How He Discovered, Bought, and Scaled an RV Membership Program — Meet Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts

In just a moment you’ll meet Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts —  an RV membership program that allows travelers to stay overnight at unique locations around the country including farms, wineries, breweries, and more.

Joel is what you might call a creative hustler.  As a young teenager, you could either find him selling DVDs and books on eBay or out and about shooting video.  

Joel loved capturing compelling video content.  So much so in fact, that he launched a business called VideoBlocks, which was a marketplace for stock video footage.

He grew the company now known as StoryBlocks and sold it back in 2020 — but not before spending a year RVing around the country with his wife. 

After taking some much deserved time off, Joel began looking for his next opportunity. And that’s when he stumbled upon Harvest Hosts.

Tune in to hear the serendipitous story of how Joel discovered, bought, and scaled one of the travel industry’s most beloved brands. 

Explore Harvest Hosts 

Connect with Joel on Twitter or LinkedIn.

This episode is brought to you by BuildUp Bookings. 

SEO.  Paid Search. Email Marketing.
 
You know they are the marketing trifecta needed to build your brand and increase direct bookings to your properties... 
 
But, outside of watching a couple of YouTube videos and listening to a few STR podcasts, you haven’t had the time to really understand how Google ranks content or what subject line and preview text combo are the best when sending an email to your list about last-minute availability. 
 
If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are you’re not just any run of the mill STR or vacation rental host — you’re an entrepreneur who wants to see their portfolio of homes and the brand that encompasses grow. 
 
And this week’s podcast sponsor, BuildUp Bookings, can help you do just that. 
 
BuildUp Bookings is the digital marketing team that some of the best players in the game use to scale their businesses.  
 
I had their founder, Conrad O’Connell on Episode 44 of the podcast...and let me tell you — this guys know his stuff!  In just the last 12 months, BuildUp Bookingshas helped their clients earn over $48 million in direct bookings.
 
If 90% of your bookings are coming via the Airbnbs and VRBOs of the world, it might be time to audit and augment your direct booking strategy — and Conrad and his team have set up a special landing page for Behind the Stays listeners chock-full of free resources to help you do so.  
 
Head on over to www.BuildUpBookings.com/BTS to learn more.  And be sure to request a free marketing strategy session with Conrad and tell him Zach from Behind the Stays sent you his way!

About the Show

Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  
 
You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 

Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.