Built on their own terms: Into The Wild Escapes is ready to scale

Into The Wild Escapes has appointed Andrew McEvoy, former Managing Director and CEO of Tourism Australia as incoming Chairman. McEvoy will assist with strategic and capital options as the business looks to fund the accelerated rollout of its national pipeline.

Founded in Sydney in 2017 by Celeste Giannas and Phillip Wingate, Into The Wild Escapes has spent nine years building quietly and deliberately, funding its own growth and reinvesting in the product. Today the business operates 60 premium off-grid cabins across six states, has generated over $20 million in lifetime bookings, sold more than 50,000 visitor nights and holds an NPS of 58, metrics that place it firmly at the top of its category. Having reached scale through organic growth, the company is now considering its capital options to accelerate a multi-site rollout spanning more than 500 cabins in premium clusters across every state.

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“This is one of the most capital-efficient models I’ve seen in Australian tourism,” said McEvoy.“The founders have done what very few manage: built a market-leading brand without giving large chunks of the business away to do it. The pipeline ahead is extraordinary and with global hospitality players now recognising the value of this category, the timing couldn’t be better.”

The business’s competitive advantage runs deeper than its cabin count. Into The Wild Escapes has developed a distinctive ability to partner with farmers, private landowners, Indigenous groups and Crown land custodians, unlocking sites that a conventional operator cannot access. That land network, combined with a direct-to-consumer booking engine that bypasses OTA fees, underpins the unit economics that have made outside capital unnecessary until now.

“Rewilding isn’t a trend we’re riding. It’s the reason this company exists,” said Celeste Giannas, Co Founder and CEO.“When we started, we had a thesis that people were fundamentally disconnected from nature and that the consequences for their health, their relationships and their sense of self were real. Nine years of guest feedback tells us we were right. Now we have a pipeline of over 500 cabins, Andrew’s experience and networks, and the confidence to bring in the right capital partners to build what this could become.”

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The global market has since validated that thesis at scale. In December 2024, Marriott International acquired Postcard Cabins (formerly Getaway), the US pioneer in the category, adding 1,200 cabins across 29 locations to its portfolio. Closer to home, established names including Intrepid Travel and RAC have shown growing interest in off-grid and experiential accommodation.

With major hospitality groups and institutional investors now moving into the category worldwide, nature-immersive, off-grid accommodation has shifted from niche to a structural change in how people travel. Having attracted inbound interest from prospective capital partners, the company is now exploring options to fund the rollout of its national pipeline. As the domestic eco-tourism market matures and fragments, Into The Wild Escapes is also well positioned to serve as a consolidation platform for
complementary operators.

McEvoy’s appointment brings three decades of tourism leadership to the board. As CEO of Tourism Australia he led the organisation to be recognised as the world’s leading national tourism authority and authored the Tourism 2020 strategy. He subsequently held senior roles including Managing Director for Life, Media and Events at Fairfax Media, as Managing Director of Tourism at NEOM, and currently chairs Luxury Escapes and Camplify. He is also a Director of Destination NSW and Australia’s largest experiential tourism operator, Journey Beyond.

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