the way this term is conflated with camping (and the way some ppl in this comment thread spoke of it as ‘exploring’) evinces a certain context through which ppl view the world, travel, and especially ‘camping’.

it’s a context based primarily on comfort and convenience.

this is the point of origin of commodified thinking.

it’s a way we begin increasing the distance between ourselves and place..

and then deluding ourselves that we are ‘exploring place.’

this is why concrete language is so importnat.

one isn’t ‘exploring place’, but ‘paying for a night in a luxury yurt rental’ (or whatever).

if language isn’t concrete, how can thinking / perspective be concrete?

this is also why commodified thinking leads to negative consequences: it doesn’t just reduce place / experience / expression but also perspective

it does this by obfuscating the relationship between person and place

it increases the distance between person and place.

the person marketing or selling the commodity, the purveyor of the commodified experience, then attempts to fill this space with suggestions of ‘iconic scenery’ and/or ‘memorable experiences’.

the commodified thinker then buys the ‘iconic scenery’ and/or ‘memorable experiences’.

and evaluates them based on the level to which they ‘delivered on the promise’ of providing the scenery / comfort / experiences.

if he or she also writes, then he or she tends to describe this scenery / comfort/ experience using commodified thinking and terminology (ex: ‘the yurt was impeccable . . the staff was courteous’) as the ‘common ground’ through which they can ‘connect’ with other readers.

thus they ‘complete the cycle’ of commodification, serving as a kind of advertisement or marketing (even if the ‘review’ is negative) for the commodified experience.

To me Glamping is about finding glamorous concept ideas for the weekend without spending too much money.

Here is a good example of what I call glamping: http://www.origin-campervans.com

They rent fully equiped VW vans to venture around Europe in couple.
You can drive and sleep where you want and leave very unique moments.

My point is that someone has taken camping and all the connotation that camping encompasses and repackaged it to appeal to a different, more affluent bunch, to give off the impression that what they’re doing is “camping”. As I said, it’s just marketing BS (the same way boutique and urban is used nowadays). It’s probably more a comment on society than anything else, really.

“It’s not as if anything changed overnight, that a whole new genre of accommodations sprang up.”

I think you are 100% wrong here. The truth is that this IS a new genre of accommodation that has been invented, not overnight, but in the past five years (or decade at the most).

And in your original post, you did seem to be objecting to the act of “glamping”, not just the word. You specifically said that it shouldn’t have a bed more comfortable than the one you have at home or plumbing in your tent. You’re entitled to that opinion, of course.

And Carlo, think you might be waiting for a while. As long as you aren’t holding your breath or anything.

I’ve been lucky so far, I’ve never come across anyone who has actually said, “I’m going glamping this weekend.” What a day that will be.