Hipcamp’s most important value is to “leave it better.” As a camper, that means making sure you are respecting your Hosts’ land and rules at all times, and doing your best to ensure you leave things as you found them or—ideally—even better.

Here are some things you must consider as a Hipcamper before, during, and after each booking.

Before your trip | During your trip | After your trip | What if something goes wrong?

Before your trip

Ensure you have all the info you need—including check-in time, directions, etc.—and that your booking is up-to-date and accurate.

Communicate with your Host

If you’d like to adjust your dates, or need any information about the listing or property itself, please message or call your Host ahead of time to get things squared away! It’s also good practice to let them know your ETA before you arrive so they can prepare and/or greet you.

Verify your group size

Verify your group count is accurate and updated before you arrive to ensure the Host knows how many people are coming. Need to adjust it? Here’s how.

Have directions handy

Make sure to check your trip confirmation page and/or confirmation email at any time for all the info you need to get to your destination! You will also be reminded via text before you leave where to find this info.

Important: Some Hosts recommend not using GPS, and instead provide detailed directions if their property is not recognized by GPS. Please read the “arrival instructions” in depth before setting off.

Pro tip: Be prepared before you begin your drive

Not every campsite will have good cell reception, so download your directions ahead of time and have your Host’s contact info on-hand in case you need to get in touch while getting there.

During your trip

Stay respectful of your Hosts’ land and make sure you’re aware of any restrictions on their property. Make sure all of those in your group are aware of the rules ahead of time, as well.

Follow the rules

Hosts set their own rules about pets, human waste, and other really important things to remember! We require all campers to abide by these rules, which you can review at any time on your trip confirmation page in your account.

Be fire safe

Fire safety is one of the most important parts of camping, and we require campers to follow the rules outlined by Hosts in regards to having fires on their property. Some have communal areas, some have individual fire pits at each campsite, and others restrict fires entirely. Make sure you’re aware of the current fire restrictions.

Limit noise

If your Host has set quiet hours, make sure to respect these for others to enjoy their stay. If not, use your judgement depending on privacy, space, etc. to ensure you’re not being disruptive to others.

Dispose of human waste responsibly

Hosts set rules for how they’d like you to dispose of waste. Ensure you know where the bathroom or other facilities are on-site. If there is no toilet, make sure you know how to dispose of waste responsibly. Learn how here.

Dispose of garbage, recycling, & compost responsibly

Many Hosts require you to “pack it out,” which means taking all trash with you when you leave. If there are designated bins for trash, make sure you know where these are. Otherwise, bring garbage bags—preferably compostable (like these)—to pack out trash.

Control pets

We know bringing along your pet can be such a fun experience, but it’s important that you make sure your pets are in control, not causing harm to anyone, and quiet during quiet hours. Also make sure you are following your Hosts’ on- or off-leash rules.

Leave No Trace

Leaving no trace means doing your best to ensure the property and space you’ve occupied is left just as you found it. You can learn more here. At Hipcamp, we even try to go one step further when possible and “leave it better” by picking up after others if we see something out-of-place.

After your trip

Leave a review

Reviews really help your Hosts improve and get more bookings! They also let us know where we can help them, and where something may not have been as expected. We really value the time you spend providing feedback about your stay!

Post photos

Photos also help other campers know what to expect, so take some pics of your sweet camp setup and add them after your trip!

Pro tip: A stellar review usually contains:

• Info about your campsite specifically. What was it like? Any amenities you particularly enjoyed?
• The property as a whole. What was the atmosphere? Was there anything cool to see or do?
• The surrounding area. What’s fun and notable near the property?
• Private feedback. What could be improved for future campers? Make sure to include this in the “private feedback” part of the review prompt.
• See more tips and examples here.

What if something goes wrong?

Take photos

Photos are a great way to show us that something wasn’t as expected, and help us determine the next steps, if any, we need to take. Please provide us with photos whenever possible.

Contact your Host

We encourage our Hosts and campers to first try to resolve things together. If something wasn’t as expected, or if something happened during your trip that you feel warrants a refund of any sort, we highly encourage our campers and Hosts to work together to figure things out as a first step.  This is often the most effective way to resolve things. We also suggest doing this via Hipcamp message so that we can review any context on our end.

Email support@hipcamp.com

If you and your Host can’t come to a resolution, or something made you feel uncomfortable contacting them directly, please reach out to our support team so we can attempt to help resolve the situation on our end. We understand that sometimes contacting your Host isn’t the best option, and we’re here to make sure you feel the situation has been resolved fairly and responsibly.

For more info, check out our camper FAQs here.