Hosts only offer free parking (boondocking). If they provide hookups, they are incurring a cost for your stay. It is a required common courtesy that you offer to compensate the host for hookups you use before you leave.

Hosts are encouraged to include details in their profile about their expected nightly donation amount to cover the cost of hookups, in the range of $5-$15. They are free to request less based on circumstances, but you should be prepared to offer the amount listed on their profile if it includes one.

If you do not use hookups, you are not required to pay the requested donation. A genuine "thank you" is all our hosts will expect in this case.

If a host's profile does not explicitly include a suggested nightly donation to cover hookup costs, then it's up to you to try to estimate the cost of your usage.

When hosts do not request an amount and you've used AC or heating, you should offer $5 to $10 per night (depending on the size of your rig). If you did not run your AC or heat, your electric use was probably minimal, and offering $3 to $5 per night (depending on the size of your rig) is probably enough. 

Hosts may also have to pay for water, wifi data, and pumping their RV dump. So, even if you don't use electricity, you should offer to pay if you use those.

Our hosts are not in this to profit and after you become fast friends they may decline your payment.  But using hookups and not offering to compensate is not acceptable. Exploiting a host's generosity will result in loss of guest privileges!