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Within 10 minutes of launching its campaign, Oculis Lodge glamping domes raised $10,000 — and raised 10 times that in just over a month.
Glamping is having its big moment right now. People want to camp, but they don’t exactly want to “rough it.” They want the relaxation and access to nature, without leaving the amenities and comforts of home behind.
Between 2022 and 2030, the global glamping market size is expected to grow by 10.9% according to a report by Grand View Research. In 2021, the market was valued at $2.35 billion. In 2022, it’s expected to reach $2.74 billion.
The glamping business is booming.
And with the rise of Airbnb, a veritable feeding frenzy has ensued to book a glamping experience at places like Torres del Paine in Patagonia, or at Glacier National Park.
The Oculis Lodge Indiegogo campaign shows just how much interest in this luxury form of camping there is. The lodge will be located on a private piece of property in the Cascade Mountains near Mount Baker, Oregon. It promises a serene escape “nested in nature,” with posh private jacuzzis and saunas, organic food options, fire pits, patios, and heated spaces for yoga.
Oculis Lodge launched its fundraising campaign on November 21. And within 10 minutes it had raised its initial goal of $10,000. Within a month, the campaign had raised over $1 million — leaving almost every other Indiegogo campaign in the dust.
Oculis Lodge: Highlife Glamping in the Cascades
Like most million-dollar ideas, the Oculis Lodge concept is a simple one: build domes in nature. Then, outfit them with “relaxation-inducing amenities to make your Out of Office message count.”
The domes themselves will be pretty slick. They’ve got a 700-square-foot interior, with a kitchen space, a dining table, a lounge area, and office areas. There are also bedrooms and a loft, underneath a huge 15-foot skylight overhead. The domes can comfortably fit up to six people, according to the Indiegogo campaign.
“Oculus means ‘eye’ in Latin,” reads the press release for Oculis Lodges. “In architecture, it’s a window or shape that has an opening of an oval or circular shape. It symbolizes the union of the earth and sky, which allows human prayer to ascend to the heavens. It links architecture to the cosmos.”
Outside, each dome will be equipped with a fire pit and lounge area to hang out and enjoy nature with your friends and family. There’s a heated space for doing yoga or working out, outside. And, each unit also has its own private hot tub and sauna that can fit four people.
There are also options to have the fridge stocked with organic food when you arrive. Check out the Oculis website and peruse the available organic fruits and vegetables, breakfast and dinner kits, and beverages. Pick what you want, so it will be waiting for you when you get there.
The 7-acre property housing Oculis Lodge is just 25 minutes from Glacier — located between Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Mount Baker, near Glacier, holds the world record from 1999 for the most snowfall in a single season. That year, the resort got 1,140 inches of snow. And hikes like Table Mountain and Skyline Divide are great trails with stellar views.
The area where the lodge will be built is certainly not wanting for things to do, or beautiful landscape to explore.
$1 Million in One Month?
Most Indiegogo campaigns struggle to meet their goals at all. Others barely hit the mark. So, how did Oculis Lodge manage to raise $10,000 in just 10 minutes? And how’d it raise $1 million in just over a month??
You could attribute the campaign’s success to the professional 3D renderings of the beautiful domes and patio areas (that we’re using as photos throughout this article). Or, you could say that Youri Benoiston, the creator of the campaign and mastermind behind Oculis Lodge, put a lot of effort into marketing his Indiegogo and getting the word out to the right people.
You could also just shrug it off as a good idea that got some serious traction.
But more realistically, the explosive funding that Oculis Lodge got is the result of the booming glamping market. The U.S. glamping market will surpass Europe’s by 2030. So, these kinds of luxury escape resorts will likely be popping up all over the place, for the next decade. And clearly, there’s a lot of interest in them, and also a lot of money out there to get them off the ground.
