Master Key
Inside Beckons, the KSL-Backed Lodge Platform Built on the Experiential Travel Bet
An interview with Chief Financial and Development Officer Alex Cameron on remote lodges, ownership, and where experiential luxury goes next
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In September I wrote about the amount of institutional, sovereign, and private capital moving into experiential travel (Experiential Luxury Travel is the Next Frontier).
25. The Upgrade | Weekly - Experiential Luxury Travel is the Next Frontier
🗝️ The Upgrade | Weekly by Anne Marie Brown
Private equity has been buying into the category for several years. The Rise Fund, managed by TPG Growth, bought 34 percent of Wilderness Holdings in July 2018, and FS Investors bought another 24 percent through an affiliate.² In October 2025, Egeria agreed to acquire Afrika Invest, the holding company behind Tanzania Specialist and Africa Safari Trips.³ In May 2026, Auberge Collection launched Auberge Safari, which brings nine Tanzanian camps and lodges from Legendary Expeditions and Chem Chem Safari under one umbrella.⁴
Beckons is the lodge platform in that story I wanted to examine more closely, so I interviewed its Chief Financial and Development Officer, Alex Cameron. Disclosure: KSL Capital Partners, the firm behind Beckons, bought Outrigger Hotels, my family’s company, in 2016.
About Beckons
Beckons launched in March 2026, bringing Baillie Lodges and Tierra Hotels under one name. The portfolio has nine lodges: Southern Ocean Lodge, Longitude 131°, Silky Oaks Lodge, Capella Lodge, and The Louise in Australia; Huka Lodge in New Zealand; Tierra Patagonia and Tierra Atacama in Chile; and Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge in British Columbia. The lodges average about 25 keys each, and Huka, Silky Oaks, and Clayoquot have been some of my favorite properties to send clients to.
Baillie Lodges began in 2003, when James and Hayley Baillie opened Capella Lodge on Lord Howe Island. KSL, a Denver-based private equity firm focused on travel and hospitality, entered a joint venture with the founders in 2019, according to Beckons.⁷ ⁸ Baillie Lodges took a majority stake in Tierra in 2022.⁵
Michael Crawford leads the company as CEO, after 25 years at Four Seasons and a tenure at The Walt Disney Company. The company has spoken about doubling its portfolio within three years, and its Chief Commercial Officer has named Africa, additional Canadian properties, and further Asia-Pacific lodges as priorities.⁵ ⁶
Recent Recognition
The 2026 MICHELIN Guide Australia Key selection, announced in September, moved Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island from Two Keys to Three, and Longitude 131°, Silky Oaks Lodge, and Capella Lodge each appear in that selection with Two Keys.⁹ Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge has held Three Keys since the Guide’s October 2024 announcement.¹⁰ Tierra Patagonia earned Three Keys in 2025 and kept them in the 2026 selection.¹¹
The lodges collect other honors as well. Southern Ocean Lodge made the extended World’s 50 Best Hotels 2025 list.⁵ Beckons says Huka Lodge joined it on the extended list and that both Tierra lodges appeared on Travel + Leisure’s 2025 T+L 500.¹² Tierra Patagonia ranked second-best resort in Central and South America in the 2025 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards.¹¹
The Upgrade Interview: Alex Cameron
Alex Cameron is Chief Financial and Development Officer at Beckons and works from the company’s Denver headquarters. He joined in February 2021, when the business operated as Baillie Lodges, and his role expanded in early 2026 to include the development and capital expenditure teams. He is part of the executive team alongside Crawford, Chief Commercial Officer Courtney Reagan, and Chief Operating Officer Craig Bradbery.¹⁵
