Socially Conscious Hotel Booking Platform Launches 2.0 Model

Giving back for conscious travelers just got easier. Today Kind Traveler, the world’s first socially conscious Give + Get hotel booking platform that empowers travelers to positively impact the communities they visit, launches a 2.0 model. The new platform is optimized to make giving back easier than ever with a custom API and booking engine, new features, 45 new hotel choices, 20 new charities for local positive impact, multiple room categories to book, special perks, tree planting options at the time of booking, voluntourism opportunities and a tangible positive impact report with every booking. 

After the disastrous economic effects of Covid-19, and the launch of the tourism industry's Glasgow Declaration at COP26 declaring the need for urgent climate action, Kind Traveler, alongside charities and hotels (from Six Senses, Kimpton, Virgin Hotels and more), partner to make it even easier for travelers to become advocates for:

• Healthy Communities (addressing poverty, education, healthcare + more)

• Wildlife & Ocean Conservation 

• Climate Action 

Kind Traveler ensures that travelers can easily adapt their buying behavior to reflect responsible and sustainable choices, while also distilling complicated climate jargon and providing actionable opportunities for change.

Choose a hotel. Give + Get. That’s it. 

The technology upgrades create a smooth pathway to charitable giving and better rewards. Travelers now have more hotels to choose from in 22 countries and an optimized route to make a meaningful positive impact in the communities they visit. 

• Kind Traveler Perks Reward Kindness: exclusive hotel rates and perks are offered with a minimum of a $10 donation to a vetted local charity, or a charity of choice. Perks vary from waived resort fees, complimentary breakfast, spa discounts, bespoke experiences, resort credit, and more. 

• Local Positive Impact Opportunities That Educate: learn why vetted local charities are pivotal to the wellbeing of destinations.

• Measurable Impact Metrics: receive a positive impact report with every booking.

• Transparency: learn about the sustainability, community impact, and wellness initiatives of every Kind Hotel.

• Kind Neighborhood Guides: responsible travel tips & local guides inform conscious travel itineraries. 

• 100 Percent of donations raised are given to charity.

• Give Back Beyond Your Donation: with every local charity, learn about activities and voluntourism opportunities. 

What’s a Kind Traveler? We’ll show you in 20 seconds (YouTube video).

What kind of positive impact can you make? Examples of positive local impact you can make on the Kind Traveler platform through donations include: 

• Plant 10 trees with One Tree Planted, helping to restore forests and create habitat for biodiversity

• Provide a clean water filter that serves up to 2,500 per day with Imagine Thailand Foundation 

• Provide three weeks of food to three rescued wildlife patients with the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW Clinic) 

Why should you care? Why now?  

Covid-19 decimated non-profit organizations that relied on charitable donations as people had to brace for the unknown. Kind Traveler 2.0 is well positioned to accelerate recovery and mobilize climate action for the 1.4B travelers who took trips pre-Covid-19. 

• Covid-19 impact: 97% of charities that depend on foot traffic, events, and other fundraising lost critical funding due to Covid-19 (Source: CAF America)

• 60 million individuals face extreme poverty because of Covid-19, erasing all progress made in poverty alleviation efforts over the last three years (Source: World Bank) 

• Climate crisis declared at COP26 shows the earth is in peril unless we take action now 

• 1 million plant & animal species at risk of extinction (Source: UN) 

“The world is at a critical juncture that needs all-hands-on-deck and continual fuel of inspiration to get involved. As our platform grows, we aim to continue powering positive change and scaling kindness. The love of travel cannot be separated from the state of the world,” said Jessica Blotter, CEO & Co-Founder of Kind Traveler. 

"Impact Tourism (or traveler’s philanthropy) plays a pivotal role for the future of sustainable tourism in advancing climate action and making a positive impact in communities. We are faced with a serious and urgent climate crisis that demands easier points of entry for the larger community to get involved. Kind Traveler is making it easier than ever for travelers to give back to meaningful nonprofits, directly connected to the health and wellbeing of destinations,” said Dr. Gregory Miller, Executive Director of the Center for Responsible Travel. 

New Kind Hotels: 

International: Six Senses Zighy Bay (Oman), Six Senses Ninh Van Bay (Vietnam), Six Senses Laamu (Maldives), Six Senses Samui (Thailand), Six Senses Yao Noi (Thailand), Six Senses Kocatas Mansions (Turkey), Six Senses Zil Pasyon (Seychelles), Six Senses Bhutan, Six Senses Douro Valley (Portugal), Hotel Villa Lapas (Costa Rica), El Mangroove - Autograph Collection (Costa Rica), Hotel Punta Islita - Autograph Collection (Costa Rica), Fushifaru Maldives, Cervo Mountain Resort (Switzerland), Grand Hotel Zermatterhof (Switzerland), Arosa Kulm & Alpine Spa (Switzerland) and Nira Alpina (Switzerland).

United States: Brannan Cottage Inn (CA), Carneros Resort and Spa (CA), Holbrooke Hotel (CA), Hotel San Luis Obispo (CA), National Exchange Hotel (CA), North Block Hotel (CA),

PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn (CA), Silverado Resort and Spa (CA), Sunnyside Lodge (CA), Hotel Zero Degrees (CT), The Ven Embassy Row – a Tribute Portfolio Hotel (DC), DiamondHead Beach Resort (FL), Equus Hotel (HI), The Cliffs at Princeville (HI), SCP (Soul Community Planet) Hilo Hotel (HI), Virgin Hotels New Orleans (LA), Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina (FL), The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village (FL), Kimpton Armory Hotel Bozeman (MT), Encore at Wynn Las Vegas (NV), Wynn Las Vegas (NV), Bowline Hotel (OR), Virgin Hotels Dallas (TX), Virgin Hotels Nashville (TX), Yonder Escalante (UT), The Tides Inn (VA), and Willows Lodge (WA).

New Kind Destination Partners:

Visit California (CA), North Lake Tahoe (CA), Sonoma County Tourism (CA), FORT MYERS: Islands, Beaches & Neighborhoods (FL), and Arosa Tourism (Switzerland)

New Kind Charities:

Healthy Communities: Imagine Thailand Foundation, Soi Dog Foundation (Thailand), Bhutan Foundation, Bagos d'Ouro Association (Portugal), Atelier Manus (Switzerland), Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawaii (HI), Eagle Mount Bozeman (MT), Three Square Food Bank (NV), Woodinville Storehouse Food Bank (WA)

Ocean & Wildlife Conservation: Olive Ridley Project (Oman), Turkish Marine Research Foundation (Turkey), Surfrider Foundation San Luis Obispo (CA), Surfrider Foundation Kaua’i Chapter (HI), Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW Clinic) (FL)

Climate Action/Environment: Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) (International), GreenViet (Vietnam), Bear Yuba Land Trust (CA), UC Davis Environmental Research Center (CA), Grand Staircase Escalante Partners (UT), Friends of the Rappahannock (VA)

Since the site was founded in 2016, Kind Traveler has achieved major milestones and industry awards, moving its mission forward. 

• Newsweek Future of Travel Award 2021 Winner

• Fast Company World Changing Ideas Award 2021 Winner

• World Tourism Forum Lucerne (Switzerland) Innovation Camp 2021 Finalist

• Travel + Leisure Global Vision Award 2020 Winner

• Lufthansa Innovation Hub Changemaker Challenge 2019 Winner

• UNWTO Tourism Tech Adventures 2019 Finalist