b'Bushtec Adventure USAWe are extremely busy, stated Gary Flaks,CEO of Bushtec Adventure USA, the Atlanta, Ga.-based makers of Bushtec Safari tents and glamp-ing lodges. The company is expanding its campgroundprojects and focusing on sites in Texas, Ten-nessee, Alabama and Georgia with an eye togoing national as projects ramp up in places suchasCalifornia,Utah,andevenAntiguaintheCaribbean. Thecompanyhastwodistinctdivisions,Bushtec Adventures USA, which makes smallertentsforcampersandcampgrounds,andBushtec Safari, which builds high-end glamping resort tent systems. The 50-year-old parentcompany is based out of Ladysmith in the Republic of Victoria, Africa. We have a very broad spectrum of products, he said. Currently we are suppling ourcamping tents to campgrounds on a consignment-type basis. There is a trial period after whichthey can keep them and pay for them, return them, or purchase more as they grow their tentglamping business.The whole concept is that within a 12- to 14-day rental period they will pay off the costson the tents and have pure profits after that, Flaks added. That is based on charging campers$45 to $50 per night. The tents come to the campground for less than $1,500 apiece. (973) 738-3777www.bushtecadventureusa.comConestoga Wagon Co.One of the new additions we have made to the wagons is a double canopy, said Olson.He explained that the improved double canopy acts as an insulator to keep campers com-fortable year-round. We are also offering a mini-split air condi-tion system that is doing very well, he said. Ijust heard from a guest that is staying in awagon on his own property. He called me fromthe wagon and said it was over 100 degrees inthe Texas heat and he said it was good and coolin there as long as he kept the door shutjustlike any cabin. The new double hoop fabric top on the Con-estoga wagon can handle a snow load and isappropriate for all seasons around the country.The exterior dimensions are 24-foot by 10-foot, providing an interior of 180 square feet.For colder climates we have heating systems, said Olson. Conestoga Wagons also continues to develop its own line of tents.(307) 277-0525www.conestogawagons.comUnique accommodation providers are finding ways to make their units affordable, while also Eco Structures USAproviding great glamping getaways for campers. Photo credit: Pacific Yurts. Eco Structures USA is based in St. Louis, Mo., and has been makingluxury resort inroads in the U.S. market for about five years. Its parentfirm is based in Australia. Today the company specializes in turnkey in-Unique Accommodation Builders Seeing stalls of uniquely engineered tents and shelters for destination resorts. The company has been busy developing new offerings over the pastHigh Demand for Turn-Key Products,year, according to Josh Bell, U.S. sales manager.He said traditionally his company has been focused on high-end tentstructures that can sustain the elements much like a cabin or yurt. Continually Updating Product OfferingsJosh Bell Ournewentry-level Pop-Up Tent stillBY RON BARGER retains our dedication to our architecturalappeal, but is designed to be 100% tempo-Campgrounds have reopened and the unique accommodations suppliers with whom rary, explained Bell. For the campgroundWoodalls Campground Management (WCM) touched bases are hanging in there to get market it is a great product that comes inthrough this long, drawn-out crisis.around the $7,500 range, compared to ourJason Olson, president of the Conestoga Wagon Co., reported on the positive side of this $20,000 to $30,000 range products, yet getstrend. people tent accommodations that are a stepCamping is really booming and the resorts that have our wagons are doing extremely above basic safari tents.well, said Olson. Many are telling us that the wagons are one of the most popular things on The tent has the unique ability to go up in just a couple of hours and the floor platform ac-their properties. It provides them with publicity that they have never had before. tually turns into a box that becomes storage in the off-season. Olson has diversified his product line to include shower houses to stabilize the ebb and The company is also coming out with a super luxury prefab bathroom unit that arrives atflow of demand.the campground in one module for installation. Our shower houses have been very popular, he said. We under- Baths are a challenge to install in tents, Bell explained. This prefab unit takes all thestand that our campground owners had a few tough months this spring, labor, materials and planning out of the picture and comes plumbed, painted and tiled andand they are experiencing a surge right now, so we are already taking ready to bolt right in and minimize all those hassles and contractors. orders for next spring. The third offering is a new custom Hybrid Tent System that offers multiple rooms. Montana Canvas was closed for a couple of weeks due to stay-at- (619) 997-5788www.ecostructures.com.auhome orders but then was deemed an essential business by the gover-nor. Things havent slowed down since, according to Curt Dinges, owner Glamping Pods of Americaof the company.John Poynor, founder of Glamping Pods of America,is stay-Curt Dinges He, too, has diversified his line of products which continue to survive ing busy. in this stressed environment.We had a lot of good orders in January, so we are stillThe business has been really strong for a lot of different tents and for a lot of different ap- working our way through the orders from the first part of thisplications, continued Dinges. We are making everything from tents for folks who just want year, he said. to escape the city to tents for campgrounds that are building back up after the slowdown.He has been so busy that this years new product develop-Dinges and other manufacturers stated that there are actual COVID support shelters they ment had to be curtailed just to keep up. are building as well.Our hottest seller is still the Mega Podwith the full bath inWeve actually built some social distancing type tents and screened outdoor tents for out- it, he shared. It has about 140 square feet on the inside. It isdoor conference facilitiesa real variety of new stuff, Dinges explained. roughly 16 feet long and 10-plus-feet wide on the exterior. ItPacific Yurts has been selling yurts that are being used by medical professionals to self- has room for a full-sized bed or bunks, full-sized shower,isolate, according to Alan Bairfounder of the company. Unique Accommodationscontinued on page 20WOODALLSCM.com September 2020-17'