About a year ago we covered Plus 3 Network, the service that tracks consumers' workout miles and then converts them into charitable donations. Danish Endomondo offers similar workout-tracking capabilities but with a focus on personal and competitive motivations instead.

Now in beta, Endomondo is designed to help users keep track of their sports activities, challenge their friends and then follow them live while they are working out. With a focus on distance sports—including running, biking, hiking and kayaking, for example—the site supports most GPS mobile phones and Garmin devices. Users begin by downloading Endomondo's free software onto their device. They then bring the device whenever they run, walk, bike or participate in any other distance sport. The technology automatically tracks their course along with their distance covered, end time, average speed, split time, calories burned, and more. Users can also choose to enter their workouts manually. Either way, they can then view their complete training log, challenge their friends and follow their progress, create teams, find buddies and follow their activities. They can also find new routes, draw new ones and share their favorite ones with others.

Launched about a year ago, Endomondo also offers corporate versions of its technology including company challenges, weekly status reports and superior technical support. Those in health and fitness: how about offering a like-minded service to your own paying members, possibly as a free perk...? (Related: Site matches motivation 'buddies' with shared goals.)

Website: www.endomondo.com
Contact: feedback@endomondo.com

Spotted by: Jesper Lundgren

Prompted by a satisfied customer who claimed he'd be even happier if he didn't have to hold on to a piece of paper for five years to retain the warranty on his new espresso machine, Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen saw a gap in the market: digital storage for all of the guarantees and warranties that consumers accumulate alongside their purchases.

Reisby Nielsen, a fourth-generation Danish retailer of cookware and home furnishings, launched the Garanti Hotel to help solve the common annoyance of product paperwork that piles up but can't be found when it's actually needed. Consumers who sign up with Garanti Hotel can upload their warranties and access them online whenever and wherever they're needed—at home or when bringing in a product for repair. While retailers don't have to participate in the scheme for consumers to save documents, Garanti Hotel is encouraging them to sign up in order to streamline the endeavour, ideally enabling stores to send documents straight to a consumer's Garanti Hotel account. The company doesn't sell warranties or get involved with the fine print; its sole purpose is to provide a consolidated storage space for buyer protection documents.

The firm's ultimate goal is to have a wide range of retailers offer Garanti Hotel as a valuable service to their customers, both in Denmark and internationally. Considering most stores have their own priorities when it comes to providing guarantees, it won't be easy to persuade them to add another step to their sales process. However, considering the potential gains for consumers, this notion is one to look into if you're in retail.

Website: www.garantihotel.com
Contact: info@garantihotel.com

Spotted by: Claus Schioldann von Eyben

Convincing employees to contribute feedback and to genuinely consider other people's ideas can be a hard-won task for employers. Attempting to turn that challenge into a manageable asset, Idea Exchange is an online tool created to help companies make the most of their employees' collective wisdom.

It's basically a virtual suggestion box where users can publish their own suggestions, large or small, and browse ideas submitted by their colleagues. Besides better sharing, there's another big difference between Idea Exchange and a shoebox with a hole in the top—the software lets users support other's ideas by purchasing shares in them. With the incentive of earning 'money', the idea is that employees will more carefully and thoughtfully offer their contributions. Employers can quickly identify favoured ideas by seeing which are being traded and which have the highest stock value. Besides ad hoc submissions to an 'idea bank', Idea Exchange also makes it easy for companies to run competitions to motivate people, and to focus their participation on specific topics or goals.

Provided as hosted software, Idea Exchange was developed by Nosco, a young Danish company. One to try out in your own company?

Website: www.nosco.dk
Contact: cometoknow@nosco.dk

Spotted by: John Greene

Much the way Magnify helps web publishers create niche video channels, Danish Nonoba enables anyone to create a branded gaming site that's customisable with more than 4,000 games and can be translated into 26 different languages.

Nonoba's first offering was an independent site where gamers can play both single- and multiplayer games for free. Nonoba Gamerise, however, is a fully functional, white-label content management system that lets anyone create a Flash gaming site of their own complete with all of Nonoba's community features but entirely customisable in look, feel and targeting. Sites built using Gamerise can be run on any domain; hosting and operations are managed by Nonoba, leaving the partner free to focus on content and monetization. Available features include a catalogue of more than 4,000 games; messaging, forums, chat and friend lists; and news feeds based on friend activity. Visual design and branding can be modified for both the site and any emails sent from it, while all phrases and texts presented to the user can be rewritten or translated into up to 26 different languages, including Chinese, Hebrew and Indonesian. Features are also available to enable site owners to control advertising.

More than 100 partners have signed up since the launch of Gamerise in March, including game portals in the Netherlands, China, Belgium, Portugal and Slovenia. By providing an easy-to-use platform for such developers, Gamerise is much like "Ning for gaming sites," as Nonoba cofounder Oliver Pedersen explains. One to try out, partner with, or otherwise get involved in...? (Related: Launch your own mobile network.)

Website: www.nonoba.com/developers
Contact: info@nonoba.com

Spotted by: Bryce Hufnal

Hard on the heels of the other two contests we recently wrote about—one to spotlight the Great Barrier Reef Islands and one to recruit pilots for AirAsia—we recently learned of yet another contest being used for more than just promotional purposes. This time, the contest's stated purpose is to study how tourists use digital media. The prize? An all-expenses-paid weekend in Denmark.

Created by Danish consultancy Seismonaut on behalf of Midtjysk Turisme, the 48 Hours in Denmark contest invites digital natives to submit a YouTube video explaining why they are the best candidate to go. The winner will receive a free trip for two to Aarhus, Denmark, with travel, hotel stay, food and entertainment expenses paid. In exchange, they'll be expected to blog, Twitter, lifestream, use Flickr and generally put to work whatever technologies they choose to document their travels. More specifically, they'll be required to take pictures and video clips as well as download Google Toolbar to document how they research the trip ahead of time; then, to blog, Twitter and otherwise document the details of the trip once they're there. Afterwards, they'll be asked to blog and review the trip for a little bit longer once they're home. The site explains: "We want you to tell us how you feel about it all… Do you miss wifi access at an attraction? Need more Google Maps info on a destination? Have a brilliant idea to how an attraction could enhance the experience through digital media? Let us know!" Contestants must be 18 years of age, and the deadline for application is April 20. The winner will be announced April 29.

Of course, in addition to providing the region with insight into the habits and expectations of digitally proficient tourists, the 48 Hours in Denmark contest also aims to put an international spotlight on the region in a way that traditional ads can't. In that way, it's highly reminiscent of the Great Barrier Reef Islands contest; together, they suggest an emerging new way to promote tourism. Other destinations around the world: How about you? (Related: YouTube contest for eco-minded kids.)

Website: www.48hoursindenmark.com
Contact: info@48hoursindenmark.com

Catering to design-conscious urban cyclists who'd rather not sacrifice style for safety, a group of Danish designers has created a bicycle helmet with interchangeable covers.

Copenhagen-based Yakkay sells a simple shell helmet (dubbed "Smart One") that's tucked away under one of ten different covers. The helmet retails at DKK 599 (EUR 80 / USD 120), and the covers are sold for DKK 299 (EUR 40 / USD 60). While chin straps betray their true nature, the helmets otherwise resemble hats and caps worn for fashion, not protection.

Yakkay states that the number of seriously injured cyclists with head injuries is around 2,500 per year in Denmark (on a total population of under 5.5 million). And that's in a country where motorists are accustomed to cyclists, and where most roads have separate bicycle lanes. As more consumers across the world hop on their bikes to reduce their gas bills, carbon footprints and waistlines, the market for innovative cycling products and services should grow at a healthy pace. One to tap into! Easy way to get started? Ask Yakkay about regional distribution opportunities. (Related: Stylish fire protection kits.)

Update: please don't email Yakkay about international distribution. They wrote to tell us that they have a plan in place for their international launch and are currently receiving too many distributor requests.

Website: www.yakkay.com
Contact: info@yakkay.com

Spotted by: Lori Webb

Trash is always a problem at summer music festivals, and Denmark's Roskilde Festival has typically been no exception. After the 2007 festival, it took more than 500 people several weeks to clean up the heaps of garbage left behind—at a cost of more than one million euros, the festival's organizers say. That's why this year's festival, which took place earlier this month, promoted the slogan "Less Trash—More Music" in its effort to control the leftover garbage.

Special red garbage bags were handed out to festival-goers throughout the course of the four-day event, with rewards in the form of free beer or chocolate milk for each bag collected, along with a chance to win more beer, festival kits, tents or tickets to next year's event. Through a competition sponsored by Tuborg, collectors of the most garbage (1,048 bags!) also won backstage passes to Neil Young's performance. For recyclables, meanwhile, Roskilde provided stands to collect cans, cardboard, drink containers and more. In exchange, participants were reportedly rewarded with cash refunds of roughly EUR 0.10 per bottle, allowing the most zealous of the festival's 67,000 paying attendees to come close to recouping the cost of their tickets. About 97 percent of the cups used at Roskilde's concession stands were brought back for recycling as a result, according to PSFK. Meanwhile, more than 1,600 sleeping bags left behind were donated to the homeless.

As if the music, the sustainability and the rewards for being clean weren't enough, attendees at this year's Roskilde got a little extra free love, too. In addition to the usual wrist band, festival-goers were given a condom (donated by Hanky Panky) and a set of earplugs (sponsored by TrygFonden), too. In Roskilde’s words: “Say goodbye to herpes and tinnitus.” In our words: Follow examples like that, and say hello to a new generation of loyal customers!

Website: www.roskilde-festival.dk
Contact: info@roskilde-festival.dk

Spotted by: PSFK via Matthew Cua

Shoppers at IKEA furniture stores in Denmark now have a new option for bringing their large, bulky purchases home: a fleet of Velorbis bikes with trailers that are available for loan at (virtually) no charge.

IKEA launched the program last month after market research found that 20 percent of its Danish customers ride their bikes to the store. It then partnered with Danish Freetrailer, an organization that loans out free trailers for both bikes and cars, to establish the service, which has already begun at IKEA's Gentofte store. To borrow a bike and trailer, customers must put down a deposit of about USD 100 and then either pay USD 7 for insurance or be liable in case the bike is damaged or stolen, according to a report in Treehugger. The trailers may be kept overnight and returned the next day. Since the program's launch at the Gentofte store, IKEA representatives from Sweden, Germany and China have flown in to see it in action, according to Copenhagenize.

Recognizing—and celebrating—the preferences of eco-minded consumers makes good sense for IKEA, which is bound to share in the eco-iconic glory. Next, it needs to start selling those bikes and trailers! One to emulate in bicycle-friendly cities around the world. (Related: Cargo bikes for greener business deliveries.)

Website: www.freetrailer.dk
Contact: info@freetrailer.dk

Spotted by: Copenhagenize via RK

Thousands of bicycles are scrapped each year in Denmark because their owners can't be bothered to have them fixed, or would rather buy a new bike instead. A new initiative from Copenhagen-based Baisikeli aims to reclaim those discarded bikes to help the disadvantaged both in Africa and at home.

Similar to Bikes for Africa, which we wrote about several years ago, Baisikeli (named for the Swahili word for "bicycle") collects second-hand bikes from all around Denmark and sends them to Africa, where they create work, education and transportation. The group has set up projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Tanzania, and it ships bicycles to workshops it has established there to train local people in bicycle repair. Financing for the project comes from bike rentals back in Copenhagen, and unemployed people who have been out of a job for three years or more do the handling of the bikes on the Danish end.

In Africa, local mechanics then work with apprentices to repair the bicycles and sell them to local distributors. Many are sold to the local population—offering a better-quality yet lower-priced alternative to the bicycles commonly available there—while others are converted into specially adapted bicycles that can serve as local ambulances and cargo bikes. Baisikeli also donates some bikes to rural Ghanaian children who depend on them to get to school. Profits from the fixed-up bikes that get sold are invested in local projects, while a portion is put back into developing the workshops. Ultimately, the group hopes to offer local mechanics micro-loans so they can start their own businesses, as well as to develop a Fair Trade Baisikeli bike that will be built in Africa and returned to Denmark for rental to tourists there starting next year, according to Copenhagenize. A video on YouTube illustrates the project's goals.

So many projects intended to help Africa's poor are essentially just donations and produce only short-term effects. By developing a sustainable bicycle industry there, however, Baisikeli hopes to give Africans a better future. One to sponsor or partner with! (Related: Microfinance meets mentoring.)

Website: www.cph-bike-rental.dk — www.baisikeli.dk
Contact: niels@baisikeli.dk

Spotted by: Copenhagenize via RK

A few weeks ago we wrote about Bikecaffe's coffee tricycles in the UK, and now another pedal-powered purveyor has been spotted on the streets of Copenhagen.

Ole Skram has begun tempting the pedestrians and cyclists of Denmark's capital city in recent weeks with the smell of freshly brewed coffee from his coffee "chariot"—an espresso machine mounted onto a three-wheeled carrier cycle with a specially designed frame. The machine can brew coffee for several hundred people, but Skram is keeping the details of its inner workings to himself. The "coffee-man," as he's become known, says the idea came to him as he was sipping coffee at his local café; soon thereafter he found a blacksmith who could construct a contraption for mounting the coffee maker onto his bike. "I think it has turned out very well," he says. "It has spirit, flowers and charm, just the way I wanted it." Skram and his chariot can be found around central Copenhagen as well as at Østerport station and planned events.

We've seen Coffee 2.0's ascension into Starbuckian ubiquity; relocalization through homegrown and fair trade retailers; mobilization through motorized coffee carts and now—the eco version—pedal-powered vendors in Denmark and the UK. Where will the next coffee chariot appear? You decide! ;-)

Website: n/a
Contact: +45 60 65 16 01

Spotted by: Lars Hedegaard Pedersen

Denmark's summer Roskilde Festival is one of the largest annual music festivals in Europe, with some 75,000 attending each year. In honour of this year's event—which officially kicks off July 3—jeans company Diesel has created a limited-edition line of jeans specially designed to withstand the rigours of summer festival fun.

Priced at EUR 161, the dark-blue Roskilde Festival Jeans are available for both men and women, and feature the Roskilde logo emblazoned on the hip. A specially treated commercial denim base, meanwhile, is designed to stand up to rain and mud, which were present in copious amounts at the festival last year. The jeans are available only from the official Roskilde shop—alongside jackets, caps and other promotional items the festival sells itself—or in select Diesel concept stores. Reportedly, only 1,000 pairs are up for sale, making planned scarcity part of the appeal.

Summer music festivals are an ideal place for companies to get closer to their customers, who naturally tend to be relaxed and happy at such events. By creating its own, unique festival product, though, Diesel forges a tangible connection that goes far beyond anything advertising or sponsorship could likely achieve. One to emulate!

Website: www.roskilde-festival.dk/2008/forside/shop/
Contact: info@rfshop.dk

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen

In Denmark, as in many other countries, consumers pay a refundable deposit on bottles. When they return them through a retailer's collection machine, it prints out a slip of paper that states how much they'll receive at the cash register. Generally, these aren't large amounts, but they're enough to get people to return their containers.

One of Denmark 's largest consumer goods retailers has now added a charitable twist to the process, adding a button that lets customers instantly donate their bottle money to charity instead of collecting it for themselves. A partnership between Coop Denmark, UNICEF Denmark and DanChurchAid, the 'push to donate' system was launched in September 2007 in 14 of Coop's Kvickly xtra stores. In the first three months, customers donated over DKK 120,000 (USD 25,750), proving that tiny donations add up to significant amounts. This year, Coop will be adding the option to 1,200 bottle collection machines in its other supermarket chains.

If you want to entice consumers to be charitable, make it easy for them. One for other retailers to be inspired by? (Related: Reverse vending.)

Website: www.coop.dk

Spotted by: Frida Berglund

Products that carry a sense of place or provenance are coveted by consumers for a variety of reasons, from environmental concerns to shifting perceptions about what constitutes value. As people move away from mass consumption to unique products and memorable experiences, the importance of storytelling deepens. Which is a boon for smaller companies, who are often more closely in touch with their product and history. We recently spotted a great example in Copenhagen.

Gerbola Vin was founded by two brothers, Emil and Magnus Gerbola. Their grandfather came to Denmark from Italy while touring Europe as a circus clown. Going back to their roots, Emil and Magnus have started importing wine from Northern Italy, selling to wine bars, restaurants and corporate clients. And directly to consumers, which is where it gets interesting. Instead of setting up shop in one of Copenhagen’s famed shopping streets, the brothers found a location that has the ideal temperature and humidity for storing wine: an underground air-raid shelter. Built in 1942 and located in a small park, the shelter has no electricity or other modern comforts, which suits the wine perfectly. It also makes for an interesting experience—customers don’t just buy a carefully chosen bottle of Italian wine, they also acquire the experience of descending into a candle-lit bunker, and the opportunity to share those details with their friends.

Gerbola Vin is currently open on Fridays only, and by appointment. However, as can be expected with a good story, word is getting out and the Gerbola brothers are considering expanding their retail operations.

Website: www.gerbolavin.dk
Contact: info@gerbolavin.dk

Spotted by: Trine Plambech

Appealing to a 'not leaving the beach yet' kind of spontaneity, Danish Sommergrill offers seaside barbecue on speed dial. Consumers can call or SMS Sommergrill from the beach, and the service will deliver a ready-to-go bbq set: marinated meat, salad, bread and dessert, plus a disposable barbeque, plates, napkins, etc. A set for two is priced at DKK 180 (USD 33 / EUR 24 / GBP 16).

Instead of waiting in line for mediocre beach-side (fast) food, Sommergrill's customers have access to gourmet grub, with the convenience of having everything delivered, and the pleasure of grilling it themselves. Sommergrill is a seasonal offering by local restaurant Ricky's Køkken. Vans deliver to two urban beaches near Copenhagen, Amager Strandpark and Islands Brygge, and payment is in cash or by debit/credit card. With summer sadly drawing to an end in the northern hemisphere, this is one to start planning for summer 2008, if you’re in the food and beverage business. Or to quickly set up now if you're based south of the equator.

Website: www.sommergrill.dk
Contact: rickyskoekken@mail.dk

Spotted by: Morten Stig Nielsen

In one of the more original interpretations of the brand spaces trend, Denmark's Smukkeste Festival launched a novel concept for sleeping accommodations—oversized beer cans!

The Can Sleep is a joint venture between the festival organizers and Royal Unibrew, Denmark's second largest brewery. Standing at 11.5 ft (3.75) with a diameter of 7.2 ft (2.20 m), each unit is fully furnished with a table, chairs, shelves, pegs and a mirror, all by IKEA. A ladder leads to a loft-bed that comfortably sleeps two adults and offers a skylight view. In case that's not enough for one's stargazing desires, half the roof opens right up. Each Can Sleep also features a lockable door, electric light and a can-shaped refrigerator.

Reservations for the 121 Can Sleeps produced for the 2005 festival sold out in just 40 seconds over the internet. While Royal Unibrew has exclusive rights within Denmark, Can Sleep is available to other sponsors outside of the country. Each is priced at about USD 4,000 each (not including delivery charges), with a minimum order of 54 cans (9 six packs). A fresh and fun way to advertise, Can Sleep is a great example of how meeting just the right customer need with a little creativity can pay big dividends in brand recognition. We could definitely see this one popping up at big events around the world. For more examples of innovative brand spaces, ranging from Nokia's Silence Booths at music festivals to LG's wash bar in Paris, check out trendwatching.com's free briefing.

Website: www.smukfest.dk/page.asp?id1=225&id2=252&id3=265&id4=0 (or tinyurl.com/22upwh)
Contact: pindhund@smukfest.dk

Spotted by: Jonas Hjorth

With the aim of eradicating poverty through business, C4-World is setting up a global investment platform that allows individuals to invest directly in African businesses. Last year, we featured something similar: Kiva, a peer-to-peer microlending organisation that connects private lenders to entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Unlike Kiva, C4-World's 'MyC4' investors can expect to receive a return on their investment. The premise is to treat entrepreneurs in Africa as business partners, with return on investment being the most solid foundation for keeping the model moving forward. Another important difference is that MyC4 is focusing on knowledge as well as capital. The Danish start-up is building an online community to share knowledge and best practices from the global community to serve businesses in emerging markets, starting with the African continent.

A closed beta is kicking off in May 2007. Interested investors can currently sign up as MyC4-builders to test the platform and create an active community that's up and running before MyC4 opens to the general public in Q4 of this year. 2,015 builders are expected to invest at least USD 200, with a payback period of 6-12 months for the first projects.

We like the idea of using an online community to create a platform for virtual entrepreneurship, to transfer not just funds, but energy and knowledge, too. Harnessing the wisdom of the crowds and letting them put their money where their mouths are. Worth looking into or partnering with!

Website: www.c4-world.com
Contact: info@c4-world.com

We've featured numerous citizen journalist ventures over the past few years (here, here, here and here). A new spotting just came in from Denmark, where free daily newspaper Nyhedsavisen is merging citizen journalism with its traditional counterpart. Bloggers and other citizen journalists have access to Avisen.dk's homepage, where their stories are published alongside articles written by the newspaper's editorial staff. Pros and amateurs compete for top positions in the 'most read' and 'most debated' sections.

To contribute, 'Læserskribenter' (roughly translated as reader-writers) create a profile on Avisen.dk and set up a blog on the website. Whether a user-generated piece makes it to the homepage, is determined by its popularity. Putting pro journalists and citizen journalists on equal footing is an interesting way to bridge the divide between traditional media and user-generated media. The next step, of course, is to financially reward top contributors, which Avisen doesn't seem to be doing. More on that in trendwatching.com's briefing about Generation C(ash), which lists a number of new media companies that are helping users get paid for the content they're creating.

Website: www.avisen.dk
Contact: nyhed@avisen.dk

Aarstiderne delivers boxes of organic vegetables, fruits, meat, fish and bread directly to the doorstep of customers every week or fortnight. Thirty thousand Danish households subscribe to the system of receiving a mystery box of organic food products on a regular basis. Customers pick a type and size of box, prepay one month in advance, and the content of the box is composed by Aarstiderne based on what's in season.

Farmer Thomas Harttung, and local chef Soren Ejlersen, started Aarstiderne with the idea of partnering with local households to change the general perception on farming, food and sustainability. By sourcing organic products from local farmers and growers, Aarstiderne aims to raise awareness for sustainability and food quality.

The boxes come with recipes and stories about growers, farms, the company, the food products and quality. The communication is honest and transparent – Aarstiderne lets the customers know how the farmers and Aarstiderne are doing whether the news is good or bad.

Combining high quality organic produce with the sense of surprise that accompanies each box, and creating a sense of community by sharing recipes and stories, Aarstiderne has both created a niche and filled an existing need in the organic food market. Similar concepts exist in the US (Door to Door Organics), Sweden (Ekolådan), The Netherlands (Odin), and the UK (Riverford), to name just a few. Not an entirely new idea, but one whose time has come to be widely adopted!

Website: http://www.aarstiderne.com
Contact: info@aarstiderne.com

Cheap, environmentally friendly and good exercise, urban cycling is on the uprise, aided by smart locking and payment technologies that increase rental income and decrease the likelihood of bikes being stolen or abandoned. Since ever-rising fuel costs are making consumers think twice about using their cars, now's the time to launch your own urban bicycle rental service. To get you started, four examples of city bike schemes from around Europe:

Call a Bike (Germany: Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich)

How it works: consumers register with CallBike and look for a bicycle near major crossroads. Each CallBike is secured with an electronic lock: if the lock has a blinking green light, the bike is available. Consumers then call a number displayed on the lock, and enter a code shown on the lock. Within seconds, they receive a numerical code that opens the lock. When done using the bike, the consumer secures it to a fixed object near a main crossing, and gives CallBike a call to inform them that the bike has been returned. Rental fee is pay-as-you-go: EUR 0.07 per minute, but no more than EUR 15.00 per 24 hours, charged to the user's credit or debit card. CallBike is run by Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national rail service, and currently has 4.250 bicycles in circulation.

OYBike (United Kingdom: several London boroughs)

Like its German sibling, OYBike uses electronic locks that work with a phone system. The company's bikes can't be stalled just anywhere, but need to be returned to OYBike rental stations, which are located near tube stations, public buildings, key transport interchanges and car parks. Cost is GBP 0.30 per 15 minutes, and no more than GBP 8 per 24 hours.

City Bikes (Denmark: Copenhagen)

Copenhagen's citybikes are free to use, and less high tech than the examples above. Users find a bike in one of over a 100 bicycle racks found around the city, throw in a DKK 20 coin (USD 3.45 / EUR 2.70) to unlock the bike, which they retrieve when they return the bicycle to a rack. Aided by the fact that Copenhagen is small and flat, the city's free bike system is hugely popular with both tourists and residents. It is funded by government subsidies and corporate sponsors.

Vélo'v (France: Lyon)

In Lyon, easily recognizable Vélo'v bicycles are parked in 150 bike stations across town. To discourage theft, users need to submit their credit card details when registering, and also pay a deposit. Just three months after it got started, the program had signed up 15,000 subscribers, who mainly use the bikes to commute from public transport hubs to work. On average, the city's 2,000 Vélo'v bicycles are 'checked out' 6.5 times a day. A microchip in the bike registers when it's taken from a rack, and when it's returned. Payment isn't the only thing tracked. Every time a bike is parked in a rack, its tire pressure, lights, brakes and gears are tested. Malfunctioning cycles are blocked from being rented. Pricing is approximately EUR 1 per hour, but the first half hour is always free. Since 90% of trips are shorter than 30 minutes, the majority are free.
Vélo'v is funded by JC Decaux, the outdoor advertising company, which is operating the bicycle scheme in return for the right to sell advertising space on Lyon's bus and tram shelters.

Services like Meet The Danes and Like a Local make it easy for travellers to meet locals and to really get to know the place they're visiting.

Offering an alternative to dining in Copenhagen's restaurants, Meet the Danes matches tourists with a local host family for an evening of Danish food. Dine with the Danes makes an effort to pair visitors with hosts of similar ages and interests. An evening in a Danish home can be experienced for about USD 58 / EUR 47 / GBP 32 per person, which includes a two-course dinner with drinks. Some hosts also offer bed & breakfast for an additional fee.

Dutch Like a Local takes bookings for experiences in three categories: Eat, Live, and Go, in The Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. Besides home-cooked meals, the service also offers accommodation in private homes. Last but not least, 'Go' is a selection of activities off the beaten tourist track, organised by locals. Guests can sign up to be taken on a private shopping tour of Barcelona, stopping by undiscovered young designers, or cycling through Amsterdam's rural outskirts before hitting the hottest new clubs. Like a Local was founded by three women who always seemed to find out about a city's secret gems from locals just as they were heading back home.

Appealing to consumers who crave authenticity, these concepts demonstrate that a modest innovation, sparked by an entrepreneur's personal need, can create a whole new experience. And in a sea of sameness, you can never be local enough! (For another small-scale approach to travel, check out: minipreneur travel agents.)