How Harvest Hosts Is Becoming the New Standard of the Camping Industry

Harvest Hosts is the 70th fastest-growing private company in the United States and number one in the travel and hospitality category, according to Inc. Magazine. This unique business has clearly figured something out and captured the attention of RVers all over North America in the process.

But what is it? What does Harvest Hosts know and do for campers that no one else does?

What is Harvest Hosts?

Harvest Hosts is a membership program that invites self-contained RVers to enjoy unique overnight stays outside of traditional campgrounds. (Think wineries, golf courses, farms, etc.)

But this alone doesn’t explain their success. The real key is what they’ve discovered about North America and its changing economy — namely, that today’s “share economy” is defined by support, not exploitation.

In a recent piece, Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts, said, “Our mission is to help millions of people live happier lives through road travel, while supporting wonderful small businesses and communities along the way.”

In other words, today’s economy is about elevating everyone to new levels of success and happiness, about creating memories and community. With this mindset, Harvest Host has created a new standard of RV living.

How Is Harvest Hosts Creating a New Standard in the RV World?

It isn’t just one thing. It's the way everything inside the Harvest Hosts ecosystem works together—creating “bucket list” experiences for their members, driving traffic to small businesses, and collaborating with outdoor industry leaders.

Let’s take a look at Harvest Hosts' impact on their RVing members as well as small businesses across North America. Here‘s what it cooperation (and competition) with other outdoor industry leaders looks like.

Harvest Hosts is Helping Millions Live Happier

Every RVer I know is looking to do three things:

Make more memories
Save some money
Stay on the road longer

Harvest Hosts delivers on all three of these goals for their members. When you sign up to become a Harvest Hosts member, you join thousands of other RVers in experiencing memorable, scenic overnight stays in more than 3,954+ extraordinary locations across North America. The best part is that members are able to stay at any of the stunning locations with no camping fees. (It’s all included in your annual membership.)

Members get to trade in the boring parking lot experience for something that makes an impression, and memories that will last forever. Harvest Hosts members get all of this for the same cost as 2-4 normal campground stays (depending on your membership selection).

All of this means more memories made for less money, allowing members to stay on the road longer than ever.

Families Are Being Served with New, Unique Experiences

Harvest Hosts is doing a huge service to the family unit, and parents are recognizing the value in it. It’s no secret that technology is creeping into every aspect of society. And while technology is a fantastic thing, families still need to connect in other ways. Harvest Hosts locations offer experiences that can trump even iPad time.

Parents are realizing the value of shared experiences that don’t break the bank, even as inflation continues to skyrocket. Why pay for multiple campsites throughout the year when you can pay for one membership and stay as many places as you wish?

Harvest Hosts is Supporting Small Businesses

The United States—and really North America—was built on the innovation of small businesses. The creativity of human beings is remarkable, and Harvest Hosts has figured out a way to tap into it. By connecting with over 7,000 small businesses, Harvest Hosts has created a network of places for RVers to camp. It doesn’t cost the small business or Harvest Hosts anything for a self-contained RV to stay, but it brings thousands of people to those small businesses.

These amazing small businesses—and the surrounding towns—have seen a growth in traffic and income because of the Harvest Hosts members. Harvest Hosts is anticipating that 40 million dollars will be spent in 2022 at these small businesses and nonprofits.

From my experience, a lot of these small businesses are off the beaten path, in small towns I’ve never heard of, and in need of some more attention. My wife and I have found some of our favorite places because of Harvest Hosts. I found my favorite coffee shop, and my wife found her favorite winery. And we’ve discovered the wonder of Alpaca-made products!

Being a Host Doesn’t Cost a Thing

You might think Harvest Hosts would charge a nominal fee for its free publicity and marketing, but they don’t. And they don’t take a cut of money spent from Harvest Hosts members either. So the previously mentioned 40 million dollars is free and clear to those small businesses. There aren’t any strings attached to that money except to be a good host. Many hosts have seen increases from 10,000 to 30,000 dollars per year in revenue.

Different non-profits have decided to join the efforts too. Harvest Hosts looked toward industries hurting during the pandemic and figured out ways to help. Churches have seen an increase in donations, restaurants an increase in sales, and many others are seeing the advantage to being a host.

How Do Harvest Hosts Members Sign Up and Use Their Membership?

So, how does this actually work? Signing up and using your membership is incredibly simple. Harvest Hosts has a great website. And their app is simple and easy to use too.

Membership Overview

Getting from here to there doesn’t have to be boring anymore. I find myself planning my destination around the journey now. You can create an entire trip of “bucket list” experiences with Harvest Hosts alone!

Stay on an Alpaca farm, tour a region of wineries, sleep in a lavender farm, visit a brewery, learn about different farming practices, and so much more. Harvest Hosts makes it easy for members to be on the road and make memories in the process.

Signing Up

Simply go to the main Harvest Hosts site, click “join now” (located in the navigation bar at the top right part of the page), and follow the prompts. In 3 to 5 minutes, you’ll be a member, and the fun begins!

Three Membership Options

Harvest Hosts Classic: The cost is currently $99 and offers members the chance to choose from over 3,550 host locations. These hosts are a variety of farms, wineries, attractions, breweries, and distilleries.
Harvest Hosts + Boondockers Welcome: The cost is currently $169, which ups the number of location options by adding in 3,139 Private Community Hosts. This gives you 6,689+ locations to choose from.
All Access: The cost is currently $179, and this adds 404 Golf Courses to the menu. Once you add up all of these locations, you’ll have 7,039+ locations to choose from across North America.

Using the Membership

One of the ways Harvest Hosts makes its members happy is by providing an easy-to-use platform. I have had other memberships that were really clunky and frustrating. Because of that, I simply didn’t utilize what they had to offer.

Harvest Hosts is not like that at all. It’s incredibly easy to request stays, communicate with the hosts, and plan future stays inside of the app.

You can do pretty much everything inside the Harvest Hosts App, and there are versions for both Android and Apple users. This makes the members' lives much easier. The only thing I prefer to do on the main website is search for stays. But that’s just because the screen is much larger.

When you request a stay, your host will have to approve it. I have only ever had a host take more than 24 hours to respond. It was one of the Boondockers Welcome Hosts, and the delay was because they were backpacking in the backcountry.

Other Membership Bonuses

One of the ways Harvest Hosts connects with other companies is by promoting special savings for its members on their site. This cross-pollinating of businesses hasn’t always been the norm, but it’s refreshing to see Harvest Hosts take that path.

Coming Together Is Paying Off

When times are tough, we have options as humans. We can either live in fear or move forward boldly. Harvest Hosts chose the latter and have invited every RVer and small business owner to come along for the ride.

Ready for your next adventure? Use the code ETRAILER at checkout to receive 15% off of your first year of membership to Harvest Hosts.

Written by: Harvest Hosts Team

Dan B.

8/27/2022

I think that rhis is very interesting, and as a long time ETrailer customer I like their association with this program. But I am being asked to buy something in the blind, can you share more or offer more derail? Dan

David B.

8/27/2022

Hey Dan, you can go to the main website for the Harvest Host group. It is linked on the page and I'll provide a link for you here too. There you can browse what they have to offer and look at an interactive map that will show you the locations of hosts. You can also request more specific information from them directly if you wish.

Helpful Links

https://harvesthosts.com/

David C.

8/26/2022

I have a pop up Four Wheel Camper with a cassette toilet and gray water hose run to a sealed container. Am I eligible to join Harvst Hosts?

David B.

8/26/2022

Here is one of the rules of conduct on their website. I'll post a link to the rest too. Your RV must have an interior toilet and built-in holding tanks for waste water, there are NO exterior tanks allowed. Porta-potties are ok but must be dumped offsite at an appropriate facility. The dumping of any gray/black water on host properties is prohibited. You must have interior cooking facilities. No tents of any kind are allowed.

Helpful Links

https://harvesthosts.com/code-of-conduct/

David C.

8/26/2022

@DavidB thanks for the quick rsvp774

Martin P.

8/26/2022

I Would like to see locations within specific areas, for me it would be Northwest, Wash., Or., Id., Mt.

David B.

8/26/2022

You can just use the map on the website. Use the mouse to drag the map to the location you want and you can zoom in or out to see more details on the area.

Helpful Links

https://harvesthosts.com/host-locations/

Steve H.

8/26/2022

Why I didn't think of this years ago. Great idea and concept. We will be joining the All Access and test it out during the next few months.

David B.

8/26/2022

Outstanding! Let us know where you visit and how it all works out! I love hearing travel stories.

Gary D.

8/26/2022

Why doesn't Harvest Host give at least the city that the camp site is closest to? All the map shows is a tractor for a farm. Is it nice, next to a pond or out in the middel of a pasture? Western states seem to have a lot less hosts!

David B.

8/26/2022

Just keep zooming in on the map Gary. It will show you the towns/cities.

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