We just closed a record August at Ferncrest Promised Land: $106,000 in revenue for the month.
When I started pulling the season’s overall numbers apart, one thing explained a disproportionate share of the upside: wellness amenities.
Specifically, hot tubs.
Let’s dive into some real data from Ferncrest to learn more…
A Tale of Two Domes
We run 24 sites at Ferncrest, and half of them are 5m domes.
On paper, a 5m dome with or without a hot tub looks almost identical – same size, same furnishings, same guest experience…
One variable: hot tubs in half of them.
Here is how the bookings compared for each variation of 5m dome this summer:
Kings (5m tent with a king bed)
- 3 King Domes with hot tub: $100,879 revenue
- 3 King Domes without: $50,711 revenue
Result: Dome tent with hot tub ~2x revenue with only +$17.88 ADR. This indicates the big driver is demand and occupancy, not just price.
Doubles (5m tent with two full beds)
- 3 Double Domes with hot tub: $79,335 revenue
- 3 Double Domes without: $37,327 revenue
Result: again ~2x revenue, with +$24.93 ADR.
The ROI Is Undeniable
Each hot tub cost us around $6,500 installed. With six of them on site, that’s a $39,000 investment. But the uplift they generated in a single season has already paid for that several times over.
This isn’t an insignificant add-on anymore. Wellness amenities are now one of the most powerful revenue levers in outdoor hospitality.
- Total hot-tub uplift this season: $92,176 more revenue vs the same count of non-tub domes.
- Capex: $6,500 per tub x 6 tubs = $39,000.
- Single-season ROI: ~236%.
- Payback time: ~0.42 seasons. In plain English: it paid back in under half a season.
Per-unit lift is what makes this definitive:
- King with tub vs without: +$16,723 per unit this season
- Double with tub vs without: +$14,003 per unit this season
When I ran these numbers my mind was blown.
Why This Works
Wellness is not a trinket.
It shifts the booking decision.
Guests scan listings, filter for the indulgence they want, and then compete for those units. That dynamic increases occupancy and smooths seasonality on the premium inventory.
The ADR bump is nice. The occupancy advantage is the real engine.
Join me next week: Glampground Startup Challenge
If you want to build a wellness-first glampground that books itself, join me next week for the 3-day Glampground Startup Challenge.
We’ll cover:
- How to design sites that command premium demand
- The exact math behind amenity ROI and payback
- Real pricing and packaging for hot tubs, saunas, and cold plunges
- Ops and SOPs that make wellness scale without headaches
Bring your questions. I’ll bring the spreadsheets and playbooks.
Happy Glamping!
Brian & Joanna Linton
P.S. If you already have land or an active site and want help applying this to your layout and pricing, we’ll carve out time during the Challenge Q&A to walk through examples like I shared in this email more.
