Kindness on the Coast
How Every Stay Gives Back is Transforming Travel in Oregon
Story by Lisa Manyon
Photos Provided
One of my favorite spots on earth is the Oregon Coast. There’s nothing quite like tapping into the negative ions of the ocean, feeling the coastal breeze on your face, beachcombing, and enjoying the majestic lighthouses dotted across the coast. Now, a new era of purposeful travel allows you to choose a destination that makes an impact. Along the rugged, windswept shores of the Oregon Coast, a quiet revolution is reshaping how we think about travel. The Oregon Coast Visitors Association (OCVA), in partnership with Kind Traveler, has launched the “Every Stay Gives Back” program, a bold initiative that turns overnight stays into tangible support for local environmental and community causes. This program invites travelers to make a positive impact simply by choosing participating hotels, where a portion of each stay supports vetted nonprofit organizations dedicated to preserving the coast’s natural beauty and cultural heritage.
How Every Stay Gives Back Works
At its core, the Every Stay Gives Back program is elegantly simple. A portion of every guest stay at participating hotels directly funds local nonprofits selected by each hotel. These contributions are seamlessly integrated into the booking process, no matter where or how you book, ensuring that giving back is both effortless and impactful. Kind Traveler, a women-and-veteran-owned public benefit corporation, oversees the program’s transparency and accountability, providing third-party validation and real-time reporting through a live positive impact dashboard.
Keeping in step with the Kind Traveler’s broader mission, Jessica Blotter, CEO and Co-founder shares, “The Every Stay Gives Back program is at the heart of what we do at Kind Traveler. Our mission is to create a world where every traveler can make a meaningful, positive impact on the communities they visit. This program allows travelers to support local community and environmental causes and charities simply by choosing to stay at a property and participating in the Every Stay Gives Back program. From championing wildlife conservation to restoring local ecosystems, travelers become more than visitors; they become advocates for a more sustainable world and feel a sense of positive contribution to the places they visit. This creates a powerful emotional connection between the traveler, the hotel, and the community, satisfying the need that 71% of travelers desire to leave the places they visit in a better state than they found them. It’s about turning the act of travel into a force for kindness, ensuring that tourism goes beyond ‘leave no harm’ and gives more than it takes.”
An excellent example of how the Kind Traveler collaboration works can be illustrated in the partnership between Cape Perpetual Collaborative and Driftwood Shores Resort & Conference Center.
“The partnership with the Kind Traveler and OCVA Every Stay Gives Back program, facilitated through bookings at Driftwood Shores Resort & Conference Center, has been instrumental in supporting our mission. Specifically, funds donated have resulted in 4,017 volunteer hours supported to educate visitors and fellow members of our community about the culture, history, ecology, and stewardship of Cape Perpetua,” says Talaina King, Executive Director of Cape Perpetua Collaborative.
I’ve had the pleasure of staying at Driftwood Shores, and their beachfront views are unparalleled. Knowing that future stays will benefit Cape Perpetua Collaborative is an added bonus. Florence is one of my favorite spots on the coast, and I highly recommend 1285 Restobar for dining if you wander into Old Town. Driftwood also features a café, and the burger hit the spot.
Terry Hankins, Director of Marketing at Driftwood Shores Resort & Conference Center, shares, “As the largest hotel in our region, Driftwood Shores Resort & Conference Center feels that it is important to give back to the community. Supporting the Cape Perpetua Collaborative through Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back program, makes us part of a family of properties that also care about their communities and, most importantly, helps support our scenic and precious marine environment, which is a huge part of what makes visiting the Oregon Coast and our area attractive to visitors. Driftwood Shores makes every effort to host events which celebrate our natural environment and health through retreats and celebrations like sand raking with Circles in The Sand, Kite Flying, Yoga, and wellness events.”
Participating Lodgings and Their Chosen Causes
The program’s strength lies in its collaborative approach, with each hotel partnering with a local nonprofit that aligns with its values and community.
Examples of these impactful partnerships include:
Driftwood Shores Resort and Conference Center is aligned with Cape Perpetua Collaborative, promoting ecological stewardship through education and volunteerism.
Headlands Coastal Lodge & Spa (Cape Kiwanda) supports the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, providing care for injured and orphaned wildlife.
Agate Beach Motel (Newport) supports the Oregon Coast Aquarium, advancing rehabilitation and education for marine life.
The Wildflower Inn (Gold Beach) collaborates with the Elakha Alliance, focusing on the restoration of Oregon’s sea otter population.
Ocean Inn at Manzanita benefits the North Coast Land Conservancy, aiming to conserve and restore coastal habitat.
Pacific View Lodging (Depoe Bay) supports the Friends of Otter Rock, committed to protecting and preserving the marine and coastal ecosystems of the Otter Rock Marine Reserve through education, stewardship, and community engagement.
Two Capes Lookout (Cloverdale) supports Nestucca, Neskowin & Sand Lake Watersheds Council, improving the health of local watersheds
Saltline Hotel (Seaside) supports the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, providing care for injured and orphaned wildlife.
These partnerships exemplify how the program integrates lodging experiences with meaningful contributions to environmental conservation and community resilience along the Oregon Coast.
“Our approach to selecting hotel partners for the Every Stay Gives Back program on the Oregon Coast centers on shared values and authentic alignment. We collaborated closely with the Oregon Coast Visitors Association (OCVA) to invite lodging partners who are committed to responsible tourism and have a positive impact on their communities. Additionally, we engaged with the selected local charity beneficiaries, many of whom already had existing relationships with hotels that supported community-driven initiatives. This collaborative effort ensured we cultivated partnerships that naturally aligned with the program’s mission. Ultimately, we seek hotels that demonstrate a genuine commitment to promoting sustainability, supporting local communities, and preserving the natural beauty of the Oregon Coast through their business practices. By working with like-minded partners, we can ensure that every guest’s stay has a meaningful, measurable impact, furthering our vision of a kinder, more conscious travel industry.
The participating hotels and nonprofit organizations in the Every Stay Gives Back program were carefully selected in collaboration with the Oregon Coast Visitors Association (OCVA) and Kind Traveler. OCVA took the lead in vetting and selecting environmental nonprofit organizations that align with its regenerative tourism strategy for the Oregon Coast. The Kind Traveler program ensures that a portion of every guest’s stay with participating lodging partners supports high-quality environmental projects on Oregon’s North, Central, and South Coasts. Each participating hotel chose one vetted nonprofit to designate as its beneficiary, creating a direct link between travelers’ stays and positive local impact.” Explained Jessica Blotter of Kind Traveler.
Measurable Impact: Turning Stays into Action
When asked how the program is being tracked and monitored, Jessica Blotter shared, “We look at a range of impact metrics. These include the funds raised for local nonprofits and the specific outcomes achieved, like trees planted, wildlife rescued, or meals provided to those in need—all of which can be tracked on our traveler-friendly impact dashboards on our website. We also measure traveler engagement, the growth in our hotel and nonprofit partnerships, and the stories of change that emerge from these connections. Seeing how these contributions can ripple through a community is incredibly inspiring.”
Through the partnership with the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, Every Stay Gives Back program has resulted in:
492 months of nutritional care provided for rehabilitating Common Murres (a native Oregon bird) with the Wildlife Center of the North Coast
705 individuals who have received education on the cultural and environmental significance of sea otters through the Elakha Alliance
119 acres of protected land were cared for over one month with North Coast Land Conservancy
601 tidepool educational engagements between interns and visitors have been provided on behalf of Friends of Otter Rock
4,017 volunteer hours supported to educate about the culture, history, ecology, and stewardship of Cape Perpetua Collaborative.
These metrics highlight the program’s effectiveness in transforming everyday travel into meaningful support for local initiatives.
A Model Inspired by Success
The decision to implement Every Stay Gives Back along the Oregon Coast was inspired by a successful pilot program launched in November 2022 by Kind Traveler, in partnership with Adrift Hospitality, a woman-owned B Corp operating several properties on the Washington Coast. This pilot generated $141,547 in donations for the Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center, contributing to the construction of a new school in the region.
Building on this success, the Oregon Coast initiative has, within a year, raised over $304,352 in donations for local charities across participating destinations and lodging partners.
“Travelers are increasingly seeking opportunities to make a meaningful impact while exploring new destinations,” says Finn Johnson, North Coast Destination Stewardship Manager at the Oregon Coast Visitors Association. “Our partnership with Kind Traveler enables visitors to give back to the environment and communities they encounter, supporting the long-term sustainability of our region.”
As Every Stay Gives Back program continues to grow, its potential to transform the travel industry becomes increasingly evident. By integrating charitable giving into the fabric of travel experiences, it sets a precedent for how tourism can be a force for good.
For travelers planning a visit to the Oregon Coast, participating in this program offers an opportunity to enjoy the region’s natural beauty while contributing to its preservation and the well-being of its communities.
To learn more and plan your trip, visit www.kindtraveler.com/content/oregon-coast-visitors-association
