Kind Traveler Offers a ‘Give + Get’ Hotel Booking Platform

Jessica Blotter, CEO & Co-founder of Kind Traveler, created a ‘Give + Get’ hotel booking platform that empowers travelers to become a force for good. 

Travelers give a $10 nightly donation to their favorite local or global charity on KindTraveler.com, and as a reward, they get exclusive hotel rates–up to 25% off–to book directly with curated hotels.

100% of donations are given to charity.

Jessica is a part of the Travel Massive Los Angeles chapter and allows travelers to book hotels in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Palm Springs, Orange County, Telluride, Los Cabos, Acapulco, Manzanillo, and Turks and Caicos.

So, we asked her a few questions about how the business is going and what’s in store for the future.

What is Kind Traveler? Who does it help?

Kind Traveler is positioned to make an impact on both a global and a local level. Kind Traveler’s goals are purposefully aligned with the United Nations’ Global Goals for sustainable development: preventing poverty and hunger, protecting the planet, and promoting wellbeing for individuals and animals.

Kind Traveler aims to tackle these global issues through their network of global charities including The Salvation Army, Make-A-Wish, American Red Cross, World Food Program USA, WildAid, Arbor Day Foundation, Global Green USA, The Keep A Breast Foundation, Project AWARE®, Animal Defenders International, The Gentle Barn, Little Kids Rock, and Bright Pink.

On a local level, when a hotel joins the platform, Kind Traveler helps them to facilitate an alliance with a local charity. This gives travelers the ability to address hyper-local issues through its network of local charities including Surfrider Foundation Miami Chapter, Feeding South Florida, Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood, 2 Hands 2 Cans, Boys & Girls Clubs of Coachella Valley, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Donda’s House, StreetWise, City Harvest, Community Housing Partnership, San Francisco SPCA, Telluride Foundation, Raymond Gardiner High School Turks & Caicos, and Fundación Brisas.

What has inspired you to create Kind Traveler? 

After a trip to Belize in 2012 witnessing heart-breaking poverty, polluted swamps, and the plight of emaciated dogs roaming the streets for food, my partner and I had an experience that changed us.

When the bus stopped as a last chance to grab snacks or water before the hike, rib-protruding dogs approached us, begging for food with eyes of despair. As animal rescue volunteers back home in Los Angeles, we simply decided to buy food to feed the dogs. Unintentionally, this action inspired other tourists to do the same thing. Rather than do nothing and live with the sadness of the situation, people took action and suddenly the moment went from somber to joyful. The smiles on the other traveler’s faces and the feeling of satisfaction knowing that we tried to make things better in a small way stayed with us for a long time. The other travelers wanted to help… they just needed a catalyst.

How were you able to launch Kind Traveler?

After four long years of research and development, Kind Traveler launched in August of 2016 in 11 cities throughout the U.S., Mexico, and the Carribean. Since its launch, it’s been featured in 100 publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Travel, and Travel & Leisure.

There were times within our development when we were not sure how we were ever going to launch. Funding was a challenge and it took years to onboard the hotels and charities that were best matched with our mission. But in the end, we were patient and on-boarded our ‘dream’ charity organizations that were making the biggest impact on the planet. We are incredibly honored to be stewards of their missions and to support them through the power of travel.

What has been your biggest success thus far?

We have successfully aligned 22 hotels with hyper-local charities in their community. Most of them did not have prior relationships with the local charities or did not have a way to create sustainable community impact. Since we have brought them together, we have seen organizations collaborate in ways that are far beyond the Kind Traveler partnership. One example is the partnership between Virgin Hotels Chicago and Donda’s House, a local Chicago organization that provides arts and music programs to at-risk youth. Since the relationship was formed with Kind Traveler, the teens of Donda’s House have performed in fashions and art shows at the hotel and plan for a music performance at the hotel. The collaboration has garnered much media attention, including a spotlight in Hotel Business Magazine.

What do you hope your initiative will accomplish in the next 2-5 years?

In the next 2-5 years, in addition to greatly expanding our hotel portfolio throughout the U.S., Mexico, and the Carribean, we hope to offer travelers Kind Hotels and destinations throughout the world. By the end of year two, we are aiming to have raised at least 1M for Kind Traveler charities’.

Do you have any tips for aspiring do-gooders?

Surround yourself (in a big way) with inspiration, knowledge, and positivity. Always be learning — audiobooks are an awesome way to soak up education while you are commuting, etc.

Volunteer. By volunteering with different organizations you are passionate about, you will get to know which causes you are most passionate about.

Travel. Travel creates new experiences that will shape your mind and open pathways to help you realize your dreams.

Why do you attend Travel Massive events?

I have met the most inspiring individuals through the Travel Massive community—many of whom I’ve become great friends with. All Travel Massive members are doing excellent things in the travel world and pursuing their dreams in travel in a big way.

Purposeful Traveler is a series that profiles inspiring people or projects making a purposeful change to the way we travel. You can connect with Jessica and Kind Traveler on Travel Massive, Instagram, and Twitter.