HARVEST HOSTS FAQ: Conversion Vans, Dogs, ADA, Canada, & More!

So today we have Joel Holland back from Harvest Hosts. Hey Joel! Hey Robyn, how are you? Good! Thanks for having me back. Thanks for coming back. So everybody knows that I did a video with you about a week and a half ago about Harvest Hosts and what a great deal it is, but we had a lot of really good questions in the comments on that video, so I just wanted to bring Joel back himself so we can hear it straight from him and get all the answers to all of your questions. So just as a recap, Joel, tell us really quick what Harvest Hosts is again. Yes, well and actually before I jump into that, I just have to tell the viewers what I'm seeing because I love this. You've got obviously a purple shirt, purple glasses, and for me through Skype you have purple hair. Yeah. And I thought you actually had dyed your hair to have the perfectly color-coordinated look. No. Which was awesome, but I didn't realize it's just a camera playing trick. It's just the camera, everybody. I don't have purple hair, but you know I can see what he's talking about, so this may happen. We'll see, we'll see. Yeah, so viewers, you vote in the comments if over 100 people say Robyn has to dye her hair purple, she's doing it. Oh, I'll do it if 100 people say dye your hair purple. I mean, I'm game. What are you going to do, Joel? What color should we do for you? Oh man, I mean, I like purple. I've decided purple's our new Harvest Hosts color. Yeah, right. So the new logo. Yeah, exactly. Looks good. I have purple shirts coming soon, so I'll try a little purple. So sorry, I digress. Harvest Hosts is a membership program that invites self-contained RVers to overnight on over 600 wineries, breweries, distilleries, alpaca farms, organic farms. You know, the list goes on and on, but for $49 a year, you get to stay at all these locations for free, and you don't have to pay anything to stay there, but you do want to give back to the small business that you're visiting. We have a code of conduct that says the hosts are inviting you to stay with them. Take some of the money you're saving on a traditional campground and give back. Right. Well, I've told people I wouldn't be without my Harvest Hosts membership. It's a good part of my camping arsenal. You know, when you're traveling somewhere and you look and see where the host locations are, it takes you a little bit off your beaten path and you see a part of the place you're in that you would never normally see. You know, maybe you go 10 miles off the highway and all of a sudden you're at a lavender farm, or you get to pull up and camp next to the vineyards at a winery, or, you know, wake up next to baby goats at a goat farm. I have just found it to be one of my favorite things. And you guys, Joel is giving us a discount for our viewers on the membership, so we'll talk more about that at the end. But we got a lot of really good questions from people, so we're going to get at them. So we give you the answers right away in this video. So the number one question I got was, what kind of a rig do you take and can you have a conversion van? Yes, that is the number one question that we get as well, because our website, you know, our policy is self-contained RV. But the term RV is really kind of changing, isn't it? So, you know, I have friends who now have conversion vans that are much nicer than my fifth wheel. Yeah, I'm thinking of doing it myself. Right, and so and of course they should be invited to be a part of the program. Right. But we have this fine line where this is not a camping program, it's not, you know, a replacement for Walmart parking lot. Right. It's not like a way to save money. And so what we don't want to do is have people showing up in tents on these locations. Right. That doesn't work. So the best way to describe what we accept is fully self-contained, kind of the leave no trace concept from regular camping, right? You come in, you enjoy the vineyard, and you leave with exactly what you brought in. Right. I think I've told you this in the past, but, you know, the leave no trace quote is take only photographs, leave only footprints. Right. I think for Harvest Hosts, drink lots of wine, use your own bathroom. Right. And right. Yeah. So I think as long as you have a restroom on board, you have the ability to cook and eat inside your vehicle. Right. You have some sort of water catch, whether it's a gray tank or the ability to, you know, wash your hands, clean your dishes, but keep all your liquids in your vehicle. Right. Then we're in good shape. Great. But hosts do not provide hookups. Right. And they're beautiful locations. I mean, they're just idyllic locations and you wouldn't want to go and dump anything out or leave any trash. Certainly the people that watch this channel, I don't think would do that. They would just enjoy the locations. I really like the clarification though, because a lot of people do have conversion vans or schoolies or ambulances, or, you know, people are really converting some cool stuff out there. So as long as you guys don't, you know, leave your fluids on the ground or leave your trash and it's leave no trace, you're good for Harvest Hosts. That's right. But you know, it's funny. It's just be a good citizen. Right. That's it. Right. Right. Okay. So that leads me to the next question is, do you take dogs? Yes. That's a great question. Um, my wife and I travel with pets. And so I think many of our members, if not most of our members have pets. I hear there's a cat wandering around the RV. Somebody had to stop the cat from eating a roll of paper towels a minute ago. So we had to start over. But yeah. Yeah. So, um, as a member, when you find a host location that you want to visit, you pull up their host profile, and it will tell you whether they're pet friendly or not. Right. And most of them, in fact, all the hosts that I've ever stayed with are pet friendly. There are some examples of farms where they have farm animals that would be spooked, you know, by domestic pets. Right. So understandably, they don't allow them. Right. But it's, yeah, host by host, and you can find all that information right on their host page. Great. Hey, you guys, at the end, Joel is going to give us a walkthrough of the trip planner. And he's actually going to show us what you see on the site when you become a member. So you can see if they take pets and what length of RV and all of that, all of that stuff. So you can see that here at the end. Another question I got is, do you have locations in Canada? And how many? Yes. And it's funny, you sent me that question ahead of time. So I did some research. And I was pleasantly surprised. We have 38 hosts in Canada. They're from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and even Prince Edward Island. Wow. So yeah, it's coast to coast. And I'm actually after seeing that, I want to go up to Canada and do a little trip. Yeah, me too. Yeah, that sounds super fun. So yeah, you guys, I'm going to put a link in the description and at the top of comments that actually gives you the Harvest Host map. So it doesn't tell you the host names until you become a member, but it'll tell you how many hosts are in that area. Like, you look at Sacramento, there'll be a little number seven there. There are seven in Sacramento, for example. So you'll be able to, you know, tool around inside of that tool and see how many hosts are in the locations that you want to travel to. Right? And actually, that's a good point. Yes, you can see exactly where all the 600 plus hosts are located. One of the common questions we get is, I don't want to buy a membership until I know who these hosts are and where they are. Right. So obviously, we have privacy concerns about giving out host information to the general public. So you have to be a member to see it. But we also have 100% money back guarantee. So I tell people, sign up, jump on there, make sure you like the hosts. Yeah, I don't think you'll be disappointed. We have so many and so there you can't drive 3040 miles without finding a host. Yeah. So but if you're not happy, just let us know. We'll give you money back. And like Joel said, in the last video, there are more Harvest Host locations than KOAs, which just blew my mind. It's such a great deal for the 49 bucks a year. What about people with disabilities? Are the hosts ADA friendly? Yeah, I would say for the most part. Yes. Right. So so all of our hosts are actual businesses. They have business insurance, which is a requirement to be in our program. And, you know, it's Dutch. They have ADA compliance for the most part. Now, again, it's host by host. So I would call ahead and just confirm that before you head out. Yeah. But what's nice is that all of our hosts were chosen because they're good people. We've actually spoken to them, met with them. Right. And they're welcoming of all people. Yeah. And so I, you know, I think, again, all the hosts that I've been to, just like they're all the ones I've been to are pet friendly. They're also all accessible. So I've found to be very accommodating. OK, great. So we said before, this isn't like a Walmart or a campground. It's a way to experience a new place. And you get to call usually ahead. It depends on the host. And then you find your spot. And what can they expect when they actually go to a host spot? What's the deal when they get there for parking and experiencing the host location? Yes. So the first thing is it won't be crowded. And that's intentional. We tell most hosts to allow a map. You know, it's up to them. But most allow a maximum of four harvest toasters to stay per night. Honestly, I've only been in all my travels. I've only been to one host that had another RV there. So I've never been to one that had another person in Kansas. Yeah, no, it's neat. Like you come. I mean, I was telling you about this earlier, but I went to a winery in Kansas. Kind of what you're talking about. Like I always drive 70 to get from Colorado to Virginia. Right. And I drive through Kansas and I've always just kind of pulled off the highway and stayed somewhere really boring. Right. And I thought, you know what? This isn't fair. I bet Kansas is a really cool state. Let's see if there's a harvest host location. Right. And I did. I found this winery right off the road about 20 miles, maybe less than miles and super sweet husband, wife team. They make unbelievably good wines. And one of the wines they make is a plum wine, which I'd never experienced before. And I was I was like, so taken by the wine that the husband actually took me back and showed me his process for how he picks the actually turns it into, you know, an alcoholic bottles. It links it. That was neat. Yeah. But your point about what you expect, you can expect usually to meet the actual owner. Right. You sit down, have a chat with them. Then I was the only person on this like thousand plus acre farm, winery. And I sat and enjoyed a sunset while sipping plum wine. Wow. What a great way to see Kansas. Right. So what if you don't drink? Yes, that's another good question. And we've intentionally designed the program so that it is not all alcohol related. In fact, about 50% of our hosts are not alcohol related. And I pulled this data up. So I'll just give you the breakdown. As of June, it was a little older. We had 621 hosts. We're closer to 650 now. At that time, 291 wineries, 34 breweries and facilities. And so 52% were alcohol related. On the other side, 164 farms, 86 museums and attractions, and three restaurants. But let me read you a list. I kind of made a list of some of the most interesting locations that are not alcohol related. Love it. Yeah, we've got dairy farms, alpaca farms, honey farms, dairy farms, fish farms, exotic animal farms, organic farms, of course, orchards, botanical gardens, including one in Alaska, history and culture museums, automobile and aerospace museums, soap and glass makers, and railway museums. Oh my gosh, I just want to take a year and do nothing but harvest house. That sounds like a great year to me. What if you want to travel with friends? Can more than one RV go in tandem to the same host? Yes. In fact, we sometimes travel with friends, and we'll just call up and say, do you have room tonight for two RVs or three RVs? Totally up to the host. But again, they're usually very excited to have visitors. They really want to share their wines and their products. So I've never been turned down unless they just didn't have space. But for the most part, a lot of hosts have plenty of space. That's great. So one of the most frequent questions I got was, how much should you spend at a host location? So just really quick, everybody, it's $49 for a year membership, but Joel gives us 10% off, so it goes down to $44. It's my math, right? And then when you go to these locations, to be a good citizen, you go inside and like Joel was saying, you support the small business. But some people wanted to know, how much are you expected to spend? I think some people think these wineries and these wine tastings are going to get out of there spending $500 or something. What's the real deal? Yeah, so you make a good point. We don't charge hosts anything to be in the program, obviously, but we also don't pay them anything. And so this really is us connecting our awesome community of RVers with really cool hosts. And so what we usually say is, take a percentage of what you probably would have spent in a traditional campground. You probably would have paid at least $50 to stay at a cool place like a winery, probably $100. But take part of that and support the local business. Buy their wine, buy their cheese. I bought an alpaca scarf the other day for my wife. So there's no hard, fast rule. We say spend at least $20. I think that's just a nice gesture. But I've been to hosts where I spend a lot more just because I actually really like the product. I was in Utah, and there was an organic farm, but the chocolate covered everything. So we bought everything, strawberries, blueberries. What else we got? So many things with chocolate on them, and I didn't feel bad spending the money because I was then super happy for like two weeks. Yeah, yeah. I've gone into host locations and looked around the store and went, oh god, I'm going to walk out of here with like four baskets. I wanted everything that I saw. Oh, I know what else people asked. So like I said to you guys, Joel is so nice. He's giving us a discount. But a lot of people asked, you know, if you hit that link to get the discount, is there a discount code? So I just wanted to tell people when you hit that link at the top of the page, you're going to see a green banner that has the coupon code, and you should see the discount when you go into checkout, right? That's right, yeah. So copy that code from the top. It's HHFRIENDS all together, but you'll see it on the page. Just copy it and make sure you paste it in the coupon field. That way it'll take that 10% off, $75. And Joel is also giving away a free annual membership to Harvest Hosts for one of our viewers. You guys might have seen in the last video that here's the deal. When I hit 25,000 subscribers, the first person to put hashtag Harvest Hosts in that last video, not this video, gets the membership, and I'm at about 23,000 now. So that's coming up, everybody. Keep an eye on that, and you might win a free membership from Joel. But Joel, is there anything, what are we missing? Anything? You know, I actually, you know, can I say one thing? I'm sorry, I just meant to say this a minute ago. I've never stayed at a Walmart or a Cracker Barrel where I didn't go inside and buy breakfast or do some shopping. It's just part of the deal, right? It's like being a good citizen. So staying at a Harvest Host is the same thing. They're being gracious enough to let you stay there for free. Go in and buy something. It's no big deal. Yeah. Well, and it always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Like, I love Walmart, and I spend a lot of money at Walmart, but there's something about supporting a small local business that it feels better, right? I mean, it's nice. And it's the coolest stuff. I've gotten some, like, honey and jam and wine and, like, you wouldn't get this stuff anywhere else. It's the best stuff. So anything else you want to tell the people before you give us our little tutorial on the route planner? No, I think, you know, I'm really excited to have your viewers in the program. They're the best. We're excited. They seem like the best. They're cool people. And I, yeah, it's great. And, you know, at the end of the day, we're open and welcoming to anyone who's going to be a good member. And, you know, what that means is, just like you're going to your grandma's house, right? Like, be nice. Right. Enjoy her cookies, right? Don't leave trash on her floor. That's it. I think that's why this program has been around for nine years. And all of our hosts have been very happy with the program. And our members are very happy. Like Google Harvest hosts, you'll find a lot of positive commentary. Right. It's because we have a community of really good people. Cool. Okay. Well, Joel, just in case I don't get the chance after this tutorial, I want to say thanks again. You've been really great coming back to do this video again. And I appreciate it. So you want to show us the tutorial? You bet. Here we go. Okay. I see it. Okay. So I've already logged in. You basically log in to the website. It'll take you to a member's dashboard. In this case, I'm logged in and I'm on the home page. But we'll jump over here to host locations. You can search by state, route, country. You can search by host name. You can search by type. But the most popular is location. So let's jump over here to map and search by location. And by the way, while this is loading, I'll tell you, we're investing quite a bit of time and money in redesigning and reinventing the whole search experience. And so this will be improved soon. Right now, it's very utilitarian, but soon it'll be beautiful with a lot of photos and cool ways to discover. That's great. Yeah. For now, here we are. You can download the Harvest Hosts app. We have it for iPhone or Android. I like to use the computer just bigger. So here I'm on the state tab. So let's just look in California, Pearls and Baja, California, Mexico, which is cool. So California, boom, there's 35 hosts. These will show up down here. You can kind of scroll through them or jump over here to the map. And let's kind of jump in around Sacramento. And you'll start to see, OK, here's a winery near Sacramento. There's the name of it. If you click on host details, it will then pull up the page and give you all the information on how to contact them. It will tell you the size of the rig that it can accommodate. And most, we discussed this before, most can accommodate 45 feet and larger. This one here says up to 44 feet. That might mean they have like a tight turn or, you know, trees. They have two spaces available. You'll just call them and say, do you have an opening? And then here is where you can kind of see what they offer and what's allowed. So it's a winery. They are OK with pets. Dogs are great. They have birding and wildlife viewing. They have a gift shop. There's a picnic or patio area. And they want you to phone ahead. And so as you look through these, you'll see that some will have Wi-Fi. Some will tell you there's electricity, though I will say most are dry camping. And they'll basically tell you all the different things that they allow or don't allow. And then I like to scroll down to the photo gallery and actually see, you know, actual members that, sorry, actual photos that members have posted. Right. And comments. And so you can kind of see all the comments from recent attendees as well as the photos from when they went there. And you can actually usually see their RV parked in the vines. And it's very cool. That's great. I like to search by route. And so click over to route, jump in origin. So I'm starting in Vail, Colorado. Let's head to Charlottesville, Virginia. How far off the highway or major road am I willing to go? 20 miles is perfect for me. Search. OK, so there are 11 hosts on my route across the country. Wow. It's got me taking route 70. Yeah. And yeah, here we are. Here's the example of Kansas. So boom, right? Shiloh Vineyard and Winery. I had a great time there. I don't usually talk about the host location names, but this one is fantastic. If you click into the details, then I can probably even show you a photo I took of our harvest host. There we go. Oh, there you are. Well, so here's an Airstream Parkland property. There's the harvest host's fifth wheel parked at sunset. Just absolutely beautiful. And yeah, what a great place. Yeah. And so, you know, those are the different ways to search. You can search by name, by type, by state or by route. And in the future, we're going to add in the ability to search by photo to just find awesome looking photos and figure out where they are. Oh, wow. What a great idea. Yeah. You never know, Joel, you might see me doing a Harvest Host year or something. I'll be like the Harvest Host ambassador. There's so many of these places I want to see that I've heard about from you, really. And a lot of if you guys don't documentary, we'll be there. Oh, great. Perfect. Yeah, you guys, a lot of our viewers in the comments have put comments about the places that they visited. Also, there's a lot of raving fans out there about Harvest Host. And it's just growing. It's just getting bigger. I know Joel is putting a lot of work into the technology and getting more hosts out there and getting the word out. And so I just wanted to let everybody know that I love it. And I think everybody should do it. So there's the link for Harvest Host below with our discount. Look out for the $25,000 and we'll get a free membership out to somebody. And Joel, I just want to say thank you so much. I'm still gonna hold you to us meeting at a Harvest Host distillery and having a drink in person someday. I just added, close here to Vail, Colorado and not Sarah, we added a distillery just a couple weeks ago. So that'll be next time. You had to check it out though for quality control, right? I had to do my I had to do my tasting. Just yeah, sure. Due diligence. That's right. Twice. Yeah. Right. All right. Well, thanks again, Joel. I appreciate it. Everybody do like this video. Share with your friends and subscribe if you haven't already. Everybody have safe travels out there and be free.