April 11, 2022 – Created by a group of hospitality industry veterans, #HospitalityHelps is an online booking platform for short-term hotel stays for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Through the website www.Hospitality-Helps.org, Ukrainian residents who are seeking shelter can book short-term stays at hotels around Europe and beyond that provide free accommodation. 24/7 support is provided in three languages (Ukrainian, Russian and English) by Ukrainian refugees who were successfully accommodated by #HospitalityHelps.
To date, the global initiative is supported by over 600 hotels representing many of the world’s leading hospitality groups including Accor, Hilton, IHG and Marriott as well as independent hotels, and is the only booking platform that offers free accommodation across borders and brands.
One of #HospitalityHelps hotels partners Martin Oesterreich, General Manager of the Zoku Hotel in Austria, commenting on his involvement:
“With the war so close to home, we wanted to do something to help the people of the Ukraine. Since we joined #HospitalityHelps we have been able to host 35 families. Even today, I can’t begin to put myself in the shoes of the people who lost everything from one moment to the next and I am glad that initiatives like #HospitalityHelps were set up so quickly so we can come together as an industry to provide support.”
“I will never forget our first guest Anastasiia and her two children who came to us from Kyiv on March 4th. To see the children playing in our loft and their mother crying for joy is probably one of the most moving things I have experienced. Our team does everything in their power to provide as much warmth, rest and “normality” as possible, from playing with the kids in our social spaces to preparing healthy and tasty meals. One of our team members, Hanga, has been working with a translator to write each family a few personal words in Ukrainian”, Martin added.
Ruby Hotels, a group of hotels, represented in nine different European cities, is supporting #HospitalityHelps with all of their properties. Yvonne Paeslack, Head of Service at the Ruby Marie Hotel in Vienna, shares her impressions, when seeing the first refugees coming to their hotel: “I felt desperately sorry for the Ukrainian families who were so grateful, quiet and calm and did not want to have the attention on themselves. It was very emotional but pleased we were able to help in a small but impactful way.”
Initiators of #HospitalityHelps are PKF hospitality group, The Bench, HotelSwaps, Moodley, Museum Booster and Zoocha, supported by many other companies who have volunteered to help.
