Sonoma County Tourism (SCT) announces a continuation of its partnership with Kind Traveler through a new statewide initiative with Visit California. Sonoma County Tourism began its relationship with Kind Traveler–the first socially conscious “Give and Get” hotel booking and education platform–in 2019, becoming the first Destination Marketing Organization (now Destination Stewardship Organization) to join the Kind Traveler platform. This enabled participating hotels in the county to prioritize responsible travel and community impact by sharing exclusive offers on KindTraveler.com to incentivize visitors to give back to selected charities. Last month Visit California became the first state to partner with Kind Traveler on a new statewide program, for which Sonoma County Tourism is now a proud participant.

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 designated Sonoma County charities, or to another charity of choice on the platform. Positive impact metrics are shared with every booking empowering future visitors with specific details on how their travel dollars will support the local community.

The new local beneficiaries selected by Sonoma County Tourism include:

• Farm to Pantry: bringing together communities to end food injustice and reverse global warming by rescuing and sharing locally grown food with those who have been systematically marginalized
• Charlie’s Acres Farm Sanctuary: dedicated to the care of rescued farm animals facing abuse and serving as a sanctuary where its animals can live out their lives in peace and a venue offering a variety of tours and experiences
• Pepperwood Preserve: inspiring conservation through science; managing a unique 3,200-acre biological reserve and refuge for more than 900 species of native plants and wildlife

They join Redwood Empire Food Bank, Russian Riverkeeper, and Sonoma Land Trust as Kind Traveler beneficiaries.

Furthermore, certain Sonoma County lodging partners have become the first in California to participate in a pilot program with Kind Traveler’s new community impact certification, “Every Stay Gives Back,” which automatically harnesses donations with every guest stay to local Sonoma County charities, regardless of whether the booking occurred through Kind Traveler or not. The Stavrand, based in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley, was the first hotel in California to enroll in this program, with The Gables Wine Country Inn and Wildhaven Sonoma also signing on as participants.

Discover opportunities to plan your vacation and travel kindly in Sonoma County with participating hotels on Kind Traveler:

• Farmhouse Inn
• Flamingo Resort
• The Gables Wine Country Inn (Every Stay Gives Back certified)
• Hotel E
• The Lodge at Bodega Bay
• The Sandman Hotel
• The Stavrand (Every Stay Gives Back certified)
• Timber Cove Resort
• Vintners Resort
• Wildhaven Sonoma (Every Stay Gives Back certified)

Kind Experiences: Furthermore, travelers looking to give back beyond a financial donation will also discover unique opportunities and experiences with participating charities on Kind Traveler. Each charity profile contains a How You Can Travel Kindly feature spotlighting additional ways travelers can get involved with the charity for an educational and fun experience. For example, with Farm to Pantry, visitors can sign up to be a volunteer gleaner and help collect fruits and vegetables from a local farm that would otherwise turn into food waste and instead provide to those who may be facing food insecurity. With Charlie’s Acres, learn about on-site experiences from goat yoga, sheep meditation, plant-based picnics, photography tours, and more. For unique experiences with Pepperwood Preserve, visitors can sign up for author talks, public and private hiking experiences, and a variety of classes and workshops exploring insights into medicinal plants, indigenous perspectives, night sky exploration, and forest stewardship for wildlife and fire resilience.

Sustainability Awareness: To further sustainability awareness, travelers also have an opportunity to learn about the sustainability, wellness, and community impact features of each property. 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.

A Kind Destination: Sonoma County  

Sonoma County has long been a pioneer in sustainability and climate action, having been the first county in the U.S. in which all its cities, plus the County itself, passed a Climate Emergency Resolution. Four of its cities were the first in the nation to prohibit the development of new gas stations and related fossil fuel infrastructure. Sonoma County is currently the only destination in the U.S. with a Regional Climate Protection Authority to coordinate and support climate action countywide.

Sonoma Clean Power is the only utility in California to offer the option of 100% renewable, locally produced, solar and geothermal energy for homes and businesses – effectively eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions from electricity use. This is made possible in part by the region’s geysers, which represent the largest geothermal field in the world, and Sonoma Clean Power’s floating solar project (the largest in the U.S.).

Sonoma County is not only celebrated for producing some of the finest wines in the world, but also some of the most sustainably produced. 99% of the vineyard acreage in Sonoma County has been certified sustainable by a third-party program.

To start planning your Sonoma County vacation and #TravelKindly visit: kindtraveler.com.