What Equity LifeStyle Properties does

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE: ELS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust founded in 1970 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, that owns and operates a 453-property portfolio of lifestyle-oriented real estate spanning approximately 173,419 sites across 35 states and British Columbia. The company's portfolio is organized into three core segments: 206 manufactured home communities (206 MH communities in 23 states, ~60% of revenue, anchored by site lot rents where residents own their homes but rent the land), 224 RV resorts and campgrounds (operated under the Thousand Trails membership network and Encore RV Resorts brands), and 23 full-service marinas (Loggerhead Marinas brand with 6,800+ slips concentrated in Florida). In 2022, the company expanded its MH ecosystem through $147 million in acquisitions of MHVillage, Datacomp Appraisal Systems, and RVC Outdoor Destinations, adding marketing, appraisal, and outdoor destination capabilities to its core property ownership model.

The company employs approximately 4,200 people across its corporate headquarters in Chicago and regional offices in Tampa and Phoenix, with on-site community managers embedded at each property. Revenue is generated through a B2C, direct-to-consumer model with four primary recurring streams: manufactured housing lot rent (~60% of revenue, with 94% occupancy), RV site rentals including Thousand Trails membership revenue, marina slip and storage rentals, and ancillary glamping revenue from Petite Retreats tiny house villages. Q1 2026 revenue reached $397.62 million, with core portfolio NOI growing 4.9% year-over-year and MH base rental income up 5.7% year-over-year. The average annual resident move-out rate of just 0.4% produces exceptionally predictable cash flows that have supported 20+ consecutive years of dividend growth with a 10.6% 10-year CAGR.

ELS markets through a portfolio of proprietary branded properties: equitylifestyleproperties.com (corporate), myMHcommunity.com (MH communities), ThousandTrails.com and RVontheGo.com (RV resorts), PetiteRetreats.com (glamping), LoggerheadMarinas.com (marinas), and the CampUSA mobile application for reservations. The company's go-to-market leans on its position as a fully integrated owner-operator, making all-cash or tax-deferred acquisitions to position itself as the 'seller's buyer of choice' for family-owned lifestyle properties. Pricing operates on monthly recurring subscriptions for MH lot rent, with 2026 rent increase notices averaging 5.1% across both manufactured housing and RV portfolios. The total addressable market opportunity is anchored in a U.S. manufactured housing supply deficit estimated at 4 million homes, structurally supporting demand for affordable community-based ownership.

Name

Equity LifeStyle Properties

Legal name

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.

Website

https://equitylifestyleproperties.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE: ELS) is a publicly traded REIT that owns and operates 453 manufactured home communities, RV resorts, and marinas across 35 states and British Columbia, serving individual residents and guests through brands including Thousand Trails, Encore, and Loggerhead Marinas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Manufactured Housing & RV Resort Real Estate

NAICS

Lessors of Real Estate (5311), Truck, Utility Trailer, and RV (Recreational Vehicle) Rental and Leasing (53212)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Unique & Specialty Stays (Tiny Homes, Treehouses, Houseboats, Yurts, Castles) (THAGANAG)

Keywords

• Manufactured home communities
• RV resorts campgrounds
• Marina slip rentals
• Affordable housing REIT
• Lifestyle properties

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Manufactured Housing Lot Rent: Recurring rental income from manufactured home community sites. Residents own their homes but rent the lots. This is the primary revenue driver representing approximately 60% of total revenue, with strong occupancy at 94%.
2. RV Resort and Campground Rentals: Rental income from RV sites and campground accommodations including transient stays, seasonal sites, and annual RV sites. Also includes Thousand Trails membership revenue.
3. Marina Slips and Storage: Rental income from wet-slip and dry-slip marina storage, plus concierge amenities at Loggerhead Marinas locations primarily in Florida.
4. Property Operating Revenues: Core property operating revenues with MH base rental income growing 5.7% year-over-year in Q1 2026.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Equity LifeStyle Properties is a fully integrated owner and operator of lifestyle-oriented real estate, owning and managing 453 properties across 35 U.S. states and British Columbia, comprising 206 manufactured home (MH) communities, 224 RV resorts and campgrounds, and 23 marinas with approximately 173,419 total sites. The company generates recurring rental revenue from MH lot rents, RV site rentals (including Thousand Trails membership), and marina slip storage, serving individual residents and guests in affordable housing, vacation, and boating segments.

Product overview

Equity LifeStyle Properties is a fully integrated owner and operator of lifestyle-oriented real estate with 453 properties comprising approximately 173,419 sites. The portfolio consists of three core product lines: (1) Manufactured Home Communities - over 200 communities offering affordable homeownership in resort-style settings across 23 states, managed through myMHcommunity.com; (2) RV Resorts & Campgrounds - 224 properties operating under two brands: Thousand Trails (80+ properties, membership-based network) and Encore RV Resorts (130+ locations), with booking platforms at ThousandTrails.com and RVontheGo.com; and (3) Marinas - 23 full-service marina properties under the Loggerhead Marinas brand with 6,800+ slips. Additional offerings include Petite Retreats glamping villages and the CampUSA mobile application. The company operates in 35 states and British Columbia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Thousand Trails: RV resorts and campgrounds network established in 1969, offering family-friendly campground destinations and membership opportunities with over 80 locations.
• Encore
• Loggerhead Marinas
• myMHcommunity.com

Products and services

• Manufactured Home Communities Over 200 resort-style manufactured housing communities across 23 states offering affordable homeownership, with age-qualified (55+) active adult and all-age family options and amenities including swimming pools, clubhouses, fitness centers, and planned activities. Residents own their homes and rent the lots from ELS on recurring monthly leases.
• Thousand Trails RV Resorts and Campgrounds Network of 80+ family-friendly RV resorts and campgrounds across 30 states and British Columbia offering short-term and long-term camping stays with membership access for cross-property visits.
• Encore RV Resorts

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% manufactured housing occupancy providing stable recurring revenue
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Loggerhead Marinelife CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerELS has a sustainable collaboration with the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, a marine conservation organization. This partnership supports environmental sustainability initiatives at ELS marina properties.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ryman Hospitality Properties: Ryman Hospitality Properties owns the Gaylord Hotels brand and large convention centers — a lodging REIT whose group/leisure demand profile is partially correlated with ELS's RV and marina segments. Comparable as a hospitality REIT driven by destination travel demand.
• Pebblebrook Hotel Trust: Pebblebrook is a publicly traded lodging REIT focused on urban and resort hotels. Comparable to ELS as a destination-driven hospitality REIT with similar discretionary travel sensitivity but a different operating model (hotel management vs. land-lease RV/marina).
• AvalonBay Communities: AvalonBay is one of the largest publicly traded apartment REITs, operating multifamily rental communities in high-barrier coastal markets. It shares ELS's regulatory moat narrative (limited new supply) and long-duration rent growth, but serves an urban renter demographic rather than MH homeowners.
• Park Hotels & Resorts: Park Hotels & Resorts is a publicly traded lodging REIT focused on group and convention hotels. While its asset class differs from ELS, it is comparable as a hospitality-adjacent REIT exposed to leisure travel demand and pricing power in destination markets.
• Equity Residential: Equity Residential is a large-cap multifamily apartment REIT whose urban Class A rental portfolio shares ELS's core economics of recurring residential rent, occupancy management, and development-driven NOI growth. While the segment (urban apartments vs. land-lease MH) differs, the REIT operating playbook is highly comparable.

Emerging players

• Kampgrounds of America (KOA): KOA is the largest franchised network of privately owned campgrounds in North America, competing with ELS's Thousand Trails and Encore RV portfolios for transient RV campers and outdoor-recreation travelers. It is not REIT-structured but is a direct competitor at the guest and property level.

Others

• Camping World Holdings: Camping World is the largest U.S. retailer of RVs and provider of RV-related services and Good Sam memberships, sitting in the broader outdoor-recreation ecosystem that drives demand for ELS's RV resorts. Adjacent rather than directly competing, but a useful read on RV demand trends.

Direct peers

• Safe Harbor Marinas: Safe Harbor Marinas, backed by Blackstone, is the largest U.S. operator of marinas with a national footprint that overlaps ELS's Loggerhead marina portfolio. Both businesses compete on premium wet-slip and dry-slip rentals and concierge amenities in supply-constrained boating markets such as Florida.
• UMH Properties: UMH Properties is a publicly traded REIT focused entirely on manufactured housing communities across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, offering nearly identical lot-lease economics to ELS's MH segment. While smaller and more geographically concentrated, it shares the same revenue model, customer cohort, and regulatory tailwinds.
• Sun Communities: Sun Communities is the largest publicly traded MH and RV resort REIT in the U.S., with a similar three-pillar portfolio (MH communities, RV resorts, marinas) and overlapping age-qualified resident demographic. It is the closest publicly traded comparable to ELS in business model, tenant base, and exposure to the same affordability and outdoor-recreation tailwinds.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/690568

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Equity LifeStyle Properties