The 聽announced today its foray into the hotel business. The 126-year-old nonprofit launched 鈥攁 hotel collection that emphasizes sustainability, improving local communities, and promoting experiential travel.
鈥淭he idea has been over a year in the making,鈥 Lynn Cutter, National Geographic Society鈥檚 executive vice president of travel and licensing, told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚t was a natural extension of the travel portfolio we already have in place, like National Geographic Traveler聽magazine and National Geographic Expeditions, a travel program through which you can book tours.鈥 Unique Lodges of the World launches with 24 properties spread across six continents; more lodges are in the pipeline.
The lodges that made the initial list evolved from suggestions by National Geographic Traveler聽editor-at-large Costas Christ and the portfolio used by National Geographic Expeditions. A few lodge operators that applied to be included in the collection were new to Nat Geo. 鈥淲e spent between one and three months vetting each of properties individually to ensure they met our criteria,鈥 Cutter said. 鈥淥ne lodge we liked didn鈥檛 make the list because we discovered they weren鈥檛 as involved with the local community as we would have liked. We advised them on how to improve their standing so that they could join Unique Lodges of the World in the future.鈥
Each lodge in the collection remains independently owned and operated but must adhere to Nat Geo鈥檚 standards to keep the Unique Lodges of the World branding. The lodges will be reevaluated every three years. Guests who book through the Unique Lodges of the World website will have access to exclusive experiences such as behind the scenes tours and dinners.聽