Holidays 2024: what is the Grenoble start-up that dreams of becoming a “leisure Airbnb”?

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Paragliding jump, kayak descent… There is no shortage of sports activities on holiday in France and you love them very much. As long as your wallet allows it… Three quarters of French people surveyed by the young company Lokki consider renting sports equipment while on holiday too expensive.

The days are milder, the air is getting warmer. All indicators are green for hiking, biking, kayaking or paddleboarding. Especially since the French are very fond of outdoor sports activities during their holidays. According to an OpinionWay study conducted for the outdoor equipment rental startup Lokki in Grenoble, 69% of respondents systematically integrate outdoor activities into their their vacation plans.

The three most frequently practiced activities include hiking (53%), cycling (37%) and running (17%). Whether with the family, alone or as a couple, these activities require little equipment and are therefore very popular. However, the study notes a strong tendency to discover new sports. “Almost two in five French people want to try water sports such as kayaking or paddleboarding, with 15% expressing an interest in paragliding.»

Three quarters of the French consider outdoor activities too expensive

Among women, more than among men, there is a widespread curiosity about certain sports, such as yoga and pilates, which are of interest to 19% of women and only 8% of men, or hiking (25% of interested women compared to 20% of men). Unfortunately, enthusiasm and desire are not always enough. The costs of activities and related logistics remain an obstacle to their practice.

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Three-quarters of those surveyed believe that renting sports equipment while on vacation has become too expensive, especially for kayaking, cycling or boating. In fact, 65% of those surveyed find the cost of renting to be prohibitive, while 55% find the logistics too complicated. These concerns are particularly pronounced among young people under 35 (73%) and less affluent socio-economic categories (72%), highlighting differences in access to outdoor activities. “There is an urgent need to make vacation rentals available to everyone. Nature and adventure must be within everyone’s reach, regardless of the level of sport, social background, or budget», declares Benoît Prigent, CEO and co-founder of Lokki.

The company, which lists 3,400 places to rent, is both a management platform dedicated to outdoor sports equipment rental professionals and a website where vacationers will be able to find their vacation spot and rent the equipment of their choice. Lokki also gives them practical advice for travel more sustainably.

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“Our ambition goes beyond the commercial consideration of materials, explains Frédérique Josse, content manager at Lokki. It’s about wanting the French to reconnect with nature through sport, but also about giving them advice on how to leave in a more sustainable way and showing them that it doesn’t necessarily have to be more expensive.” A very young company, born in 2019 and driven emerging from Covid the urgent need of the French to travel and above all being outdoors, it has recorded 300,000 bookings in 2023 and hopes to reach 500,000 this year.”Ultimately, we would like to be a kind of Airbnb for leisure, listing numerous activities throughout France and why not abroad.”