Harvest Host

[Benton Harbor]

Ray, I was being sarcastic. Every stay at a HH usually results in us buying wine, beer or whiskey that costs us more than what camping at a campground would cost for the night. We really enjoy those sites, but it rarely ends with us not buying from the vendor. 🤣

[jleonard]

Ray, I was being sarcastic. Every stay at a HH usually results in us buying wine, beer or whiskey that costs us more than what camping at a campground would cost for the night. We really enjoy those sites, but it rarely ends with us not buying from the vendor. ��

I agree. One time we ended up spending over $200 for wine. LOL

[WondersAwait]

We have a Harvest Host membership and have only used it a few times but really enjoyed the stops we had with it.

I would make the comment, which slightly echos what others have posted, that it's not a great way to save money. If you're looking at it as "I can spend X amount of money for the year and then get unlimited overnights all over the country!" I mean, it's not wrong, but it's also not how it works in practice for most people. Almost all HH sites are businesses of some sort and they are registered to HH because it attracts extra clients. HH recommends you spend at least $20 at each location as a donation or gesture of patronizing their business so that it's worthwhile for them. In practice we have found our HH stops have had exceedingly wonderful people hosting and we wanted to spend money to support them and their business. Like most above we spend a fair amount on wine, beers, and tours. It's money well spent and it makes for some super interesting stops along a road trip. I love it and do recommend it, but only if you're looking for more interesting overnight stops; if you don't care about interesting stops then just find a campground and if your idea is to just find cheap overnight places to stop and sleep then stick to Walmarts, cracker barrels, etc.

[Rgpracer]

Excuse me for asking but, what is BDR?

We started off with BDW mostly as a replacement to the Walmart Inn after our last experience was on the sketchy side. As others have mentioned already, we'll read up on reviews, check the location out via Google satellite and ask the host questions. Unfortunately, some host are in town and dare their driveway only because they get the membership paid. If you do some research, you can get fabulous sites like we have. We love it. With BDW you can stay multiple nights. Last year we upgraded and added HH. Also great but mostly 1 night. Here's a few of the sites that we did last year. It's a great way to meet people and cut down on travel cost. Attachment 44703Attachment 44705Attachment 44706

[Rgpracer]

Sorry......What is BDW?

Excuse me for asking but, what is BDR?

We started off with BDW mostly as a replacement to the Walmart Inn after our last experience was on the sketchy side. As others have mentioned already, we'll read up on reviews, check the location out via Google satellite and ask the host questions. Unfortunately, some host are in town and dare their driveway only because they get the membership paid. If you do some research, you can get fabulous sites like we have. We love it. With BDW you can stay multiple nights. Last year we upgraded and added HH. Also great but mostly 1 night. Here's a few of the sites that we did last year. It's a great way to meet people and cut down on travel cost. Attachment 44703Attachment 44705Attachment 44706

[Second Chance]

Sorry......What is BDW?

I think they're talking about Boondockers Welcome.

Rob

[JM0397]

HH and BDR combined last year into a unified app, if you want to upgrade to BDW you can do so through your HH account.
There's a good explanation of that & what they're doing to expand service and options, on last week's KYD episode (about 2/3 through episode, IIRC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBJ74mTl7Bg

[goducks14]

We have been members since 2020 and use them often for overnight stays while on the way to a destination. Most are pretty great. Overall, very pleased. The downside we,ve seen is that we tend to spend almost as much or more at the HH location as a campsite just to say "thank you" to a small business for allowing the stay. I really like the convenience of the locations and ease of booking. Will stay a member for many more years.

At least you're not throwing your money at some RV park owners new yacht.
You have something tangible when you buy something.

[Hoopy Frood]

At least you're not throwing your money at some RV park owners new yacht.
You have something tangible when you buy something.

You mean those Harvest Host owners don't own yachts? How tangible is that cheese after you eat it? The campground offers a value for your money too. Personally I think the owner of a vineyard is more likely to own a yacht than the owner of a campground.

[Fsalmy]

You mean those Harvest Host owners don't own yachts? How tangible is that cheese after you eat it? The campground offers a value for your money too. Personally I think the owner of a vineyard is more likely to own a yacht than the owner of a campground.

We are both HH members and hosts (on our farm). We owned a 22' bowrider once, but alas, no yacht.

For our HH listing, we try to be as up front as possible about the area, the access, the parking spots, the expected experience and life on our farm. We clearly state access is down a gravel road and the turn onto the gravel road can be a challenge for big rigs/large Class As and although we can accommodate any length rig, we suggest a 40' max length because of that turn. Our parking area is in a hay pasture. I cut a "big rig friendly access path/road" and parking areas in the most level areas so we can provide a couple of site options for our guests - mountain views, shade or sunny, etc. However, because the sites are grass and although it drains well, we watch the weather forecast closely and if there are heavy rains, snow, or ice forecasted, we let our guests know prior to their arrival and will even suggest other HHs in the area that have paved or gravel pads. We have a 4wd farm tractor that we can use to pull folks out but have never had to use it in 5+ years.

As HH guests/travelers, we have had mostly great experiences and those experiences influence what we do as hosts. We do our due diligence before reserving a spot as we have been in some situations with very tight access (a winery in NC). Only once have we pulled into a HH location (in CT) and decided to move on because the area was very sketchy. The other "rig" that was already parked there looked like Cousin Eddie's "that right there, Clark, is an arrrrr veee". Some places are completely no frills (a church parking lot in PA) and others have full restaurants, bathrooms, and activities (a winery in MA). Most of the hosts we have met are incredibly hospitable (like us ) and some have even invited us for dinner.

We used to be BDW hosts several years ago before it was acquired by HH. A couple of sketchy BDW guests and some host policies with which we didn't agree, and we ended that pretty quickly. After the acquisition, HH committed to ending some of the objectionable policies instituted by BDW, but so far, we have chosen not to renew our listing with BDW.