There are already so many ways to contribute to support the cause in Ukraine.

From the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the International Red Cross, many organizations are skilled at getting funds where they are needed most.

Regardless of your distance from the Ukrainian border, with just a few clicks, even independent hoteliers can make an impact and get their guests involved in the process. If you are interested, here are a few easy steps.

Use dynamic-packaging functionality to invite guests to add a donation at the time of reservation. The donations can be collected and donated to a charity weekly or monthly.

If you choose this option, be sure the charity is well-vetted. If you have the ability to include images, be sure positive ones supplant those that may be overly emotional to be sure it’s seen in a good light.

Finally, be clear about the charity and how the donation will be facilitated. You may choose to update a tally on your hotel’s website regularly so that people can witness the impact of their actions. Some organizations may also offer a blog post that you can include to support efforts.

Commission processing is a great way to generate donations, but this does require marketing of some degree.

Use your website to promote the offer and create a link to the booking engine with a pseudo-IATA number embedded. On a regular basis, charge the credit cards attached to the booking with the percentage added. Keep in mind that these must be in full point increments (i.e. 1%).

Another option is to promote this with travel agents for a period of time. If certain agencies agree to donate a portion of their commission, you can then direct this to the charity of choice at time of payment.

You could allow for a purchase of loyalty points through your program. Similar to a gift card, this is an easy way to collect funds for use by a charity.

If there is a Ukrainian support entity looking for a hotel in an affected area, they could use these points to buy a stay for individuals or staff members in need. Alternatively, you could use these purchased points to be turned into a donation from your loyalty program to a charity.

It’s likely that your system can charge for destination or resort fees. Like a tax, these are usually mandatory nightly fees charged to the customer — in some systems they may be optional.

Create a fee for your charity and levy it during the booking. The key here is to be specific. Often, there aren’t images or enough space for descriptive detail, so you may need to refer people elsewhere to find more information that conveys the whys and hows of the “fee.”

If this is an optional setting through your system, even better: You can allow someone to check a box if they wish to opt out, or opt in.

Promotional codes can work differently from system to system, but generally they allow for a deduction off of a stay.

If your central reservation system allows it as an add-on, you can simply add a flat fee that is accepted — similar to dynamic packages. This can be passed automatically from a link from your website so the customer need not remember the code.

As with dynamic packages, hoteliers are encouraged to be detailed and share the success of the promotion to help those in Ukraine.

At the end of a booking, you could create a simple link to a charity that allows the customer to complete their booking with you — capturing revenue — but then sends them to the other entity to facilitate the donation end-to-end, keeping you out of it. Just do this at the end of the process!

The hotel may decide to offer a donation in lieu of, or in addition to, a guest-generated one.

One idea is to have a note during the confirmation process that indicates a donation has been made on behalf of the guest. By making this a flat amount — say, $10 per booking — you can have a consistent message stating this on the booking engine and on a confirmation. For example, this could say, “A $10 donation to the Ukrainian Mission of the International Rescue Committee will be provided on your behalf. Thank you for your generosity.”

While these are a few simple ideas, the goal is to work with a known entity and to be as transparent as possible to ensure your customers know the donation they are offering will get where it is needed. In the end, any effort to help the people of Ukraine is certain to make a difference.

Rhett Hirko is global vice president of revenue optimization for Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community.Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concern.

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