Nonprofits raised almost €4 million via Airbnb Experiences, Airbnb to grow Dutch offering

Airbnb has today announced new measures to increase the number of Social Impact Experiences offered on its platform in the Netherlands. Social Impact Experiences are experiences hosted by nonprofit organisations whereby Airbnb waives its fee. The commitment is part of Airbnb’s vision to help more people and communities benefit from tourism and aligns with the vision of the National Bureau of Tourism and Conferences (NBTC). The news comes as Airbnb reveals that nonprofits have generated almost €4 million globally by offering experiences on Airbnb.

Airbnb currently counts seven Social Impact Experiences in the Netherlands, with almost half of them in Amsterdam. One of the Social Impact Experiences, entitled “Plastic Fishing in Amsterdam” allows visitors to step aboard a design boat made from Amsterdam Canal Plastic and take in the highlights of Amsterdam on the water, while making a positive impact on the environment – by fishing for plastic. Through this experience, close to 500 guests have already helped cleaning up the canals and have raised over €10,000 for the social enterprise.

“Since we’ve listed our experience on Airbnb we saw a big increase in bookings. I think Social Impact Experiences are a great way to involve the many tourists coming to Amsterdam in achieving our mission: plastic-free waters. We’ve met a ton of interesting guests and many have told us the experience has inspired them to continue volunteering.”

Marius Smit, Founder Plastic Whale said:

As part of our commitment to ensure more nonprofits can benefit from Social Impact Experiences, Airbnb will be hosting a number of events and workshops across the Netherlands to help charities learn more about Social Impact Experiences and to offer dedicated support. For Social Impact Experiences, Airbnb waives its service fees so that 100 percent of the earnings go directly to the nonprofit. As well as offering an additional revenue stream for Dutch charities, it also enables them to connect with local people and travellers from around the world.

Earlier this year, Airbnb partnered with the Van Gogh Heritage Foundation to launch 3 new Social Impact Experiences in Brabant. These experiences, ranging from unique walks in the places Van Gogh painted to hearing untold stories about Vincent’s private life, add another revenue stream for the foundation in the years to come and will enable visitors to explore beyond the museums, bringing to life the artist’s works and spreading tourism across his home region.

“Social Impact Experiences on Airbnb are a great way to raise funds and awareness for social causes, while spreading tourism to neighborhoods that are not normally on the tourist map, including underserved urban areas. We look forward to working with more nonprofits across the Netherlands to help ensure more people and more communities can profit from the benefits of tourism.”

Hadi Moussa, General Manager Northern Europe

Airbnb launched Experiences in 2016 with roughly 500 experiences and today over 30,000 Experiences are available around the world. Over 65,000 people have connected with a nonprofit via Social Impact Experiences and our most successful nonprofit is on track earning over €700,000 in just one year. To date, nonprofits have generated almost €4 million globally by offering experiences on Airbnb.