Fairbnb Coop
When Airbnb’s innovation changed the face of the holiday rental market, it inadvertently also transformed that of the host destinations themselves. What started out as students renting out air mattresses on the floor to help pay the rent has grown into a platform dominated by multi property owning speculators. There is an alternative model on the horizon with Fairbnb Coop.
Autonomous groups in cities including Bologna (where it all started), Barcelona, Venice and Amsterdam were thinking along similar lines before they got together under the Fairbnb Coop banner. Coming from a tradition of grass roots social activism, they aim to make tourism less a problem and more an opportunity for communities. Principally an on-line accommodation renting platform (with other things up their sleeve), their headline policies are to give 50% of booking fees to local community projects; to allow only one property per host; and to cooperate with local councils to comply with legal and tax systems.
I caught up with Coop member Domenico di Siena, by lockdown video call, to hear what’s next for the them. He explained to me that the organisation is very much a work in progress, currently in an “experimental beta phase”, with expansion (20 more destinations, including London) and a website re-boot due this summer.
Their attitude to development is interesting: they want to grow slowly and sustainably, making real, solid links with each destination early on, forging connections with like-minded local organisations in the cooperative ecosystem.
They hope to eventually offer more than just room rental, and are thinking about areas such as tours and bike hire.
So looking to the future, there is a possibility of a travel experience that benefits the community rather than a distant international franchise. It’s a model that could offer genuine local hosts in a more integrated city, which, as a visitor, I would be delighted to see.
A new structure is sorely needed. We wish them every success in Barcelona and, given the City’s traditional affinity with ground-up activism, bet they’ve got a good chance of it.
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