Peter Mangan

Ireland

Freebird Club, Team Lead, Semi-finalist, 2015

Peter Mangan

Peter Mangan

Ireland

Freebird Club, Team Lead, Semi-finalist, 2015

The Freebird Club is a peer-to-peer social travel and homestay club for older adults. As a membership club, it allows approved members to travel and stay with each other as part of a trusted community of peers. Members with spare rooms can rent them out exclusively to fellow older adult members who wish to travel and interact with like-minded people. The Freebird Club offers a new accessible way of travelling for older people, a means to unlock asset value in their homes and earn extra income, and a fun way to meet new people and enjoy social and cultural interaction in later life. The Freebird Club addresses 3 significant issues facing our ageing society: (i) loneliness and isolation, (ii) lack of travel options for older adults, and (iii) financial insecurity in later life. A ‘beyond profit’ business, the Freebird Club mission is to connect and enrich the lives of older adults through meaningful travel. By adopting the ‘sharing economy’ model, Freebird aims to create a more fun, accessible and inclusive world for older adults.

Take me to this year’s competition