My take is that it is a use it or loose it issue. Nature loving nudists likely spend less at a resort in a week than other "tourists" spend on their bar bill in a night. Volunteer labor and total ownership by the members as a co-op is the ideal solution but that wont support all the clubs we would like to have.
We often go to the town of Paleochora on the island of Crete in Greece. A short walk away from where we stay is a naturist beach where you can rent loungers and parasols. There are a number of other naturist beaches in the area. None of the beaches are official but have become informally established over the years.
Nearly everything we spend goes into local businesses: hotel, restaurants, shops and car hire.
Naturists seem to be a minority of visitors to the area but we are still an important part of the tourist economy and there is peaceful co-existence between naturist and textiles.
It's a shame that in both the UK and the US it seems difficult for an area to develop in this way.
Nudist venues have always, I believe, been started by amateur entrepreneurs with few financial or marketing skills. These remain woefully under capitalized. That these have survived for decades as fringe operations is a tribute to their knowledge of common cultural norms. Sadly, that is not enough. The survivors need to analyze the European model. AANR & TNS need to put together a Manual of Best Practices for Nudist Resorts that would give new nudist entrepreneurs a leg up. Why should every nudist resort be crippled by wrong choices?
I have been to too many resorts where management milked the premises until nothing was left except the value of real estate. Their managements failed to keep their properties up, failed to invest in any thing other than passive activities like sunbathing, and, in some cases, were downright hostile to newcomers. Their ultimate failures as enterprises should come as no surprise. The seemed to forget that the ASA discarded ‘Sunbathing’ in favor of ‘Nude Recreation.’
As for marketing, just to give you one example: of all the nudist venues I have visited in the last 20 years, not a single one has followed up with any communication inviting me back, asking me for a survey, let alone make me aware of any improvements in their enterprise.
So yes, the closing of nudist resorts is tragic. What is more tragic is that the survivors are unable to learn from the experiences of the failed nudist enterprises.
This is spot on. Though I can't imagine what kind of effort AANR might have launched that would even begin to prepare nudist resort owners to stand up against such odds.
Knowing that Lupin Lodge in the Santa Cruz mountains dates back nearly 100 years, I'm sure the founders could never have fathomed that their successors would be putting that piece of land (probably mortgage-free for the last 50 years) on the market for $32M! And if the current owner is able to get anything close to that, who could blame her? Who among us would have the fortitude to turn down an offer like that?
We visited Coventry Nudist Resort in Northern Vermont a few years ago. It sits on a gorgeous lake where visitors were free to kayak, paddle-board, swim naked, despite the appearance of expensive mini-mansions springing up across the lake. That said, the property was suffering from tremendous neglect. Our rented cabin would barely meet the criteria to be called rustic, and several travel trailers on the property sat decaying, if not outright abandoned.
Chatting with the owners during our stay, they were ready to retire, but didn't have a viable plan for succession. About a year later, the property closed and was reportedly sold to developers. I have no idea what the property sold for, but there's no question a developer will be able to subdivide that land and build MORE lake-view mini-mansions and clear $32M 2 or 3 times over again.
Maybe the real headline is - Capitalism and Nudism are not good bedfellows. :(
And yet the European model is working, as in CMH Monta, White Tail in VA where constant improvements are made every year, and the remainder of the properties are well maintained.
And though I’ve only visited once, Laguna del Sol seems to have done much of the same, though as Evan mentioned, they are privately owned - along with their sister property in Tuscon, Mira Vista, where they’ve not only made huge capital investments into the resort property, but built an extensive nudist condo complex as well. When Desert Shadows(Sun) went that direction, it seemed that would set them on a path of perpetuity, but now they’ve divided the property in half, isolating the condos for the resort.
I guess the lesson is that the only thing you can count on is change! CHM Monta, Belezy, and La Sabliere (in France) have each gone through major restructuring in the last decade or two, and in each case, they’re flourishing more than ever. But, of course, they do have the advantage of attracting a European clientele. Back to the main point of the article - know your market, or in this case, whether that market even exists. 🤷♂️
most of the gay hotels ( I do not know of any that are not ) clothing optional in palm springs. one by one they too are vanishing. younger gay men don't care for it. I live a mostly quiet nudist life and am sad that so few people care enough about themselves to experience body freedom.
It's unfortunate that Substack features don't include a "dislike" or "angry face" reaction button. But I appreciate the concise recap of what is shaping up to be the end of an era.
Oddly enough, many of the owners/managers of naturist places we've talked to over the years have found success specifically IN MARKETING as clothes-free! That set them apart from the mainstream hospitality industry, where they could boast high occupancy in the off-season simply by the nature of their unique offerings.
I fear the current phenomenon of rapid decline is not only due to the aging out/passing of owners and nudist visionaries, but an even more frightening trend of an ever-growing prudish/conservative society. Add to that the general paranoia in the shadow of digital photography and all things internet, and we find ourselves in an era where people are more fearful of judgment and violation of privacy than ever before.
It seems ironic that British Naturism seems to be growing by leaps and bounds, French naturism is experiencing a revival with young families, and huge new spa complexes where nudity is common are springing up all over northern Europe.
Apparently it's mainly us Americans who are experiencing this huge Puritan revival!
Naturism certainly faces many challenges. As far as Lupin is concerned, the problem is its location in Silicon Valley, about 10 miles away from many multi-billion $ tech companies. People with tech jobs can easily afford the expense of patronizing Lupin, and probably many do, but most are too busy earning their several hundred K salaries. For that matter, even retired older folks who bought homes in SV 50 years ago have seen their 60K 3-bedroom 1250 square foot homes built in the 1950s appreciate to $2.1+ million or so - like some long-time friends of mine who live a block away from the Apple campus. Except for skilled techies, most "real" people can't afford to visit Lupin, and if they're Millennials or younger, they can hardly scrape by renting in the general area of Silicon Valley.
This is the same problem in most parts of the country for most people who've been in the workforce for less than 20 years or so. Participation in naturism is a luxury for them - and there's a lot of resentment towards older people who can afford to participate. Things are only going to get worse as the old folks age out - while naturists slightly younger can afford vacationing regularly in France, Spain, or other countries less unfriendly to naturism than the USA.
The other big problem for U.S. naturism is the horrific gender imbalance of men to women. This isn't mainly a problem of economics, though that might be a small part. Young women mostly want nothing to do with the "Bro" culture of young men. And even older, married women are scarce at well-maintained places like Lupin and Laguna del Sol. It's not necessarily that women don't trust male attitudes and behavior. Women (whether or not wearing clothes) simply want to socialize as often with other women as with men.
No doubt there are a lot of changes coming about these days. This article reflects that. I would like to know more about the new places that are starting up. That would be a great topic for this group, don't you think?
I discovered just today that the iconic Croatia resort of Koversada has been partially converted to textile. The two parts are now know as Koversada Covered and Koversada Uncovered. Ideally we shouldn't need naturist resorts, being naked should just be the normal way to enjoy the outdoors. Why so many people can't see that is hard to understand.
Gilbert's comment ending with "... that's where the market is going."
My response is, "Where's your evidence for that? Citeable sources only, please. You know the saying 'Documented or it didn't happen.'"
My take is that it is a use it or loose it issue. Nature loving nudists likely spend less at a resort in a week than other "tourists" spend on their bar bill in a night. Volunteer labor and total ownership by the members as a co-op is the ideal solution but that wont support all the clubs we would like to have.
We often go to the town of Paleochora on the island of Crete in Greece. A short walk away from where we stay is a naturist beach where you can rent loungers and parasols. There are a number of other naturist beaches in the area. None of the beaches are official but have become informally established over the years.
Nearly everything we spend goes into local businesses: hotel, restaurants, shops and car hire.
Naturists seem to be a minority of visitors to the area but we are still an important part of the tourist economy and there is peaceful co-existence between naturist and textiles.
It's a shame that in both the UK and the US it seems difficult for an area to develop in this way.
Nudist venues have always, I believe, been started by amateur entrepreneurs with few financial or marketing skills. These remain woefully under capitalized. That these have survived for decades as fringe operations is a tribute to their knowledge of common cultural norms. Sadly, that is not enough. The survivors need to analyze the European model. AANR & TNS need to put together a Manual of Best Practices for Nudist Resorts that would give new nudist entrepreneurs a leg up. Why should every nudist resort be crippled by wrong choices?
I have been to too many resorts where management milked the premises until nothing was left except the value of real estate. Their managements failed to keep their properties up, failed to invest in any thing other than passive activities like sunbathing, and, in some cases, were downright hostile to newcomers. Their ultimate failures as enterprises should come as no surprise. The seemed to forget that the ASA discarded ‘Sunbathing’ in favor of ‘Nude Recreation.’
As for marketing, just to give you one example: of all the nudist venues I have visited in the last 20 years, not a single one has followed up with any communication inviting me back, asking me for a survey, let alone make me aware of any improvements in their enterprise.
So yes, the closing of nudist resorts is tragic. What is more tragic is that the survivors are unable to learn from the experiences of the failed nudist enterprises.
This is spot on. Though I can't imagine what kind of effort AANR might have launched that would even begin to prepare nudist resort owners to stand up against such odds.
Knowing that Lupin Lodge in the Santa Cruz mountains dates back nearly 100 years, I'm sure the founders could never have fathomed that their successors would be putting that piece of land (probably mortgage-free for the last 50 years) on the market for $32M! And if the current owner is able to get anything close to that, who could blame her? Who among us would have the fortitude to turn down an offer like that?
We visited Coventry Nudist Resort in Northern Vermont a few years ago. It sits on a gorgeous lake where visitors were free to kayak, paddle-board, swim naked, despite the appearance of expensive mini-mansions springing up across the lake. That said, the property was suffering from tremendous neglect. Our rented cabin would barely meet the criteria to be called rustic, and several travel trailers on the property sat decaying, if not outright abandoned.
Chatting with the owners during our stay, they were ready to retire, but didn't have a viable plan for succession. About a year later, the property closed and was reportedly sold to developers. I have no idea what the property sold for, but there's no question a developer will be able to subdivide that land and build MORE lake-view mini-mansions and clear $32M 2 or 3 times over again.
Maybe the real headline is - Capitalism and Nudism are not good bedfellows. :(
And yet the European model is working, as in CMH Monta, White Tail in VA where constant improvements are made every year, and the remainder of the properties are well maintained.
And though I’ve only visited once, Laguna del Sol seems to have done much of the same, though as Evan mentioned, they are privately owned - along with their sister property in Tuscon, Mira Vista, where they’ve not only made huge capital investments into the resort property, but built an extensive nudist condo complex as well. When Desert Shadows(Sun) went that direction, it seemed that would set them on a path of perpetuity, but now they’ve divided the property in half, isolating the condos for the resort.
I guess the lesson is that the only thing you can count on is change! CHM Monta, Belezy, and La Sabliere (in France) have each gone through major restructuring in the last decade or two, and in each case, they’re flourishing more than ever. But, of course, they do have the advantage of attracting a European clientele. Back to the main point of the article - know your market, or in this case, whether that market even exists. 🤷♂️
most of the gay hotels ( I do not know of any that are not ) clothing optional in palm springs. one by one they too are vanishing. younger gay men don't care for it. I live a mostly quiet nudist life and am sad that so few people care enough about themselves to experience body freedom.
It's unfortunate that Substack features don't include a "dislike" or "angry face" reaction button. But I appreciate the concise recap of what is shaping up to be the end of an era.
Oddly enough, many of the owners/managers of naturist places we've talked to over the years have found success specifically IN MARKETING as clothes-free! That set them apart from the mainstream hospitality industry, where they could boast high occupancy in the off-season simply by the nature of their unique offerings.
I fear the current phenomenon of rapid decline is not only due to the aging out/passing of owners and nudist visionaries, but an even more frightening trend of an ever-growing prudish/conservative society. Add to that the general paranoia in the shadow of digital photography and all things internet, and we find ourselves in an era where people are more fearful of judgment and violation of privacy than ever before.
It seems ironic that British Naturism seems to be growing by leaps and bounds, French naturism is experiencing a revival with young families, and huge new spa complexes where nudity is common are springing up all over northern Europe.
Apparently it's mainly us Americans who are experiencing this huge Puritan revival!
[Insert "sad emoji with tears" button, please.]
Naturism certainly faces many challenges. As far as Lupin is concerned, the problem is its location in Silicon Valley, about 10 miles away from many multi-billion $ tech companies. People with tech jobs can easily afford the expense of patronizing Lupin, and probably many do, but most are too busy earning their several hundred K salaries. For that matter, even retired older folks who bought homes in SV 50 years ago have seen their 60K 3-bedroom 1250 square foot homes built in the 1950s appreciate to $2.1+ million or so - like some long-time friends of mine who live a block away from the Apple campus. Except for skilled techies, most "real" people can't afford to visit Lupin, and if they're Millennials or younger, they can hardly scrape by renting in the general area of Silicon Valley.
This is the same problem in most parts of the country for most people who've been in the workforce for less than 20 years or so. Participation in naturism is a luxury for them - and there's a lot of resentment towards older people who can afford to participate. Things are only going to get worse as the old folks age out - while naturists slightly younger can afford vacationing regularly in France, Spain, or other countries less unfriendly to naturism than the USA.
The other big problem for U.S. naturism is the horrific gender imbalance of men to women. This isn't mainly a problem of economics, though that might be a small part. Young women mostly want nothing to do with the "Bro" culture of young men. And even older, married women are scarce at well-maintained places like Lupin and Laguna del Sol. It's not necessarily that women don't trust male attitudes and behavior. Women (whether or not wearing clothes) simply want to socialize as often with other women as with men.
No doubt there are a lot of changes coming about these days. This article reflects that. I would like to know more about the new places that are starting up. That would be a great topic for this group, don't you think?
I discovered just today that the iconic Croatia resort of Koversada has been partially converted to textile. The two parts are now know as Koversada Covered and Koversada Uncovered. Ideally we shouldn't need naturist resorts, being naked should just be the normal way to enjoy the outdoors. Why so many people can't see that is hard to understand.
wow really??..thats crazy and sad.. sorry to say but it all always comes from USA..