AUGUST NEWSLETTER 2024

Introduction

Hey everyone,

Jonas here from the Glamping Tago team. I’ve decided to write a monthly newsletter during the season to keep you in the loop of what is going on at the Glamping. It will give you an inside look at our business while at the same time keeping you up to date on the news and improvements.

While I will do my absolute best to keep these mails to the point, there is a lot of things that happen at the Glamping as we are constantly trying to improve. So don’t kill me if it’s too long. Especially this first one will be a bit longer but bear with me.

News

Quick update on the business

First of all a quick honest look on how the Glamping is doing. The start of the season was a bit rocky with the news our beloved cable car would undergo renovations, a delayed shipment of tents due to the Gaza war and a slow start of the tourism season. Luckily we were able to navigate these challenges and right now the season is in full swing, we’ve never had so many people at the morning yoga classes and it seems like we will be almost fully booked for both July and August!

Improvements

During the slower months, we took advantage of the time to make some improvements at the Glamping. We built a new yoga space (see last email) and improved the living conditions for our team.

Staff zone

Until now probably most of you don’t know but the staff living conditions at the Glamping weren’t always the best. Our team including myself have slept in makeshift accommodations, old lotuses and improvised rooms for a big part of the time, I guess that’s the start-up life.

So right now I am very happy to announce that we’ve finished our staff quarters, so our staff will have their own zone to relax and unwind after their shift. While obvious a well rested staff has benefits for everyone there is another upside to this. Right now we also always have an extra room (the panorama room) for group leaders which is available at no extra cost!

Addition 3 lotusses

Next to the new staff rooms, we’ve added 3 new lotuses (bringing the total to 12) in order to not only increase the capacity but also keep the prices affordable. We all know that inflation hit quite hard all around the world that’s why we are on a mission to not only stop increasing our pricing but even try to make them more affordable. These 3 extra tents will help with that and on top will allow bigger retreats to take place at the Glamping.

Summer heat

We’ve also received some feedback from you, that in summer it’s difficult to find a place to cool down and that our domes can feel like a sauna at times. So we’ve added 2 huge sun umbrella’s where you can hide from the sun and installed 2 air-condition units in the domes. Next to that we had an MVP (minimal viable product) of a small plunge pool to cool down and can say the test was successful. We are considering creating a more permanent one next year!

Next to these main improvements there are also a lot of small improvements but well if I’ll go over each one of these this e-mail will become a book. 😉 So over to the next subject: tours and hiking routes!

New tours and hiking routes

Hiking routes

With help from my nephew, who volunteered and mapped all the secret trails, and our friends and partners Nikita and Daria, we created and documented many more hiking routes around Tago. We’ll keep adding more in the coming months. You can check them out here: https://glampingtago.ge/hiking-routes-in-upper-adjara/

Jarra honey tours

Inspired by Maja Karslone, we’ve created a new tour highlighting Jarra honey, a unique honey harvesting method in Adjara. Our amazing beekeeper, Mindia, will show you this tradition and let you experience true Georgian hospitality. For the adventurous, he can even take you to hidden waterfalls deep inside the forest for a swim! It’s an ideal tour for bigger groups as it’s possible to reach Mindia’s house by minibus.

Horse tours

And guess what? There are horses in Tago! Thanks to the son of our housekeeper Gulnazi, we’ve started a collaboration where you can explore the surroundings on horseback while supporting a local family. There are only four horses now, but if all goes well, there will be more next year!

You can find all the tours here: https://glampingtago.ge/tours

Roads and cable car

New cable car and rumors
Now let’s talk about the cable car, there are some talks in town that the cable car will not only be renovated but there might actually be a second wagon added! Say what? There are even some rumours that the cable car will be extended to the top of the mountain ➝ I checked with the head of the tourism department and so far I can confirm that these are only rumours. Anyways exciting ones!

Paved road in Tago

Next to the new cable car the government has decided to finished the last stretch of non paved road from the mosque in Tago all the way to the Glamping! Meaning that soon (planned for the end of August) we will be reachable with a non-jeep. Omg! While we still advice to come to us with a jeep it will be possible to reach us with a normal car and some patience.

Asphalt road from Akhaltsikhe to Khulo

Good news the road from Akhaltsikhe up until Goderdzi has already been completely asphalted and by the end of this year it should be finished all the way until Khulo. Meaning by the end of this year you will be able to reach Khulo from both sides with a normal car! Now note the road should have been finished 2 years ago, so there might be some delays, although this time with the elections it seems like they are really going to finish it!

Team update

Welcoming back an old friend and team member: Anna Turiashvilli

We had to say goodbye to Saba as he embarks on new adventures. In his place, we welcome back Anna Turiashvili, who worked with us in our second season. In the past 2 years she’s gained valuable experience managing retreats and groups in similar places around Georgia.

Team member promoted: Maria

Most of you know and love Maria. Well, she’s decided to step up and take our kitchen to the next level! Maria is now in charge of the kitchen and she’s committed to making the food at the Glamping even better. We’re excited to see (and taste!) what she comes up with.

Collaborations

Ohm Batumi and Yogaspace - retreats with true connection

The first collaboration we would like to highlight is the one with Julia Zolotareva and Nikita Shetko. It’s already the second year that we are working together and this year we took our collaboration to the next level. Nikita is a part time developer and part time retreat organizer. Together with Julia whom is a psychologist and yoga teacher they organize one of the most amazing retreats that I have seen at the Glamping. They really are able to create a special bond on both an emotional and psychological level between the participants, resulting in retreats ending with tears of sadness and joy.

B2B doc - unexpected magic

The second collaboration which I would like to highlight is the one with b2b doc, an international NGO with headquarters in Stockholm who focusses on cross border collaboration for documentary making. Anastasia the organizer came to us two weeks before the already planned film lab. which was suppose to happen in Goderdzi. After staying with us for one week and the fact that Goderdzi is a construction site right now she decided to put all plans upside down and instead organize the film lab in Tago! While it was quite a logistical puzzle we were able to pull it off and were able to host them. Her group of 28 filmmakers stayed with us for 4 days and 4 days in local guesthouses. It was a true test for our kitchen as at times they had to cook for more than 60 people but they handle it like champs! This experience did not only brought our team closer but also created many unforgettable memories. The end result to put it in Anastasia her words: “we were hit by unexpected magic”.

Availability

Last but not least for any of you who are still considering to plan a trip to the Glamping here is some availability update.

August is pretty much fully booked only at the end of the month there are a few dates
– 23 – 25 August
– 26 – 29 August

For September good news there are still quite a lot of free days so hit me up if you are interested.
For October we have various groups from 03 October until 15 October but outside of that we still have free days! Keep in mind this year we will close at the end of October.

Outro

Congratulations on making it all the way down here, I hope it was somehow entertaining and see you again in one month! I also want to say that if you would like more information on any of these topics please sent me an e-mail or write a quick Whatsapp message!

Kind regards,
Jonas
+995595300735

Glamping Tago is a small start-up set on a mission to enhance mindful traveling, providing equal care and love to our guests, environment and team members.

We do so, by creating a comfortable space in one of the most authentic places in Adjara.

Turning it into a getaway where people can reconnect with themselves, step into adventures and begin new stories.