Outdoorsy offers financial support to encourage “glamping entrepreneurs”

RV rental marketplace Outdoorsy is launching a $30 million fund to provide financial assistance for the purchase of upscale glamping tents.

The Oasis Fund is intended for people that aspire to be “glamping entrepreneurs” – purchasing the modified tents and making them available for rent through Outdoorsy Stays, a new segment of its marketplace that offers outdoor-focused accommodations such as tents, cabins and tiny homes.

Outdoorsy said the fund is being launched “in tandem with investors and banking partners,” although it does not name those partners.

Outdoorsy launched in 2015 as a peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace. The company said it now has RVs available in 4,800 cities in the United States and Canada.

In 2022 the company created its Outdoorsy Destination Network with the acquisition of two RV parks, one near Yosemite National Park in California and one in Colorado.

The Colorado location – Outdoorsy Bayfield – offers the glamping tents that the company is now making available for sale through the new fund. Each tent is on an elevated platform and has air conditioning and heating, a king bed, kitchenette, bathroom, furnishings and a towable chassis for transport.

“When we purchased the Outdoorsy Bayfield property, we quickly saw something very familiar to us – and what initially led us to build Outdoorsy. Similar to the RV rental space, we noticed the glamping space was dealing with a handful of pain points in need of attention, innovation and improvement … so the timing is right to step in and do what a startup does best: improve a space in need of a helping hand,” said Jeff Cavins, Outdoorsy co-founder and CEO. 

Outdoorsy said data from KOA shows the global glamping category is expected to be worth $6 billion by 2030 and approximately 10.5 million U.S. households went glamping last year, with the average guests staying three to five nights and paying a higher nightly rate than traditional hotels.

“Through the Oasis Fund, our objective is to activate the glamping adventure and provide the means for both individuals and those aspiring to manage short-term rentals to take ownership of their own entrepreneurial endeavors,” Cavins said. "Our in-house financing and the extensive reach of the Outdoorsy platform will equip glamping entrepreneurs with the ability to establish, host and promote a product that's seeing no slowdown in demand.”