hotel heroes
Book a hotel room, change a life with Hotels for Hope
Oct 24, 2011 | 9:05 am
When entrepreneur Neil Goldman got involved with Special Olympics Texas in 2008, he had no idea that the experience was going to set him on an entirely new path. Neil owned a national hotel management and referral company, and as he began helping the nonprofit's athletes and staff secure rooms for the event, he asked each hotel if it would make a small monetary donation to the Special Olympics cause.
But it wasn't until Neil had a chance meeting with TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie that a bigger picture began to form in his head. TOMS is known for its simple, yet very effective concept - for every pair of shoes purchased from the company, it donates a pair to a child in need. Neil began to think that he could do what he'd done with hotels and Special Olympics Texas, on a grand scale. Hotels for Hope was born in 2010.
The concept is simple. Hotels for Hope (H4H) contracts with hotels that agree to donate $1 from the booking. H4H matches that, generating a $2 investment from each hotel room night booked, for partner charities. H4H then books out those rooms, primarily to big groups, conferences, retreats and corporate meetings. However, individuals are also able to book rooms directly through the uBook travel portal.
It's good for the clients as well; they typically save 26 percent off the best available hotel rates. And perhaps best of all, the clients themselves get to select the charity to receive the donation generated from their bookings.
A representative from Omni Hotels said that Omni partners with Hotels for Hope because of the passion of Neil and his team. "Their passion is contagious, and they caught us up into the cause about a year ago. Omni Hotels has always been socially conscious, and so it was just a natural partnership."
“Every hotel that we’ve gone to with this thinks it’s a great idea," Neil says. "It’s a partnership because the more we market this, the more we help the charities and the hotels,”
The business model is definitely making an impact, benefitting nonprofit organizations including A Glimmer of Hope, Big Brothers Big Sisters, LIVESTRONG, Special Olympics Texas and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. In just the first two weeks of operation, $6,000 was raised. In the first year a total of $26,179 was raised, and in the last 17 months Hotels for Hope clients have generated $47,484 for these partner charities.
Just one $4,300 check to A Glimmer of Hope has funded the construction of a hand-dug well in northern Ethiopia, providing approximately 300 people with access to clean water. For the Texas Special Olympics athletes, more than 40,000 of them depend on the assistance of Hotels for Hope.
Kyle Sorensen is also a former hotelier who was approached by Neil early on, to help build the organization as Director of Operations. The entrepreneurial model was appealing to Kyle, with its ability to affect multiple groups and charities, and it was that ability to affect change that drew him. "To be a part of something, some sort of movement other than just booking rooms, but actually changing lives in day to day operations. That's why I chose to work with Hotels for Hope," he says.
Neil says that the principle of helping others less fortunate has been one he's held since childhood. “Hotels for Hope is a direct result of this lifetime goal. Our whole team knows that we are impacting our clients, hotels and our charities and making a global difference.”
"Companies have the power to utilize their business model, their supply chain and their sphere of influence to make a difference," adds Neil, who has a goal of raising half a million dollars within three years. "I believe that we have the capability to take our business model and industry connections and be able to do social good."