The Challenge

North America’s premier luxury glamping and camping experience provider, Under Canvas (UC), had an ambitious plan for growth. Leadership sought to launch three new, expanded camps at iconic locations including Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Glacier National Park in advance of their busy summer season.

Construction was starting and reservations were rolling in. But the timeline was tight, and UC faced major setbacks at the project level. Permits were delayed. Designs were incomplete. Communications were faltering. UC needed to put the right people and processes in place to overcome these barriers. They engaged Point B to provide the proven project leadership and real estate development expertise to get the job done.

Experienced Project Leadership

Point B deployed a team of seasoned leaders to support UC throughout the projects.

We staffed an interim VP of Development to oversee all construction and skilled construction managers (CMs) to serve as go-to leaders at the sites.

The VP was the single point of accountability for essential functions like scheduling, permitting and overcoming daily hurdles. The CMs managed teams and schedules on the job sites and provided essential reporting and communication back to UC’s operations team.

Comprehensive Project Management

Point B moved quickly to identify and shore up gaps in project management. We implemented several key structures, including:

  • Detailed scopes and schedules, with clear metrics and accountability.
  • RAID tracking to map and monitor risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies.
  • Daily steering committee meetings and weekly status reports to enhance communication, problem solving and transparency.

These steps empowered UC leaders to make more informed decisions, while also building trust and rigor with teams on the ground.

Accountability and Communication

With projects underway in multiple remote locations, UC faced major challenges with communication. Essential information was getting lost in the reporting chain. In some cases, it wasn’t reported at all.

Point B infused the transparency needed to identify and address issues head on. As with many construction projects, we faced a variety of hurdles. However, sound planning, reliable reporting and open communication helped the teams identify root causes, develop solutions and deploy resources to overcome every obstacle and open the camps on time.

Reliable Results

  • Successfully opened three camps with 40-100 units on schedule before the summer season started.
  • Implemented scalable and reliable workflows for planning, design, permitting and staffing.
  • Established best practices for project leadership and a proven project management framework to drive success on this and future efforts.