You’ve created your listing, added inspiring photos, and started to gather great reviews, all helping your property stand out when campers search on Hipcamp. But, as a Host, you may also be wondering what Hipcamp is doing to promote your property elsewhere and help you get more bookings.
You may not always see the marketing efforts we’re making but that doesn’t mean they’re not happening. In fact, much of what we do behind the scenes is designed to drive the right campers to your property, without wasting time or budget reaching the wrong audience.
This article explains how our marketing works—across paid ads, email, push notifications, SEO, and more—and why you might not see it even though it’s helping you.
We market Hipcamp listings every single day
Hipcamp invests in a wide range of marketing channels to reach campers and drive bookings, including:
- Digital ads on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google, and across programmatic display networks
- Smart TV/CTV ads on platforms like Roku and Apple TV
- Weekly email and app push notifications to millions of campers
- Social media and influencer partnerships showcasing Hosts, camper stories, and destination inspiration
- Press coverage featuring Hipcamp properties and trends in outdoor travel publications
- Search engine optimization (SEO) ensuring Hipcamp listings rank well on Google and other search platforms
- Commercial partnerships with relevant outdoor brands, tourism boards, and industry platforms to reach new audiences.
We’re constantly testing, improving, and optimizing these campaigns and we spend tens of thousands of dollars each month to promote Hipcamp and bring new campers to the platform.
As a platform rooted in camping and outdoor recreation, we specialize in reaching people who are genuinely interested in nature-based travel. This helps us target high-intent, frequent campers, rather than casting a wide net across all types of travelers. It’s a more focused approach that delivers better results for Hosts.
Why don’t I see much Hipcamp marketing?
You’re not alone in wondering this but there’s a simple reason: Because you’re registered as a Host, not a Hipcamper. We intentionally exclude Hosts from most of our marketing. And this applies across both paid and non-paid channels.
Paid ads
Our paid advertising covers a wide range of digital channels, including social media ads, website banners, and connected TV platforms like Roku and Apple TV. We use smart targeting to reach people who are likely to book a trip. This includes:
- Lookalike audiences (people who resemble our best customers)
- Retargeting (people who’ve browsed listings but not booked)
- Interest and location targeting
But we also intentionally exclude Hosts from these ad campaigns. Why? Because although you use Hipcamp frequently, you're likely using the platform in a very different way—to host, not to book. Showing ads to Hosts would take away budget from reaching new campers and reduce performance.
This means you might see ads from other platforms like Airbnb or VRBO (especially if you browse their sites), but rarely see ours, not because we’re not advertising, but because we’re strategically choosing to exclude Hipcamp users who are registered as Hosts.
📩 Email and push campaigns
Each week, we send millions of emails and app notifications to active and potential campers. These promote last-minute getaways, local listings near them, trending destinations, and more—all designed to drive bookings.
But again, we don’t send these marketing campaigns to Hosts. If we did, your inbox would be full of messages meant for campers. Instead, we focus those messages where they’ll be most effective: reaching people who are actually looking to camp.
You may not see it but it's working for you
Even if you don’t personally see a Hipcamp ad or email, they are being seen by the right people. The result? More eyes on listings like yours, and more bookings from campers who are ready to explore.
You may not get the emails or see the ads, but rest assured: Hipcamp is actively marketing your listing through targeted, effective, and camper-first campaigns across multiple channels. That way, you can focus on hosting while we focus on sending more campers your way.
In recent years our partnerships and marketing campaigns have:
- Facilitated over 10 million nights outside
- Reached millions of campers through targeted marketing each year
- Grown largely through repeat campers, referrals, and smart digital reach, not wasteful mass advertising
We’re proud to promote all types of listings—from blueberry farms to RV resorts—and we’re constantly refining our efforts to help you succeed.
Want to see what our marketing looks like?
Check out @hipcamp on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok. You’ll find some of the same content and themes that power our paid campaigns.
Note, not all of our marketing appears here—some of our higher-production campaigns, like connected TV ads, are designed specifically for broader digital platforms and may not be visible on our social feeds.