We are Community Powered Tourism

THE MISSION

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.coop 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 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.coop 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.coop will provide a space where community members can come together and collectively decide how the platform will be run in their neighbourhood. FairBnB.coop 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.coop 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.coop 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.

For more info about our project please visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.