Ann Danielson expects a gradual stream of tourists to her alpaca ranch southeast of Longmont this summer. The ranch is certainly one of about 120 small businesses in Colorado that open their property overnight to RV campers and get slightly business in return.
This will probably be the third summer that Danielson, co-owner of Annie's Alpaca Ranchparticipated in this system by Harvesters, a Colorado-based company that partners with businesses across the country and lists greater than 5,000 locations as possible stops. Campers pay Harvest Hosts an annual membership fee and pledge to buy something or contribute in some solution to the wineries, breweries, farms, roadside attractions and other places that accommodate travelers.
Danielson sells alpaca fiber products in a small shop next to her house on the ranch.
“My freshman year, I didn't have that many people. Last year, I had a lot, and this year, I'm going to have a lot again,” Danielson said. “If I wanted to, I could probably have someone almost every day.”
Danielson uses an app to let people know when she's ready to just accept campers and to be in contact with guests about their arrival time, the sort of vehicle they're driving and data about themselves.
Harvest Hosts has grown as more people travel. RV travel has turn into increasingly popular through the COVID-19 pandemic, when many avoided air travel and hotel stays. More than 11 million households own RVs, up 62% from 2001, in response to the RV Industry Association Website.
After the pandemic higher rates of interest have slowed the industry, Sales have dropped significantly since 2021 but are still above pre-pandemic levels, Reuters reported. According to the RV Industry Association, the typical age of a first-time buyer has dropped from 41 in 2020 to 32 in 2022.
Harvest Hosts owner Joel Holland is certainly one of the younger generation to embrace RV living. The 39-year-old left the Washington, DC area together with his wife when he was 30 and traveled the country in an RV for 2 years.
“I had built a video engineering company and was completely burned out. I was fed up with office work, concrete jungles and the constant traffic on the way to work,” Holland said. “My wife and I didn't have any kids yet. We spontaneously bought an RV and just hit the road. The idea was, 'Let's just do the great American road trip until we get tired of it.'”
The couple loved the “proverbial wind in your hair, the freedom of the open road,” but didn't all the time just like the campgrounds. “You park five feet away from another RV. The campgrounds are nothing special,” Holland said.
Other campers told Holland about Harvest Hosts, then a small family-owned business in Arizona. After settling in Vail, Holland offered to purchase the corporate. He invested heavily in technology to expand the network of locations from around 600 to several thousand. The majority of his 20 employees work in Colorado.
Annual memberships for campers range from $84 to $143. The higher tiers offer access to more locations. Hosts pay nothing. The company said it conducts background checks on hosts.
Campers will not be charged any fees, but are encouraged to go to hosts' shops, restaurants or wineries. Holland says the overnight guests usher in a median of $13,000 in additional revenue for the companies every year.
Treat it like your grandmother's property
One of Harvest Hosts' codes of conduct is to treat the web sites “as if they were your grandmother's property,” Holland said.
“And second, support the business you're visiting,” Holland said. “These places let you stay for free. Otherwise, you'd be paying quite a bit of money.”
Harvest Hosts checks in with businesses to see how things are going. Valley View Christian Church in Douglas County has had a positive experience, said Pastor Phillip Holland.
“Harvest Hosts approached us a few years ago looking for a site. It looked like it could benefit our community and travelers,” Holland said. “It's not easy to reserve sites for RVs and trailers, and it's incredibly expensive.”
Residents of the property, which lies south of Highlands Ranch, continuously donate to the church, and in the event that they are there on a Sunday morning, they sometimes attend services.
“We're very fortunate to have the land and facility that we have available,” Holland said. “It doesn't benefit us financially, but it increases awareness of our ministry and that's a great thing to me.”
Campers will need to have self-sufficient vehicles. Hosts don’t provide hookups or other services. Stays are for overnight stays only.
A blog by Cruise America, The company, which rents and sells RVs, said a membership with Harvest Hosts can quickly pay for itself, considering campgrounds typically charge $30 and up per night. There are quite a lot of locations “away from the hustle and bustle of traditional campgrounds.”
However, the blog points out that campers cannot show up at a Harvest Hosts site unannounced. And campground surfaces can vary: from concrete to asphalt to gravel, dirt or grass.
The grounds of Annie's Alpaca Ranch are a combination of gravel and grass near Danielson's house and the animals' enclosures. She lets people know that her driveway isn't large enough for a number of the larger trucks.
Many of Danielson's guests enjoy mingling with the alpacas. Some feed the animals grain pellets that she lays out. The alpacas know that when a van or RV drives by, it means they get treats.
Danielson grew up on a cattle ranch north of Ames, Iowa. She moved to the Denver area to work for an accounting firm that closed in 2000. After visiting an alpaca farm and learning more about them, Danielson said she became “fascinated by the animals.”
Danielson bought her first alpaca, which is smaller than a llama, in the summertime of 2004 and purchased the property near Longmont in December of that 12 months. The herd has grown to 21 alpacas and two llamas, which fend off predators. She sells a number of the fiber to a small Utah mill and to non-public individuals and takes a number of the animals to shows while still working in accounting.
Based on her experience, Danielson said she would recommend the hosting job to individuals who enjoy networking. “I like talking to people and hearing their stories about where they've come from and where they're going.”
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