Have your last guests kept the heat on all day even though the temperature is mild and the sun is shining? Have your recycling bins remained empty, except for one where all the garbage went, without any distinction? Would you like your guests to contribute to the economy of your community and respect local cultures? Know that there are also many responsible travelers out there who would be perfect Guests! To reach them and invite them to your holiday home, follow these tips:

Responsible travelers search Fairbnb.coop

Fairbnb.coop is a cooperative booking platform that donates half of its commissions to social and environmental projects in the travel destination area. Guests can choose which project to finance among those indicated by the Fairbnb.coop Local Node and thus positively impact on the community they visit. You as a Host can feed this virtuous circular economy and reach these responsible travelers by publishing your listing, free of charge and with zero commission, on our platform.

Tell your story in your listing

Responsible travelers look for authentic experiences and for positive stories. Simply start the listing process by describing the home or the room that you are renting. Upload some nice pictures of your accommodation and explain what makes it unique. You can also add a photo that depicts yourself inside the house, and explain the reasons that make you the perfect Host: responsible travelers have and seek human values.

Make your guests feel safe

To offer guests the safe stay they need and expect, Hosts should adopt processes focused on enhanced sanitation, disinfection and deep cleaning practices and frequency, as well as processes relating to physical distancing, such as those suggested by the World Travel & Tourism Council. Follow the WTTC’s best practices and provide all the information on the local and national regulations in force.

The green way to your holiday home

Responsible travelers avoid using airplanes, ferries and, if possible, even cars, due to the impact these means of transport have on climate change: in the years preceding the pandemic, about 75% of all emissions in the tourism sector were due to the use of airplanes even for short or medium distances. Provide information on how to get to your holiday home by train and bus. If the stations are far away, offer your Guests a transfer service.

Open the doors of your community to responsible travelers

Of course, responsible travelers would like to get to know your community and mingle with the locals, to discover its traditions and hidden treasures: give your Guests insider tips that will help them to avoid the usual tourism traps and to experience the true soul of your community, by suggesting green excursions, sustainable opportunities, small shops and artisan workshops that contribute to the local economy.

Provide info about local public transport

Enable your guests to move freely and independently once they arrive at your holiday home. Provide them with a map of the public transport services available and show them the best routes to reach the main points of interest, as well as the neighborhoods and towns that are worth a visit. If you have the opportunity, give them a bike, perhaps offering it as an additional service: responsible travelers usually love cycling!

Become a sustainable Host

From the supply of energy from renewable sources to the use of energy-efficient lighting systems and appliances, from water-saving devices to furnishings with restored or recovered materials, up to the use of eco-friendly cleaning products, there are so many ways to become a sustainability hero starting from your holiday home: at little cost, you can be an exemplary host for responsible travelers and it will be easier to ask your guests to help reduce waste.

Provide instructions for waste sorting

Sometimes, having several bins for separate waste collection is not enough: the rules and classification of recyclable materials varies from place to place and it is easy to get confused, even for the most responsible travelers. You can help them put the waste in the right place by sticking a sheet with clear and illustrated instructions next to the bins, possibly multilingual.

Put local products in your welcome kit

When guests arrive in a holiday home, it is always kind to welcome them with a kit of products, customized according to whether they are a couple on a romantic getaway or a family with children. You can let responsible travelers taste the products of your territory, possibly packaged for hygiene reasons, such as a jar of pesto sauce for holidays in Liguria. Is your Guest traveling alone? Let him find a good book on the local culture, possibly in his own language.

Communicate to responsible travelers your sustainable choices

Before the pandemic, it was customary for Guests to find a “house book“, with all the rules and suggestions for a good stay. Today it is not recommended to leave things that all Guests touch, unless you can sanitize it at each check-out. Better collect all the actions you take to follow our tips in a digital presentation to be sent to the Guests before their arrival.

Our new partnership with Travel Kollekt will allow you to do it easily and with effective graphics!

We are sure that responsible travelers will love to know it and they will prefer to stay and recommend a responsibly managed place: do not hesitate to communicate what is your humble contribution to the world and be part of the sustainable change.