Design Hotels is encouraging travellers to donate their time to good causes and earn access to exclusive experiences. Rose Dykins reports

Design Hotels has partnered with Earnt — an organisation that asks consumers to donate their time to society and the planet to earn exclusive access to experiences and products.

Launched in 2022, Earnt unites brands with good causes and asks consumers to donate their time to a positive social or environmental cause – such as a beach clean-up, or helping the homeless – in exchange for limited-access experiences.

In early 2023, Design Hotels launched “The Good Traveller“: a series of online content that explores how the next generation of sustainably minded, curious travellers will make decisions as they seek transformation and education over traditional luxury and take greater accountability for the impact of their travel choices.

A key pillar of The Good Traveller mindset is “Think Holistically”. To help inspire its community to think more holistically about their travel decisions, Design Hotels has collaborated with EARNT and plastic activist and founder of Sungai Watch, Gary Bencheghib.

In support of Gary’s efforts to raise awareness of the global plastic crisis, Design Hotels and Earnt will host a “Pick and Paddle” in London on the morning of 29 May 2023 on the River Thames. The event will ask 20 members of the Design Hotels and EARNT communities to donate two hours of their time and spend it paddle boarding and litter picking.

Each person who shows up and participates will earn a single limited-edition experience or stay at Design Hotels across the globe in return for their efforts. Following the “Pick and Paddle”, the group will head to the newly B-Corp recognised hotel, Inhabit Southwick Street – a member of Design Hotels – which will host a celebratory lunch at its plant-based restaurant Yeotown, where the stays and experiences will be drawn.

Experiences and stays on offer to reward participants include:

  • Ten free two-night stays at participating Design Hotels reachable from London by rail in Paris, Provence, Berlin, Munich, Rotterdam (subject to availability).
  • Dinner for two and an overnight stay at Town Hall Hotel in London’s Bethnal Green.
  • A  two-night stay for two including breakfast at Sir Adam or Sir Albert Hotel in Amsterdam.
  • Dinner for two and a night at the Soho Film Club courtesy of Firmdale’s ‘The Soho Hotel’.
  • Overnight stay for two and a champagne breakfast at Market Street Hotel in Edinburgh.
  • A holistic wellness experience at Inhabit London.

To participate, people can subscribe to the Design Hotels and Earnt newsletters and sign-up to the “Pick and Paddle” at earnt.co.uk on 26 April (when sign-ups will open). Once the 20 spaces are full, participants can join a waiting list (previous events have been fully booked in under two hours with long waiting lists, so sign-ups are encouraged).

Earnt co-founders Lauren Scott-Harris and Lavinia Liyanage, say: “We are extremely proud to be partnering with Design Hotels. Earnt is a brand-new concept and we are working with brands who are not only best-in-class, but who are not afraid to challenge and lead the way brands interact with their customers to make an actual impact.”

Sarah Doyle, vice-president global brand leader at Design Hotels, says: “We’re so pleased to partner with Earnt and Gary on this industry-first collaboration. We’re always looking for new ways to inspire our community to make conscious choices to protect our planet, and by collaborating with Earnt we’re able to meet our London community and celebrate the joy of travel, while having a positive impact on our local environment.”