Alternatives to Airbnb? Try Fairbnb

Today we bring you a guest post from Sito Veracruz, founder of Fairbnb, an alternative to Airbnb whose goal is to limit the negative impact of tourist rentals in cities.

It is a fact that holiday homes are the preferred form of accommodation for a large part of travelers in recent years. In addition to being a new type of experience, renting between individuals allows part of the benefits that tourism generates to fall into the pockets of more actors than usual businesses.

However, it is also a fact that holiday rentals entail a new impact on neighborhoods, and that in many cases these rentals do not have the appropriate licenses, which is leading administrations to regulate this activity.

In cities like Amsterdam or Venice, we know a lot about this problem. Many of us thought back in 2016 about possible regulations that would allow a balance between an activity we enjoy and social and environmental sustainability in our cities. And then we thought, what if the solution didn't come only from administrations? What if there was a socially responsible platform that took into account the negative impact of rentals and promoted the positive impact of tourism? What would a “Fairbnb” platform be like?

Fairbnb is a sustainable and cooperative alternative to Airbnb

We got to work, and two years later we are on the verge of launching the pilot project of the Fairbnb platform in several European cities: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Valencia, Bologna, and Venice.

The main differences of Fairbnb compared to other platforms are essentially three:

• 100% legality and collaboration with city councils: beyond the rules of each region or city, our platform has a global policy of '1 host, 1 home'.
• Promotion of social projects: 50% of the commission from our rentals goes to social projects selected by the neighborhood community itself – thus allowing the return of profit –.
• Cooperative model: Fairbnb is legally constituted as a cooperative, where salaries are limited; and socially through local nodes with decision-making power in local matters.

Our goal is to limit the negative impact of tourism and increase the positive one while creating community and fighting gentrification. For this, we need responsible guests and travelers, as well as citizens interested in the welfare of their city. Are you in?

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