Building A Destination For Campground Reviews (And Reservations)

Sarah Smith and her husband are avid campers. They’ve camped their entire lives. And when they moved to the Pacific Northwest, they began to camp every week — however, they would get mad at each other because neither one of them could find a campground that they could agree on to visit for a weekend. Each would spend hours searching for a campground. They realized that having others’ opinions as to what campgrounds were like, as well as photos and videos that better represented those sites, helped them make their decision.

There are many government websites, but they will show, in essence, “a flat, one-dimensional map of the campground and really that’s about it,” Smith, who went on to co-found the camping website The Dyrt told PYMNTS in an interview. That design, however, wasn’t helping her get an idea of what a campground was like. She wanted a place that would “collect user-generated content” from all over the country and create a kind of rich resource where people could let each other know what the campgrounds were like.

And that’s what she essentially ended up helping to create — an online resource for discovering, researching and booking campgrounds with over 300,000 media assets. Consumers can book a stay directly from The Dyrt mobile app, iOS and Android, or on TheDyrt.com website. First and foremost, however, the company wanted to solve the problem of finding a campground. It was hard for would-be campers to see what they would be getting before they arrived at a property. Years were spent building up the content and community.

Most diners, after all, don’t go to restaurants without looking at Yelp first. (Many travelers, too, wouldn’t reserve an Airbnb without looking at user reviews or photos.) And the interesting point about user-generated content and the people who use it, Smith points out, is that everyone is looking for something different. The more content there is on a site, then, the more people on can help. To that end, the platform has tens of thousands of campgrounds listed on its platform through the United States, with a combination of federal campgrounds, state parks, national parks, BLM land, private campgrounds and private landowners.

The Booking Experience

Consumers can search the site for the area where they want to camp. The company doesn’t have an instant book option (à la, say, some Airbnb listings), so customers have to request to book. Users, however, will receive an email within 24 hours of their requests letting them know if their reservation is accepted, declined or expired. The company uses Stripe Connect for payment processing. It takes cards for payment, although it has talked about in the future adding features like Apple Pay and methods like that to its app. And, with the content on the company’s website, it can help campers make the best decision possible when it comes to ensuring that they have the experience for which they hoped.

To incentive users to provide the platform with content, the company has a contest that runs every month throughout the country. Users earn a set number of points for different actions for, say, a written part of a review, a photo or a video. They then become ranked on leaderboards split into regions (Mid-Atlantic, California and Hawaii and the Midwest). At the end of the month, the best reviewer will win a prize from one of the company’s outdoor brand partners (usually a $100 gift card).

When it comes to its users, Smith says the company has a real combination of all sorts of campers who are attracted to the site. Some of its super users camp 40 times a year, while other users might rarely camp. Overall, Smith said, the platform is aiming to be “the go-to resource for campers.” Smith pointed out that the platform has a vibrant community of people who are passionate about camping — just like they are. And they have helped the company build the largest camping community in the outdoor space.

In addition, the company has partnered with a national network of fully-rigged safari-style platform tents on private land across the country called Tentrr. According to an announcement, “Tentrr’s world-class properties will form the foundation of The Dyrt’s glamping, cabins, and unique lodgings category of bookable campsites.” All of the platform’s properties will be available for mobile app as well as online bookings per the announcement.

From a partnership with a glamping website to a treasure trove of user-generated content, The Dyrt is aiming to help consumers to make an informed decision about where to camp. And, if they so choose, users can make reservations before heading out into the great outdoors.