Hotel guests get luxury upgrade for volunteering at local nonprofits

Hotel launches an offer that gets guests involved in community projects during their stay, in return for a host of complimentary perks.

There are some things in life that are a luxury not everyone can afford — first class travel, penthouse suites and gym membership to name a few — but that’s not to say they can never be experienced by those on a shoestring. We recently wrote about work-trade programs that have popped up at several New York gyms, enabling cash-strapped customers to exchange volunteer work for workout sessions. Now the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington has launched an offer that gets guests involved in community projects during their stay, in return for a host of complimentary perks.

Called the ‘Do Good, Feel Good’ package, guests who chose the option were connected with DC Central Kitchen, which fights food hunger in the state. Visitors were invited to participate in an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the nonprofit’s impressive operation. They were then invited to volunteer afterwards – part of a scheme that usually requires multiple months’ reservation. In return for lending a hand at the charity, guests were rewarded with complimentary access to the 100 square-foot sports complex, breakfast for two and valet parking, and the hotel made a donation of USD 100 to the DC Central Kitchen on behalf of the customer. The package was priced at USD 309 per night.

Although the program ended last week, the package gave guests the chance to access luxury services and facilities at the hotel, while also helping them to feel good by getting involved in award-winning community work. Are there other venues that could offer this kind of trade off to open up their services to the less wealthy?