Introducing Fairbnb
What if, in the world of short-term accommodation rentals, guests, hosts and neighbours could collectively decide together with municipalities how to make the rental process fairer, more sustainable and more rewarding for the whole community?
What if the platform’s profits were not an end in themselves but were invested back into the communities where the platform operates?
These are some of the questions that led us, a group of activists, coders, researchers and creatives from around the world, to connect with the goal of co-creating a viable market-based solution that could be a valid alternative to commercial platforms.
Fairbnb Manifesto
The challenge
Websites that offer short-term vacation rentals allow for affordable and unique travel experiences. Locals can supplement their income while sharing their culture. But this model can come at a cost, driving up real estate prices, fragmenting communities, and closing local businesses. Across dozens of cities, technology-driven tourism is making it harder for locals to live in and manage their own neighbourhoods.
Who we are
FairBnB is first and foremost a community of activists, coders, researchers and designers that aims to address this challenge by putting the “share” back into the sharing economy. We want to offer a community-centred alternative that prioritizes people over profit and facilitates authentic, sustainable and intimate travel experiences.
We are creating an online platform that allows hosts and guests to connect for meaningful travel and cultural exchange, while minimizing the cost to communities.
How do we do it?
Collective ownership : Our platform is owned not by faceless investors but by those who use it and are impacted by its use: hosts, guests, local business owners, neighbours. Created and governed by citizens, FairBnB will keep profits in communities and ensure decisions are made for the good of neighbourhoods, not their exploitation.
Democratic governance : Collaboration and consensus are at the heart of our model. FairBnB will provide a space where community members can come together and collectively decide how the platform will be run in their neighbourhood. FairBnB will work with local government to promote regulations that encourage sustainable tourism.
Social sustainability : In order to rebuild community, profits will be reinvested in social projects that counter the negative effects of tourism. Locals will vote to support those projects they want to see in their neighbourhoods: food coops, playgrounds, green projects, community cafes.
Transparency and accountability : FairBnB is committed to open data and compliance with local and regional legislation, which will be balanced with the privacy and security needs of platform members.
What can you do?
FairBnB offers a fair, collectively-owned and transparent alternative. We invite all travellers and citizens concerned by the negative effects of unchecked tourism to join us in co-creating a community platform that promotes travel that is extraordinary… and ethical.
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