Photo from Kind Traveler: ASUPMATOMA (Southern Baja California Association for the Protection of the Environment and Sea Turtles of Los Cabos) © Pedro Fdezdela Vega
By Mia Taylor
Spanning the southern tip of the 1,000-mile-long Baja Peninsula, Los Cabos is a destination renowned for its striking natural beauty, abundant marine life, and dedication to environmental protection and sustainable, responsible tourism.
On the environmental protection front, efforts include an impressive 42 percent of Baja California Sur territory designated as a protected natural area. There are also numerous conservation-focused accommodations throughout the region, as well as an abundance of eco-conscious tour operators.
In addition to these highlights, in November 2024, Los Cabos Tourism joined forces with Kind Traveler (KindTraveler.com) to participate in its Every Stay Gives Back (ESGB) program, further advancing responsible tourism throughout the region.
As part of the partnership, a portion of the cost of every guest stay at participating hotel partners in Los Cabos, including Solmar Hotels & Resorts, Pueblo Bonito Golf & Spa Resorts, Cabo Villas, Drift San Jose del Cabo, Hotel El Ganzo, and Flora Farms (new), supports local charity beneficiaries. That, in turn, positively impacts the overall well-being of Los Cabos and helps to create a more vibrant, sustainable future.
But here’s the most exciting part about the partnership: Since joining the ESGB program less than two years ago, Los Cabos has become the first destination in Kind Traveler’s network to surpass $1 million in donations.
That’s a truly monumental milestone, representing tremendous support for local charity beneficiaries, all thanks to travelers who book stays at participating hotels.
“The Every Stay Gives Back program creates a direct connection between the visitor experience and local impact, making it easy for travelers to contribute…helping to support the people, organizations, and natural resources that are so important to us at Los Cabos Tourism,” Los Cabos Tourism Board’s Managing Director, Rodrigo Esponda, told Kind Traveler.
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Many travelers want to give back to the places they visit around the world, but don’t always know how best to do so.
The ESGB partnership with Los Cabos offers a vivid example of how that dilemma can be addressed in a way that’s effortless for travelers and extremely effective for the destination.
In honor of the $1 million milestone Los Cabos has reached, we spoke with some of the ESGB participants to discuss their experiences and the impact the program has had.
The Inspiration Behind the Partnership
At its core, tourism is about connection: The connection between people and places, cultures, and communities. At its best, tourism can also create a meaningful, positive impact for the places travelers visit. Those realities are what attracted Los Cabos Tourism to join the ESGB program, said Esponda.
“In Los Cabos, we’ve always believed that the success of a destination should be shared by the community that makes it special,” Esponda explained.
“Every Stay Gives Back provides a simple and transparent way for travelers to support local organizations doing important work in areas like environmental conservation, community development, and social well-being.”
The impact of Los Cabos’ membership thus far has been remarkable. In less than two years of participating in the ESGB program, more than $1.2 million has been generated for five local charitable organizations.
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That figure represents 6,390 students receiving art materials for one month from La Playa Centro Comunitario, and 15,609 pouches of wet food supplied to rescued animals by Flora Farm’s Corazon Flora Animal Welfare Department. The $1.2 million generated by ESGB also paid for seawater quality monitoring at 560 sites, with the service provided by Amigos para la Conservación de Cabo Pulmo, and protected 8,220 sea turtle hatchlings so they could return safely to the ocean with ASUPMATOMA. And still that’s not all. The Letty Coppel Foundation provided nearly 140,000 breakfasts per week to children in need, and the Solmar Foundation awarded a one-month university scholarship to 24,727 underserved students.
These numbers, along with the $1.2 million raised, are an accomplishment that Los Cabos is extremely proud of.
“What’s most meaningful, however, isn’t just the number itself. It’s what that number represents,” said Esponda. “It reflects thousands of travelers choosing to support local causes, hotels embracing responsible tourism, and nonprofit organizations receiving resources that help them continue their work.”
Accommodation Partners Find an Easy Path to Sustainable Goals
One of the accommodation partners that has chosen to embrace ESGB is Cabo Villas, a luxury villa vacation rental company in Cabo San Lucas. In fact, Cabo Villas was the first company in Los Cabos to join the program.
“I had been searching for a way to create a more sustainable and organized giving program that would allow both our company and our guests to make a real difference in the community,” said Julie Byrd, President of Cabo Villas. “When the Los Cabos Tourism Board introduced us to Kind Traveler and the Every Stay Gives Back program, it felt like the perfect fit. We were proud to become the first company in Los Cabos to join the program and help pioneer a new model of responsible tourism in the destination.”
For Byrd, Los Cabos has given so much to Cabo Villas over the company’s 35 years in business. Supporting the destination through ESGB is one way the team has intentionally given back to the community that has given them so much.
Over the years, Cabo Villas has supported a variety of causes—from tree planting initiatives and ocean cleanups to conservation efforts for the vaquita marina. But, as Byrd explains, those efforts were often independent initiatives without a long-term framework or a way to measure their collective impact.
Kind Traveler’s ESGB program, on the other hand, has made giving back much more streamlined.
“It couldn’t be easier. Kind Traveler created a simple, transparent framework that allows us to integrate giving directly into the guest experience,” continued Byrd. “The program provides accountability, reporting, and a clear connection between travel and community impact, making it easy for both our team and our guests to participate.”
Reflecting on the progress made as one of the program’s early adopters, Byrd said she’s fortunate to have witnessed firsthand how a small contribution from each guest stay can create meaningful results over time.
“The Every Stay Gives Back program makes supporting local nonprofits simple, measurable, and meaningful,” she said. “Guests increasingly want to travel with purpose, and this program allows hospitality companies to create a positive impact without adding complexity to their operations. When businesses, travelers, and local organizations work together, everyone benefits, and most importantly, the destination benefits.”
The leaders of Solmar Hotels & Resorts offer similar praise for the ESGB program and its benefits. Founded 50 years ago, Solmar Hotels & Resorts’ growth story parallels that of Los Cabos. As the region was emerging as a popular destination for travelers half a century ago, Solmar was also building its brand and offerings. As a result, Solmar’s growth over the years has been closely tied to the community’s trajectory.
Solmar’s founder, Don Luis Bulnes, also believed that “the success of Los Cabos should create opportunities and improve quality of life for the people who call this destination home,” said Leslie Herrera, marketing manager for Solmar. The Solmar Foundation was established to bring Bulnes’ philanthropic vision to life.
“Joining Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back program was a natural extension of that commitment,” Herrera explained. “The program allows us to connect tourism with meaningful community impact by giving travelers an easy way to contribute simply through their choice of accommodations. It reflects our belief that hospitality should not only create memorable vacations, but also leave a positive and lasting impact on the destinations we serve.”
The ESGB program has provided a simple, transparent, and highly effective way for Solmar to expand its community impact while engaging guests in the process, Herrera adds. The program, she said, integrates seamlessly into the travel experience and allows visitors to become part of the positive change taking place in Los Cabos.
And here’s perhaps the most remarkable part of Solmar’s membership in ESGB: Since joining the program back in January 2025, Solmar Hotels & Resorts and its guests have generated more than $370,000 for the Solmar Foundation. Those funds have helped provide the equivalent of more than 24,700 monthly educational scholarships for underserved students throughout Baja California Sur.
“It is incredibly rewarding to see how small contributions from individual stays can collectively create such meaningful outcomes for our community,” said Herrera.
Nonprofit Beneficiaries in Los Cabos
A story about the progress being made in Los Cabos would hardly be complete without a look at the programs that benefit. The five chosen nonprofits that benefit from ESGB funding include La Playa Centro Comunitario, Flora Farm’s Corazon Flora Animal Welfare Department, Solmar Foundation, Fundacion Letty Coppel, and ASUPMATOMA.
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Collectively, these organizations work to address a broad spectrum of needs and issues in the Los Cabos region, including fostering environmental awareness and sustainable practices, protecting and studying marine turtles, addressing critical issues related to the health and welfare of children, the elderly, and animals, and supporting vulnerable families. The ESGB funding has provided valuable, meaningful support for those efforts.
At Flora Farms, where the Animal Welfare Department is dedicated to improving the lives of animals throughout the Los Cabos community through rescue, rehabilitation, veterinary care, and responsible adoption, the ESGB funding supports critical programming.
“Support from the Kind Traveler Every Stay Gives Back program has a direct and meaningful impact on the work of Corazón de Flora,” said Gloria Greene, owner of Flora Farms. “These funds help provide essential veterinary services, including vaccinations, spay and neuter procedures, medical treatments, emergency care, food, shelter, and ongoing rehabilitation for rescued animals.”
Funding from ESGB also supports Corazón de Flora’s outreach and educational initiatives designed to promote responsible pet ownership and reduce animal homelessness throughout the community.
“This support is especially important because it provides a reliable source of funding that allows Corazón de Flora to address immediate needs while continuing to invest in long-term animal welfare initiatives,” continued Greene. “Every contribution helps ensure that more animals receive the care they need and gives the team the resources to expand its impact across Los Cabos.”
At the Letty Coppel Foundation, meanwhile, every dollar from ESGB goes directly toward the organization’s Social Assistance Centers and the free services provided to hundreds of families each month, from medical attention and psychological support to food baskets, school supplies, clothing, and support for people living with disabilities or cancer.
“When you consider that we raise approximately $520,000 annually and that something as concrete as a food basket costs $20, the scale of what this kind of sustained support makes possible becomes very real,” said Sofia Estrada, director of the Letty Coppel Foundation.
“What makes ESGB especially significant to us is that it connects travelers to the community that lives here year-round,” Estrada added. “That connection matters. Tourism and community wellbeing are not separate things. They are deeply linked, and programs like this one make that visible.”
