17 OCTOBER 2017 - Amberlair is a boutique hotel brand taking a revolutionary 'reverse' approach to the way properties are built and conceptualized, giving the power back to their future guests, crowdsourcing ideas from them from day one in order to design the best hotel experience imaginable. Now the wider travel community are being invited to participate both creatively and financially, as Amberlair today launches its first reward-based crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo (https://igg.me/at/amberlair), where it is seeking funds to acquire and develop a spectacular estate of farm houses and towers surrounding an historic villa built in 1902 in Puglia, Italy, which will be transformed into a 60-room boutique hotel resort opening in 2020.

Amberlair has spent the last two years developing a vast online global community of avid travellers, future hotel guests and boutique hotel lovers – or #boholovers - through which they have crowd sourced the company name and the location of the first hotel (they chose Italy!). The Amberlair community will continue to have creative input to shape the hotel's eventual design and service amenities, putting the power firmly back in the hands of the hotel guest.

Launching today, backers can support the Amberlair Puglia project for as little as Euro 15 or as much as Euro 4,900 and in return receive discounted stays at the hotel from two- to seven-nights, as well as perks such as having a suite named after them, an invitation to the resort's opening party, and a site visit prior to development accompanied by Amberlair's founders so that backers can to have their say in how the hotel should look.   There is a special Super Early Bird offer for the first 99 backers who invest Euro 290. In return they will become a Hall of Fame member and receive two nights at the completed Amberlair Puglia property, representing a saving of 65%.

Amberlair's founders are Kristin Lindenberg and Marcus Orbé, who have backgrounds in the travel and aviation industry. They came up with the idea for Amberlair after touring the world on a two-year global adventure, visiting over 40 countries on six continents, researching boutique hotels and getting the inside track on what works – and crucially, what doesn't!

Says Kristin, “During our trip, we continually found that we had the most special, unique and memorable experiences when we stayed in smaller, independent hotels. When where to stay during our trip, we always tapped into the knowledge of like-minded travellers who, like us, hated those 'cookie cutter' chain hotels that seem to have popped up all over the world. Therefore when we decided to start up Amberlair, it was a natural first step for us to seek the input of people who love boutique hotels and we have since grown an amazing community who support us creatively and, now hopefully, financially too.“

“Last year, we asked our future guests and #boholovers where the first Amberlair hotel should be and they voted overwhelmingly for Italy,” commented Marcus. “We listened and acted, taking a six-week trip through Italy that lead us to Puglia, where we found the perfect property with the perfect soul. Now comes the fun part - creating the first Amberlair hotel! Our community will have their say, from how the rooms should look, what we should do with the historic bird house in the grounds and what kind of food we should serve.”

Amberlair's first property is in a rural location near Oria, a delightful hill town in Southern Italy rich with history and character. It is set on a spectacular rural estate of farmhouses and buildings surrounding an historic villa that was built as a summer residence by a noble Italian family in 1902. The estate currently comprises a 99-room villa; eight farm houses, a large birdhouse and two water towers, surrounded by a 40-hectare estate with 1,600m sq. of terraces, olive groves and vineyards.

Amberlair will transform the estate into a stylish 60-room boutique hotel resort, with 30 hotel suites in the main villa, as well as further suites in the surrounding farmhouses and towers. There will also be ten cave and spa rooms, a separate spa facility, swimming pools, and ten luxury tents. The hotel will be located between two seas, the Ionian and the Adriatic, yet within easy reach of many beaches and the international airports of Bari and Brindisi. The UNESCO world heritage sites of Trulli of Alberobello, the Baroque city of Lecce, and Castel del Monte, are all nearby, as are the beautiful white washed hilltop towns of Cisternino, Ostuni and Martina Franca. In 2013, Puglia was listed among the top 10 world destinations for wine tourism in Wine Enthusiast's annual ranking.

Marcus explains, “The villa was the summer residence of a noble Italian family in the early 20th century. They had great taste – it's a beautiful and peaceful setting. It has been left abandoned for over 70 years, but still remains unspoilt and in excellent condition. During World War Two, the villa was used by the US military as a place of shelter. They even built their own American Bar, which still exists!”

In addition to seeking to raise a target of Euro 15,000 through the Indiegogo campaign, Amberlair is also running a funding capital campaign from individual investors through two platforms – Fundable and Angel Investment Network – where it is seeking to raise a further Euro 6 million. For an investment as little as Euro 2,500, backers will receive a share of the real estate equity, along with an eventual IRR of between 30-35%.

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Find about more about Amberlair by visiting https://amberlair.com or connecting with us:

Facebook:               @Amberlair            Twitter:                     @Amberlair            Instagram:              @Amberlair

Media requiring more information on Amberlair or images of Amberlair Puglia should contact Vicky Legg at Vicky@thrivecommunications.co.uk or on +44 (0)7702 929795.