Preferred Hotels & Resorts is strongly committed to supporting the corporate social responsibility initiatives of member hotels, which individually create positive impacts within their respective communities. The Ueberroth family recognized that Preferred Hotels & Resorts could support the initiatives of member hotels, featuring issues of social, economic, or sustainable scope. Their commitment to this idea led them to recognize member hotels that focused on corporate social responsibility within their own communities and beyond with the creation of GIFFTS, while Preferred Hotels & Resorts also features an internal program for associates to encourage their own volunteerism.
GIFTTS: Great Initiatives for Today's (Tomorrow's) Society was created to inspire members of the hospitality industry to foster a commitment to their local communities within the following areas, in hopes that a global environment will be encouraged based on the tenets of tolerance, generosity, and awareness:
GIFTTS works to recognize member hotels in two distinct ways through the Pineapple Awards and Certificates of Excellence. The Pineapple Awards are bestowed upon member hotels that excel in one of the four aforementioned categories, with an Overall Pineapple Award Leader who participates strongly in all four initiatives. The Certificates of Excellence recognize each member hotel for their activism within each category.
Through GIFTTS, Preferred Hotels & Resorts has partnered with the distinguished nonprofit organization, Clean The World. Founded in 2009 in Orlando, Florida, Clean The World delivers on its mission of collecting soaps and shampoo products that have been discarded by hospitality properties, and then disseminating these products to those in need around the world, from homeless shelters to developing countries, and beyond. Their aim is to alleviate preventable disease through their distribution efforts. Since its founding date, Clean the World has collected more than 22 million bars of soap and distributed them to over 96 countries.