Hipcamp is the Airbnb of camping, and it's available in Tennessee

For the past two years, Dan Holman has enjoyed the unexpected extra cash flow from renting his three remote cabins near Sparta, Tenn. on Airbnb. 

Now, thanks to fast-growing, venture-backed startup Hipcamp, Holman has a new outlet for renting private land on his 45-acre property to nature lovers and camping enthusiasts from around the world.

‘How does anyone ever get here?’

“Some people look at how remote we are and say, ‘How does anyone ever get here?’ But the magic of the Internet allows us to draw people from all over the world and it’s more people than you think,” said Holman, whose cabins have been rented by people from Portugal, Italy, Brazil and England.

Hipcamp is working to revolutionize camping in the U.S. by making it easier for people to find and book campsites and by promoting the concept of “land sharing.” Similar to how Airbnb lists vacation rentals, private land owners can list their ranches, farms, vineyards and nature preserves for rent on Hipcamp and campers can browse by location, pricing and availability.

Landsharing

In Tennessee, options include campsites on a 110-acre farm 10 minutes from downtown Nashville for $30 per night, public campgrounds at the Cedars of Lebanon, a property next to a pond east of Nashville with access to a full kitchen for $100 a night, and a cabin on the Buffalo River with access to canoes for $100 a night.

Hipcamp has listings for 10,000 private campsites nationwide — ranging from private land and public campsites to cabins and tiny homes — and it’s adding thousands more every month. 

“Land sharing is a way to really share the beautiful ecosystem and natural habitat with other people who really care about nature,” said Hipcamp CEO Alyssa Ravasio, who started building the website as a passion project in 2013.

How it started

A California resident and lover of all things outdoors, Ravasio was inspired to launch Hipcamp after sharing her frustrations with friends over the challenges of finding good campsites. 

“Again and again we were hearing the concern that all the good campsites are booked and there’s just nowhere to go. We decided to basically create more campsites and unlock beautiful private land,” Ravasio said.

The company started growing its listings by reaching out to people to explain how Hipcamp works, including the insurance policy for qualifying hosts and the built-in marketing that comes with listing a property for rent on the website — two cost prohibitive factors that might otherwise deter someone from renting their own land.

Ravasio said Hipcamp listings are growing by word of mouth now that property owners are getting campers. 

For Holman near Sparta, Tenn., he has yet to book his properties through Hipcamp but his listings just went live on the website two weeks ago. He has a cabin on the side of a rocky cliff listed for $75 a night and a private campsite on a 7-acre meadow for $50 a night. He hopes to draw people from Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville for a few days of rest and relaxation. 

“We have lovely walks all in our pastures and woods, there is a stream which flows out of a limestone cliff, red tail hawks, coyotes, owls and lots of small creatures. The stars are wonderful on a clear night. You can pitch a tent or drive right into our meadow with your RV,” the listing says.

Solar eclipse path of totality campsites

Hipcamp’s launch in Tennessee is well timed; the solar eclipse is right around the corner on Aug. 21 and Tennessee tourism officials are estimating as many as 1.4 million visitors for the once-in-a-lifetime event.

Hipcamp is marketing campsites on the path of totality, including options in Tennessee. 

“We really think the eclipse is such a powerful natural phenomenon that it’s really special to be able to view it out on the land,” Ravasio said.

Reach Lizzy Alfs at lalfs@tennessean.com or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.