About | Every Stay Gives Back

About Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back community impact program 

Launched in September 2023, Kind Traveler's Every Stay Gives Back (ESGB) community impact program features a collection of exceptional destinations, boutique gems, glamping experiences, and luxury resorts from around the world, where every guest stay with participating lodging and destination partners funds local charities that are important to the local community - regardless of where you book. 

See the ESGB launch announcement and press release, here. 

How did Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back community impact program start? 

Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back community impact program began with a six-month global pilot in 2023 with 15 boutique hotels and seven local charities in 8 destinations. The pilot was born out of a desire to expand upon our mission and create an opportunity for every guest stay to be an opportunity for travelers to positively impact the communities they visit – regardless of where you book. 

Shortly after the pilot ended, we doubled our partner participation and launched the program to the public (September 12, 2023) with 32 lodging partners and 17 charity partners in 19 global destinations. 

What were the results of the pilot? 

The pilot raised over $73,000 in donations for seven local charities, marking a significant leap forward for responsible tourism innovation. Advancing responsible tourism principles, 100 percent of the funds raised are donated to the participating charities advancing the U.N. Global Goals for Sustainable Development. 

What did the funds do, and how did they advance responsible tourism efforts? 

3940

carbon-sequestering breadfruit trees were planted with Hawaii Farm Trails in the Hawaiian Islands

77000 +

servings of Sonoma County-grown fruits and vegetables were provided to families facing food injustice while solving food waste with Farm to Pantry in Sonoma County, California

35000 +

meals were provided to individuals facing food insecurity with The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert in Greater Palm Springs

22113

hours of enrichment programs were provided to students in an after-school program with Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center in Coastal Oregon & Washington

10132 +

square feet of wetlands were created by Blue River Watershed Group, providing habitats for wildlife and wildfire protection in Silverthorne, Colorado

289

families received food for three days with Their Future Today working in Sri Lanka

1336

students received school supplies for an after-school program with Abriendo Mentes in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica

Learn more about the positive impact you can make with our Every Stay Gives Back collection here. 

Why is it important for travel dollars to support local communities? 

Travel and tourism, a $10T GDP industry, employing 1 out of every 10 people worldwide, has enormous economic potential to drive positive community and environmental impact when managed sustainably and responsibly. 

Record-breaking heat across large parts of the globe, devasting wildfires destroying communities and habitats, and ongoing social justice movements have made travelers more aware of the need for travel that goes beyond doing no harm and gives back to local communities and the environment. 

Facts fueling the need for responsible tourism: 

Hawai'i Farm Trails

What percentage of travelers want their travel dollars to positively impact the communities they visit? 

According to Kind Traveler’s 2022 Impact Tourism Report, 97 percent of travelers want their travel dollars to positively impact the communities they visit and 75 percent agree traveling sustainably enhances their vacation experience. Despite this, half of travelers say they don’t know how to start. 

How do hotels and destinations benefit from being involved in Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back program? 

ESGB represents a formalized, third-party validated giving program for destinations and hotels where a portion of every guest stay is donated to a local charity the hotel designates, regardless if the booking is directly with the hotel or originates on a third-party booking platform. What sets Every Stay Gives Back apart is its dedication to transparency and accountability. As third-party validation, Kind Traveler verifies and tracks monthly donations to local charities, where a digital ESGB dashboard makes it easy for lodging and destination partners to communicate their initiatives to guests and stakeholders effectively. 

Wood plaques representing the ESGB membership seal and QR codes are provided to lodging partners to communicate the positive impact metrics garnered easily and ways to encourage guests to get further involved with community impact efforts with every guest stay. A ‘How to Travel Kindly’ section shares additional opportunities for travelers to get involved with volunteering and stewardship activities with charity beneficiaries. 

For inspiration, visit our Every Stay Gives Back collection and learn about the positive impact we’ve created so far. 

With Every Stay Gives Back, what portion of every guest stay funds local charities in the community? 

Lodging partners agree to give a portion of every guest stay to a designated local charity, ranging from $1 per night to $50 per stay. Many variables come into play, such as room count, average nightly rate, average length of stay, and more. Each hotel's ESGB program is set when launching the program. To make communication of the program easy, guests are invited to learn about the details of the funds donated, positive impact metrics, and additional ways to get involved by exploring the live ESGB community impact reports created for each ESGB hotel partner. For example, please see Adrift Hospitality's ESGB community impact report. 

Kind Traveler’s goal is to ensure a sustainable giving program for each partner, with 100% of the funds raised going directly to the designated charity. We maintain transparency and accountability by requiring hotels to submit a monthly donation receipt for third-party validation, building trust and confidence in the program. 

 

How can lodging and destination partners get involved with Every Stay Gives Back? 

For partnership opportunities, please send an email to [email protected]

Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center

“The travel industry has a unique opportunity to mobilize travel dollars in a way that fights the climate crisis, reduces economic inequality, strengthens community leadership, conserves the environment, and preserves the heritage of destinations. Kind Traveler’s new Every Stay Gives Back community impact program provides a valuable pathway for destinations and lodging partners to fund local charities, measure and report positive impact metrics, and promote the adoption of more responsible travel practices."

- Wesley Espinosa, Interim Executive Director of Center for Responsible Travel (CREST).

Every Stay Gives Back Collection

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