Kind Traveler and Santa Monica Travel & Tourism Launch Regenerative Tourism Program Empowering Travelers to Make a Positive, Local Impact

Posted February 7, 2023

Santa Monica’s most iconic hotels share exclusive offers to incentivize travelers to drive community impact

Santa Monica, Calif. (February 7, 2023) – Dreaming about a sustainable, California beach vacation that also gives back to the local community and environment? As the first statewide regenerative travel program kicks off with Visit California & Kind Traveler, Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT), a proud destination partner in the program, launches a new wave of opportunities for travelers to make a positive impact when visiting Santa Monica. To mobilize this new opportunity, 10 of the most iconic and sustainable hotels in Santa Monica share exclusive offers on KindTraveler.com incentivizing travelers to give back to Santa MoniCARES, a nonprofit organization supporting many Santa Monica-based nonprofitagencies addressing homelessness, environmental protection, arts & education, workforce development, at-risk youth, elderly assistance, DEI initiatives, and more.

With more than 97% of travelers revealing it’s important for their vacation dollars to positively impact the communities they visit (Kind Traveler 2022 Impact Tourism Report), it has never been easier to dream big and plan a vacation that not only creates meaningful memories, necessary relaxation and mental health benefits, but also a lasting community impact. Through the simple act of booking a hotel with Kind Traveler, travelers can now travel kindly and meaningfully support the local community with Santa MoniCARES, with 100% of donations supporting a variety of nonprofits in the community.

“Santa MoniCARES is designed to be a champion for our city providing tourism industry support to those who work tirelessly in our community, for our community,” said Misti Kerns, President and CEO of Santa Monica Travel & Tourism. “With Kind Traveler as a partner, we will continue amplifying our message by providing top-tier hospitality experiences while ensuring conscious visitors who are looking for meaningful trips to Santa Monica, know their visit is going to help strengthen our community efforts for years to come.”

The way it works is simple: Through Kind Traveler’s Give + Get hotel booking and media platform, travelers unlock exclusive offers from participating Kind Hotels with a $10 or more donation to Santa MoniCARES, or to another charity of choice on the platform. Positive impact metrics are shared with every booking empowering future visitors with specific details in how their travel dollars are supporting the local community. As an example, a $10 donation to Santa MoniCARES will provide equipment and funding for clean beaches, rivers and watersheds. Travelers additionally have an opportunity to plant trees at the time of booking with Arbor Day Foundation; one-dollar plants one tree.

To further sustainability awareness, travelers also have an opportunity to learn about the sustainability, wellness and community impact features of each property. For example, Shore Hotel is Santa Monica’s first LEED Gold Certified hotel; The Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows boasts an eco-friendly spa; and The Ambrose Hotel was the first prestigious LEED EB (existing building) hotel in the U.S. and boasts a State of California’s Green Lodging Program Certificate, to name a few. Local neighborhood guides are shared with each hotel profile inspiring conscious, mindful, local travel opportunities and other ways to do good for the day or give back locally.

Discover the new opportunities for 2023 to plan your vacation and travel kindly in Santa Monica with participating hotels on Kind Traveler:

–    ​Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows
–    ​Hotel Casa Del Mar
–    ​Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites
–    ​Le Merigot Santa Monica Hotel
–    ​Pierside Hotel
–    ​Santa Monica Proper Hotel
–    ​Shutters on the Beach
–    ​The Ambrose Hotel Santa Monica
–    Shore Hotel Santa Monica
–    ​Viceroy Santa Monica

A Kind Destination: Santa Monica

As the first city to achieve Platinum level certification in LEED for Cities Version 4.1, Santa Monica has long championed sustainability. Boasting 3.5 miles of sun-kissed beach and year-round warm weather, Santa Monica was the first city (1994) to adopt a comprehensive Sustainability Plan. Kind travelers will love direct access to the world’s longest oceanfront bike trail (South Bay Bicycle Trail), over 120 miles of bike facilities (bike lanes, protected bike lanes, paths and routes), 28 miles of green bike lanes, 150 public car charging stations, and the world’s first solar-powered Ferris Wheel, the Pacific Wheel. With 97 percent of the electricity drawn from renewable energy sources and a goal by 2050 to be carbon-neutral, Santa Monica makes for the perfect homebase to explore Southern California, naturally and responsibly.

To start planning your kind vacation and #TravelKindly visit:https://www.kindtraveler.com/content/santa-monica-travel-tourism

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Media Contact:

Santa Monice Media Contact​
Lauren Salisbury
Senior Director of Communications
lsalisbury@santamonica.com​        ​

Kind Traveler Media Contact
Jessie Burns  
Press@KindTraveler.com
702-461-7508

For downloadable images, please see our media galleryhere.​​​​​​​​​​

ABOUT KIND TRAVELER

Kind Traveler, a women-and-veteran-owned public benefit corporation, is the world’s first socially conscious Give + Get hotel booking and media platform that empowers travelers to positively impact the communities they visit through a network of 150+ destination-specific charities tied to the UN Global Goals. In advancing sustainable and regenerative tourism initiatives, Kind Traveler’s mission is to harness the next generation of travelers into a financial force that addresses some of the world’s greatest challenges and provides a positive impact to support local communities, the environment, and animals. Recognized with global awards from Fast Company (World Changing Ideas Award), Travel + Leisure (Global Vision Award), Newsweek (Future of Travel Award), Lufthansa Innovation Hub and UNWTO, Kind Traveler represents Kind Hotels and tourism boards in 22 countries globally. Visit us at KindTraveler.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

ABOUT SANTA MONICA TRAVEL & TOURISM

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT), formerly Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau, is a non-profit organization designed to increase visitor expenditures, tourism revenues and local employment opportunities through the promotion of Santa Monica as a travel destination. For travel and accommodation information or a free copy of the official Visitors Guide, the public can write to the Santa Monica Visitor Center, 2427 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405; call (800) 544-5319 or (310) 393-7593; visit www.santamonica.com; or email info@santamonica.com. Follow SMTT on Instagram (@SeeSantaMonica), Twitter (@GoSantaMonica) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/visitsantamonica).

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