Turning Fairbnb Coop into a Multi-Stakeholder Cooperative

Summary

This report outlines the process of and considerations behind designing the structure of a multi=stakeholder platform cooperative, using the case study of Fairbnb cooperative. After a brief literature review on multi-stakeholder cooperative governance, it delves into Fairbnb and its reasons for transitioning to multi-stakeholder cooperative governance. It then examines by the process by which Fairbnb designed and conceptualized both the transition and the multi-stakeholder cooperative’s eventual structure – through internal research with experts and projects followed by workshops with stakeholders and beta testing. Next, it discusses the main insights gained about that eventual structure – when platform deployment should be managed by separate local organizations rather than the platform development organization, legal forms, determination of and distribution of power between various stakeholders via various voting mechanisms and bodies, and means of engaging stakeholders outside of voting. Finally, it discusses Fairbnb’s key debates regarding its eventual structure – the degree to which its core mission requires redistributing power from workers and investors to the local community, the types of community stakeholders that should be considered and types of membership that should be created, the governance bodies that should be established, the organizational structure and governance that would enable global expansion and democratic participation, the appropriate legal structure, and the means to ensure stakeholders’ long-term engagement and commitment. The report concludes with a summary of the advantages of being a multi-stakeholder platform cooperatives and the deliberation process that should precede it.