Hotels in San Jose City Come Together to Change Destiny

"Unity is Strength", so says a wise old saying that explains perfectly what is happening in San Jose City.

Renowned hotels in the city have decided to take action together to address, from a single front, promotional strategies and the strengthening of the Costa Rican capital.  Their actions involve tactical planning for positioning San Jose as a cultural tourism destination, safe and clean, where local and international tourists can enjoy these exceptional attractions.

The first successful activity undertaken by these visionary entrepreneurs was the organization of the EXPOTUR 2010 opening cocktail, held last May 19^th at Parque Morazan that, despite the drizzle in the evening, guests enjoyed a cultural show that led them on a journey through the cultural currents of San Jose.

The organization of this event was in charge of the Chamber of Hotels of San Jose City, integrated by Aurola Holiday Inn, Balmoral Hotel, Best Western Downtown San Jose, Clarion Amon Plaza, Inca Real Hotel, Maragato Hotel, Presidente Hotel and Sleep Inn Hotel, the Municipality of San Jose, and ACOPROT.

Q-ADRA Project Promotes First Urban Lung in San Jose

On June 5th, over 100 volunteers came to the event to be participants in the creation of the First Urban Lung organized by the Municipality of San Jose through the technicians and professionals of the Urban Greening Program (PLANARBU), Q-ADRA Project, MINAET, and EARTH.

This planned and commemorative tree planting represents an effort, example, and hope for the future, and at the same time a concrete and effective action to mitigate greenhouse gases, restore and improve the surroundings and its scenic beauty, air quality, and involve community in environmental projects.

This activity was attended by the Deputy Minister of Environment, Ana Lorena Guevara, representatives for public and private institutions, as well as for the Q-ADRA Project, and private individuals.

Central Avenue (Avenida Central) to have new native trees and recycling bins for pedestrians

Thanks to the communal initiative by Proyecto Q-adra and San Jose Municipality, the implementation of some new public-private sector alliances is becoming a reality, launching two new projects whose objective is to help beautify the Central Avenue, lower the level of contamination in the area and support the environment. 

The first project - Sowing of Native Trees - promotes the sowing of 24 trees all along Central Avenue.  The cost of this effort is $320 per tree, which is donated by a private entity, together with the costs of the sowing and upkeep of the tree, which are provided by the San Jose Municipality.  The first tree to kick off this project has already been donated by the Hotel Presidente and Hotel Balmoral.  Others are expected to follow. 

The second project -  Recycling Bins for Pedestrian Use - aims at having San Jose become one of the first capital cities in the world where pedestrians can dispose of their trash in a classified manner, enabling recyclable materials to be disposed of in the most efficient and effective way for the environment.  The pilot for the project was set in place four weeks ago, with the first recycling bin on Cental Avenue located in front of the Hotel Presidente, in a collaboration effort between this hotel, the RECRESCO company and the San Jose Municipality.  The bin is modeled after the bin utilized in England for public area recycling.  The pilot is proving to be a success, and further bins are planned for other key locations along the Avenue, where other private industry leaders are eager to join in the effort to preserve and better our environment.

Hotel Presidente Receives a Corporate Social Responsibility Award

Novel and successful projects in the area of climate change, environmental conservation, and social solidarity led the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce to grant its Corporate Social Responsibility award to Hotel Presidente.

This award acknowledged the consistent effort to adopt CSR as a model for the Hotel's economic development in harmony with its surroundings and the environment, adopting specific projects allowing it to have a bearing on San José's development and environmental conservation. In addition to its direct contribution, Hotel Presidente stands out for involving other small and medium-sized firms in changing toward and adopting a new corporate culture.

Katherine Carter, spokesperson for this completely Costa Rican enterprise, pointed out that, "Hotel Presidente's 130 collaborators are very honored to receive this award for Corporate Social Responsibility, because this shows that CSR is not a topic exclusive to large companies, with the ability to invest significant economic resources. Today, everyone, whether an individual or firm, faces the challenge of visualizing and diagnosing the needs of their milieu, and in some way improving and supporting solutions for these needs, ceasing to wait with their arms folded for someone else to solve them".

Exemplary Projects

In environmental conservation, Hotel Presidente's commitment is reflected in the conceptualization and development of the "Q-dra" project, which has already brought together 35 firms in San José and is mobilizing community block-leaders throughout San José to improve internal and external solid waste management and contribute to the city's cleanliness and embellishment. Furthermore, the Presidente was the first of the capital's hotels to be certified as carbon neutral, a pioneering action falling within the national strategy for climate change.

At the social level, several years ago Hotel Presidente created an alliance with Paniamor, to strengthen this NGO's activities against commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. This has given rise to the Program for Supportive Tourism, in which another seven tourism firms participate following the Presidente's example.

The hotel company is also carrying out actions in support of the Asociación por la Sonrisa de los Niños (ASONI, Association for Children's Smiles), a volunteer organization caring for boys and girls at social risk from the communities of Cristo Rey and Sagrada Familia, giving them the opportunity to experience holistic development, through psychological, educational and religious support. At the same time, the process distances them from social problems such as drug addiction, prostitution and delinquency, which in turn aids in reducing school dropouts in high-risk zones of the capital.

With more than 40 years of experience, and characterized by offering a high level of service and hospitality to travelers of all nationalities during their stay in-country, Hotel Presidente has earned 4 stars from the Costa Rican National Tourism Board, as well as receiving a Sustainable Tourism Certificate from this Board, represented by 3 leaves, showing its efforts in this field.

Green Brigade

Many times, as we walk through the city streets, we ask ourselves why there are bottles, cans and plastic scraps strewn on the pavement. How do we improve this situation when it seems to be somebody else's problem?

Hotel Presidente's staff members asked themselves how they could help improve the city's appearance and how to reduce the waste that each day contributes to environmental degradation.

Thus, the Q-dra project was born, and it symbolizes our commitment to environmentally-friendly practices that are sustainable, such as recycling programs designed to treat waste properly.

Staff at the Hotel Presidente proudly donned the Q-dra t-shirts to signify support for environmental protection and conservation, and took part in the first Green Brigade. The Green Brigade set out to collect waste in the area surrounding the hotel.

Through its actions, the Hotel Presidente's staff hopes that it sets the example for other businesses to join in these types of environmental initiatives because keeping the city clean is everyone's task.

Hotel Presidente Provides Assistance To ASONI Camp

As part of its corporate social responsibility program, Hotel Presidente and its Dollar for Dollar project, which collects and matches donations from guests, has agreed to sponsor and finance programs to benefit Costa Rica's children. During July, Hotel Presidente formed an alliance with the Association for Children's Smiles (or ASONI for the organization's name in Spanish-Asociación por la Sonrisa de los Niños), thorough which several members of the hotel's staff participated in its summer camps.

ASONI is a nonprofit organization that works with at-risk children from the Cristo Rey and Sagrada Familia communities. ASONI provides these children with psychological, educational and religious support to help deal with and avoid endemic social problems such as drug use, prostitution, and delinquency that often also result in dropping out of school.

"For the Hotel Presidente's staff, it has been a great experience to work with our social responsibility programs," said Ana Isabel Soto, who coordinated the activity on behalf of Hotel Presidente.

The ASONI camps have been created to provide a place for healthy recreation and to motivate academic achievement by rewarding effort in school during the first semester of the 2008 academic year.

"The activities provided many happy moments, camaraderie and satisfaction," added Ms. Soto, who also quoted founder Father Vicente Claudi's words: "Where there is a child, there will be a man." Without a doubt, the camps prove that there is a future full of hope for each of these children.

Hotel Presidente Donates Medical Equipment to Costa Rica National Children's Hospital

Donation is Part of Hotel's Corporate Social Responsibility Program

San Jose, Costa Rica (April 1, 2008) - Thousands of Costa Rica's children will benefit from Hotel Presidente's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) donation to the National Children's Hospital.Hotel Presidente donated the equipment, worth 15.5 million colones, to ensure that each child treated at Children's Hospital receives the highest quality medical attention. This year, the hotel's CSR program is focusing on children and on ensuring their wellbeing.The equipment that is being donated includes a pediatric intubation fibro-scope, an electronic 90-degree multi-phase trans-esophagus trans-ductor, a Stryker cast cutter and a vacuum system."The pediatric intubation fibro-scope is used prior to operating on a child to check from the nasal passage down to the trachea. It is also used to locate any adenoids or tumors within the respiratory passages," said Max Barrantes, pediatric doctor at the National Children's Hospital.According to Dr. Barrantes, the electronic 90-degree multi-phase trans-esophagus trans-ductor is useful to cardiologists, as it is used in ultrasounds of the heart.The Stryker cast cutter is used to remove children's casts. The portable vacuum system is used to remove secretions. Dr. Barrantes added:  "Many children suffer from severe secretions and this vacuum is used to remove phlegm from the nose and throat, especially in children with brain paralysis."We know that we cannot eliminate sick children's pain or their parent's worry but we can guarantee quality care through specialized equipment," said Katherine Carter, operations manager at Hotel Presidente. Hotel Presidente implemented its Corporate Social Responsibility program two years ago. In fact, this is not the first time it has donated medical equipment. "We usually work with the Red Cross, but this year our CSR program is focused on children so we contacted the National Children's Hospital," added Carter.

Hotel Presidente CowParade Sponsor - April, 2008

CowParade is the major public art event, this year to take place in and be organized by the city of San José and sponsored by private enterprises, whereby artwork is auctioned and proceeds benefit non-profit foundations.

It begins in Zurich 1998, where the dream of developing local artists is fulfilled by offering them a venue for their artistic expression and a life-sized fiberglass cow as a canvas.

As such, Costa Rica is the first Central American country to witness this parade that has brought life to urban centers as diverse as Zurich, Chicago, New York, Sidney, Houston and London. These works of art become a magnificent spectacle where the public immediately identifies with the cows, upon perceiving elements and symbols rooted in local art, culture and customs.

The exhibit began on March 27th and ends August 1st of 2008. The artwork is placed along the Central Avenue Boulevard, the Culture Plaza (Plaza de la Cultura), the 4th Avenue boulevard, Morazán Park, and the Ricardo Jiménez Boulevard.

Assistance for the 2008 School Year - Feb 2nd,2008

Through its Corporate Social Responsibility program, wich supports education, Hotel Presidente donated school supplies to the Madre de Dios shelter of the Association for Children's Smiles (ASONI) of Cristo Rey, prior to the stast of the school year. This valuable gift will benefit 315 young people from two of ASONI's shelters, one located in Cristo Rey and the other in Sagrada Familia. Vicente Caudeli Sanz is the priest in charge of this project.

"We firmly believe that the best way to guarantee a healthy and successful future for children is through education. Education is the best way to keep youngsters off the street and safe from its dangers", said Hotel Presidente's Operations Manager Katherine Carter. She added: "Hotel Presidente has always provided support to children and youth at risk in San José, since they represent the future of our city" Children in pre-school through sixth grade and teens in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades will receive a complete package of shool supplies, corresponding to the appropriate grade. The package include items such as modeling clay, paper ( bond, construction and newsprint), color pencils, tempera paints, scissors, notebooks, erasers, rules, glue, and lined paper. These school supply packages will be completed with a carryall bag, also donated by the Hotel Presidente. The donation of school supplies, worth 3 million colones, will help diminish school absenteeism in high risk areas in San José, helping those families who need it the most.

Dollar for dollar for the Children - June, 2007...

One dollar is added daily to our guests' accounts to help the "Protecting Children from Commercial Sexual Exploitation" program.

The Conduct Code for the protection of children and adolescents against commercial sexual exploitation during travel and tourism was developed in 2003 as part of the tourism business sector's effort to contribute to improving the population's quality of life in general, and protecting fundamental rights of children and adolescents in particular. The project was coordinated by the Paniamor Foundation. As part of its social responsibility activities, Hotel Presidente participated in this effort from its inception. Funds collected during this campaign will be used in the prevention of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the country's most vulnerable areas. If you require more information, please visit www. protegiendoles.org, or call the Paniamor Foundation at (506) 234-2993 or email promocion@paniamor.or.cr