Meet the 100% gaunt founder of Greengo
Publié le 1 October 2024 par su_laetis
Guillaume Jouffre, a native of Brive, co-founded Greengo, the platform that is challenging Airbnb by offering eco-responsible holiday rentals in France. Listed on the French platform for 2 years, our residence has received around twenty booking requests and we have every intention of developing our visibility on this platform!
A Gaillard 'pur jus' as he puts it, Guillaume lent himself to the interview game, explaining how this great idea quickly turned into a flourishing business. He also confided in us about the Gaillard nuggets that he remembers or that he enjoys rediscovering when he returns to conquered land, er sorry, Gaillard...
Les Collines: Guillaume, you're originally from Correze, but where exactly?
Guillaume: Yes, I was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde and have lived there for over 20 years. So I'd say I'm a native of Correze, a real 'gaillard' if you like.
Can you tell us briefly what led you to create the GreenGo platform?
The GreenGo platform is based on 2 observations. The first is that tourism accounts for over 11% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, so the very principle of travelling is a major issue! The 2nd observation is that there are plenty of treasures close at hand, right next door to us, that can be reached with much less carbon consumption. Especially where we live, in Corrèze! (laughs). So the idea behind GreenGo is to showcase all these treasures close to home, while having a very low impact on the environment. So to reconcile the pleasure of travel with a low environmental impact.
Can you give us some key figures for your platform?
Yes, so GreenGo currently has over 100,000 visitors a month, with almost 1 million pages viewed on our site every month. We list over 7,000 properties selected for their eco-responsibility, but also because they have a little something extra in terms of charm. The top destinations include Brittany and the coast, of course, but Corrèze is also holding its own in the top 10. Every year we publish our top eco-responsible destinations, based on the number of searches and bookings. For the second year running, Corrèze is in the top 10. Cocorico Corrèze, as we say around here!
As for the holidays that work best, the trendiest by far are unusual accommodation, especially bubbles and tree houses.
How do you select your hosts? Do some hosts apply spontaneously? Are there any compulsory criteria for being listed?
Of course, anyone can apply, and I encourage all hosts to send us an application. It's very simple, and only takes 3 clicks. We'll simply look at the quality. One of the team will look at the environmental approach of each host. There are no 'compulsory' criteria. The only compulsory criterion is to be sincere. It's something that we really assess on a human level.
Then we'll carry out an assessment, or at least the hosts will carry out a self-assessment by filling in a grid listing over 110 ecological criteria. We'll calculate an eco-score and a CO2-score for each accommodation. The idea is to provide support for accommodation providers, with our Opération Transition programme and a training programme that we have recently developed. We want to provide a platform that gives people visibility, that allows hosts and travellers with the same level of commitment, more or less mature, more or less developed, more or less advanced, to find each other. We try to provide tools, visibility and transparency on this environmental aspect, but not to judge or stigmatise. It's our DNA, our core values.
Do you come back to Brive regularly? If so, what are your favourite spots?
Yes, I come back to Brive regularly, almost every month or month and a half. I still have my family, my father and lots of friends there. Where do you go for refuge? I live next to the Plaine de Tujac, so I go running all the time at the Plaine de jeux de Tujac, and now that you can cross the whole of Brive, I go on the new greenway, which is great. Of course, my place of refuge is the Brive-la-Gaillarde market, every Saturday morning when I come back. As my father says: "They don't have any of that in Paris". And there you have it, I kind of agree. It's one of my places of refuge when I come back, to pick up some good produce. Of course, there are plenty of other places, but if I had to name just one, it would be this one.
Do you have a childhood memory to share? One of Proust's madeleines?
I'd say the Royal Stables*, old-timers will understand... (laughs)
What is your 100% gaillard gastronomic dish?
Of course, mique petit salé! It's impossible not to mention it. It's so Correze, and above all, so good! Then there's the porcini omelette, which is one of my favourite dishes, especially in autumn. We gave it to my son recently, who's a year and a bit old, and I can tell you that he ate it all in one go. We'd never seen him react to a dish like that before!
Thank you Guillaume for this interview and all the best for the future!
*former nightclub.
