New pastime for the rich and famous: “glamping”

Here’s why wealthy homeowners are spending $30,000 on tents

A glamping tent in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand (Credit: iStock)
Glamping is becoming increasingly popular among wealthy homeowners (Credit: iStock)

Wealthy homeowners are increasingly turning to a new form of getaway, and it doesn’t require them to leave their property.

Glamping — or glamorous camping — is becoming more and more popular among America’s wealthy, according to the Wall Street Journal. The high-end tents, which can sell for up to $30,000, even make a great guest home on some estates, homeowners told the Journal.

The increasing popularity of luxury camping has spawned a whole industry. Glamping Hub, an Airbnb-like service, has 21,000 hosts offering luxury camping on their properties. Luxury camping resorts are popping up in the West, and there’s a company, Under Canvas, that manages luxury campsites in eight national parks.

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In New York, Terra Glamping this year is bringing an upscale campsite to the Hamptons, and another developer has raised funds to bring a similar setup to the Rockaways.

Glamorous camping is not necessarily a new concept, even if the word “glamping” only made it into the dictionary in 2016. In 1520, King Henry VIII of Britain and King Francis I of France set up in regal camps for a countryside jousting tournament. Ottoman Empire sultans were also known to bring “richly embroidered” tents to some excursions, including military campaigns, according to the Journal.

[WSJ] — Joe Ward