#givingtuesday is today

After Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, today is officially #GivingTuesday. We’ve been spending a lot of time, lately talking about how you can do good when you travel. So, we thought we’d share a bit about how we give back when our clients travel.

Like many travel advisors, we charge a small fee when our clients travel. That professional services retainer (which is 100% refundable if you’re not satisfied with the job we do, by the way), covers all the things we do to help make your travel simple, seamless and stress-free. After all, we don’t just book travel for people; we use our professional expertise and our industry connections to take care of our clients before, during and after their trip.

But a portion of that professional services retainer also goes toward giving back. This year, we’ve revamped our fee structure and part of the changes we implemented was that we’re now using part of our fee to calculate and pay for a carbon offset for our clients’ travels.

When you travel, it’s inevitable that there will be carbon emissions that contribute to the devastating effects of climate change. It’s just an unfortunate reality in this day and age. So what’s the solution—to stay home? We don’t think that’s viable. The world is an incredible place, and you should see as much of it as you can while you’re here. Travel changes you, so that you can change the world.

Instead, we think the solution is to reduce the carbon emissions that you can, and arrange for a carbon offset. for those emissions that are unavoidable. By purchasing a carbon offset, you’re essentially supporting a carbon reduction project somewhere else in the world. And when you travel with Huckleberry Travel, we do that for you, by purchasing a carbon offset from Cool Effect.

Cool Effect supports bird sanctuaries and orangutan conservation efforts. They support reforestation projects and clean cookstove projects in Africa. And, here’s a fun little cartoon about how one of the Cool Effect projects in Vietnam works:

Turning poop into renewable energy! Cool, huh?

Yes, cool, indeed. That’s the Cool Effect.

If you’d like to travel with us and do some good, we’d be happy to plan a carbon-neutral trip for you. Or, if you’re looking for a gift to give to someone for #GivingTuesday, you can purchase carbon offsets for your friends and family at the Cool Effect website.