By Jennifer Jahn
NKyTribune staff writer
The s’mores were supposed to be a small welcome gift.
Matt Zook had been thinking about leaving complimentary s’more kits for guests at Abide Glamping in Williamstown, but he hadn’t gotten around to putting them together. Then, one morning, he decided to assemble a few kits for guests arriving that day.
The next morning, a message from one of those guests stopped him.
The mother explained that her young son had been asking for s’mores during their drive to Kentucky. They had asked him to wait until they arrived at their glamping site, where they could teach him about delayed gratification.
When the family walked through the door, the s’mores were waiting.
For Zook, the coincidence felt like something more than a thoughtful guest amenity.
“Every bit of it has been an answer to prayer,” the mother wrote, thanking Zook and his team for their hospitality.
Moments like that are part of why Zook built Abide Glamping in the first place.
“I had no particular plan to start offering s’more kits that day,” Zook said. “But for some reason that morning — perhaps following a similar nudging from the Father as I experienced when starting Abide — I decided to act on it.”
The exchange captures what Zook hopes Abide will offer: more than a place to sleep, but a setting where people can slow down, reconnect, and create memories together.
The story of Abide, however, began several years and several states away.
In 2019, Zook and his parents launched Airydale Retreat, a small glamping business on the family’s property in Central Pennsylvania. At the time, Zook was working as a project manager for a commercial construction company but was looking for a different career path.
After discovering the concept of glamping, he presented the idea to his parents, who had purchased part of his grandparents’ farm with the intention of eventually using it for vacation rentals.
The experiment worked. Airydale eventually grew to six glamping units and gave Zook firsthand experience in nearly every aspect of the hospitality business.
It also planted an idea about Kentucky.
“While building that property, the Ark Encounter kept coming to mind,” Zook said. “I had never even visited the Ark. But I was beginning to dream of how neat it would be to pair the unique experience of the Ark Encounter with the unique accommodation of glamping.”
Zook visited Kentucky for the first time in February 2022, touring the Ark Encounter and the property that would eventually become Abide Glamping. He moved to Kentucky in spring 2024.
Today, Abide offers geodesic domes, canvas tents, and RV sites just minutes from the Ark Encounter.
For Zook, though, the name “Abide” says as much about the experience as the accommodations themselves.
“To abide, to dwell, to slow down,” he said. “To be unhurried and, for a little while, free from the demands of everyday life.”
The word also carries a deeper spiritual meaning for Zook. He points to John 15, where Jesus speaks about the importance of remaining, or abiding, in Him.
That message has become a personal reminder as Zook manages the demands of building and operating a growing business.
“There are times when I find myself thinking, ‘I’ve got this. I just need to keep pushing ahead,’” he said. “But when I don’t take the time to abide with Christ and nourish my spiritual life, the withering sets in pretty quickly.”
That philosophy shows up in small details throughout the guest experience. John 15:9, which speaks of abiding in Christ’s love, is printed on Abide’s coffee packets.
Zook describes the glamping experience as a combination of modern comfort and outdoor living. Guests have comfortable beds, private bathrooms, heating and air conditioning, while still experiencing campfires, birdsong, crickets and open space.
“Glamping becomes part of the trip itself,” Zook said. “It isn’t just where you sleep at the end of the day—it becomes part of the memory.”
Creating that atmosphere requires careful thought about the spaces themselves. Zook said privacy and spacing are priorities, with accommodations positioned to give guests the feeling of having their own little retreat
.
Family experiences are also part of the design.
Some accommodations feature sleeping lofts and twisty slides, an idea Zook first experimented with at Airydale. The slides proved popular with children while allowing parents to relax nearby.
Zook said some of his favorite memories from his years in glamping have come from hearing about the unexpected moments guests experience.
At Airydale, one guest told him about dancing with a spouse by firelight while ukulele music drifted over from a neighboring site.
“I had almost nothing to do with creating that memory,” Zook said. “But I got to provide the setting where it could happen.”
That, he said, is the heart of hospitality.
“It’s recognizing that I have been given a small window of time in someone’s story and asking, ‘How can we make this experience feel special?’”
As Northern Kentucky’s tourism industry continues to grow, Zook sees opportunity beyond the Ark Encounter. Abide’s location also places guests within reach of Cincinnati, Lexington, and Louisville.
While the Ark may initially bring visitors to the area, Zook said many guests become interested in exploring more of Kentucky once they arrive.
Abide is growing, too. Three additional glamping domes are planned for the property this winter, with completion targeted for April 2027. Future plans may include walking trails, a small disc golf course, and additional outdoor gathering spaces.
But Zook said growth will not mean filling every corner with activities.
Part of Abide’s purpose, he said, is giving people room to slow down.
“We don’t necessarily want to fill every corner of Abide with activities,” Zook said. “Part of the experience is having room to slow down and enjoy being outside.”
And sometimes, he has learned, slowing down can make room for something as simple as a campfire, a few s’mores, and a family memory to carry home.