StudyEnjoy, the website where you can find your free accommodation [fr]
5 students from Nantes created a community platform in June 2014, covering the accommodations in 20 countries, accessible for a long periods as well as short periods for your internship or entry examination.
Although the idea seems unrealistic, having a free accommodation would no longer be a dream thanks to the initiative taken by these 5 students from Nantes. Having created StudyEnjoy, the objective of the community of accommodation exchange is to allow student to find a free place to stay during their study.
Study calmly and increase the quality of your life
You are a student, you are looking for an accommodation and you have one to propose? Just simply fill in all the criteria for a free accommodation, of course while proposing the same to the others in return. The list of accommodation available is, however, accessible to everyone.
The promise of StudyEnjoy is to “assure that the students could study calmly and live a life with quality”, explained Frédéric Gibert, one of the five founders, in adding that the only financial expense would be the 0.79€ per day contributing to the functioning of the site. He assured also the legality of the project, “the site is completely legal, since it is a mutual exchange and that the accommodation is free. We take care of verifying the supporting documents and the information of everyone before publishing the propositions online. We are establishing a relation of confidence with our users.”
“A little family style company” quickly on the increase
The idea is originally from Jean Tudor, an 18 year-old boy who has finished his high school. Frédéric Gibert recalled: “Jean being a student, he noticed this common difficulty with his surroundings. He then shared the idea with us and we all approved it immediately!” The team is also composed of Magalie Chabert, graduate being in charge of the communication, together with Costi Teleman and Stephane Chirilla, the 2 developers of the site. “We all know each other very well. At the end, we are like a family style company,” added Frédéric Gibert.
This start-up was created in June 2014 and has been evolving quickly. “We are having an augmentation of 5 to 10% per week, which is a very rapid evolution. Today, we have 506 members, approximately 300 to 600 visitors per day, and 91 ad in more than 20 countries!” said Frédéric Gibert with enthusiasm. “40% of our ads are from overseas: Germany, the US, Mexico, Australia and very soon Korea!” Beyond the frontiers, the idea of these 5 students from Nantes is more profound. “Our motivation comes especially from the desire of breaking the frontiers. By proposing accommodations around the world, we are facilitating the visa procedures for the foreigners. Visas are often difficult without pied-à-terre in your destination. Our objective is to make different culture more accessible by the means of our accommodations.”
originally published by Cholé Joudrier, on 10 June 2015 on Le Figaro.fr