Roughly three years ago, June and Clyde Spero got a call from a company called Harvest Hosts.

The Denver-based winemakers and operators of Spero Winery have spent their lives carrying on the traditions passed down to them by Clyde’s father, Gaetano. Gaetano immigrated to the U.S. at age 13 from Potenza, Italy and kept up the winemaking traditions of his hometown after settling in Colorado.

Clyde continued carrying the torch when he planted an urban vineyard and opened the winery in 1999. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Harvest Hosts wanted to know if the winery was interested in a new business opportunity – hosting RVers and van lifers for one-night stays.

Now June and Clyde get to meet people from all over the country, June said. Their busiest hosting night saw 11 RVs on the same night, but typically there is only one guest at a time. Almost everyone buys at least one bottle of wine, if not a case, which provides a small bump in the winery’s annual profits, June said.

“We had one man from California buy five cases,” she said. “He said our wine was so good and our prices were so good he was taking Colorado wine back to California.”

The sales are nice perk but not the motivation for being a host, June said.

“We are here to accommodate travelers if they just need a spot to stay overnight,” she said. “We are here for them.”

The Vail-based company’s pitch to the RV community is to become a member, and in exchange get access to unique places that free parking lots or $30 campgrounds don’t offer, all while supporting local business. On the heels of rapid growth, Harvest Hosts also took another step in its international expansion plans this year.

CEO Joel Holland’s road to helming Harvest Hosts began about seven years ago when he and his wife were living in D.C. Preparing to sell the tech startup they had at the time, and not sure what was next, the couple stopped at an RV dealership on a whim.

“We bought an RV and took off, and ended up spending two years traveling,” Holland said.

A study by the RV Industry Association in 2021 found a 62% increase in RV ownership in the past two decades, with about 11.2 million household owning an RV. The rigs were increasing in popularity among millennials and Gen Z, and about 22% of owners were between 18 and 34 years old.

They drove through all 48 states, a journey that eventually put Harvest Hosts on their radar. The couple that founded Harvest Hosts had brought a concept from France to the U.S., partnering up with farms and wineries as sites to provide space for RV to stay overnight.

Holland, with his newfound passion for RVs, made them a pitch. If they were interested in selling, he promised to take their company and make it better. In 2018, Holland took over. The company survived the pandemic’s tailwinds and tried to respond to the moment, knowing for many people, finding ways to travel during COVID meant returning to small towns and hitting the road.

“We kind of held on for dear life and were able to grow the network and membership substantially,” he said.

In 2018, Harvest Hosts had 600 locations and about 6,000 members, mainly in North America. Today, the company has amassed 9,000 host locations, including 5,000 businesses and churches. The remainder of sites are private properties. Membership is approaching a quarter million, Holland said.

In Colorado, there are 232 Harvest Host sites, and about 41 within 50 miles of Denver. Hosts span from alpaca farms to ranches, cideries, breweries, and churches.

Most members mix a Harvest Host site into their list of stays at campgrounds, Holland said.

People who sign on pay an annual membership fee that gives them unlimited access to book stays across the country. They can search by location, or by route, and pick a spot for no overnight fee. Because most sites are businesses, the Harvest Host code of conduct asks members to spend at least $30 before they leave. On average, members spend $50, Holland said.

This year, members are expected to spend more than $50 million at Harvest Host sites collectively. Host businesses bring in an extra $13,000 to $15,000 in revenue annually, Holland said, and Harvest Host doesn’t take a cut.

“If you are in the middle of Kansas, you are lower. If you are in Denver, you are probably four to five times that,” he said.

Guests can only stay for one night and there are no hookups. They are “using your RV as it was intended,” Holland said. There might be sites, such as Walmart parking lots, where RVs could park for free, Holland said, but what Harvest Hosts tries to provide is a unique experience, a way to support local businesses, and a peace of mind that parking lot camping might not guarantee.

Business hosts must have licenses and insurance. The Harvest Host team vets host applicants’ social media profiles for any glaring signs that they will not be a suitable site, and also relies on community feedback to monitor hosts’ and members’ conduct. Much like Airbnb, both hosts and guests rate and review a stay.

“If anything comes back and it’s subpar, our customer service team is all over it,” he said.

Holland wants more businesses like the Spero’s to sign up.

The company has its sights on international expansion, acquiring Boondockers Welcome in 2021, a Canadian company that allowed it to incorporate private properties as hosts in addition to businesses. Harvest Hosts announced this year that it acquired a company in the U.K. called Brit Stops that has nearly a dozen pubs and farms in the U.K. as hosts.

“I think we will continue trying to push this model international,” he said.