A refreshingly new BNB

Sustainable green values behind new disruptive innovation – but it’ll never be valued at $25bn or will it?

EcoBNB has not yet attracted the disapproval of its massive near-namesake Airbnb – so far it’s too small, far too homespun and far too green at heart.

In political terms it’s Mahatma Ghandi to AirBNB’s Tony Blair.

Ecobnb is what it says it is, an OTA which charges suicidally low rates to green  accommodation providers for being showcased on its green curated site – and still manages to survive and grow.

Alexa rates them at 2million for their English-language site Ecobnb.com and 800,000 for their Italian language site Ecobnb.it So they are nowhere near Airbnb’s 432 in terms of visits or $25bn in valuation, but then on the other hand they don’t lose as much money as Airbnb (forecast to lose an eye-watering $150m this year according to the Wall Street Journal)

The founders won Spinner2013, a program for innovative idea development of Italy’s Region Emilia Romagna and the European Community and entrepreneurship start up seed money from the EU – this provided the small amount of financial support that they needed to start.

And now they are set to provide a sustainable service both to small interesting green establishments (they don’t like big very much!) and the travelling public that wants something different and interesting.

The key to the operation is the values of the young partnership behind it.

Simone Riccardi – the man behind ViaggiVerde (Green travels) is a young green techie, who stumbled on the idea when he was trying to find a green place to stay when attending a conference. It gave him the idea of creating a world-class green accommodation site – hence EcoBNB. He spends a lot of time curating the site to make sure that the properties on it are green, interesting, and match the values of an expanding, young, green European audience that he well understands.

Silvia Ombellini, Simone’s partner is an architect and lecturer with an interest in urban planning and many award-winning initiatives behind her. Winning the EU ‘Spinner’ award  enabled Silvia to travel to Los Angeles and study User Experience Design at UCLA.  Now she is putting this experience into practice with Ecobnb.

They are supported by journalist and traveler Carla Soffritti, who is digital champion of the city of Parma and the communications specialist for Ecobnb… and architect Emanuele Benigni, who also works as photographer and blogger for Ecobnb.

All young, all politically-committed greenies, all totally committed to the concept of green travel experiences.

And, at Ecobnb these values are translated into action – chosen accommodations pay just 10% of sales through the site or an inclusive annual fee of €150. For this they can showcase their green credentials and initiatives and get

• Promotions through their own web page, through a travel blog and social media pages.
• Quick eco-accommodation mobile phone search
• Promotion of their special offers and green events to eco-travelers.
• Discounts and special conditions with Ecobnb’s partners.
• Ecobnb logo and banner
• Newsletter about ecotourism and green marketing

Totally at one with their market values and very web-savvy, this is a team that may well soon have to refuse a $billion offer!

Further information: http://www.ecobnb.com

Valere Tjolle

Key green tourism seminar unveiled for autumn Italy in historic castle:HERE 

Destination brands could make $Trillions: HERE