The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Ground-breaking booking tech to help Moray tourism
New technology aimed at promoting the recovery of community-led tourism in the Moray area will see cash ploughed into local projects.
The Fairbnb.coop platform is the result of collaboration between the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) and Visit Moray Speyside (VMS).
It allows visitors to the Moray area to book accommodation, while benefitting the local area.
The project is also supported by Traveltech for Scotland, which brings together 100 travel technology organisations within the country’s tourism and hospitality sector.
While other booking platforms charge a commission that goes back to the platform, the Fairbnb.coop model splits the fee – 50% is returned directly to the community to support local projects. ASSC and VMS will work jointly to recruit new hosts for the system across Moray.
The platform was launched at the VMS tourism conference in Elgin yesterday.
“There will be anything from a community playpark to toilets – anything the local community is needing,” ASSC chief executive Fiona Campbell told The Press and Journal.
She added: “If someone books through Fairbnb, the guest will know what project that booking will support.
“The more Fairbnb as a platform is recognised, the more people will understand the choices they can make.
“People understand the impact of tourism on communities, especially after Covid. Lots of our
members are keen to get involved.”
She added: “This ground-breaking new partnership will allow us to make a real and meaningful contribution to the Moray area.”
The pandemic has been especially grim for the tourism industry with many businesses suffering. As the sector emerges from the past two stagnant years, platforms such as Fairbnb can act as a business catalyst – and it is one with a conscience.
VMS chief executive Laurie Piper believes there are plenty of advantages in the partnerships being developed.
He said: “Visit Moray Speyside’s strong relationship with the ASSC has seen our organisations working closely over several years.
“During the period of Covid this partnership strengthened.
“As the region’s industry recovers from the pandemic, this ambitious new agreement with the ASSC and Fairbnb. coop gives Moray’s accommodation providers a way to drive bookings from conscientious travellers, while also directly supporting their local area.
“Working together one booking at a time, we can turn the balance of power from remote online travel agents back in favour of operators and the communities they are such an important part of.”
Traveltech for Scotland helps businesses collaborate by creating connections, including introductions and a network of potential opportunities, using its digital platform.
It also hosts a fortnightly travel technology community call and supports businesses via meetings, workshops and events.
Traveltech for Scotland director Joshua RyanSaha said: “We are delighted to support the roll-out of Fairbnb.coop in Moray and Speyside.
“I commend the approach of ASSC and Visit Moray Speyside in collaborating with Fairbnb.coop, and I’m sure once it is rolled out we’ll see and feel more of the benefits of tourism to the area. We’ll work closely with the ASSC and Fairbnb.coop to on-board even more of Scotland’s destinations on to the platform.”
Fairbnb uses 50% of its platform fee to maintain operations and the other 50% to fund projects in the communities people visit, giving guests the choice of what they would like to back.
The projects ensure social sustainability, countering what the platform terms the “negative effects of tourism” and allowing locals to vote to support what they want to see in their own neighbourhoods – such as food co-ops, playgrounds, green projects and community cafes among others.
Through the platform, hosts and guests both earn and pay the same, but the benefits are for the whole community.