4 Content Lessons from Travis Chambers (Outpost X)

In 2024, Travis Chambers opened Outpost X. The ultimate sci-fi experience hotel.

Here are some stats:

• Outpost X is hours from any major metro city. Completely against the grain from traditional advice.

• Booking revenue generated (pre-launch): $944K

• Return on ad spend: ~65x

I have been fascinated with Travis's story for years.

Three weeks ago, I went to his Advertising Mastery Workshop in Boise, ID.

Goal: Learn everything I possibly can about his way of thinking and path to success.

I took some notes. Today, I'm going to share my 4 biggest takeaways with you.

Let's dive in!

Lesson #1: Creative is Now Your Targeting

~5 years ago, the most valuable skillset in advertising was ad buying.

Ad buying is the process of strategically guessing where to place ads.

On Meta, part of the ad buying process is interest targeting. Meaning if someone was interested in:

• Travel

• Airbnb

• Art / History

They would see your ad.

Now, Travis and his team keep the targeting broad (interest: travel).

Then let the ad creative find buyers.

Why this works:

In 2025, algorithms can actually read your ad. It can make sense out of your:

• Sick drone shot high above the property

• On-screen text calling out couples

• Interior shots

And will show your ad to people who watch content with similar elements.

We started broad targeting at Lodge Social back in January. Our broad campaign beats any niche campaign every time.

90% of all ad results come from the creative. Trust the algorithm.

Lesson #2: Sell The Experience

This was an interesting lesson.

Talk less about the features of a stay.

More about the experience of a stay.

Very little content on the Outpost X Instagram is focused on:

• Beds

• Showers

• Kitchen

• Other amenities

All their content shows people doing things. You'll see actors:

• Riding sand-cruisers.

• Slapping each other with pool noodles on trampolines.

• Dressed up in Coachella-like costumes and running around the desert.

Think of it like a product demo.

People aren't sold when they see a product. The demonstration is what sells them.

Translation:

People aren't sold when they first see your stay. They need to be told how to spend their time.

#3: Send Emails

Email is our most transactional marketing channel at Lodge Social. So I love this takeaway.

Ian Stanley was a speaker at this event. This note is from that presentation.

There's no such thing as too many emails if they don't suck.

Keyword: Don't suck

Emails that don't suck strengthen your relationship with future and past guests.

Bad emails can turn them off forever.

Ian sells info products to copywriters and email marketers. So his advice isn't directly correlated to rental operators. But, the core principle applies.

Send good emails. Tell stories. Crack jokes. Share exciting property updates.

Once you get more and more bookings for every email sent, send more.

I've gotten 7 from Ian since last Tuesday. All of them great.

Good emails get bookings.

Final Takeaway

Every mini lesson from this workshop led to one big takeaway:

Be entertaining.

• Travis built a huge advertising agency because he was good at making entertaining ads.

• Outpost X has a massive social media following because the idea of staying there is entertaining.

• Ian Stanley sends me 30 entertaining emails a month. I'll never unsubscribe. I've even started spending $99/month with him.

Huge thank you to Travis and his team in Boise. If you want to attend his next one, click here.

That's all for today. I'll see you in the next article.

P.S. Was in Boston this week for America’s coolest weekend of the year (Boston Marathon). 10/10 recommend.

P.P.S. I like being involved in cool things.

Nick Purslow is building cool outdoor lodges in Canada. If you also like cool things, they’re taking investment for a couple more days (I invested).

Min. investment: $100. Interested? CLICK HERE Have questions? Ask Nick.

Oh, and usually after I see notes about investing, people say “this is not financial advice.”

So I’ll say it too.

Before you go

I spend about 10 hours writing this newsletter each week. The rest of my time is spent running Lodge Social.

Our marketing team will help you get more guests to like, share and book.

Work with me and my team here.

Links you might like:

1. The early adopter advantage in hotel marketing (The Unique Stays Guy)

2. Does influencer marketing work? (Wander)

3. Every quarter I do a Lodge Social internal update, here’s what we learned last quarter… (LinkedIn)

4. 3 ways to grow your social following (The Lodge Social)