How we accidentally started this thing

Last year, Isa was desperate to escape to Lombok for a month with her best mate but was absolutely skint. Her flat in Blijdorp was going to sit empty the entire time, still costing her €800+ per month like some cruel joke. She could've thrown it on Facebook groups, but have you seen those? Proper sketchy. And Airbnb would've turned her lovely, lived-in place into just another sterile investment property. Her flat has actual personality - plants that she waters, art that she chose because it made her smile, books she's actually read. It deserved better than being turned into a corporate waiting room.

Meanwhile, Ollie's family was planning to visit Rotterdam and needed somewhere decent to stay. Hotels felt soulless and cost a fortune, and most Airbnbs were just expensive ways to feel like you're sleeping in an office building. They wanted to actually experience Rotterdam like humans, not tourists trapped in some investor's beige box.

So we thought, bugger it - let's just start a WhatsApp group with people we actually know. Nothing fancy, no corporate nonsense, just real people helping each other out. Isa got her Indonesian adventure funded, Ollie's family got to stay somewhere with actual character and soul, and everyone felt good about the whole thing.

Now we're trying to scale this up without completely ruining what made it brilliant in the first place. Will it work? Honestly, we haven't got a clue, but we're having a proper go at finding out. We're keeping that same neighbourhood spirit - just with a bit more structure and a lot more coffee meetings.