How We Used Hip Camp to Make Cash from Our Personal Land

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Final week we “opened” our campground property to friends utilizing Hipcamp—despite the fact that we haven’t constructed out RV pads but!

Since we’ve shared our campground dream, many individuals have emailed us to share that they’ve an analogous dream. And fairly a couple of individuals have mentioned “I’ve ## acres and would love to simply invite individuals to camp on my property. How can I do this?”

I’ve at all times replied with the hyperlink to enroll in Hipcamp.

Hipcamp is a web site that enables personal landowners (or wannabe campground builders) to make cash by charging nightly charges for campers. When somebody’s planning their subsequent tenting journey and wish to keep on personal land (versus the principles that include free public land), they will keep in your property. It’s kinda like Airbnb for tenting. Plus it’s manner much less concerned than a full-on campground or short-term rental as a result of nobody expects hook ups or dump stations or canine parks or playgrounds or paved roads.

(Which is sweet as a result of we don’t have any of these issues.)

Persons are merely on the lookout for an out of doors expertise. Plus they’re usually on the lookout for tenting close to nationwide parks which may be exhausting to return by! We’re solely about 20 minutes from Black Canyon of the Gunnison Nationwide Park right here in Colorado.

Since we aren’t a full-functioning RV park but, we determined Hipcamp was the right place to record our property to open up boondocking for campers by way of the remainder of 2021.

We arrange our itemizing final Tuesday and shared the hyperlink with you all. Bookings began rolling in however we rapidly seen one thing…

Solely about half of the bookings have been from individuals on our electronic mail record.

The remainder have been from campers looking the Hipcamp web site simply on the lookout for a campsite out right here on the western slope of Colorado.

And we have been like…

Slightly bit shocked.

Slightly bit nervous.

Slightly bit like hey…this campground factor would possibly truly work out. 🤯🥳

(Heath already requested me if we actually wanted to take the money and time to construct out RV pads as a result of establishing our Hipcamp itemizing was really easy. Sure, Heath. Sure we do.)

This previous week of bringing in our first friends, getting paid (funds are direct deposited each Tuesday and we made precisely $22.50 for our first campers however IT FEELS GOOD), and determining the way to run a boondocking campground taught us a couple of issues.

1. Selecting the best platform for constructing what you are promoting issues.

Discover the platform that has the most effective performance to make what you are promoting run seamlessly. It’s the identical motive we give the recommendation to promote a ebook on Amazon versus in your web site. Hipcamp makes it ridiculously straightforward to arrange your profile and we have been up in operating in a day.

2. Go the place prospects are prepared to purchase. 

Hipcamp has been round for lengthy sufficient to have an amazing status amongst campers and a rising buyer base. Heath and I each nervous that nobody aside from individuals who double faucet our Instagram pictures would ever select to camp with us. Strangers reserving our campsite is unbelievably encouraging and thrilling. They’re rising in recognition, making it a no brainer to record the place campers are actively on the lookout for websites.

3. Automation makes every thing simpler.

We are able to settle for reservations, ship automated check-in messages, and deal with questions all from our telephones. Very helpful once you spend most of your day enjoying with a one-year-old.

4. Be okay with model 1. 

Heath and I went forwards and backwards a LOT on if we needed to speak in confidence to campers in 2021.

It often went one thing like this:

“We aren’t prepared. What if somebody drives over the leach discipline and sinks and needs to be towed out? We haven’t even discovered the place to order commercial-size rest room paper but! We haven’t furnished our 4,000 sq. ft schoolhouse but. We have to purchase a washer-dryer set earlier than anybody camps!!” 😬

“We’ve a completely renovated schoolhouse that’s prepared to be used. We’ve enormous shade timber and a leveled, gravel space for RVs. No different boondocking websites have showers and fiber web and a kitchen so I don’t suppose individuals might be mad about our lack of a washer. Persons are emailing us asking each week if they will boondock. Why not open up?” 🤷🏻‍♀️

After a strong month of forwards and backwards, we’re each feeling good about our resolution—despite the fact that it means giving individuals an up-close and private take a look at our messy model one among a campground.

Sure, there may be some buyer assist and we put in coded locks so individuals can entry our constructing and bogs. However nobody has complained as soon as about our messy model one and we’re persevering with to see extra reservations (and more cash) are available.

5. Most of all, it was an excellent reminder that taking motion is at all times scary and at all times value it—whether or not it’s beginning a brand new enterprise, shopping for an RV, promoting a home, or simply inviting somebody to camp beneath your timber.

We nonetheless have a protracted solution to go. Thanks for sharing this journey with us ❤️🏕

You may uncover and ebook websites in your subsequent tenting journey on Hipcamp 🙂

Notice: We’re on no account affiliated with Hipcamp, though I’m biased that the founder Alyssa Ravasio and I share the identical first title. It immediately made me like Hipcamp extra. However it additionally a very nice solution to make cash along with your property and based mostly on our expertise, we might extremely suggest it!