Get in early on the next
great hospitality category.
Boutique glamping is what every chain hotel wishes it could be — and what every guest is now searching for. Skip the years of figuring it out alone — open with the brand, the audience, and the team already in place.
Request InformationThe opportunity, in a few minutes.
Brian and Joanna Linton, Ferncrest co-founders, on what we've built, who it's for, and how it works.
Glamping isn't a trend. It's the part of hospitality that's growing.
Outdoor lodging has quietly become one of the most resilient corners of hospitality. Demand is up. Supply hasn't caught it. And the people booking these stays aren't roughing it — they're paying boutique-hotel rates for an experience traditional campgrounds and chain hotels can't deliver.
Ferncrest sits in the middle of that gap. A real bed. A wood-fired hot tub. A sauna under the trees. The kind of place where a guest pays $250 a night, leaves a five-star review, and tells their group chat about it before they're even home.
Major capital has noticed. Marriott acquired a glamping portfolio in late 2024. AutoCamp raised $115M from Whitman Peterson. KSL Capital took a controlling stake in a major operator in 2025. The institutional era of glamping is here — and the supply still hasn't caught up.
That's exactly why joining a brand right now matters more than it ever has. As the industry matures, guests stop rewarding novelty and start rewarding trust — a name they recognize, reviews they can find, a brand they've already booked once. Fully independent operators without that infrastructure will be the ones who struggle to compete on marketing, distribution, and standards as bigger players move in. A franchise system like Ferncrest gives independent owners the trust, security, and operating support to have real resilience and staying power as the market grows up. Ferncrest is one of the few boutique outdoor hospitality franchise opportunities built specifically for this moment.
$738M → $1.52B
US glamping market, 2024 to 2030
Source: Grand View Research
12.8%
Compound annual growth rate — roughly 2× the broader outdoor hospitality sector
Source: Grand View Research
$251
Average glamping nightly rate in 2025, up 21% from $207 in 2023
Source: Cairn Consulting
40–60%
Net operating income achievable at well-run glamping properties (vs. 30–39% GOP at hotels)
Source: Sage Outdoor Advisory
These figures reflect industry-wide data, not Ferncrest results. Compiled from “The US Glamping Industry Enters Its Institutional Era,” MMCG Invest, 2025.
A brand guests already trust.
Ferncrest isn't a franchise concept on paper. It's a working brand with four properties open, an audience of 750,000+ across our channels, and guests who already know the name. When you open, you're not introducing yourself to your market — you're plugging into a brand that's already searched, booked, and shared.
A model you can run two ways.
Some of our franchisees live on their property and run it themselves. Others hire a general manager and work on the business from a distance. We support both — and the section below shows you exactly what each looks like.
A complete operating system.
Most franchises hand you a brand and a binder. We hand you the brand, the booking infrastructure, the marketing engine, the supplier network, the training program, the technology stack, and a team that's already done it. You bring the land and the ambition.
Two paths
You can own it. You can run it. Or you can do both.
Ferncrest is built for two kinds of owners. Pick the one that fits your life.
Owner-Operator
You're hands-on. You'll live on or near the property, run the day-to-day, build the local community, and put your fingerprints on every guest experience. This is a lifestyle business with a real economic engine behind it.
You'll typically
- Fill the role of general manager
- Run all daily operations
- Hire and lead a small guest-experience team
- Build local community and guest engagement
- Oversee accounting, payroll, and marketing
Best fit if you want a business and a way of life in the same decision.
Executive Owner
You're an investor and an operator at the strategic level. You hire a trained general manager, build a team underneath them, and work on the business — driving growth, marketing, and the next opportunity.
You'll typically
- Run the business side, not the operations
- Work on the business, not in it
- Delegate day-to-day to a manager-led team
- Show up in the community to drive guest engagement and partnerships
- Lead business development and marketing
Best fit if you want a scalable hospitality asset without leaving your current career.
Either way, your manager (whether that's you or someone you hire) completes our full training program before opening.
Your Team
The team you'd never hire on your own.
When you open a Ferncrest, you don't just get a brand. You get a working hospitality team — the kind of people you'd never recruit, afford, or coordinate on your own as an independent operator. They're already in seat. They're already running the playbook. And starting on day one, they work for you.
The faces you see here are just a sample. We're constantly hiring and growing a world-class team whose job is to support and grow our franchisees — because the strength of your business is the strength of ours.
This is what separates a franchise from a startup. You're not building the org chart. You're plugging into one.
Chief Hospitality Officer
Director of Development
Strategic Development
Business Development
Content & Marketing
Growth Marketing
What We Handle
What you don't have to figure out.
A short list of things every independent glamping operator wastes a year of their life on — that you simply won't.
A website that books guests
Built, hosted, maintained, and constantly optimized by our team.
A booking and reservation system
The full guest-facing and back-end stack, configured and supported.
Property management technology
Check-in, messaging, smart locks, payments, accounting — all set up, all integrated.
Social media and brand marketing
Our content and growth team runs the brand channels that drive traffic to your property.
Supplier sourcing
Tents, hot tubs, saunas, linens, furniture, supplies — already specified, already negotiated.
A national reservations call center
A real human answering your booking inquiries seven days a week.
Operating procedures
A 140-page operations manual that's been written and rewritten on a real property since 2023.
The things you don't know you need to know
We're not a logo sitting silently in the background. We're your day-to-day mentors and support structure — the team you call when something comes up you've never seen before, the playbook for the next season you haven't run yet, the answer to the question you don't know how to ask. This support grows with you as you grow, and it's one of the most valuable parts of joining the system.
Four properties open. A dozen on the way.
Ferncrest started as one campground in the Poconos in 2023. Today there are four open across four states, with a dozen more in active development coast to coast.
Open
- Promised Land, PAEst. 2023
- Flint Creek, OKEst. 2024
- Acadia, MEEst. 2025
- Chambers Creek, TXEst. 2026
In Development
- Holland, MA
- Baraboo, WI
- Fern, WI
- Elkhorn River, NE
- Bismark, MO
- Ocoee, TN
- Bryson City, NC
- 5 To Be Announced
Our Franchise Owners Currently Operating
Sean & Chris
Ferncrest Flint Creek
Caleb
Ferncrest Acadia
Lauren & Jackson
Ferncrest Chambers Creek
Hear from a franchisee
Colcord, OK · Our first franchisee, on year one.
The Economics
Here's what one dome actually does.
Most franchise sites ask you to invest serious money and tell you nothing about what a unit earns. We disclose the historical performance of our flagship in our FDD, and we'll repeat it here.
Ferncrest Promised Land, PA
5-meter domes, 2025 calendar year
| Average monthly gross room revenue per dome | $4,121.36 |
| Weighted average daily rate (ADR) | $216.27 |
| Highest monthly gross revenue per dome | $5,486 |
| Lowest monthly gross revenue per dome | $2,460 |
| Median monthly gross revenue per dome | $3,796 |
Figures represent the historical performance of 5-meter dome units at our company-owned Ferncrest Promised Land campground in Promised Land, Pennsylvania, for the 2025 calendar year. Gross Room Revenue refers solely to lodging revenue and excludes add-ons, merchandise, activities, or food and beverage sales. These results are from a single company-owned location and may not reflect results achieved by other locations. We do not provide projections or forecasts. Your individual results may differ. We do not guarantee that you will achieve the same results. Source: Ferncrest Franchising LLC, Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 19.
Initial Franchise Fee
$50,000
One-time, due at signing
Royalty
7%
of Gross Revenue
Full fee schedule, including all incidental and operational fees, is disclosed in the FDD.
What signing actually triggers
You build it. We walk you through every step of getting there.
That $50,000 fee isn't a logo licensing charge. It's the starting point of a full development partnership that runs from the day you sign to the day you open — and beyond.
From signing day forward, you get:
- Regular calls with our development team
- Permitting and zoning guidance
- Site planning and design specifications
- Land acquisition support if you don't have a site yet
- Construction sequencing and supplier introductions
- Administrative and operational setup
- Property listings and OTA configuration
- Your property page and brand assets
- Pre-opening marketing plan
- Hands-on training for you and your team
Essentially: hand-holding through the entire process. The value of having a partner on the other end of the phone while you're navigating a build can't be overstated — it's the difference between figuring it out alone and figuring it out with a team that's done it before.
To be clear: you still build the property, and the risk of building and opening sits with your effort and your capital. We're your partner through the process — not your developer or your guarantor.
About Ferncrest
Built by people who actually run one.
Ferncrest was founded by Brian and Joanna Linton, who started Linton Hospitality in 2020 to build a different kind of outdoor hospitality brand. The first Ferncrest campground opened in Promised Land, Pennsylvania in 2023. Today, Ferncrest is one of the most active glamping franchise opportunities in the boutique outdoor hospitality category, with four campgrounds operating across four states, a dozen more in development, and a full team behind the brand: hospitality, development, marketing, and franchise support.
What started as one campground in the woods is now a national franchise system with a real operating bench. Brian and Joanna still lead it. The team you saw above runs it with them. And every franchisee gets access to all of it.
The Path
Six steps. About a year.
Inquire
Submit the form below. We respond within five business days.
Chat with us
Two to four discovery calls. We answer every question. You ask every question.
Learn more / receive the FDD
We send you the full Franchise Disclosure Document. You take 14 days minimum to review it with your attorney and accountant.
Become approved for ownership
Mutual fit confirmed. Franchise agreement signed.
Build your Ferncrest
Site selection, design, permitting, construction. Most franchisees open within 6 to 12 months of signing.
Onboarding & training, then open
Your team completes our full training program. We walk through grand opening with you. The doors open.
Let's Talk
Let's see if it's a fit — for both of us.
Tell us a little about you. If there's a reason to keep talking, you'll hear from us within five business days.
FAQ
The questions everyone asks.
Ferncrest supports two models: an owner-operator who lives near the property and runs it themselves, or an executive owner who hires a general manager and works on the business at a strategic level. Either way, the person running day-to-day operations (you or your GM) completes our full training program before you open.
Minimum 10 acres. Most properties end up with 20–50 tent sites. You're required to have at least 12 sites open within the first year.
Yes. Every franchisee gets a protected radius around their campground — the exact size is something we discuss and confirm with you during the process based on your market. Two things are true at once: a system of Ferncrest properties strengthens the brand, drives awareness, and builds guest loyalty that benefits every owner — and protecting your specific area is important to us, so you have room to grow without another Ferncrest opening next door.
$50,000, due at signing. That fee buys you full development support — we're your development partners, not a logo licensor. You build the property, but we walk through every step of the process with you: site selection, design specs, construction guidance, supplier introductions, permitting know-how, opening preparation, training, and grand opening. The royalty is 7% of Gross Revenue after that. Full fee disclosure is in our FDD.
We don't directly finance. We'll introduce you to franchise-financing brokers and SBA-preferred lenders we've worked with — most franchisees finance a portion of the build.
Typically 6 to 12 months from signing the Franchise Agreement, depending on how quickly you secure a site, get permits, and bring utilities. Site selection alone takes most franchisees 30–90 days.
Initial term is 10 years, with a 10-year successor term available.
Even better. Many of our franchisees do. Send us the parcel details when you apply and we'll evaluate it during discovery.
Bookings flow through our brand channels (campferncrest.com, our reservation system, our call center, and approved partner sites). We collect, deduct the royalty, and distribute the balance to you on a regular cadence.
You provide the land, the local team, and your own capital and effort. We provide the brand, the website, the booking system, the technology, the marketing, the supplier network, the operations manual, the training program, and a direct line to our team.
The land is out there. The demand is out there.
The hardest part is deciding to do it. We'll handle the rest.
Start the ConversationThis information is not intended as an offer to sell a franchise. We will not offer you a franchise until we have complied with disclosure and registration requirements in your jurisdiction. Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you are a resident of one of these states, or are receiving this information in one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your state. Not sure whether your state qualifies? Submit your information through the inquiry form above and our team will confirm whether we're currently registered in your state and able to move forward with you.
Ferncrest Franchising LLC, 3127 W. Waverly Avenue, Tampa, FL 33629. Ferncrest® is a registered trademark of Linton Hospitality LLC, used under license.