Harvest Hosts…what’s the deal?

[chovy]

I just signed up and it looks like you can only book one night stay. No indication if prices is it free?

 

[Lou Schneider]

That's the deal. You get to stay one night free with the expectation you'll patronize the host (buy something).

 

[jimspencer741]

Yea we tried them as well and only did it like twice not very pleased with harvest host.

 

[chovy]

Oh there’s only like three places near me. Totally not worth it.

 

[jimspencer741]

Oh there’s only like three places near me. Totally not worth it.

Yea I would skip on it then lol

 

[Krazeehorse33]

There’s a lot of wineries on the map in Ohio. Most of these are less than 3 hours from my home. We are considering joining in the spring. But we enjoy sitting in a winery and listening to their entertainment on a Saturday night. So it seems like a good fit for us. The membership fee is less than what you’d expect to pay for 3 nights at a CG. And if we don’t enjoy it, we’ll I’ve wasted more money than that.

 

[chovy]

Yeah. Just a pita to move the trailer everyday

 

[Laura & Charles]

We use both Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome. (They’ve become one company, but operate completely independent of one another.)
They both work very well for us as an overnight stop when relocating. As full time accommodating, you’re right about a pain to move daily; but that’s not what they’re for. We work full time and explore the area evenings and weekends, move every 2 - 5 weeks, then do it again. We generally don’t take more than a day’s vacation time to relocate to give us a three day (two night) window to get to point B. HH and BW are much appreciated by us over Walmarts and truck stops.

 

[Cameodon]

I did a very quick search about Harvest Host. Sounds good for when you need to stop for the night as Laura & Charles said. BUT looking real quick everything I saw you have to join before you can see locations...and apply for membership before you know the price? Am I wrong?
Already wasted several hundred dollars on another camping club to find basically they only go to "resorts" with bargains only mid week. We're not much into "resorts". Anyhow, Harvest Hosts sound great for one night stops but would like to know where they are before I join.

 

[chovy]

They refunded me my money.

 

[Krazeehorse33]

Cameodon……you can look at the map and get a general idea of locations but I have not seen a comprehensive list of exact locations either. We visited a winery in NW Ohio this summer and there were two MH parked back in the far end of the lot away from most cars. There is a pin on the map at that winery’s location. I remember seeing something just south of $100 for membership and a 15% off pop up ad appearing occasionally.

 

[Jayflight]

You meet the coolest people at the majority of the HH outlets and beats the heck out of walmart parking lots. We have found some places that allows two night stays. As the memberships have exploded this has reduced some of the sites.

Of course you are somewhat expected to spend a few bucks with them, which give you something in return for a nights stay thats different from commercial CGs. More outlets are now offering electricity and some are offering campfire wood free of charge. It may not be the right fit for some folks, especially if you are looking for a place for a weekend place to camp as it sounds like this thread was started with that intention.

We have saved hundreds of dollars, probably approaching a thousand bucks and got in before the costs of admission reached the current fee. But what has been interesting with the wineries is that you get a completely different taste from commercial off the shelf wines and some neat looking labels for gifts. Friends like that and costs less than many gifts for christmas and birthdays. And the farms and orchards provided us meats and eggs without having to find grocery stores in remote areas. The alpacha farms have also provided gifts that you normally will not get at your shopping malls.

The downside for us is that there has been some changes in the booking policies. You need to send an email, which in some remote areas you may loose some cell services for a reply if you are working from your phone on the road. So we try to call anyway if there is a some contact number that we find in the place of sending emails.

Thats our experiences for four years.

 

[Cameodon]

So evidently there's no way to know if there are locations you can use BEFORE you join??

 

[Alontheway]

Boondockers welcome was fun. I got to meet the locals. They usually were interested in their guest and hearing about the travels and adventures. I got a bucket full of Cohogs at the last one in Mass. Another showed me his tunnels in the back yard as it was all limestone, and we at mushrooms from the yard (cooked, not psychotic). A few fed me dinner as a welcome guest. Some I never saw and I only had one bad visit in WI. Guy was just a jerk, not so much to me but his stories of his life were all how he delt with people and I just did not enjoy that stay.
The popular tourist areas are usually booked, so book early, but the non tourist host almost always have room.
I usually stayed just for a safe place to park a few days, get water, maybe power and able to leave the rig and wander off. Sure beats parking lots

 

[Atchafalaya Man]

We happen to use Boondockers Welcome for traveling stops as it's mainly for finding a place for the night (or two). 99.9% of the locations are someone's home driveway, farm, or open acreage, often parked next to their RV.

Over 90% of them ask nothing in return, but in general, it's a 1-3 night limit on staying.

So, interested in Ohio? Below is how it would look on the map as you zoom in and search icons for hosts. The more you zoom, the more the information.

Zooming more:

Then choosing one icon to see what they offer:

From there, you contact the host and make your own arrangements. Every guest is asked to make comments about the host, and likewise, the host can make comments about the guests. Your legacy is on display, so if you're a jerk, others will know about it. It's RARE to see a negative post. For example:

 

[UTTransplant]

The last time I looked, Harvest Hosts doesn’t have the cool map that Boondocker’s Welcome has. I was able to see a snapshot of their sites by asking at a rally where they had a booth. It helped me decide BW was a much better fit for where we traveled.

 

[Atchafalaya Man]

Before they merged with Harvest Host, a non-member could cruise and peruse all the BW host members on the map, just as only true members can do today. It was that ability that introduced us to what they had to offer and we signed up then.

As mentioned before, only a couple of free night stays with a host makes you break even for the annual dues.

We've noticed in some areas, particularly in the eastern half of the country, there are more BW hosts offering a free night's stay than there are paid state and private RV parks available.