Harvest Hosts — a travel platform for RVs and small businesses — has a novel outlook on Florida after watching the app expand nationwide.
The Denver-based platform has more than 260,000 subscribing RV travelers. It charges campers an annual $100 fee to access a network of businesses — from restaurants to wineries — that have signed up to allow RVers to stay overnight on their properties.
In 2022, Harvest Hosts was ranked as one of the fastest-growing businesses in the U.S. by Inc. Magazine, and it has raised more than $37 million in investment funding since CEO Joel Holland acquired it in 2018.
From watching the host network grow in the past few years and seeing where people travel, Holland said the Sunshine State has a competitive role on the platform. The company recently surpassed 5,000 hosts nationwide — the small- to medium-sized businesses that let the RVs park in their spaces — but the regional activity from Tampa's Gasparilla Bowl represents the growing popularity of RV-ing in the area.
The RV platform partnered with Lazydays and plans to be at the 2024 Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa. But it's not just the RV market that's noticeable about Tampa; a characteristic Holland has noticed is boosting Florida's regional tourism.
"It used to be that RV-ing was a spring and summer thing, and then you put them in storage, and that was it until the next year," Holland said. "Tons of people are RV-ing later into the winter now, and it's no generalization to say that almost all of them are in Florida."
In the colder seasons, Florida, Texas, California and Arizona see the most activity from campers looking for warmth. But Florida is the essential snowbird state, Holland said. Tens of thousands of Harvest Hosts members are in Florida for winter right now.
"More likely than not, they're already in Florida and are looking for something cool to do, and they literally wake up every day and (ask), 'What's going on? What can I go do?'" Holland said.
Over 30 businesses across the Tampa Bay area and more than 200 in the state have signed up to host travelers. St. Petersburg Distillery, TeraCloud Farms and Your Pizza Shop are a few local participating businesses on the map. Some are new to join, while others have been part of the community for several years, the company said.
Holland said the average host on the platform makes $13,000 in extra revenue from the service, but that number likely skews higher for Florida. It's likely closer to $50,000 a year for Florida hosts, he said.
"Most of our hosts around the country are quiet these days, but our hosts in Florida are slammed. Everyone wants to go visit," Holland said.
