Airbnb donates €1M to Italian historic homes for hospitality

Airbnb has donated €1 million to the Italian Historic Houses Association (ADSI) to fund grants for maintenance and renovation of historic properties intended for tourist accommodation. The partnership, announced in October 2022, builds on Airbnb's July 2022 launch of a 'Historic Houses' category on its platform, which highlights Italian properties of historical and artistic interest. The donation will be distributed in three tranches: €450,000 for three grants of €150,000 each; €475,000 for 19 grants of €25,000; and €75,000 for three grants of €25,000. A judging commission will evaluate applications based on criteria including location in earthquake-affected areas or small towns, potential to diversify tourism flows to municipalities with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants lacking accommodation, support for agricultural production tied to the property, and themes of innovation, youth, accessibility, and synergy development. Giacomo Trovato, Country Manager of Airbnb Italia, noted that over 90% of historic houses listed on Airbnb are in rural or low-density areas, promoting tourism dispersion. ADSI President Giacomo di Thiene stated the fund aims to ease the burden of maintenance and create new employment opportunities to preserve traditions, arts, crafts, and local production techniques at risk of disappearing.