EDITOR'S COMMENT
• The outdoor stays segment [camping / glamping] has been developing rapidly over recent years and is ripe for further investment and professionalisation through mergers and acquisitions in 2022. One company in the space - Hipcamp - is paving the way as it establishes itself as an internationally recognisable brand in the space.
Following a bumper $57m Series C funding round 12 months ago and the purchase of Australian equivalent Youcamp in August 2020, Hipcamp's latest acquisition comes in the form of UK-based online camping brand Cool Camping, marking the next growth milestone in a startup that now lists 470,000+ campsites in the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia.
Purchasing Cool Camping will enable the startup to boost its supply by working with farmers and landowners to pitch temporary campsites on their properties for up to 56 days at a time, mirroring the convergence seen between the short- and mid-term rental asset classes as travellers break new ground in accommodation and hospitality.
With lodging startup Sonder's SPAC merger with Gores Metropoulos II set to be formally approved in the coming days, 2022 promises to be another huge year of investment as platforms look to emulate Hipcamp in increasing their supply or inventory.
• Don't forget to submit your entries for the 2022 Shortyz Awards - you can now enter as many of the 20 categories here as you are eligible for for free by the deadline of Friday 11 March. View the full list of categories here [including three new categories for 2022].
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