Why not give your guests the option of rounding up their purchase to donate to a charity that aligns with your values? Those donations can add up fast. Or simply donate a dollar yourself for every guest stay.
In the restaurant world, you can round up to make donations at places such as McDonald’s and Taco Bell. McDonald’s donations support Ronald McDonald House Charities and at Taco Bell rounded up donations support the Taco Bell Foundation which supports youth education. California Pizza Kitchen has partnered with Round It Up America to allow customers to round up their bills. So too has Yard House.
In the hotel world, I just learned that Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs has joined Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back community impact program, empowering positive impact on local communities with every guest stay.
The 153-room boutique hotel is partnering with Friends of the Desert Mountains, whose mission is to connect people to the Coachella Valley land through conservation, education and research, while also serving as the nonprofit steward of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. Since 1987, the organization has conserved 63,000 acres of desert landscape, built and restored over 310 miles of recreational trails, and protected more than 27 threatened and endangered plant and animal species.
Through the program, Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs now donates $1 for every stay to Friends of the Desert Mountains, with 100 percent of funds going directly to the nonprofit. Every $10 raised enables two individuals to enjoy a safe, guided desert walk through the organization’s educational programs.
Advancing sustainable and regenerative tourism principles, Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back program creates a formalized, third-party validated giving structure for hotels to mobilize funds to local destination-driven nonprofits with every guest stay. Kind Traveler verifies monthly donations and publishes a live ESGB dashboard with measurable impact metrics to effectively communicate the importance and impact of donations. The dashboard also empowers travelers with education on how their travel dollars are being reinvested in the communities they visit, while offering additional ways for guests to get further involved through a “How to Travel Kindly” section of the dashboard.
An Easy Pathway for Making Sustainable Travel Decisions
Nearly 97 percent of travelers polled in Kind Traveler’s 2022 Impact Tourism Report want their travel dollars to make a positive impact in the communities they visit. The partnership between Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs, Friends of the Desert Mountains, and Kind Traveler facilitates an easy pathway for travelers to make conscientious, responsible and sustainable travel decisions that support the local community.
This initiative builds upon Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs’ existing sustainability efforts, which include a partnership with Clean the World to recycle unused portions of bar soap, onsite EV charging stations, recycling and composting programs, energy-saving lighting, large-format refillable bath amenities, motion-activated climate controls, and water refilling stations.
“Caring for our people, communities and planet is at the heart of what we do,” says Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs General Manager Peggy Trott. “By working together with Kind Traveler and Friends of the Desert Mountains, we’re turning travel and hospitality into a force for good in a way that makes it easy for travelers to give back to the Greater Palm Springs community.”
“Through Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back program, it’s now possible for guests to easily understand how their travel dollars are being reinvested back into the community and support meaningful causes in the places they visit. We’re thrilled to partner with Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs to mobilize funding for Friends of the Desert Mountains in turning every guest stay into an opportunity for positive impact,” shares Jessica Blotter, CEO & Co-Founder of Kind Traveler.
For more information on how Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs has partnered with Kind Traveler to empower community impact, visit the hotel’s Kind Traveler dashboard.
