Hotels helping Haiti relief efforts

CANADA—One hotel made the news because it housed the refugees from Haiti. Chains sent notices to their loyalty club members saying they could use their points for donations to the ravaged country.  Colleges and individual properties worked hard to raise funds.  And on the supply side, there were donations of water purification equipment, shoes and skids of product.

The hotel industry is definitely responding to the challenges of Haiti’s Jan. 12 earthquake.

The 486-room Wyndham Montreal Airport was chosen to house refugees arriving by plane “largely because the hotel’s layout allowed for the easy separation of evacuees in one quadrant of the hotel and anxious family and friends in another so they can’t interfere with the registration of refugees and crucial humanitarian services they might need,” according the Montreal Gazette.

Wyndham Montreal Airport Hotel

“We just take it one day at a time,” Wyndham general manager Kevin Gillespie told the Gazette Jan. 20. “Everybody’s pulling together.”

The 250 staff at the hotel have worked long hours, preparing extra meals and cleaning rooms at odd hours to accommodate late night arrivals.  No one was complaining, Gillespie said.

Both Starwood and Best Western announced that their members could contribute rewards points to the Haiti relief effort. Best Western hoteliers will also be able to donate via their monthly member statements to relief efforts being implemented by World Vision, and employees of Best Western International will be able to donate cash and vacation time.

“While we don’t have any hotels in Haiti, we have many associates with strong connections to Haiti, and our hearts go out to those that have been impacted by this tragedy,” said Dan Young, spokesman for Starwood Hotels in Canada.

“Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) is offering all members around the world the opportunity to use their points to make a donation to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Haiti. Starwood will be matching any donations made by SPG members.”

And at press time, The Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto International Airport had announced its own fundraising efforts to be held on Friday Jan. 29. These included a Tread-a-thon from 6 am until 10 pm with the goal to keep the treadmill running for 16 hours. Guests, conference attendees, restaurant patrons and associates were encouraged to make a donation to keep the track moving.

A Cookie Bake with Coffee Service was planned in the lobby from 7 am until 9 am. And executive chef Bill Jewer was to do a Shrimp Tasting from 4:30 pm until 6:00 pm. The hotel’s Mahogany Grill, Mahogany Bar and room service also promised to donate 10 per cent of their sales on Jan. 29.

Holland College in Charlottetown was planning a “Help Haiti Dinner & Silent Auction Fundraiser” at the Tourism & Culinary Centre on Friday, February 5th. The dinner was to include a reception with a complimentary glass of wine, followed by a four course dinner. Net proceeds from the $50 tickets were to go towards helping the Haiti earthquake victims.

Shoe supplier SoftMoc Canada announced a National Shoe Drive in partnership with Soles4Souls, the Shoe Charity, to support survivors of Haitian earthquake disaster.

In Chicago, Pentair Foodservice, a leader in water filtration solutions, responded to the country’s dire need for clean, filtered water.  In coordination with its Foundation, Pentair, which includes the brands Everpure and SHURflo, donated $200,000 to fund portable water treatment systems and related supplies to Haiti.

Working with the company’s charitable partner, Water Missions International, the company is able to provide 10 Living Water Treatment Systems and five chlorinators. These water systems can provide portable drinking water to approximately 100,000 total people daily, the company said in a release Jan. 20.

And on Jan. 22, Sysco Guest Supply Canada extended its hospitality to Haiti with a donation of skids of product to World Vision.

Each box and its contents was carefully chosen with the desire to provide items that would benefit the people of Haiti and assist those providing aid with the tools they would need to carry out this project, a company release said.

“Sysco Guest Supply Canada is happy to have been able to make this contribution.  Our thoughts, prayers, and compassion go out to the survivors and the families of this horrible earthquake” said Tom MacDonald, managing director.

Do you have a story about the hotel industry helping Haiti? Please let us know by using the comment section below or sending an e-mail to cisherwood@can-lodgingnews.com.