Reflections on a New Form of Adventure Hospitality
Members of the O’Reilly family have invested over €10m in Estonian-based mirror ÖÖD Houses, which offer creature comfort camping in sleek mirror houses.
Two of Tony O’Reilly’s sons, Cameron and Gavin, along with Cameron’s son Elliot, have invested the funds in a slick nature-meets-architecture business through their Swiss-based Bayard Capital.
The family-run growth investor will back the company and its team and support the development of ÖÖD sites across the globe.
Cameron first came across the concept when he was looking for a cabin to put on a piece of Alpine land in France, Elliot explains.
Although this was several years ago, their sleek exterior profiles, which mirror their surroundings, stayed with him.
Headquartered in Tallinn, ÖÖD House was founded by brothers Jaak and Andreas Tiik, who had just completed the financing on their equity model earlier this year.
Cameron convinced Elliot to go and meet them.
The brothers’ aspect intrigued him enough to want to find out more about the business.
“There was a family-to-family connection,” Elliot says.
Already in business for a decade, ÖÖD House had installed 600 houses in 33 countries for a mixture of private clients.
Three years ago, it launched an international hospitality business via its proprietary partnership programme.
Through this programme, it teams up with landowners and existing hospitality operators such as vineyards, golf clubs, farms and estates to create nature and adventure-centric destinations in beautiful locations.
For those looking to add value to their existing business, there’s a profit-share arrangement. ÖÖD retains ownership of the houses.
The landowner retains possession of the land.
After paying the set-up fees, the profit share is 70 per cent to the landowner and 30 per cent to ÖÖD.
Elliot and his uncle Gavin visited three of its established sites.
One was offering surfing and saunas in Laane County, 90 minutes from Tallinn, another was near the active Hekla volcano in southern Iceland, about 90 minutes from Reykjavík, where, if conditions are right, you might just see the Northern Lights reflected in your abode, and a third was at Kirtlington in Oxfordshire in the UK.
This polo club and stud farm destination was the national winner for Best Boutique Stay in the 2025 Muddy Stilettos Awards, which champions independent businesses across 33 countries.
In some ways, the adventure hospitality offer could be considered the latest iteration of glamping, which has had several fashion phases already, from yurts to timber cabins to shepherds’ huts.
“This is different,” Elliot insists. “It is different in construction, and it is aimed at a different market.”
“We’ve all done the composting toilet, eating over the fire and waking up cold in the middle of the night. This is not camping,” Gavin adds emphatically.
“The market is moving towards more comfort. This is four-star nature hospitality, whether you’re in Texas, Ghana or Latvia.”
Each house is set up like a luxurious hotel room. The space is warmed by electric underfloor heating and has air conditioning offering a constant temperature of 23C inside.
There is a fully tiled bathroom and a kitchenette, where you can rustle up meals. The mirrored glass is very, very coollooking but also functional.
“The glass reflects 98 per cent of the UV rays that would cause a greenhouse effect,” Elliot says.
They’re looking at solar panels and, possibly in the future, solar glass, where solar cells are embedded into the glass.
With full-height blackout blinds to shut out the night, it is also extremely private.
The O’Reillys’ due diligence included looking at the data, although Gavin admits it was difficult to get figures on glamping trends.
Instead, they looked at the hotel market. The fact that room rates were rising piqued their interest.
“The target market is couples ranging in age from mid-20s to mid-40s, it will vary from site to site,” Elliot says.
“It’s adventure and nature hospitality. The adventure aspect is a large part of the sales pitch. You can sleep and spend time in beautiful and sometimes remote spots, but not have to compromise on creature comforts.”
“It is also a highly Instagrammable product,” says Daniel Fenselow, head of partnerships at ÖÖD House, a strength with this target market.
In Ireland, private homeowners from Dublin and Galway have invested in the galvanised steel frame units for their own use.
All have aluminium profiles as well as insulation in the floor, ceiling and the back wall, typically where the bedhead is, and where most of the services are brought in.
The first partnership on the island is Lough Neagh Mirror Houses on the shores of the lake, with a farming family who are hoping it will be a new revenue stream.
A lot of sites will be self-catered. There is a sense of adventure when cooking, Elliot says.
On a farm you may receive a welcome pack that includes fresh eggs or fresh milk, for example.
At Lough Neagh they’re considering offering a milking experience to guests, Fenselow says.
Arbikie is an independent distillery making rye whisky on Scotland’s east coast overlooking Lunan Bay.
“It had a lot of footfall, and wanted to commercialise it,” Gavin says.
So now you can come for the whisky tasting and get to stay overnight, drinking in the views while soaking in a hot tub.
It’s also about borrowing from the surroundings.
A run-down chateau in France that it may simply not make financial sense to restore, for example, could still form the backdrop to a hospitality location, its faded glory reflected in the highly polished walls of the mirror houses.
In Ireland there is no shortage of beautiful locations.
Both O’Reillys mention Wicklow as another option.
“But we want to find the right partner. We may decide to own and install on lands,” Gavin says.
There is no shortage of agriculture opportunities in Ireland where Gavin sees a generational shift.
“It’s the kids of the 70-year-old farmer that they’re talking to.”
The units come in four sizes and range from 9 to about 40 square metres.
Prices range from €19,900 to €84,900, excluding all the additional costs (outlined left).
“We’re not going to be partnering with anybody. We don’t want to plonk these houses [anywhere]. Generally, it will be quite exclusive,” Gavin says.
There is an expectation of delivery of services. Sites will be inspected and questions asked about amenities nearby.
Geographically, key growth will be in Europe and North America where the firm has opened a manufacturing plant in Houston, Texas.
While the glass is still made in Estonia, the superstructure is assembled and finished in Houston.
“It makes sense as there are different building codes to adhere to,” Gavin says.
“There’s a pretty clear and sizeable demand in the States,” says Fenselow.
The company has already sold about 70 units to private owners there, mainly for use in the hospitality sector.
Given their experience in the US to date, Gavin says the plan is to get preapproval on planning and any required building regulations.
This will give them a competitive advantage. There is a warranty on the houses for the duration of the agreement. ÖÖD depreciates the houses over 40 years.
The new growth capital will allow the business to realise its pipeline of new sites in the US, the EU and beyond. ÖÖD expects to invest more than €50m over the next two to three years to build a portfolio of up to 1,000 cabins worldwide.
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