Glamping, RV resort launches in Branson

A two-year, multimillion-dollar process to overhaul a long-abandoned campground into a glamping and recreational vehicle resort recently came to fruition for a Branson couple.

Dec. 10 was the grand opening for The Embers Glamping & RV Resort, a venture at 139 Irish Lane, off Highway 165. Owners Ryan and Heather Meuer, who have experience managing vacation rental properties in Branson, chose to jump into a larger real estate project with their new business, which began renting to visitors at the start of October.

The Embers has 50 hookup sites for RVs and 17 glamping options, which include a mix of 15 tents and two cabins. Five of the sites are treehouse tents, which are elevated 10 feet off the ground, overlook the Pointe Royale golf course and include private hot tubs. All but five of the glamping units have private bathrooms.

“We wanted to create something different here in Branson that was harder to find,” Heather Meuer said of single-bedroom accommodations with private hot tubs, adding more than half of the property’s tents and all its RV sites are pet friendly. “We’d always known that we wanted to have a campground. We’re lifelong campers. We’ve been camping and taking our kids camping for as long as we can remember.”

Ryan Meuer said the couple invested roughly $5.5 million in startup costs for the venture, which included about $3.8 million for the land purchase and construction. The Meuers own the business, which employs a staff of 10, through The Embers Branson LLC.

Aside from the glamping and RV options on-site, amenities at The Embers include a walkup and drive-thru coffee shop dubbed Camp Coffee, a swimming pool, fire pits, laundry facilities, golf cart rentals, a pickleball court, rooftop deck and a convenience store with groceries, ice and camping supplies. The couple is partnering with Branson-based Table Rock Coffee Roasters for its beans.

“We’re the only drive-thru coffee shop on this road,” Heather said. “So that’s really beneficial.”

Property makeover
Heather said the couple’s path to owning the 13-acre Branson property started over two years ago when they bought a lake house in Branson as a vacation rental, the first of several similar properties they now own. The couple moved with their children to the Taney County city after selling a NAPA Auto Parts business they had owned for 16 years with her parents near St. Louis.

“When we were signing at the closing table for one of our properties, we mentioned to our real estate agent we’d really love to have a campground someday,” she said, which led to the Irish Road property that was formerly the Gerth Campground & Camper Park.

It wasn’t love at first sight.

“It was scary looking, really. It had been used as a dumping ground,” Heather said, noting the business closed in 2007 and the property had sat vacant ever since. “There was a house here that was literally falling apart. The roof was caving in. It smelled, it had been lived in by squatters, and the property had not been taken care of and maintained at all for a very long time.”

While admitting it was a lot to wrap their minds around, she and her husband were undeterred. They saw very faintly where RV sites once were, and upon exploring the backside of the property, they were inspired by all the trees, which served as a base for some of the glamping tents.

“It was a lot of challenges, not just with the property but figuring out how to finance it, how to make it happen, what puzzle pieces we needed to put together because this was a bigger project than we’d ever worked on before,” she said, noting that included working with the city of Branson on installing new water and sewer.

The couple ended up financing the deal through North Carolina-based Live Oak Bank, which Ryan said has a group that specializes in hospitality business loans.

The Meuers purchased the property in November 2022 from the children of George Gerth, the previous owner who had died in 2020. Work to transform the property included tearing down the on-site structures, Ryan said, noting he and his wife teamed on the project with Scott Rookstool, who has over 40 years’ experience in construction management.

“It took longer than we expected, but it still worked out,” Heather said of the nearly two years invested to launch the business. “So glad that we did it, and I think honestly it turned out better than we could have imagined.”

Glamping growth
Ryan said as part of their research, they studied annual reports on glamping from Kampgrounds of America Inc., which is the world’s largest family camping company, with over 500 locations in North America, according to its website. The company’s 2022 report noted the outdoor hospitality industry experienced a 310% increase in short-term glamping rentals and a 290% jump in glamping brands over the past decade.

In the Branson area, glamping options are on the increase. Several glamping units comprise accommodation options at Camp Long Creek, a Big Cedar Lodge property in Ridgedale along Table Rock Lake. Additionally, Halley Fleming in the fall of 2021 opened Ozark Mountain Adventure, which she said was the first glamping business in Branson.

“I fell in love with the concept in Colorado, and I thought, ‘Well, I love this. I’ve never heard of it before.’ I just happened to have 58 acres that I bought back in 2016, and I didn’t know what I was going to do with the property,” Fleming said. “And so began the journey of figuring out the specs – the sewer, water, electric hookup.”

That led Fleming to develop 53 of the acres for her glamping venture. As the business required more of her time and became more popular, she exited her chief marketing officer position at Branson Bank in 2023, after having worked there for 15 years.

While Fleming also is an adjunct professor at College of the Ozarks, teaching courses such as principles of business management, marketing and supply chain management, most of her professional time is filled with running Ozark Mountain Adventure. The glamping business is open March through November and offers a trio of glamping tent options on the secluded property that is roughly five miles from Branson Landing.

Fleming said concrete is being poured this month for development of a fourth glamping site that will be ready for rentals by March. The property has space to eventually accommodate up to 10 glamping spots.

While declining to disclose figures, she said revenue this year was up about 18% from 2023.

“The biggest challenge is to make sure that they’re unique stays and not get overwhelmed with the finances as far as generating revenue,” she said. “It’s more of the experience for people.”

At The Embers, in addition to a dog park set to come online in the spring, the Meuers said they are considering an event space on the property.

“We’re going to do some research and see what we want to do with that space next,” she said.

There’s even an added amenity the couple was unaware of before they bought the property. It’s less than a quarter-mile walk to reach Lake Taneycomo.

“We essentially have a hiking trail that goes all the way down to Lake Taneycomo, the dam and the fish hatchery when it opens back up,” Heather said of the White River Bluff Trail, which is on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property. “Right at the back of our property is where that trail starts. So, it’s pretty great. We didn’t know that when we had it under contract.”