Got an RV and want sleep at a winery or brewery? Find out how Harvest Hosts can help

Rozanna M. Martinez, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·3 min read

Feb. 16—Camp out at your some of New Mexico's best breweries, wineries and distilleries with Harvest Hosts.

Joel Holland started Harvest Hosts in 2012 using a concept inspired by a program in France called France Passion.

"(It) essentially lets RVers visit these beautiful wineries and vineyards and spend the night in return for buying a couple bottles," Holland explained. "So it's the classic you scratch our back, we'll scratch yours. The businesses loved it, our RVers loved it, and there was nothing like it in the United States."

Harvest Hosts also extends beyond wineries and breweries with stays at golf courses, museums and other unique attractions that allow RVers to spend the night in exchange for supporting the business.

"New Mexico is a great RV state in a lot of ways," Holland said. "I think one, your climate kind of makes it an all year-round location, and then you've got the art scene in Santa Fe and then the huge (Albuquerque International) Balloon Fiesta that I've been to a couple times. It's become kind of a mecca for RVers. ... So we now have 108 locations in New Mexico and around 30 in the Albuquerque area."

One of Harvest Hosts' top participating breweries in the country is Starr Brothers Brewing Company, which is conveniently located off Interstate 25 and San Antonio Drive NE. Hundreds of Harvest Hosts members spend the night on the brewery grounds every year.

"That ends up being another thing that RVers like," Holland said of the brewery's location. "A lot of times they are on the interstate, as they're crisscrossing the country, and so places they can jump off the highway to patronize a business and kind of conveniently and safely stay makes a great host."

Harvest Hosts members also frequent other breweries and wineries around the state. Other hosts include Hub City Brewing Co. in Belen, Kaktus Brewing Company in Bernalillo, Junkyard on 66 Brewery in Grants, Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op in Los Alamos, Sierra Blanca Brewing Co. in Moriarty, Ponderosa Valley Vineyards in Ponderosa, Black's Smuggler Winery in Socorro, Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery in Santa Fe, and Black Mesa Winery and Cidery in Velarde. A full list of hosts can be found at harvesthosts.com.

Harvest Hosts currently has 260,000 members.

"The requirement to be a member is you have to have a self-contained RV and that means it has a bathroom on board, a kitchen, water, basically everything you need to visit a host like Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op and basically spend the night without bothering them for resources," Holland explained. "The host doesn't provide hookups, no electricity, no water, no sewer. They just provide a safe place to park overnight and then the members can go in and fully patronize the business."

There is no cost for a host to become part of Harvest Hosts. Potential hosts can visit the website and select "Become A Host" from the dropdown menu.

"On average our members spend $50 per night when they visit a host buying whatever products they have," Holland said. "Last year our members spent $50 million with our hosts and we don't take any of that. Any of the money our members spend goes straight to the host and again there are no fees or anything like that. On average, our hosts make an extra $15,000 per year in revenue from our members."