Fairbnb.coop aims at social projects to give back

A new holiday short-term rental platform has banned properties owned by businesses and donate half commission to community projects to answer the overtourism fears.

Ethical holiday rental website Fairbnb.coop has launched its reservations system offering travelers a chance to book in at city apartments that support community projects. The site aims to be a marketplace for “authentic, fair and conscious tourism” and promises to donate 50% of its commission to social projects selected by local residents.

“In Amsterdam the money will go to a community gardening project in the north and an urban agriculture project for migrant women in the south-east – both poorer parts of the city.”

— Fairbnb.coop’s Spanish Founder, Sito Veracruz

The site, which is in its beta phase, currently has a small number of properties (rooms and whole apartments) in five pilot cities: Valencia, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Bologna and Venice, though the plan is to add more properties and cities across Europe over the coming months.

The Fairbnb.coop idea originated three years ago when Veracruz, who is based in Amsterdam, saw how the rapidly increasing number of holiday rentals negatively affected his neighborhood. In June this year Amsterdam was one of 10 European cities that wrote to the EU asking for help to counter soaring housing prices and the touristification of areas caused by the boom in short-term holiday lets.

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