One of two 432-square-foot ÖÖD Mirror Houses at Rae Golf, just outside Tallinn.
Jaan Parmask
When golf junkies book a “stay-and-play” trip, the idea is convenient access to the course, so that morning tee times are merely a breezy walk—or quick shuttle ride away. Rae Golf, a 20-minute drive from downtown Tallinn, takes that proximity a step further, offering sleek accommodations literally a chip shot from the green.
The Estonian club has partnered with ÖÖD House makers of prefabricated mirrored-glass cabins that have set a new architectural standard for kitted-out high-design glamping hospitality, by offering up nightly stays in reflective dwellings with panoramic views found everywhere from the foothills of Iceland’s volcanic Mount Hekla to New Hampshire’s White Mountains and Mexico’s Yucatán jungle. Many units feature saunas and hot tubs, and the brand—synonymous with off-grid luxury—is now expanding its footprint to the fairways.
Estonian design ethos informs much of the company’s aesthetic. Lilli Jahilo, an award-winning Estonian fashion designer, once aptly described her country’s design philosophy as a blend of “Slavic lusciousness and Nordic minimalism,” which also describes OOD’s mirrored handiwork to a tee.
Over the past several years ÖÖD has evolved from a pure manufacturer into a hospitality partner, offering a turnkey model that makes it easy for operators to opt into their growing network. The company provides the fully equipped Mirror House—handling everything from design and delivery to marketing through its Stay ÖÖD platform—while the host keeps roughly 70% of the rental income. ÖÖD takes the remaining share as a service fee, covering brand affiliation, booking infrastructure, and global promotion.
“We understood that actually our capabilities and expertise is the design and manufacturing and we came up with a model for how the business could be scalable is that we provide or finance the houses for existing operators. That is the main avenue and the priority we are exploring today,” ÖÖD House CEO, Andreas Tiik, explained.
There are currently just over 100 units in their hospitality network online in twelve countries. After securing a 50 million euro ($57 million) investment from Swiss private equity firm Bayard Capital last month, the game plan is to grow ÖÖD’s cabin portfolio to up to 1000 units by 2028.
ÖÖD’s partnership with Rae Golf marks the company’s first foray into the world of tees and greens, but it isn’t the company’s first rodeo when it comes to expansion beyond the remote wilderness glamping locations it earned its initial cachet from.
The concept has proven adaptable to a variety of operators: distilleries, vineyards, ski centers, a safari park, and even a polo club.
“The golf vertical looks really exciting. It is trending upwards. It’s getting more and more popular. I haven’t played golf myself yet, but I would love to one day,” Tiik said.
The golf space ticks all the boxes the company looks for in terms of location and operations. “They have all the necessary ingredients to be a good partner for us: they have the land, the most beautiful landscaping and usually golf courses are in extraordinary locations. They have utilities, visitors, and they tend to have a restaurant,” he added.
Rae Golf is atypical in that it operates year-round, turning into a cross-country ski venue in winter. ÖÖD’s mirror cabins expand a golf club’s hospitality offerings while also giving properties that do shutter for part of the year an easy way to generate offseason revenue.
“Maybe it’s a marketing tool, maybe it’s another reason to actually go there, and maybe you can introduce golf to new customer groups and younger generations,” Tiik said. “I think there are a lot of other challenges we are solving—not only creating new income streams.”
Aerial view of the clubhouse at Rae Golf and a pair of ÖÖD Houses available for rent.
Jaan Parmask
Cool Cabin Fever
While ÖÖD may seem like a hospitality fad, Tiik is confident the design will endure over time. Glass-centric landmarks—the Louvre Pyramid, Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts, and the Burj Khalifa—still dazzle decades after their construction. The same is true of much older buildings. San Francisco’s glass-curtained Hallidie Building has been turning pedestrians’ heads since 1918.
“Glass is a very interesting construction material. If you look at glass buildings designed 100 years ago, it still looks like it fits in with today’s architecture and design very well,” Tiik explained.
“I think the design and the concept won’t get outdated. What we are doing reflects and supports the surrounding environment and melts into it,” he added.
ÖÖD is certainly a player in the burgeoning hybrid hospitality space—offering experiences that blend nature, design, and sustainability. The company continues to work on new designs that leverage advances in glass technology including dimmable glass and solar glass that maintains its transparency while collecting the sun’s energy. In the future, ÖÖD’s mirrored walls may not only reflect nature—they could literally help sustain it.