Kind Traveler and LTVA team up to give visitors a way to help Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Kind Traveler and the Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority (LTVA) have teamed up to empower travelers to make a positive community and environmental impacts when they stay in hotels and motels on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe.

This sustainable traveler initiative is the first socially conscious "Give and Get" hotel booking and education platform and is now in 19 destinations. Besides Lake Tahoe, programs are underway in Florida, San Francisco/Bay Area, Sonoma, Texas, New York, Colorado, Los Angeles, Orange County, Seattle, Palm Springs, Chicago, Arizona, Sun Valley, Washington DC, Charleston, South Carolina, Virginia, Baltimore, and Hawaii.

This past Spring, the Tahoe Chamber Tourism Forum focused on Responsible Tourism and the Kind Traveler's founder and CEO Jessica Blotter was a keynote speaker. She said travelers want to connect to the places they visit and helping to protect what they enjoy in the process. She said she got the idea for Kind Traveler while on vacation in Mexico. The tour bus Jessica was on went through a town where there were starving animals in the streets. She went into a store and bought dog food to give to the animals, and the others in the bus saw this happen and did the same.

Kind Traveler allows visitors to book their trips online while donating to the cause of their choice while in the process. In Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Fund's Take Care Tahoe programs have been selected to be the beneficiary of the donations. Travelers are rewarded for their act of kindness in giving back to Take Care Tahoe with exclusive rates and perks from curated Kind Hotels.

Travelers can now access exclusive rates that result in significant savings with curated South Lake Tahoe hotels upon a $10 nightly donation to Take Care Tahoe. At this time, Edgewood Tahoe and Hard Rock Lake Tahoe are the two South Shore hotels participating in the program.

The Take Care Tahoe team is over 35 organizations that support Lake Tahoe and encourage more people to connect with its natural environment by making it easier to find fun and interesting ways to learn more about Tahoe. With 100 percent of donations going to charity through Kind Traveler, it’s a triple win among the hotel, charity, and traveler. The Take Care Tahoe website has volunteer activities, beach cleanups, wildflower hikes, insightful discussions, and environmentally friendly festivals. There are timely information on all the latest environmental events along with volunteer opportunities around the lake including a search feature to find activities during specific timeframes.

In a recent 2019 sustainable travel report by Booking, it was revealed that 71 percent of travelers believe travel companies should offer consumers more sustainable choices. On the other hand, almost half (46 percent) of global travelers acknowledge that they find it harder to make sustainable choices while on vacation than in everyday life.

“As a tourism agency, we continue to reinforce messaging on car-less vacations, educational programs, beach clean-ups and trail building opportunities along with best practices to become stewards of the lake,” said Carol Chaplin, president and CEO of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. “The partnership with Kind Traveler empowers travelers to actively support Take Care Tahoe which will help further our destination’s responsible travel initiatives.”

“Beyond empowering and educating travelers on the exact type of positive impact they can make through their donation, it’s proven in the biology of kindness that by donating or volunteering, it’s possible to create a chemical shift in your brain, leading one to feel happier and healthier,” said Blotter. “This is the perfect storm for the traveler looking to have a more memorable, meaningful, and values-aligned vacation experience.”

Kind Traveler perks at Hard Rock include a $15 food & beverage credit, a $15 Free Play Voucher, and upon availability, a room upgrade, and late check-in/check-out.

Edgewood Tahoe is the first Kind Hotel to join the sustainable travel initiative in Lake Tahoe. They are offering exclusive hotel rates and perks as a reward for a $10 nightly donation to Take Care Tahoe or a charity of choice from Kind's list. In addition, guests receive 20 percent off spa services, a daily $20 dining credit, a complimentary glass of wine or cocktail at check-in, a welcome amenity, and more.

For more information on how travelers can #TravelKindly to South Lake Tahoe, visit http://www.kindtraveler.com.