Case Study - Borealis Basecamp

How a New Host turned the Icy Alaskan Wilderness into a $60M Destination Brand

Imagine building an Airbnb guests would willingly fly across the world just to see.

That’s what Adriel Butler built with Borealis Basecamp—a one-of-a-kind stay designed around one unforgettable experience:The Northern Lights.

By leaning into a once-in-a-lifetime moment, Adriel turned Alaska’s darkest, coldest season into the main attraction of an insanely profitable hospitality business.

The Property: Borealis Basecamp, Alaska

Borealis Basecamp sits just outside Fairbanks, Alaska, one of the best places on Earth to view the aurora lights dancing across the sky.

The property features:
✔️ 40 glass-ceiling igloos, cubes, and cube suites with European-style interiors, angled specifically for aurora viewing

✔️ A remote, dark-sky location optimized for Northern Lights visibility

✔️ Minimal interiors designed to keep your eyes on the sky

✔️ An on-site restaurant with three dining experiences for different guest types: Latitude 69 (fine dining), The Pub, and Basecamp Café

✔️ Curated experiences like helicopter tours, ATV rides, snowmobiling, reindeer meet-and-greets, and aurora photography sessions

The Results & STR Performance

Less than 10 years after building, Borealis Basecamp has become a global destination brand.

How it performs:
▪️ Average Daily Rate: $1,000–$1,600 per night (peaks up to $2,500 on prime aurora nights)

▪️ Occupancy: ~65% average (low ~50%, high ~80%)

▪️ Estimated annual rental income: $7.3M – $18.6M

▪️ Additional income per night (experiences): $50 – $300 per unit

▪️ Estimated NOI: $4.9M – $9.9M annually

Based on those numbers, the property could be valued between

$60M and $124M.

The Playbook: What Borealis Basecamp Does Differently

• Created demand where it didn’t exist
The cold, dark winter wasn’t a downside—it was the product. The Northern Lights became the reason to come.

From there, Adriel and his team layered in experiences like ATV tours and helicopter rides to extend demand into other seasons. Today, Borealis operates up to 8 months a year, with ~90 peak days. A genius play.

• Proudly copied the best
Adriel studied iconic igloo, and Northern Lights stays in Finland (like Kakslauttanen) and adapted what worked—instead of starting from zero.

• Understood the guest and designed for the moment
Curved glass ceilings. Beds angled toward the sky. Immersive experiences. Interiors that disappear so the lights take center stage.

Every choice serves the guest’s “wow” moment.

•Turned Alaskan igloos into a bucket-list travel resort
Dog sledding, snowmobiling, helicopter rides, aurora photo sessions, and dining on-site. These experiences justify the international flight and stack revenue.

• Found an unfair visual advantage
A viral, iconic, and visual draw like the Northern Lights sells itself. Even if it’s remote. Even if it’s freezing. If the experience is powerful enough, guests will come.

• Started slow on purpose
Borealis launched with just one season: winter. Adriel used that downtime to perfect the experience, test pricing, and build upsells before expanding. Starting small gave him the data to scale confidently.

• Led with authenticity not trends
This isn’t a generic luxury stay. Borealis immerses guests in local culture, nature, and community—something hotels struggle to replicate. That authenticity is what turns a stay into a lifelong memory.

Adriel wasn't an expert, he had zero hospitality or Airbnb experience.

But he did have a clear vision of the life-changing experience he could create for guests.

A $60 million+ valuation in less than 10 years? That's the power of full-blown experience-driven short-term rentals.

Want to Dive Deeper?
👉 Read Adriel's full playbook
👉 Check out Borealis Basecamp
👉 Watch the full video deep dive

Cheers,

The Host Camp Team

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