The Ecological Programme offers guests staying more than two nights the chance to forgo housekeeping services. For every night a guest opts out, the hotel donates €1/£1 to international development charity Just a Drop.
In return, guests can choose from a selection of rewards, such as a bottle of wine or a voucher for the hotel’s restaurant. As well donating money to charity, the programme also supports PPHE’s environmental efforts by reducing water and energy use.
The programme has expanded year-on-year and has been introduced in 19 hotels in the UK, Netherlands and Italy across the group’s Park Plaza, art’otel, and Holmes collections.
PPHE started its partnership with Just a Drop in 2022. Since then, the company has supported projects in 112 communities in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, India, Cambodia, and Nicaragua, bringing safe water, hygiene and sanitation to 58,734 people.
Alex Matulina, ESG Manager at PPHE Hotel Group, said: 'We’re committed to promoting environmental and social responsibility across every area of our business.
"Our Ecological Programme helps us to reduce our environmental impact, and, through our partnership with Just a Drop, it allows us to support communities around the world with access to clean water, giving them the resources to improve their health, wellbeing, and livelihoods.
"We’re delighted to have raised £500,000 for Just a Drop and grateful to every member of staff within PPHE who has worked to make our Ecological Programme such a success."
Alice Murphy, Corporate Partnerships and Events Manager at Just a Drop, added: "We’ve very proud to have partnered with PPHE Hotel Group for the past four years.
"When the Ecological Programme was first launched, we set a target of raising £10,000 to support a project in Cambodia. To date, they’ve raised 50 times that amount and supported 34 projects in six different countries.
"Raising half a million pounds is an incredible achievement – and is testament to PPHE’s commitment to both the environment and to transforming the lives of communities around the world with access to safe water and sanitation."
