Something has shifted in how people want to spend a weekend. Glamping and nature stays have moved from a niche for people who like tents to a mainstream booking — and, more tellingly, they’re being booked by travelers who would normally choose a resort or a five-star city hotel.
The reasons aren’t complicated. A big luxury hotel is a busy place: a lobby full of check-ins, a lift you share with a conference, breakfast at eight with two hundred other people, and a pool with music. Wonderful for some trips. But after a working week, plenty of us want the opposite — quiet, dark, and nobody asking whether we’re enjoying our stay.
Which is where the tiny cabin comes in. The pitch takes one line: a cabin in the woods, roughly two hours from a major city, with a bed facing a window the size of a wall, a fire pit outside the door, and no television anywhere.
Postcard Cabins built that idea into more than 1,200 cabins across 29 outposts in the United States, and the hotel industry noticed. In December 2024 Marriott bought the brand, and it now anchors the Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy — so a weekend in the forest earns points and elite nights the same way a business hotel does.
There’s also a promo code running: QRI, worth 20% off weekend stays if you’re a Bonvoy member. Here’s how to use it, what the cabins are actually like, where the outposts are, and who they suit.
Postcard Cabins at a Glance
- Formerly Getaway. Renamed Postcard Cabins in October 2024; Marriott announced the acquisition that December.
- 29 outposts, 1,200+ cabins, each within about a two-hour drive of a major US city.
- The name comes from the window — one large pane framing the forest like a postcard.
- Two to four guests, in a queen cabin or a bunk cabin with two queen beds.
- Dogs welcome at a $50 cleaning fee. Dogs only — no cats.
- Booked through Marriott, earning 10 Bonvoy points per dollar and one elite night credit per night.
Postcard Cabins Promo Code: 20% Off Weekend Stays
The standing discount on Outdoor Collection stays is a weekend rate, and it’s worth more to members than to everyone else.
| Postcard Cabins Promo Code QRI | Discount |
|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy members | 20% off |
| Non-members | 15% off |
Promotional code: QRI
What it covers: stays over the next four weekends at participating hotels, and all days of the week at participating resorts, across the US, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The conditions that matter:
- Book at least five days ahead. Inside five days, the rate isn’t available.
- Pre-paid and non-refundable. This is the trade for the 20%: you’re committing. If there’s any chance the weekend moves, the flexible rate is the safer buy.
- Participating properties only, so check the rate appears on the outpost you want before planning around it.
How to book: reserve online with the promotional code applied, or call 1-800-MARRIOTT — or your local reservation number — and quote the code.
Joining Bonvoy is free, and it’s the difference between 15% and 20% here, on top of earning 10 points per dollar and an elite night credit per night. If you’re not a member, sign up before you book rather than after: the discount is applied at booking, and the points can’t be added retroactively to a rate you booked as a non-member.
On a $200 cabin for two nights, the member rate saves $80 against the non-member’s $60 — which is most of the destination fee back.
What Are Postcard Cabins?
They’re tiny homes, not tents — which is what separates this from camping, and from most things marketed as glamping.
Inside each cabin: a queen bed or bunks with fresh linens, air conditioning and heating, a full private bathroom with towels and biodegradable products, a kitchen with a two-burner stove, mini fridge and basic cookware, and a small workspace. There’s power throughout for charging.
Outside your door: a private fire pit with a grill grate, a picnic table, two to four Adirondack chairs, and a dedicated parking space steps from the cabin.
Around you: woodland, dozens of cabins spaced for privacy, and scenic trails on the site itself.
What’s deliberately missing is everything else — no restaurant, no reception, no gym, no television. Cabins are cleaned before you arrive but there’s no daily housekeeping, and support runs 24/7 by text or the cabin’s landline rather than a front desk.
One practical detail worth knowing: in cold weather, hot water can be limited to five-minute showers with a 30-minute recharge. It’s a tiny cabin in a forest, not a hotel bathroom.
Where the Outposts Are
Outposts are named after the woodland rather than the city, so the easiest way to find one is by the metro it serves:
| Nearest city | Outpost |
|---|---|
| New York | Eastern Catskills, Western Catskills |
| Boston | Blake Brook (NH), Machimoodus (CT) |
| Washington DC | Shenandoah, Shenandoah North (VA) |
| Pittsburgh and Cleveland | Beaver Creek (OH) |
| Columbus | Hocking Hills (OH) |
| Chicago | Starved Rock (IL) |
| Detroit | Barber Creek (MI) |
| Milwaukee and Madison | Wild Rose (WI) |
| Los Angeles | Big Bear (CA) |
| Dallas | Piney Woods (TX) |
| Austin and San Antonio | Hill Country (TX) |
| Atlanta | Chattahoochee (GA) |
| Birmingham | Talladega Valley (AL) |
| Charlotte and Raleigh | Asheboro (NC) |
| Orlando | Great Springs (FL) |
Beyond those, there are outposts serving Portland, Minneapolis, St Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Houston, Jackson and Greenville, plus a second cluster around the Catskills and New England. The pattern is consistent: woodland within a two-hour drive of a metro, reachable on a Friday evening after work.
What It Costs, and Booking With Bonvoy Points
Rates move with the outpost, the season and the night. Weekends near big cities are the expensive end; midweek in shoulder season is where the value sits. Most cabins land in the $150 to $250 a night range, with peak weekends higher.
With points, award rates vary by outpost and date, and free night awards are accepted. Cash bookings earn 10 Bonvoy points per dollar and one elite night credit per night — the genuinely useful part, because two weekends in the woods count toward status like two nights in an airport hotel.
You can also transfer in: Chase moves Ultimate Rewards to Marriott at 1:1.
The Destination Fee
There’s a daily destination fee on top of the rate, and it’s more substantial than most hotel resort fees. It covers:
- Three bundles of firewood with fire starters
- A s’mores kit
- Four servings each of coffee, tea and hot chocolate
- Two bottles of water
- Snacks
So you don’t arrive with a trunk full of logs, and the morning coffee is handled. Bonvoy Gold members and above also get an elite amenity in the cabin.
For what the other platforms offer, our guides to Hotels.com promo codes and Airbnb discounts break down their loyalty schemes.
Hiking, Stargazing and What to Actually Do
The cabin is the accommodation, not the activity. What fills a weekend:
Hiking. Every outpost has trails on site, and most sit within reach of state parks and forests — Starved Rock’s canyons, Hocking Hills’ waterfalls, the Catskills’ peaks, Big Bear’s alpine trails. Download your routes before you leave, because signal is unreliable by design; our roundup of the best hiking apps covers offline maps and trail navigation.
Stargazing. The underrated one. Two hours from a city usually means a real drop in light pollution, and with no exterior lighting beyond your own fire, the sky above these outposts is far better than anything you see at home. Check the moon phase before booking — a new moon is darkest — bring a red-light torch to keep your night vision, and look up after 10pm once the fire has burned down.
The fire. Firewood and starters come with the destination fee and the pit has a grill grate, so cooking outside is half the point. Bring your own fire-safe outdoor cookware: the indoor pots and pans aren’t meant for the fire pit.
Doing nothing. There’s a reason people book two nights and no plan. Reading material and a deck of cards are provided, rain is part of the experience, and the phone signal makes the decision for you.
Who Postcard Cabins Are For
Solo travelers. A queen cabin, walking shoes and a book. Contactless check-in means you can arrive without speaking to anyone, which for some people is the entire appeal.
Couples. The classic use case: two nights, a fire, no plans. Bring layers, a card game and something to cook.
Families. Bunk cabins sleep four with two queen beds, and a s’mores kit is waiting. Pack bug spray, snacks and a game for the evening.
Dog owners. Dogs are welcome for a $50 cleaning fee, with a bowl and tie-out cable provided. Add the dog to the booking rather than turning up with one.
Groups and events. Postcard Cabins takes group bookings across multiple cabins — weddings, reunions, wellness retreats and corporate offsites. Book each cabin separately and email the team if you want to be placed together; proximity isn’t guaranteed otherwise.
Anyone tempted by camping but not by tents. The honest sweet spot: the forest, the fire and the dark sky, with a flush toilet, a hot shower and a real bed.
Not for: anyone in an RV. Motorhomes, towables, fifth-wheels, teardrops, ATVs and golf carts are all prohibited. Class B camper vans are the one exception.
Check-In and the House Rules
There’s no front desk. Your access code and an outpost map arrive by text on the day, so the mobile number on the booking has to be right.
- Check-in is usually 4pm; check-out 11am.
- Minimum check-in age is 18 at most outposts, and a few are adults-only.
- Up to two dogs per stay, $50 non-refundable cleaning fee.
- Cabins are smoke-free, though smoking outdoors on the grounds is allowed.
- One dedicated parking space per cabin, free.
What to Pack
The one thing that spoils a stay is arriving hungry. These outposts are remote by design, with no restaurant or café on site and the nearest shop often 20 minutes down an unlit road. Bring your food and drink, or at minimum enough for the first night.
You don’t need: linens, towels, bath products, cookware, plates or cutlery. All of it is in the cabin, and each booking page lists the exact inventory.
Worth bringing: groceries, outdoor cookware for the fire, a torch, evening layers, bug spray in summer, a book or board game, and a bag for your rubbish. Leave large appliances at home — there isn’t the space.
Postcard Cabins vs Hipcamp, Airbnb and Vrbo
The alternative to a branded cabin is an independent listing, and the trade-offs are clear:
- Postcard Cabins is consistent and points-earning. You know exactly what you’re getting at all 29 outposts, and the stay counts toward Bonvoy status.
- Hipcamp has far more choice — private land, tent pitches, RV spots and glamping — across a wider price range, with the variability that comes from booking individual hosts.
- Vrbo is the one for groups of more than four, since these cabins cap at four beds.
Our roundup of vacation rental apps compares the platforms directly, and for the same idea in Europe, our glamping guide covers cabins, domes and stargazing capsules across the continent.
Trailborn: The Step Up
If a cabin sounds too spare, the Outdoor Collection’s other founding brand is Trailborn — boutique hotels in outdoor destinations, with restaurants, bars and guided experiences. It’s a partnership rather than an acquisition, so Trailborn runs the properties under a long-term agreement with Marriott.
There are hotels near Rocky Mountain National Park, at the Grand Canyon gateway of Williams in Arizona, and in Highlands and Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina, with Mendocino, California in development. Marriott put the total at 559 rooms once all are open.
Expect to pay roughly double a cabin: around $385 a night for two at Trailborn Highlands on an October weekend.
Are Postcard Cabins for You?
It comes down to what you want a weekend to feel like.
Book one if you want two nights of quiet more than you want amenities. If the appeal of a hotel has worn thin, if you’d rather cook over a fire than queue for a breakfast buffet, and if a bed facing a dark window sounds better than a room facing a car park, this will land exactly as intended. It’s also a rare case where a nature stay still earns hotel points and elite nights, so it costs you nothing in loyalty terms to swap a city weekend for a forest one.
Think twice if you want things done for you. There’s no restaurant, no room service, no housekeeping and nobody at a desk. You bring the food, you light the fire, you wash the pan. On a cold night the hot water runs to a five-minute shower. For some people that’s the holiday; for others it’s a chore they’re paying for.
It won’t work at all if you’re traveling with more than four people, arriving in an RV, or hoping for a spa and a pool. A cabin sleeps four at most, motorhomes and towables are banned, and the nearest thing to a facility is the picnic table outside your door.
Everyone else: go in with the right expectations — a room in a forest, not a resort. Bring dinner, take the window seat, and let the signal run out.
For more places to stay, see our hotel guides, our luxury travel picks and the USA travel guide.
