2 April 2020 - Fairbnb.coop, the new platform for sustainable tourism, launched its COVID-19 relief campaign #IStayHome & #TravelTomorrow, how does it work? The proceeds of future trips will be immediately used to support doctors, nurses and health personnel on the front line against COVID-19 in the active communities in Italy.
A simple message for future guests of our cities: by booking today, while we stay at home, we can immediately contribute to the fight against Coronavirus and at the same time plan a sustainable holiday, helping Italy to recover.
Never as in this time the society in which we live seems fragile: economic and environmental crises and now the spectre of a pandemic is eroding our habits and safety. Tourism, among all sectors, has proven to be the most vulnerable: the necessary limitations and precautions for the Coronavirus emergency have exposed all its fragility and contradictions.
The booking platforms have recorded a collapse in bookings made for these and the coming months, however, placing the burden mainly on the shoulders of the owners and managers of the properties. A serious blow especially for the Hosts that we consider sustainable, those who host in their home or have at most one home on the tourist market: families who integrate their income without damaging the social fabric of their city.
And yet, many Hosts are demonstrating a great civic sense, making the apartments available to provide accommodation to the staff of Italian healthcare facilities thus allowing them to remain isolated and to reduce the risk of possible infections, both in their families and in the workplace. Others have returned to offer their apartment in the residential rental market, with consequent benefits on rents for those looking for a house to live in.
In this complex situation, we want to think about how to make our communities more resilient, face the present and at the same time look forward, with hope and trust, rethinking the tourism economy. So, we decided to put the Fairbnb.coop platform and our team at the service of the Italian communities where we are present, Bologna, Genoa, and Venice.
The Fairbnb.coop platform, already active in closed beta version, has an ethical and responsible business model that foresees the allocation of 50% of the commissions on bookings to community projects with a significant social impact. On the occasion of the Coronavirus emergency, this part of the commissions will be donated to Institutes and organizations involved in the fight against Coronavirus and linked to our three Italian pilot cities of Genoa, Bologna and Venice, while we are working to extend the initiative also to Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Valencia.
In Bologna, the part of the commissions for the projects will be donated to the Sant’Orsola Foundation;
In Venice, the commissions will be donated to the current account activated by the Veneto Region for the "Coronavirus emergency fundraising";
In Genoa, the commissions will be donated to the current account activated by the Liguria Region for the "Coronavirus emergency fundraising".
All the funds will go to support doctors, nurses, and operators who work on the front lines to defend everyone's health and will also contribute to the support structures and intensive care in hospitals in the respective cities.
In addition to this, Fairbnb.coop will directly cover all transaction costs (thus committing over 25% of its gross revenues) allowing the contribution for the fight against Coronavirus and the Host’s funds to arrive at their destination without additional costs.
For a start-up like ours, it's an extra effort in a delicate moment, a risk, however, that we willingly take in the hope that this sad period will serve to remind everyone of the importance of the common good.
We will immediately use all our international communication channels to try to involve as many potential travellers in the initiative, in the hope of providing immediate resources for the fight against the virus, as well as a perspective for the sustainable hosts of our cities.
We appeal to other caring organizations worldwide to join our campaign by presenting this opportunity on their websites and tagging us on their social profiles using #Fairbnbcoop or by directly getting in contact with us.
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