In the municipality of Loano, in Liguria, there is a bed and breakfast that is looking for a person capable of properly assembling and fixing an IKEA wardrobe. Person who will not be paid in euros but through the overnight stay in the structure. And in the announcement the manager puts his hands forward: «No improvised people: I’m already there for those!». It is one of the wishes published for Barter Week, which from Monday 16th to Sunday 22nd November returns to B&Bs throughout Italy with the usual rule: the stay is not paid for in money, it is exchanged for an object, a product, a job or a skill. The initiative is from the Bed-and-Breakfast.it portal. The number of editions reaches eighteen this year, and the first dates back to 2009.
Neon signs, accordions and magazines from the seventies
The wish lists, which can be consulted on the official website, cover the peninsula from Sicily to the Aosta Valley and are more like a flea market than a price list. In that of Florence the Relais Accademia he would like a vintage advertising sign, enamelled or neon, like those that were above the old shops. In Viareggio the Flowered Crocodile he has in mind a stone or concrete wash house to be placed on the terrace and, for the right piece, he is ready to grant up to a week’s stay in the low season, while in Campobasso the Flower Bed & Breakfast expect a 120 bass accordion, as long as it is in good condition. The most selective is perhaps The Casites of Triestewhich only accepts books and magazines related to the culture and social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The editions appear in the list Savelli And Feltrinelli and test how Frigidaire, Naked King, Cannibal and Evil.
Five liters of oil for a night for two
To participate you don’t need to own collector’s items, as in the case of Viterbo, where a structure offers a night for two people in exchange for five liters of oil obtained from untreated olives. Also Miky’s Housein Riparbella, Tuscany, is on the same wavelength, as it accepts honey, propolis, beeswax, fruit plants and local gastronomic specialties, such as Villa Chiaranear Montepulciano, which asks for Italian honey, as long as it comes from a beekeeper, because the one from the supermarket, the advert specifies, can buy it herself. Extra virgin olive oil, wine, cured meats, cheeses and honey are, moreover, the most frequent requests: the managers are interested in tasting what is produced in other regions, and for the traveler who has an olive grove (even a cousin with a few hives would be enough) it is the shortest route to the exchange.
Talent is as good as an object
Then there are the structures that don’t want objects but professionalism, as in the case of a B&B in Rome, located a few minutes by subway from the Colosseum, which is looking for a videomaker for photographs and short videos intended for Instagram, and Hello Bologna B&Ba structure that operates in the capital of Bologna which offers two nights in a double room for a professional logo. Other examples include requests from Senigallia, where Alice’s House owns a garden inspired by Alice in Wonderland and would like it populated with sculptures and land art installations, while in Maglie, Puglia, Frannicola Garden imagine the entrance avenue as an open-air gallery, with works that tell the identity of Salento.
The demand for photographers, social media managers and content creators is considerable, and many managers offer accommodation in exchange for images, videos and consultancy to be better found online. There is also a place for lessons (tailoring, digital graphics, gardening, basket weaving) and those small maintenance jobs that await their turn in every house, from the wall to be painted to the shutter to be restored.
Finally, some owners have decided to adopt barter between colleagues, so we will find a B&B by the sea looking for a few days in the mountains, and one in the countryside aiming for a city of art.
How the exchange works
To participate you will have to enter weekly on weekdays.it, choose a destination and read the wish lists of the participating structures. Once you have found the right proposal, you can write to the manager and agree with him on availability, number of nights and conditions, all before departure. We remind you that the published wishes are not at all restrictive, so you can propose something else, and the manager will be free to accept or refuse. The official dates range from 16 to 22 November, although some structures are also willing to agree for other periods of the year.
These are the words of Giambattista Scivoletto, founder of Bed-and-Breakfast.it:
After almost twenty years, we continue to be surprised by the imagination of managers and travellers. The best thing is discovering that what has little value for one person can be exactly what another is looking for. An object forgotten in the attic, a product of one’s land or a professional skill can become an opportunity to leave, meet people and live a different experience than usual.
It is reuse in its most practical version, given that the object forgotten in the cellar will find an address (and a real use), while the owner will gain a few days away from home.
