Hotels Catering to the Rise of Voluntourism

Voluntourism-or the act of volunteering while on vacation-is on the rise. As many as one in four travelers plan to lend a helping hand on their next vacation. With this in mind, hotels are starting to cater to this group, offering 'excursions' specifically designed to help their local communities, environment and local animals.

Study Hotels are linked to some of the most well-known and prestigious universities-think Yale University-in the United States, providing a convenient hotel stay for those looking to attend surrounding colleges and even parents visiting for the weekend. Throughout the month of March, Study Hotels is participating in Nation Reading month by encouraging guests to donate new or gently used children's books. Guests also have the option to purchase a book from the on-site "Gift of Reading" bookshop. All books will be donated to local youth literacy charities.

Hyatt Ziva & Zilara Rose Hall have teamed up with a public school located just 45 minutes away from the resort in connection with the Granville 404 Project. This project allows guests to meet with students of the school and help to improve the school building itself. The Granville 404 Project was created by Playa Hotels & Resorts to benefit the school and its 400+ schoolchildren.

For those looking to make an impact but may not have the time to commit to volunteering, there's the "Pack with Love" program at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. The program encourages guests to bring an item (or items) to donate to the local community which was impacted by Hurricane Dorian in September 2019. To date, the program has helped bring in almost 6,000 items including clothing, medical supplies, toys and baby items.

Through the sole generosity of Jicaro Island Lodge resort guests, the hotel has been able to fund a program to provide energy and clean water to a local school through the use of solar panels.

This boutique hotel is highlighting local authors who focus on life in the Lowcountry by their "take a book, leave a book" initiative. They also encourage guests to learn about the area and connect with fellow travelers by providing complimentary wine and cheese near the lobby fireplace.

Also in Charleston, South Carolina is the HarbourView Inn where visitors can opt for the hotel's Solo Southern Retreat Package. This package joins guests with One80 Place, a community kitchen that serves, on average, over one hundred and fifty lunches per day.

Not only does Hilton La Romana give back to their local community, but they also give back to their employees by periodically choosing a stand-out employee to build them a house from the ground up in a safe neighborhood near the resort. Hilton La Romana also organizes beach clean-up initiatives and donation drives for guests to participate in around the resort.

Located just outside Miami, The Moorings Village is a former coconut plantation that was hit hard by Hurricane Irma. In an effort to restore the foliage, guests are invited to plant greenery around the property.

Aqua-Aston Hospitality has hotels and condominiums in multiple locations like Hawaii, Orlando and Costa Rica, and hosts more than 5.5 million visitors each year. They've created several programs guests can participate in like #ForOurReef-a program to help guests know about reef-safe sunscreens-and #ShareTheAloha-where guests opt-out of single-use plastics. The group even rewards its loyal members with a reusable water bottle, tote bags and stainless steel straws.

AKA is known for its long-stay properties in popular cities like New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Philadelphia and London. They have partnered with the Clean the World organization in an effort to recycle and redistribute bars of soap, with more than 54 million donated lasted year.

The area near the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village is home to 400 miles of navigable canals and waterways. It's a favorite pastime of hotel guests to kayak and explore the region, so the resort offers the option to include cleanup equipment in the kayaks for visitors to help the local ecosystem.

The Spectator Hotel has created its own Food Waste Diversion Program that has helped to keep 26,000 pounds of leftover food out of landfills. Instead, the food is processed to create reusable water and thus far has created 2,200 gallons, which is equivalent to planting more than 200 trees.

Club Med Miches Playa Esmeralda may have just recently opened, but they are already making waves to create a more eco-friendly environment. The on-site community garden helps to educate guests on planting, recycling and composting. The resort also utilizes reusable water bottles and hydration stations in an effort to reduce single-use plastics.

You may think that the complimentary sunscreen at The Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club is just an added bonus, especially for those who may have forgotten to bring theirs, but it is a special sunscreen that is reef-safe. The hotel also offers canvas tote bags for visitors to borrow before they go shopping and hydration stations to help reduce the use of single plastics.

Nestled within the Appalachian Mountain in Bristol, Virginia, The Bristol Hotel has joined forces with local L.C. King Denim Manufacturing's Discarded Denim program. The program uses old denim for a recycled textiles fashion show. Any unused denim is also donated to Blue Jeans Go Green after the show.

The Farm Sanctuary in the Finger Lakes region of New York is a unique farm-stay property with more than 800 rescued animals. Guests to the property can help staff with daily chores in taking care of the animals. The Visitor Center also sells an array of cruelty-free goods.

Panama Jack Resorts Cancun has launched its very own "Turtle Protection Committee" in an effort to help sea turtles in the area. Before the start of the hatching season, the committee helps to clean-up the beaches and ensure that the area is ideal for sea turtle nests. They also help to build sea turtle nests at the sea turtle farm located at the resort and educate resort guests about sea turtles.

While in Costa Rica, visitors of Crocodile Bay Resort have the option to participate in programs that help to collect data for environmental researchers. The guests get to swim, hold and even check the health of turtles during a full-day excursion to see sea turtles in their natural habitat.

If you're traveling to a destination not covered by one of the aforementioned hotels, Kind Traveler helps to pair vacationers with hotels who promise a percentage of every nightly stay to be donated to local environmental programs or positively contribute to the community. Currently Kind Traveler works with hotels in fourteen different countries, more than 100 hotels and 60 different charities.