7 Ways Hipcamp Protects Hosts from Risks

Hipcamp partners with landowners like you (who become Hipcamp Hosts) to connect your property with folks who are looking for places to stay and camp outside to help you earn extra money. All you need to get started is a flat spot where someone can pitch a tent or park an RV, or a structure (such as a yurt, canvas tent, or tiny cabin) for them to spend the night in.There are several important measures Hipcamp has taken to help keep you, your land and property, and your Hipcampers safe. Hipcamp offers a comprehensive insurance policy, which protects Hosts for general liability.

In addition, here are six more ways Hipcamp helps protect our Hosts from risk. Read on to find out more.

1. Hipcamp’s comprehensive insurance policy protects our hosts 

We aim to provide our Hipcamp Hosts the peace of mind that you will be taken care of in the rare event of injury or property damage. Our Hipcamp Insurance Policy protects Hosts for general liability claims per occurrence. The Hipcamp Insurance Policy is designed to cover camping activities that may not be covered under other insurance policies you may have, ranging from guest injury to property damage. This policy is in excess to your homeowner’s insurance, and in the event you do not have coverage under a homeowner’s insurance, this would act as your primary coverage.

2. Verified bookings

If you accept a guest on your property through other platforms, or through no platform at all such as a Craigslist posting or a phone call, you run the risk of operating without a policy that will cover you if anything happens related to camping-specific activities.

Here’s what Hipcamp Hosts have said about our verified bookings in comparison to bookings from other platforms: 

“Every time I’ve been generous and accepted a direct booking with someone who did not want to book on Hipcamp and paid me cash on arrival, something has happened, mostly boiling down to not respecting our rules and our property.” -Anna C., Hipcamp Host

“I have also noticed that Hipcampers are better behaved than my campers that arrive from other sources. Thank you Hipcamp for whatever it is you’re doing to educate and filter customers!”
-Gabriela L., Hipcamp Host

“I’m a stickler for doing everything through the Hipcamp site. If they want to add a person or stay an extra night, anything like that, I ask that they go online and make the change official through the website. I just explain that I pay Hipcamp a percentage to manage the bookings, the money, and to provide the liability insurance coverage. Everyone gets it. If someone were to show up at my gate wanting to camp I’d say alright, but still have them book online before they could camp.”
-Hayden M.,Hipcamp Host

“In our case it’s not so much the insurance but that they sign up through Hipcamp and there is a record!” -Laurie R., Hipcamp Host

“I won’t allow a camper to stay without booking through Hipcamp. I’ll just ask them to book online right when they arrive.” -Gordon H., Hipcamp Host

3. Fair two-way reviews

To help build trust and reputation on Hipcamp, Hosts and Hipcampers can write reviews of each other after each outdoor stay has been completed. Hipcampers have 14 days to leave reviews. Hosts have three days to leave reviews.

If both parties leave reviews, they will both be posted publicly at the same time. If the Hipcamper is the only one to leave a review, it will post publicly after the three-day window that the Host has to leave a review. However, if only one party leaves a review, that review will not be posted until the other party leaves a review or until the review window closes (3 or 14 days). This avoids any possibility of retaliatory reviews.

Hosts also have the ability to publicly reply to a Hipcamper’s review on their listing at any time after the review is published.

4. Trusted Hipcampers

Hipcamper profiles are verified by both Facebook and email. When a Hipcamper requests to book a stay at your property, you have the opportunity to click on their profile to learn more about them. In addition to verification, other helpful profile attributes that build trust include past Hipcamp trips they’ve taken, upcoming (booked) trips, public reviews of the places they’ve been, a photo, full name, an optional short bio, and links to social networks and personal websites.

5. A mindful “Leave It Better” community 

The Hipcamp community has grown from a core set of guiding values. The most prominent value, “Leave It Better,” ensures that campers visiting are doing so with good intentions. In addition to values, Hipcampers are held to a set of Hipcamper standards to make sure they respect you and your property.

6. A clear set of rules unique to camping, glamping, and RVs

Setting clear expectations and rules upfront is one of the best ways to mitigate risk from the start. When you sign up as a Host and create your listing, you’re prompted to fill out information about available activities and amenities and what rules your campers must adhere to. These amenities, activities, and rules are specific to outdoor stays, so you don’t have to think through all of the scenarios and questions a camper might ask. Hipcamp has already done the work for you! 

See an example:

7. Ability to prevent wildfires and enact a fire ban on your listing with one click

If your area has an active fire ban, or if you would like to temporarily disallow fires on your property for any reason, you can turn on a fire ban for your entire property at one time. The ban will be active across all Hipcamp listings you have under that property, and once you turn it on, immediate notifications will be sent to everyone with an upcoming booking at your property to let them know about the change.

In the US, we’ve also partnered with the National Weather Service (NWS) to provide extra alerts for when Hosts might want to enable their fire ban. We access fire advisory information across the country and around the clock with a focus on the NWS’ real-time Fire Weather Watch alerts and Red Flag Warnings. Fire conditions change quickly and can sometimes be confusing, especially in times of emergency, so we send this information to Hosts who have properties in affected areas, letting them know that an alert has been issued and providing a web link so they can view the alert specific to their region.

How to start earning extra money hosting campers on your land

The only risky thing left is not signing up to be a Hipcamp Host and sharing your experience with the world! Why not earn extra income to help pay for property taxes, home expenses, and future dream projects? Learn more about becoming a Hipcamp Host. (Use the promo code JOURNAL and get an extra $100 when you host your first Hipcamp guest.)

Read all about Hipcamp’s Insurance Policy and Hipcamp Insurance FAQs.