Getting new customers can be difficult for small businesses. But there's a free service that lets your business offer value to travelers — without giving away your products or services.
What Is Harvest Hosts?
Harvest Hosts is a membership service for RV travelers that lets them stay overnight at farms, wineries, breweries, distilleries, golf courses, and other small businesses across North America. For around $100 a year, members get access to over 4,000 locations where they can park their RV for free — no hookups, but no campground fees either. For the businesses, it's a way to attract a specific kind of customer: RV travelers who are curious, engaged, and predisposed to spend money on local products and experiences. The typical Harvest Hosts guest is not looking for the cheapest option. They're looking for an authentic experience, and they're willing to pay for it. We've stayed at Harvest Hosts locations across the country, and the quality of the experiences has been consistently high. The hosts are almost universally welcoming, and the locations are almost universally interesting.
"The parking spot is free. The customers it brings are not."
The Business Case
We talked to a lot of Harvest Hosts operators over the course of our trip, and the business case they described was consistent: the program brings in customers who wouldn't otherwise find them. Gnarled Oak Farm in Hernando, Mississippi, is a small farm that raises heritage breed pigs and makes artisan products. The owner told us that Harvest Hosts guests regularly become repeat customers — people who discovered the farm on an RV trip and now order online or stop in whenever they're passing through. That kind of customer relationship is hard to build through advertising. It happens through experience. Whiskey Thief Distillery in Kentucky described a similar dynamic. RV travelers who stay overnight tend to do a full tasting the next morning, buy bottles to take home, and tell other RVers about the experience. Word of mouth in the RV community travels fast.
What It Costs and What You Get
For businesses, joining Harvest Hosts is straightforward. There's an application process, and the program has standards for what constitutes a suitable host location. But the cost to the business is essentially zero — you're offering a parking spot, not a campground. No hookups required, no facilities beyond basic courtesy. What you get in return is a steady stream of engaged, curious visitors who are predisposed to support local businesses. RV travelers, almost by definition, are people who prefer authentic experiences over chain hotels and franchise restaurants. They're your customer.
Is It Right for Your Business?
Harvest Hosts works best for businesses that have something to sell on-site — wine, spirits, farm products, a round of golf, a tour. If your business model depends on foot traffic and direct sales, the program can deliver both. If you're a service business with nothing to sell to a visitor, it's probably not the right fit. But if you're a farm, a winery, a distillery, a brewery, a golf course, or any other business that benefits from people showing up and spending time — and money — Harvest Hosts is worth a serious look. The parking spot is free. The customers it brings are not.
