Under Canvas: Hotel Brand Profile, History, Market Position, and Guest Experience

Under Canvas is a United States outdoor hospitality brand that operates seasonal glamping camps near national parks and other nature destinations. Founded in Montana in 2009 by Sarah and Jacob “Jake” Dusek, the business developed from an event-tent operation into a network of safari-inspired accommodations. Its first destination camp opened near Yellowstone National Park in 2012.

The brand occupies the upscale glamping and nature-based lodging segment rather than the conventional hotel market. Guests sleep in canvas tents furnished with beds, linens, seating, and, in many categories, private bathrooms and wood-burning stoves. Camps commonly add dining, communal spaces, evening programming, excursions, and wellness activities. Most are on private land outside national park boundaries.

Under Canvas is privately held and backed by KSL Capital Partners, which invested in the company in 2018. It operates within the broader travel and tourism industry, but its proposition combines elements of lodging, camping, experiential travel, and resort hospitality. What most clearly defines the brand today is its attempt to make immersion in nature accessible to travelers who want more comfort and service than traditional camping usually provides.

1. What Is Under Canvas?

Under Canvas is an upscale outdoor hospitality brand specializing in safari-style tent accommodations near prominent American natural attractions. Sarah and Jake Dusek founded the company in Montana in 2009. The destination-lodging concept began operating near Yellowstone in 2012 and subsequently expanded to national park gateway markets across the United States.

Under Canvas is not a conventional hotel chain, and its camps are generally not located inside national parks. It establishes seasonal lodging sites on private land within driving distance of park entrances, recreation areas, and gateway communities. The format combines outdoor sleeping and direct contact with the landscape with hotel-like bedding, housekeeping, guest services, dining, and private bathrooms in many accommodation categories.

The brand is privately held and has been backed by KSL Capital Partners since 2018. Under Canvas occupies the upscale glamping, experiential travel, and nature-resort segment. It primarily appeals to leisure travelers who want national park access and an outdoor setting without purchasing camping equipment, transporting supplies, or managing the logistics of a traditional campsite.

2. Under Canvas at a Glance

• Hotel brand name: Under Canvas
• Hotel family or company: Under Canvas, with investment backing from KSL Capital Partners
• Brand type: Upscale glamping and outdoor hospitality brand
• Founded: 2009
• Founders: Sarah Dusek and Jacob “Jake” Dusek
• Place founded: Montana, United States
• First destination camp: A Yellowstone gateway camp, opened in 2012
• Current headquarters: Denver, Colorado
• Current ownership: Privately held and backed by KSL Capital Partners
• Industry segment: Upscale outdoor hospitality, glamping, and experiential nature travel
• Market position: A premium alternative to conventional park hotels, rental cabins, recreational vehicles, and self-managed camping
• Typical property types: Seasonal tented camps on private land near national parks and nature destinations
• Geographic focus: The United States, particularly national park gateway markets
• Primary guests: Couples, families, leisure groups, international park visitors, and experience-oriented travelers
• Core proposition: Close contact with nature supported by furnished tents, guest services, dining, and organized programming
• Loyalty relationship: Direct-booking benefits and brand-specific offers rather than membership in a major global hotel loyalty system
• Operating model: Centrally branded outdoor camps rather than a broad conventional franchise network
• Current status: Operating and expanding in selected American outdoor destinations
• Official website: Official Under Canvas website

3. What Hotel Family Does Under Canvas Belong To?

Under Canvas is both the consumer-facing brand and the name of the outdoor hospitality company responsible for its camp network. It is not one of the conventional hotel brands owned by Marriott International, Hilton, Hyatt, or another large hotel franchisor. KSL Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on travel and leisure businesses, made a substantial investment in Under Canvas in 2018 and has supported its subsequent development.

That corporate relationship should not be interpreted to mean that KSL owns every parcel of land or every real-estate interest associated with the camps. Brand ownership, company investment, land ownership, and site operation are distinct matters. Individual locations can involve different land arrangements, permits, leases, development entities, or local operating requirements.

Under Canvas generally presents a more centrally controlled experience than a soft-brand hotel collection. Its camps share a recognizable lodging format, visual identity, booking system, service approach, and programming model. At the same time, physical layouts and amenities vary because each site must respond to local terrain, climate, regulation, infrastructure, and seasonality.

The company has also developed ULUM, a separate higher-end outdoor resort concept. ULUM is useful for understanding the portfolio strategy: Under Canvas is the more widely distributed national park glamping brand, while ULUM is positioned as a more intensive resort experience. The two concepts are related, but they should not be treated as the same brand.

4. Who Founded Under Canvas, and How Did It Begin?

Sarah and Jake Dusek founded Under Canvas in Montana in 2009. The couple’s backgrounds combined familiarity with safari-style hospitality, outdoor recreation, and entrepreneurial event operations. Sarah Dusek had spent part of her early life in Africa, where canvas safari camps were an established lodging format. That experience helped inform the idea that a tent could provide both immersion in the landscape and meaningful physical comfort.

The original business was not immediately a national chain of destination camps. It supplied large canvas tents for weddings and other events, allowing the founders to test demand for furnished tent experiences and learn the operational requirements of temporary structures. The destination model developed from that base.

In 2012, the company opened its first camp near Yellowstone National Park. The location addressed a practical market opportunity: many travelers wanted a strong connection to the Yellowstone landscape but did not necessarily want to bring camping equipment or give up a bed, linens, toilets, and staff support.

The name “Under Canvas” directly describes the accommodation format. More importantly, it expresses the central proposition that still governs the brand: the guest remains physically close to weather, sound, darkness, wildlife habitat, and the surrounding landscape rather than being separated from nature by a conventional hotel building.

5. What Is the History of Under Canvas?

Under Canvas developed in stages, moving from event rentals to destination lodging and then to a multi-market outdoor hospitality platform.

• 2009, founding in Montana: Sarah and Jake Dusek established the business around canvas-tent events. This early activity provided experience in sourcing, installing, furnishing, and operating temporary tent structures.
• 2012, first Yellowstone camp: The opening near Yellowstone converted the event concept into a destination lodging product. It established the basic commercial model of operating a seasonal camp near a heavily visited natural attraction.
• Mid-2010s, expansion to additional park gateways: Under Canvas entered destinations such as Glacier, Moab, Zion, and the Great Smoky Mountains. Expansion demonstrated that the concept could work in different climates and landscapes, from mountain regions to the desert Southwest.
• 2018, KSL Capital Partners investment: KSL’s investment marked a transition from a founder-led growth company toward an institutionally backed hospitality platform. Capital and travel-sector expertise supported new locations, a larger management organization, and more formalized brand systems.
• Late 2010s and early 2020s, broader national coverage: The company added camps near destinations including the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Acadia, Lake Powell and Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Bryce Canyon. This produced a portfolio distributed across several major national park touring routes.
• Greater emphasis on environmental design: Under Canvas increasingly formalized its nature-first operating principles, including limited permanent infrastructure, water-conscious fixtures, low-light environments, and avoidance of televisions in tents. Individual camps have received recognition connected to dark-sky practices, while the company has also pursued corporate sustainability credentials.
• 2023, extension into a separate resort concept: The opening of ULUM Moab showed that the company could use its outdoor hospitality capabilities for a distinct, more resort-intensive brand. ULUM did not replace Under Canvas but extended the company into another tier of nature-based lodging.
• Mid-2020s, new western destinations: Expansion into markets such as Yosemite and the Columbia River Gorge broadened the portfolio beyond its earlier concentration around the Rocky Mountains, Southwest, and selected eastern destinations.

This history shaped several features of the current brand. Its event-business origins help explain the modular nature of the camps. Its Yellowstone beginnings account for its enduring focus on national park gateways. Institutional backing enabled wider geographic expansion, but the company retained canvas accommodations and nature immersion as the defining elements rather than converting the product into a conventional cabin or hotel chain.

The development model also creates constraints. Camps are seasonal, sensitive to weather and wildfire conditions, and subject to local planning, environmental, water, and infrastructure requirements. Expansion therefore depends not only on traveler demand but also on finding appropriate land and operating each site within local ecological and regulatory conditions.

6. What Industry Segment Does Under Canvas Occupy?

Under Canvas operates in the upscale glamping and outdoor hospitality segment. “Glamping,” a combination of glamorous and camping, generally describes outdoor accommodation that removes some of the equipment, setup, and comfort limitations associated with conventional camping.

The brand’s placement in the upscale tier is supported by its furnished tents, hotel-grade bedding, private bathrooms in many categories, housekeeping, staffed reception, dining, programmed activities, and professionally managed booking experience. Its rates can compete with upscale hotels and resorts during peak periods, especially in high-demand national park markets.

Under Canvas is not a traditional full-service luxury hotel brand. Tents may have limited electricity, natural temperature variation, canvas walls, and fewer electronic amenities than a conventional room. Some accommodation categories use shared bathrooms. The guest proposition depends partly on accepting these differences rather than expecting complete insulation from outdoor conditions.

Nor is a universal star rating useful. Star classifications are generally assigned at the property level and are based on systems that may not translate cleanly to tented camps. The more accurate classification is an upscale experiential lodging brand with resort-like service elements.

Within hospitality, Under Canvas overlaps with several categories: destination resorts, eco-lodges, safari camps, campground accommodations, boutique lodging, and national park gateway hotels. Its strategic position comes from combining selected features of each without fitting completely into any one conventional category.

7. How Is Under Canvas Positioned in the Market?

Under Canvas is positioned between self-managed camping and conventional upscale lodging. It offers more physical comfort and operational support than a public campground, but a more direct relationship with the outdoors than a standard hotel, lodge, or vacation rental.

Service level: Camps are staffed hospitality operations with reception, housekeeping, food and beverage service, activity guidance, and communal programming. The service model is attentive but generally less formal than that of a luxury urban hotel.

Price and experience: The brand competes on the combined value of accommodation, location, atmosphere, and convenience. Guests are not simply paying for floor area or room technology. They are purchasing a prepared outdoor experience near a major natural attraction, with much of the camping equipment and site management handled for them.

Exclusivity and accessibility: The product can feel secluded, particularly at lower-density sites with expansive views, but it is not designed exclusively for high-net-worth travelers. A range of tent categories lets the brand serve couples and families with differing space and bathroom preferences, although peak-season pricing places it above conventional campground options.

Nature rather than building design: Conventional lifestyle hotels often make architecture, nightlife, or an urban neighborhood central to the stay. Under Canvas instead uses the landscape, open-air common areas, canvas structures, fire pits, and nighttime skies to create its identity.

National park touring: The portfolio is particularly relevant to travelers assembling multi-stop itineraries across the American West or visiting a park as part of a longer leisure trip. Brand familiarity can reduce uncertainty when booking an accommodation type that remains less standardized than traditional hotels.

Analytically, Under Canvas can be understood as a premium convenience platform for outdoor travel. It does not eliminate camping’s exposure to sound, weather, insects, or temperature. Instead, it reduces the planning burden and physical discomfort that might otherwise prevent some travelers from choosing an outdoor stay.

8. Where Does Under Canvas Operate?

Under Canvas operates exclusively in the United States and concentrates on gateway areas near national parks, monuments, recreation corridors, and other prominent landscapes. The company was founded in Montana and built its initial identity around Yellowstone and Glacier. Its corporate leadership is now based in Denver, Colorado, a practical center for a business focused on western outdoor travel.

The Mountain West and Southwest remain central to the portfolio. Established destinations include the Yellowstone region, Glacier, Moab, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell and Grand Staircase-Escalante, the Grand Canyon, and Mount Rushmore. These locations fit common national park road-trip patterns and attract both domestic and international visitors.

The brand also operates beyond that western core. Great Smoky Mountains gives it access to a major eastern park market, while Acadia provides a presence in coastal Maine. More recent development in destinations such as Yosemite and the Columbia River Gorge has extended the network into additional western touring corridors.

The official portfolio now comprises more than a dozen seasonal camps, although the number available at any moment depends on opening schedules, weather, maintenance, and destination-specific operating seasons. Most camps close during part of the year, particularly where winters are cold or park visitation is highly seasonal.

Under Canvas sites are generally outside national park boundaries on private land. This distinction matters because the company is not the concessionaire for lodging inside the parks. Proximity varies by camp, so travelers need to consider driving time, entrance congestion, and the location of the activities they plan to undertake.

Announced projects should also be distinguished from operating camps. New outdoor hospitality sites can face long planning and development periods, and a proposed destination should not be treated as bookable until the company has placed it into active operation.

9. What Does Under Canvas Provide?

Accommodation

The central product is a safari-inspired canvas tent furnished for overnight lodging. Common categories include tents with king beds, twin-bed configurations, suites with lounge space, stargazing designs with viewing windows above the bed, and family arrangements that pair a main tent with a smaller adjacent children’s tent.

Many categories have private bathrooms with toilets, sinks, and pull-chain showers. Entry-level tents at some camps may use shared bathhouses. Wood-burning stoves are common in cooler settings, while lanterns, battery packs, fans, and other equipment vary by location and tent type. Guests should not assume that tents have conventional air conditioning, extensive electrical outlets, or the sound insulation of a hotel room.

Food and beverages

Camps typically provide on-site dining or café service for breakfast and dinner, along with drinks, snacks, and provisions suitable for a day outdoors. Menus and operating hours vary by site and season. Dining reduces the need to drive to a gateway town for every meal, but Under Canvas is not standardized around a single signature restaurant format.

Wellness and recreation

Programming frequently includes morning yoga, guided or self-directed wellness activities, live acoustic music, campfires, s’mores, and talks connected to the local environment. Some activities are included, while excursions such as rafting, guided hiking, climbing, horseback riding, or scenic tours may be provided by local partners at an additional charge.

Guest services

Camp staff handle check-in, housekeeping, local recommendations, dining support, and assistance with activities. The service reduces the logistical work normally associated with camping. Guests arrive at an installed and furnished tent rather than carrying and assembling their own shelter.

Communal spaces

Lobby tents, decks, fire areas, dining spaces, and outdoor seating function as the social center of each camp. They provide places to eat, ask for advice, meet other travelers, or spend time outside the sleeping tent. These shared areas are particularly important because the rooms themselves intentionally contain less entertainment technology than most hotels.

Events and groups

Selected camps can accommodate weddings, retreats, family gatherings, and corporate groups. Capacity, private-event options, food service, and buyout arrangements differ considerably by destination. The natural setting can be a major part of the event proposition, but weather planning and transportation require more attention than at a conventional conference hotel.

10. Why Do Guests Choose Under Canvas?

1. Access to prominent natural destinations

One reason travelers may choose Under Canvas is its concentration near national parks and recreation areas. The camps can serve as bases for hiking, sightseeing, rafting, wildlife observation, and scenic driving. This is especially relevant to travelers whose destination choice begins with the park rather than the hotel.

2. Outdoor immersion without camping equipment

Under Canvas removes the need to purchase, transport, pitch, and pack a tent. Beds, linens, furniture, and essential guest services are already provided. This may appeal to first-time campers, international visitors, and leisure travelers who want an outdoor stay without managing the entire campsite themselves.

3. Greater comfort than a conventional campground

Real beds, elevated platforms, furnishings, housekeeping, and private bathrooms in many tent categories make the experience physically easier for guests who would not choose a sleeping bag and basic campsite. The proposition remains outdoors, but it reduces several common barriers to camping.

4. A distinctive atmosphere

Canvas walls, open-air common spaces, firelight, natural sound, and dark skies create an environment that a conventional hotel building cannot reproduce in the same way. Couples and experience-oriented travelers may value the sense of occasion associated with sleeping under canvas.

5. Family-oriented configurations

Adjacent children’s tents and larger suite arrangements can turn the accommodation itself into part of a family adventure. Parents retain a more comfortable primary sleeping space while children receive a separate but nearby area. Availability and age requirements vary, so families need to confirm the configuration at the chosen camp.

6. On-site support and programming

Dining, staff recommendations, evening activities, yoga, and excursion planning provide a more structured experience than an independent campsite. Guests unfamiliar with a destination may particularly value having a staffed base and assistance organizing their time.

7. Reduced emphasis on digital distraction

Under Canvas intentionally limits televisions and other conventional in-room entertainment. Some travelers may see this as a reason to choose the brand because it encourages attention to companions and the landscape. Others may view limited connectivity and power as a constraint, making this an important preference rather than a universal benefit.

11. Who Does Under Canvas Serve?

National park leisure travelers

The largest relevant segment consists of domestic and international visitors building trips around national parks. They need practical destination access but may prefer a more experiential base than a roadside hotel. Location, activity advice, breakfast, and a prepared bed are especially important to this group.

Couples and experience-oriented travelers

Couples may choose stargazer tents, private decks, firelit evenings, and landscapes that create a distinctive short break or milestone trip. For these guests, atmosphere and memorability can matter as much as conventional room amenities.

Families

Families are served through suites, multiple-bed arrangements, adjacent children’s tents, informal dining, and communal programming. The concept can introduce children to outdoor lodging while retaining toilets, bedding, and staff support. Parents still need to assess temperature, terrain, nighttime noise, and bathroom arrangements for their children’s needs.

Outdoor newcomers and comfort-seeking adventurers

Under Canvas is relevant to people interested in hiking, rafting, wildlife, or scenic travel who do not identify as experienced campers. It can also appeal to established outdoor travelers who want to reduce equipment and setup work on a particular trip.

Groups and retreats

Weddings, multigenerational gatherings, incentive groups, and small corporate retreats may use the camps for a shared nature experience. The communal areas and organized activities support group interaction, while individual tents provide more privacy than a shared campground arrangement.

12. What Defines the Under Canvas Guest Experience?

The Under Canvas guest journey begins with arrival at a staffed camp rather than a conventional hotel lobby. Check-in normally takes place in a communal canvas or open-air structure, where staff provide orientation, dining information, activity guidance, and practical instructions about the tent.

The sleeping experience is central. Guests are separated from the surroundings by canvas rather than solid walls, so they can hear wind, rain, birds, nearby animals, and other camp activity. Beds and linens provide familiar comfort, but temperature and sound remain part of the product. This mixture of comfort and exposure is intentional.

Public spaces encourage guests to spend time outside their tents. Fire pits, seating areas, dining spaces, live music, yoga, and evening s’mores create a camp atmosphere with selected resort services. The experience is typically informal, with outdoor clothing and park itineraries shaping the rhythm of the day.

The brand also emphasizes low-light conditions and reduced electronic distraction. Dark-sky practices are particularly relevant at desert and mountain camps, although certification and viewing conditions differ by location. Weather, moonlight, wildfire smoke, and nearby development can affect what guests actually see.

There is meaningful variation across the portfolio. A coastal Maine camp, a Utah desert site, and a mountain camp near Yellowstone cannot deliver identical weather, views, recreation, or seasonality. The recurring brand characteristics are the canvas accommodation, nature-focused setting, communal programming, and staffed hospitality model, not a completely standardized physical experience.

13. What Distinguishes Under Canvas From Other Hotel Brands?

A concentrated national park strategy: Under Canvas has built its brand around gateway markets rather than pursuing a general mix of city, airport, suburban, and resort locations. This creates a clear association with American outdoor itineraries.

Canvas as the primary accommodation: Tents are not a small add-on to a conventional resort. They are the main lodging product. This gives the company a more coherent glamping identity than hotels that offer only a few seasonal tents or outdoor suites.

A balance of exposure and comfort: The tents preserve natural sound, darkness, and temperature variation while adding beds, furniture, bathrooms in many categories, dining, and housekeeping. This balance is the brand’s most important functional distinction.

Seasonal, relatively low-infrastructure camps: The operating model differs from permanent multi-story hotels. Modular structures can reduce some forms of site disturbance and keep guests visually close to the landscape, although any hospitality development still creates land, transportation, water, waste, and energy impacts.

Communal programming without a conventional resort building: Fire pits, live music, yoga, local activities, and shared lobby spaces generate social interaction. The model relies less on corridors, elevators, ballrooms, televisions, and large indoor facilities.

These characteristics do not make Under Canvas universally preferable to a park lodge, vacation rental, cabin, recreational vehicle, or campground. They distinguish the situations in which it is most relevant: travelers seeking a managed outdoor experience with comfort, atmosphere, and destination access.

14. How Should Under Canvas Be Understood Today?

What remains central

Under Canvas remains closely associated with safari-style tents, national park gateways, communal camp life, and a deliberate connection to the surrounding environment. Its core customer proposition has changed less than its scale: guests receive an outdoor stay without taking responsibility for the equipment and setup required by ordinary camping.

What has changed

The company has evolved from a Montana event business and single Yellowstone camp into an institutionally backed hospitality platform with more than a dozen destinations. Its geography now includes the East Coast, Southeast, Pacific states, Mountain West, and Southwest. Management, reservations, sustainability practices, and brand standards have become more formal as the network has expanded.

The creation of ULUM also shows a move toward portfolio segmentation. Rather than stretching the Under Canvas name to cover every possible price and service tier, the company has used a separate brand for a more resort-intensive outdoor concept.

What the name signals today

As an analytical interpretation, the Under Canvas name now signals premium outdoor access rather than traditional camping or conventional luxury. A traveler can reasonably expect furnished canvas lodging, shared social spaces, nature-based programming, and fewer electronic or building-based amenities than at a standard upscale hotel.

Important limitations

The portfolio is geographically broad within the United States but is not international. Properties are near parks rather than generally inside them. The tents also differ by category, and not every unit has a private bathroom or the same power, heating, cooling, and view. Under Canvas is therefore best understood as a specialized nature-hospitality brand, not as a uniform substitute for every type of hotel stay.

15. Frequently Asked Questions

When was Under Canvas founded?

Under Canvas was founded in Montana in 2009. It initially operated in the canvas-event market. The first destination glamping camp opened near Yellowstone National Park in 2012, which is the more relevant date for the beginning of its current lodging model.

Who founded Under Canvas?

Sarah Dusek and her husband, Jacob “Jake” Dusek, founded Under Canvas. Their concept combined safari-inspired tent accommodation with access to American outdoor destinations and services intended to remove much of the equipment and planning burden associated with camping.

Who owns Under Canvas?

Under Canvas is privately held and backed by KSL Capital Partners, which invested in the company in 2018. That investment relationship concerns the hospitality company and brand. It does not necessarily mean the investor directly owns every site or parcel used by an individual camp.

Is Under Canvas a luxury hotel brand?

Under Canvas is more accurately classified as an upscale glamping and outdoor hospitality brand. It provides premium bedding, service, dining, and private bathrooms in many categories, but it does not offer the fully enclosed, climate-controlled, technology-rich environment usually associated with a conventional luxury hotel.

Where does Under Canvas operate?

The brand operates in the United States near major natural attractions, particularly national parks. Its markets include Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion, Moab, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia, Mount Rushmore, Yosemite, and other outdoor destinations.

Do all Under Canvas tents have private bathrooms?

No. Many higher-category tents include an en-suite bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower, but some entry-level accommodations use shared bathhouses. Bathroom arrangements, bed configurations, electricity, and temperature-control features should be checked for the specific camp and tent category.

Why do travelers choose Under Canvas?

Travelers may choose the brand for national park access, furnished outdoor accommodation, reduced camping logistics, family configurations, communal programming, on-site dining, and a setting that preserves natural sounds and dark skies. The concept is most relevant to guests comfortable with the practical differences between a tent and a hotel room.

Does Under Canvas operate year-round?

Most Under Canvas camps operate seasonally. Opening and closing dates reflect climate, road access, park visitation, and local operating conditions. The available portfolio therefore changes during the year, and guests should confirm current dates for the destination they intend to visit.