The concept of B‘n’Tree is as simple as it is powerful: Whenever travelers book a bed via one of their partner links, the company plants a tree, for free!
Planting trees not only helps to offset travel-generated carbon emissions, but also creates jobs for local communities and habitat for exotic wildlife species. B‘n’Tree currently invests 100% of their profits into planting trees in destinations such as Thailand, Ecuador, and Madagascar.
So far, Southern Thailand has gained 6,000 trees thanks to B‘n’Tree! Tree varieties include mostly banana palms and fish tail palms, as these are some favorites of elephants, which help to keep these wild giants away from human settlements.
Rest assured when users book, it doesn’t cost a single cent more than usual. The company model was conceived by founder Chris Kaiser, after he moved to Southern Thailand in 2012 and witnessed the dramatic effects of deforestation first hand.
We sat down with Chris and asked him all about his inspiration behind B‘n’Tree and its impact on the world:
Can you tell us more what are the concept of B’n’Tree?
B’n’Tree is extremely simple: Every time you book a bed, we plant a tree. For Free! To achieve this, we have partnered with the world’s biggest booking platforms, such as Booking.com and TripAdvisor, where they agreed that they will pay us commission for all paying clients we refer to them.
What has inspired you to start B‘n’Tree?
Since 2012 I’ve been working in close contact with elephants. Unfortunately, most wild elephants do not have many places left to go, as their habitat is decreasing at an alarming rate, due to deforestation, increasing infrastructure, farm land, etc. To help create habitats I needed to find a way to generate income. I have been in the tourism industry for over 10 years now, finding partners within the industry was the obvious choice – and it worked really well.
The beauty of planting trees is that trees not just create habitat for endangered animal species, but also jobs for the local communities we work with. And, yes, trees fight climate change as well, and restore natural water cycles. They really help save the world!
What are types of trees have you reforested and how many trees are you planning to achieve?
In Thailand we focused on elephant food, which were mainly banana palms and fish tail palms. These were planted at the edge of the national park, to avoid wild elephants looking for food in the nearby villages.
What we’re planning to achieve is a difficult question. According to the UN, we are lacking 3 billion trees on this planet right now – and this number increases daily. My current aim is to plant at least 1 million trees, as then I can call myself a “treellionnaire!” But, as with all ambitious startups: Once you hit your first mark, you simply set the next. I wouldn’t mind leaving this planet knowing I have planted 1 billion trees.
How can you make sure that the trees planted will survive?
Not all trees survive. About 20% of all trees planted die from natural causes, 80% survive. However, we re-plant those trees that die, at no cost to the user! Most of the time, we actually plant a lot more than just one tree per hotel booking. However, this depends on the booking value and hence the commission we receive, so we guarantee at least one (surviving) tree, but have had bookings that planted 20+ trees.
Would you like to say anything more about B’n’Tree for North America travelers?
Dear North American Traveler, The time is high. This planet needs your support. Urgently. Now. Thanks to B’n’Tree, you can now help save the planet while you travel – and it doesn’t cost you a single cent! All you need to invest is one single click of your mouse. Saving planet Earth won’t get any simpler than this.
Make B‘n’Tree your go-to website whenever planning a trip, no matter how cheap or short.
You can follow B’n’Tree on Instagram and on Facebook, where they share everything from stunning nature knowledge to motivational memes and tantalizing travel inspiration. And, of course, delightful photos and videos of all the animals and people whose life have been impacted by planting a tree!
