Frequently asked questions

socialbnb is an innovative online platform that connects social and ecological projects with travelers from all over the world. Many of these projects have rooms that we offer on our platform as accommodations for travelers. This way, we not only create another source of funding for local projects that are committed to their community but also enable a unique and authentic experience for travelers. With the money spend on your accommodation, projects can realize their goals, such as building schools, planting trees, improving animal welfare, advocating for more equality and much more. After you have decided on an accommodation, you can submit a booking request via our site, which will then be confirmed by our partner project on site. Next, you pay our service fee and you are ready to go.

socialbnb is a social startup from Cologne, Germany. Developed as a student initiative, it has now grown into an independent social startup. The socialbnb team consists of enthusiastic travelers who share a passion for discovering different cultures. Every day we, together with our partner projects, work on our mission to create sustainable tourism, which benefits everyone.

On socialbnb.org you can book accommodations from social and ecological projects. While there are many large projects that work on an international level, socialbnb works with smaller and local projects that face great difficulty funding their work due to a lack of continuous donations. Most often, these projects are led by one person or a group of people driven by a common goal, solving social or environmental problems. These projects often have existing rooms that are very suitable for accommodating travelers. These can be located directly on the project site or in accommodations specifically designed for travelers, such as guesthouses, hostels or ecolodges.

socialbnb is a global platform that supports social and ecological projects around the world. Each day more projects are added to establish the vision of a sustainable tourism from which all may profit. Currently we are dealing with the expansion in Europe, because there are a lot of project we want to support as well. The platform is aimed at travelers worldwide and also aims to promote domestic tourism. You can find the latest overview of all socialbnbs here

After you have chosen your accommodation, you simply book by selecting the arrival and departure dates and the number of people you want to travel with. In the next step you can create a profile on our site and then your request can be sent. You have the possibility to ask questions directly to your host and you can see as soon as he confirms the booking. This can take up to 48 hours. After the confirmation of the partner projects you pay a deposit of 15% and your stay is reserved and finally confirmed. In the confirmation email you will find additional information about your stay. And then you are ready to go! We wish you an amazing socialbnb experience.

The availability of the accommodation can depend on various aspects. For example, some projects need the premises at short notice for their own staff or renovation work needs to be done on the premises. Other projects offer overnight accommodations that are regularly designated for volunteer housing. Therefore, the availability of the overnight accommodation depends on when and how many volunteers the organization expects. For these reasons, the projects must first check its internal availability before confirming your booking.

socialbnb enables you to become part of a community that contributes to sustainable tourism. By booking accommodation through socialbnb, you primarily benefit financially, as the additional revenue goes directly to your projects and supports them. The travelers who find you through socialbnb are often very interested in sustainability and the work of social and environmental organizations. Beyond the booking, the travelers can share their project experiences on further trips, at home among friends, via social media, etc. and thus draw attention to you and, for example, inspire other people to also stay in your projects on their next trips. We at socialbnb also advertise our partner projects via our website and our channels and draw attention to your work.

If you work at a social or ecological project and are interested in our concept, you are welcome to get more information by clicking here. On this page, you will also find more information about the requirements and the listing process. There you can also make an appointment with us directly, where we will discuss our quality criteria with you and find out together whether a profile at socialbnb makes sense for you. We will then get in touch with you and look forward to talking to you about possible collaborations and hearing about your great project. We will also be happy to provide you with host guidelines so that you are well prepared when travelers book accommodation with you.

socialbnb is a website that provides accommodation to travelers. We are not a platform for volunteer work. You should therefore not integrate your guests into your daily routine in terms of work or expect a work performance from the traveler.