Converting a Campground to a Jellystone Park™
The most common way a campground joins the Jellystone Park franchise is through conversion.
If you are a current campground owner facing one or more of these challenges…
- You are working harder, but sales remain flat.
- You want to grow your business beyond renting campsites.
- You need to separate your campground from the competition.
- You would like to change your customers to more family-friendly campers.
We welcome the opportunity to talk to you! The Jellystone Park model has solutions to these challenges. Our branding power, combined with nearly 50 years of successful franchising, can help take your business to the next level.
“Becoming part of the franchise catapulted us years ahead of where we would have been if we tried this on our own.” – Steve Stafford, North Texas Jellystone Park
Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resorts are among the best campgrounds in the industry. We have a quality reputation for being fun, friendly, clean and service-oriented parks that on average have a higher revenue per site night and a longer average stay than that experienced by other campgrounds – independent or franchised.
Our operating concept includes special amenities and recreation facilities designed to appeal to the entire family. Additionally, each Jellystone Park is themed with Yogi Bear™ elements providing instant recognition and consumer appeal. Add in the marketing support provided by CJS and you have a winning combination!
What is a Camp-Resort?
There are approximately 12,000 campgrounds in North America including 7,500 privately owned and 4,500 operated by the US Park Service or other national or local government organizations. Most campgrounds are relatively small, but there are more than 1,500 parks with over 70 sites. Approximately 500 of these larger facilities are classified as “Camp Resorts.”
Camp Resorts have special amenities including swimming pools, miniature golf courses, game rooms, and other recreational facilities and are designed for longer stays of three or more days. These are the parks we are targeting for possible conversion to the franchise.
Required Amenities
In order to maintain the high standards of operation that Jellystone Park guests expect, we require certain amenities to be in place or an expansion plan that includes:
minimum 125 RV sites and four rental units
- 3-5 yr. business plan (Director of Franchise Sales can assist you with this)
- store/registration area
- pool
- modern comfort stations and laundry
- pavilion/recreation center
- playground equipment
- theatre
- planned activities program
- dump station
Royalty Structure
Camp Jellystone is committed to growing your business. That’s why our operating royalty is paid only the increase in revenue you experience as a Jellystone Park. We set a Base Business Exclusion, which is based on your campground revenue before converting. Other franchise systems may exclude prior customers, but we take it a step further and exclude the revenue as a whole. Please note, the Base Business Exclusion applies to your operating royalty only. There is a 1.5 percent marketing royalty paid on all revenues so that we can immediately impact your business through our robust marketing programs.
Conversion Process & Next Steps
We’ve created a document to walk you through the process step by step – from location approval to your Grand Opening as a Jellystone Park! Download the Conversion Process map so you can have a better understanding of what is expected. A typical conversion takes 2-3 months.
The first step in the conversion process is to contact the Director of Franchise Sales & Development, who will ensure your property is in an open territory.
To get started, fill out our Contact form.
Resources
Want to know how much your royalty payment may be as a Jellystone Park? We’ve created a handy document that you can download: Example of Royalty Structure.
Rich & Nancy Felber – Mt. Gilead, OH
After 5 years with the Jellystone Park franchise, we have shown a 75% revenue increase and our confidence in the future is at an all-time high!
Bill Pott – Cave City, KY
I really like the way it brings me a nice class of customers. I get happy families. I get people who want to come and to spend money to have fun. They enjoy our park. It’s just wonderful they way they come in, and you get so many that want to meet the other guests, they want to go have fun on the Jumping Pillow, then they want to go to the Splash Pad – and they want … Read more
Bob & Beth Ryan – Mannford, OK
Our family has been a franchisee for over 30 years. The support that both the franchisor and fellow franchisees offer goes above and beyond expectations.
Erv & Marilyn Banes – Frankenmuth, MI
We decided to convert to the Jellystone Park™ system in 1996 because the market conditions were changing. Several of our colleagues had converted and grown in the process. We found that by changing our customer base to families, rather than seniors, we expanded.
The advantage of a Jellystone Park™ is that it is so much more alive than the average park. Plu… Read more
Joey Coleman & Rick Coleman – Tabor City, NC
In 2001, we began a unique challenge to build a campground on our family farm 35 miles inland from Myrtle Beach. People responded to our design of large concrete pads, full hook-ups, plenty of open space, and ultimate customer service. But we soon had “growing pains” with procedures and operations.
In 2003, we joined Jellystone Park™. The operations… Read more
Chip Smith – Monticello, IA
We got into the Jellystone Park brand at the beginning of last year. This is the end of our first season. We are pretty excited about it. What I like most about the brand is the fact that they are drawing in families from three hours away. They all know what we’re there for, and they’re willing to spend a longer time at our park than just the weekend. The inv… Read more
Rick Spear – Estes Park, CO
We’ve been in the Jellystone Park franchise system for 20 years this year. It was a family endeavor to begin with, but over those 20 years we’ve seen significant growth of our campground. In particular, just the last three years in a row we’ve been up double digits, 10-11% points three years in a row. We’ve really been coming on strong, and continue to see good… Read more
Theresa Isaacson – Caledonia, WI
We’re going to be entering our 13th season, and I sure would hate to own a property without being Yogi branded. The reason we really like Jellystone Parks is because of the support behind us. With 80 other parks in the system, we have 80 sources of question-and-answer type people to go to. The support is wonderful. The franchise, the CJS system itself – their … Read more
Susan Novotny – South Haven, MI
Within 5 years, we have more than tripled our revenue. We have no regrets becoming a franchisee of Jellystone Park!
Daren & Lorraine Carlson – Hocking Hills, OH
The Jellystone Park brand has made a huge difference in our business. If we had 50 more sites and more cabins, they’d be filled every weekend.