All Forum Posts by: Blaine Alger

@Lauren Kormylo

Thanks for participating Lauren.

Yeah you are definitely right, I do not think their main crowd is RVers. I know these make up a good portion of the camping population but I think their is already other competitors in the RV market who do a better job and have more share of the market.It could be an alternative for RVers looking to get out of the traditional RV parks and have a little more privacy.

I do enjoy the quirkiness of the site with all of the yurts, tee pee's and funk travel trailers. I think that is a big reason why I am drawn to it and I assume most of their other customers feel the same. 

Arizona looks to have some really cool Hipcamps around Prescott and Flagstaff. I am heading up there in a couple weeks and might try to stay in one. I was surprised I could not find one around Sedona, seems like all the crystal lovers would love this out there, haha.

@Alfred Uda

It does not list the owner directly. 

What I do is find the owners mailing address from the county GIS and then I search the mailing address on  whitepages to find the owner.

@Ken Latchers

Once again you are right, this is a STR forum and has nothing to do with Venture Capital. BUT ... the main issue that we have been debating is the potential for success of Hipcamps business model (which happens to involve STR). I believe that VC involvement with the company is a good indicator of future success and growth which will lead to more demand and more users which in turn will open up more opportunity for real estate investors to potentially use this as a strategy for their properties.

I agree with you that venture capital is a lot more of a guessing game than a science but the firm that participated in Hipcamp's funding, Andreessen Horowitz, is no ordinary VC firm. This is the same firm that invested in Airbnb (a STR platform that we are all very familiar with) and a handful of other billion dollar companies (Lyft, Pinterest and Slack to new a few). They have also generated over 10 BILLION in profits over the last decade, so if they feel confident enough to put their money where their mouth is in regards to the success of Hipcamp, then I feel comfortable making the assertion that Hipcamp will experience substantial growth in the coming years and solidify its place as an acceptable option for short-term rentals.

Here is another article regarding Andreessen Horowitz success if you care to read:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2019/04/02/andreessen-horowitz-is-blowing-up-the-venture-capital-model-again/#28e209b27d9f

That is awesome Scott. This is the first actual "camping site" investor I have heard over. I would love to hear her thoughts on the subject and if she has had any experience using Hipcamp from the land owners point of view.

Is this a property that she purchased strictly to rent out camping spots or was it more of a afterthought?

It seems to me like most hosts on Hipcamp have either farms or live on large tracts of land and they did not purchase the property with the intent of renting out camping spots. So they use it as more of a supplemental source of income which makes me weary that it would not be a viable strategy for a real estate investor.

@Steve Sellers

Good to hear from another actual user of the platform. I think it is the most popular in California since that is where they are based and where the idea stemmed from. I do not have any experience with the overbooked campsites but I know that was what inspired the founder and CEO, Alyssa Ravasio, to develop Hipcamp.

The demographic trends is something that I have seen mentioned multiple times in the different articles I have read. It seems that millennials are looking for an escape from the city and are turning to Hipcamp to fulfill this need. I did see an interview with the CEO, that mentioned they are beginning to attract more families to the platform which is a market they have been looking to break into.

It sounds kinda bad when you say it, but I think you are right. It is almost like Hipcamp is for rejects of Airbnb. A property that is not as posh and fancy and can't live up to the ideals of Airbnb users would do better on Hipcamp because their customers are looking for more of a "roughing it" experience.

Very well said Colleen. 

It is definitely not as easy as I am making it sound but you made a very key point, which is, you have to find a way to do it better than your competitors.

Whether that better experience is more privacy, more amenities (sauna, water access, hiking trails, etc) or more uniqueness compared to a basic KOA, there has to be something that will make people choose your site over another.

Originally posted by @Colleen F.:

This is a niche in the camping world.  Private campgrounds have existed for a long time.  Backwoods camping is available in alot of areas without a campground and there is a huge network of national and state parks you can camp in. 

You have to think about what isn't available  or you could offer in a better way.  Off grid cabins with outhouse, privately owned, not really airbnb material might do well on this.   Camping sites near to parks that frequently get overbooked. Offer a better experience with a small number of sites.  They would come to you to be more out of the way but not hike a mile  to get there. 

RVs don't need all hookups if they aren't staying for a long time, most want electric. You do need better road access for RVs. However your tent campers will want to be separated from  RVs.

@Ken Latchers

There is no doubt they still have ALOT to prove as a company but I think the fact that VC firms are willing to invest their time and money into them is a very good sign. Venture Capitalist don't just dump millions and millions of dollars into a company to see them be unsuccessful. There are a lot smarter people than me and you who are running these investment funds and they probably see stuff that we don't. 

Here is an article from VC firm Andreessen Horowitz outlining some of the reasons they choose to participate in Hipcamp's Series B Funding:

https://a16z.com/2019/07/24/hipcamp/

@Ken Latchers

Everything you mentioned above is all facts and I see where you are coming from. However, I would argue that Hipcamp and Airbnb are not even competitors. Sure, they have the same business model but they offer  2 different types of experiences and have different target markets. Maybe a good way to look at it would be that Airbnb is looking to disrupt the hotel industry as Hipcamp is looking to disrupt the camping industry.

I will say that there is no doubt that Airbnb is a giant compared to Hipcamp. However, with the funding they have attracted from venture capitalists in the last year and the increasing trend of people wanting to experience the outdoors, I think Hipcamp has some major potential to grow in the coming years and possibly provide  investors with new opportunities.

Thanks for the input Ken.

I have heard the zoning issue brought up several times throughout this discussion but my thoughts on the subject is that any property that would be suitable for a Hipcamp site would be far enough outside the main metropolitan area that zoning would be fairly relaxed.

You do make a good point with the RV hook-ups. I do not know a whole lot on  it, but I would guess it would be a significant investment to get the necessary hook-ups installed on your land.

I think Hipcamp is more of an alternative for state and national park campgrounds. In alot of popular parks across the country, sites can get booked up months in advance. Any even if you are able to book a site, some people don't want to camp right on top of one another. They would rather have some space to themselves outside the park but still close enough to access it.
 

I am hoping that any land that would be suitable for a Hipcamp site would be far enough from the city that the zoning or covenants would be less restrictive.

 I have noticed the popularity with the ranches as well. It seems a lot of these people are just using it to supplement the income they get from the normal operations of their ranches.