Tablescape furnishings. Our goal is to be able to provide magical, carefree getaways where our guests simply show up and enjoy. We continue to feel very blessed that we get to operate such a fun and unique business while still remaining able to travel and spend the majority of our time in nature.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our road has been a very successful one and we feel extremely lucky to have grown to such a large fleet number amidst the challenges of covid throughout 2020 and 2021. Truthfully we are still experiencing those challenges but we are an extremely flexible company that is well versed on pivoting and restructuring our plans which has helped immensely.
World pandemic issues aside, one of the biggest challenges with operating a glamping tent rental company would be the weather. We have been extremely lucky in that none of our events have had to be cancelled due to weather but that isn’t to say that we haven’t had to overcome some insane challenges. Our tents are made with 100% cotton canvas which can’t be put away wet so when we are taking down villages of 30+ tents it can be quite daunting to know that we have to set every one of those tents back up to dry when we get to our next destination. Logistically, operating a business that is on a full-time travel schedule can be quite a nightmare if we don’t schedule enough cleaning days in between events.
Overall the road has been a bit of a backcountry dirt trek with lots of bumps and obstacles but we have overcome and really continue to fine tune our operation and feel very blessed to be doing what we love.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We specialize in providing glamping tent rentals for all sorts of events. In 2022 we will be providing glamping tent villages for weddings, church groups, music festivals, family reunions, educational seminars and company team building events.
In addition to providing glamping tents for our clients, we also like to plan a handful of our events that we call “campground takeovers” where we host glamping guests all over the country at pre-determined locations. Most are established campgrounds but we also work very closely with private landowners to provide unique, once-in-a-lifetime overnight experiences for our guests.
Our tents are our main focus but I have a creative background and a love for styling/ decorating so we do offer those “add-on” services as well. Whether it be a decorated area in the forest for a romantic proposal or a fully styled Tablescape for a family dinner event, we enjoy all facets of the creative process and love to provide a “one stop shop” for our clients’ needs.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
This industry is so new it is very hard to tell where the trend will be moving. I think the need to “getaway” and explore the outdoors in comfort is going to gain in popularity over the next 5-10 years but for us, personally, we would love to establish a home-based glamping resort which would be a permanent location for guests.
Pricing:
- Tent Rentals start at $250+
Contact Info:
- Email: thepopupbnb@gmail.com
- Website: www.thepop-upbnb.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepopupbnb/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepopupbnb
Image Credits
Savannah Linn Photography
Sophie Wilson Photography
