Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Sonja Karl, Faircations: We are Sonja, 41, and Stefan, 48. We've known each other for several years and worked together at a large tourism group. I (Sonja) come from the product/yield/sustainability sector, particularly long-haul and luxury travel, while Stefan comes from IT/travel technology. For 1.5 years, we've been working on our idea of taking sustainable travel out of its niche and making it accessible to a broader audience—out of the 'eco' corner, so to speak. In February 2021, we officially launched. Faircations founded, the first online portal for fair and green travel.
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Sonja Karl: Many people already pay attention to sustainability in their everyday lives, buying organic products, separating their waste, etc. And even when on vacation, over 60 percent of travelers would like to travel more sustainably, but only 6 percent have actually done so so far. This is because most people can't find suitable offers, because they think it would be too expensive or they would have to forgo something on vacation. Or because they don't even know what sustainable travel actually means.
Include all aspects of sustainability
With Faircations, we want to make fair and green travel tangible, attractive, and accessible, demonstrating that it doesn't always have to be a 'vegan yoga retreat'; a perfectly normal beach holiday in Mallorca, for example, can also be sustainable. When it comes to sustainability and travel, people often think of climate protection and CO2 offsetting, but we want to go beyond that and include all aspects of sustainability, including economic and social aspects, such as fair pay for hotel employees.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Sonja Karl: There are many great providers offering sustainable hotels, mostly in neighboring countries. They also offer very special and unusual tours, but these aren't suitable for everyone who wants to travel sustainably. What doesn't exist yet is a really cool one-stop-shop booking system that allows you to dynamically combine individual sustainable and/or offset services like flights, accommodation, and excursions into a comprehensive travel experience.
First angel investors convinced
Munich Startup: Has there ever been a point where you almost failed?
Sonja Karl: We launched shortly before the coronavirus crisis—not exactly the ideal time to launch a travel startup. On the other hand, acting countercyclically is also a good approach, so we simply used the time to continue working on our concept. Now that the travel market is slowly recovering and we have the first angel investors on board, we'll be launching our new website and our first bookable offers at the end of December.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Sonja Karl: In one year, we want to be bookable in DACH with a complete range of trips worldwide with accommodation, transfers, excursions and tours and be the first point of contact for anyone who wants to travel sustainably.
Bookable throughout Europe
In five years, we want to be bookable across Europe and, through our influence on the value chain, have significantly advanced sustainable tourism – sustainable travel should become the new normal. And in ten years, we hope that no one will remember that there ever was a non-sustainable form of travel.
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
Sonja Karl: For me, Munich is the best location in Germany – although I (Sonja) am not entirely impartial: After many years in Frankfurt, Munich is a return to my roots for me. I grew up in the north of Munich and studied tourism there. Munich is a super attractive city with a very high quality of life, which helps attract talent, despite the undeniably comparatively high cost of living.
Munich Startup: Coworking or your own office?
Sonja Karl: So far, neither – we are currently working from home in several locations in Germany: Munich, Kiel, Frankfurt, Würzburg…
