Public relations NYC firm Abelow PR is always keeping tabs on the latest developments in the hospitality industry. One trend that deserves special attention is the charitable efforts that the hotel industry has made as of late.
Besides being a beneficial hotel public relations strategy, working with charities helps make a hotel’s community a more positive place, which in turn goes a long way toward generating more business for them. Types of charitable efforts by hotels include those that donate supplies and those that donate money.
Working with charities is one way for hotels to develop a positive public image.
DONATING SUPPLIES
In November 2011, Hilton and the non-profit Global Soap Project took the supplies approach. They formed a partnership to recycle soap that is thrown away. The partnership is permanent, not temporary, and in the first year, they expect to donate more than one million new bars of soap to destitute communities across the world, according to USA Today. Hilton also has the future in mind, as it hopes that this effort will enable its properties to decrease waste by 20% over the next two years.
DONATING MONEY
Hotels For Hope, on the other hand, opts to directly donate money to charities, and in the process they aim to revolutionize hotel booking procedures. A hotel which joins the program agrees to donate $1 to one of Hotels For Hopes’ charities, which are geared toward helping kids. In turn, Hotels For Hope matches the $1 donation. The New York Times reported that in its first year in business, Hotels For Hope “donated almost $25,000 to five national and international charities.”
In February 2011, the 53 Sage Hotels in the U.S. ran a similar campaign called “While You Were Sleeping,” which donated single night rates of randomly picked rooms to a charity of the guest’s choice. The Lorraine Abelow PR service noted that by the end of the campaign, over $10,000 had been raised for charities.
A recent effort by Choice Hotels International (CHI) stood out to boutique PR agency Abelow PR due to its artistic twist. In October 2011, CHI, a leader in lodging services, hotel public relations, and travel PR, implemented a program where it will donate one dollar to the It Gets Better Project for each download the Tom Nichols song “Trust” receives on ChoiceHotelsMusic.com. The It Gets Better Project’s goal is to increase the happiness and positivity in the lives of young LGBT people.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Charitable efforts by hotels can be in the form of reducing the amount of waste it disposes of, donating a percentage of money gained from reservations, or by actually raising money, such as with the CHI-It Gets Better Project venture. Any public relations NYC firm which serves the travel industry would benefit itself, its clients, and its community by organizing charitable projects for its hotel clients.
