The Freebird Club is not, as you might expect, a collection of those loud guys from every concert ever discussing ways to get bands to actually play Freebird. It’s an Airbnb-like startup promoting travel and social connection among a demographic often overlooked by the tech crowd – seniors.
The club’s members are all age 50+ and host or stay with other members around the world. Unlike other travel startups, hosts always stay and receive their guests.
“We want to empower older adults to connect, travel, have fun and enjoy themselves and the world around them – regardless of age,” Founder Peter Mangan told ThinkBusiness. The app has been humorously called ‘Tinder’ for seniors.
Why seniors?
Well, they’re the fastest growing demographic of the whole travel-sharing-economy-thing, for one. It makes sense when you think about it – we’re living longer than ever before and that means a lot of older folks with plenty of free time and no mortgages, but who count on fixed incomes and have increasingly smaller social groups.
For those who can afford to travel but may not have anyone to go with, the club offers a social circle of like-minded peers – of friends. And the best part is, travel decreases the loneliness and isolation so common among older folks in our society while improving overall health and quality of life.
So maybe those loud guys were onto something after all – more Freebird for all of us!
