I’m proof that #NiceTravels

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of DoubleTree by Hilton for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I met a few young people who helped me discover Thailand.

What is as contagious as laughter and feels JUST as good?

Oooh…Oooh….Oooh (waving my hand in the air to answer my own question)

Doing something nice, paying it forward, helping someone out.

When you’re a traveler you know that things don’t always go as planned, and if it weren’t for the kindness of perfect strangers, I know that the time I’ve spent on the road would not have been nearly as awesome as it has been. On the flip side, being able to spread around some random kindness is absolutely contagious.

Just two weeks ago, I was in Hong Kong….in pain. I could barely walk, I couldn’t even sit comfortably, but a wonderful man that I met as I was checking into a hotel arranged for me to get a reflexology treatment and gave me a gift of a natural heating pad that helped me to get back up on my feet. He did this within moments of meeting me for the first time. What could have been the end of my trip, instead became the beginning of an adventure, as I learned how just ONE PERSON going out of his way to be nice, changed the course of my trip.

Not only was I appreciative, but it changed me. I came away with the need to pay it forward…not just once, but regularly.

Rachel lends her strength to row a boat full of vacationers.

#NiceTravels

a movement driving random acts of kindness to prove that “nice” is contagious

It turns out that doing something “nice” for someone ELSE actually makes YOU feel better as well. It doesn’t matter if you’re in your own hometown, Samut Songkhram, Thailand (where I learned how to buy food at the train market with the help of locals), or with your family on that theme park vacation you saved up for.

Pay It Forward day – April 28^th!

Yes, there IS a day to celebrate paying it forward. Isn’t it time you turn your travel experiences into positive ones not only for you, but for those you meet? Put out what you want to get back, and you’ll find that you’ll have some great travel stories to tell, not only on pay it forward day, but EVERYDAY.

Even with a language barrier, they were quick to help us join in.

Doing something kind

Leaving a positive impression has a ripple effect – it doesn’t just produce a smile, but the desire to make someone else smile too. In other words:

Nice Travels. Even brands can get involved

I’ve stayed at my fair share of DoubleTree by Hilton hotels (I love those delicious cookies at the front desk), but did you know that they are committed to creating a positive travel experience?

How DoubleTree by Hilton is making travel nice

Beginning 4/28 (Pay it Forward day) in New York City Doubletree by Hilton is celebrating the fact that “nice” does travel by giving away 20,000 free cookies in New York City. Cookies will be handed out in pairs of two – encouraging passersby to keep one and share one with someone else as an act of kindness. If you’re in the city, make sure to look for them, because the cookies are SO GOOD and you might be able to turn someones day around just by sharing.

How cool is it that there is actually a Nice Travels Index?

DoubleTree by Hilton’ Nice Travels Index was created to seek out conversation about travel and to give those little acts of kindness the attention that they deserve. Using this real-time social listening and measurement tool, DoubleTree by Hilton can monitor and engage with conversations about travel. With over 620,000 identifying as passionate travelers on Twitter, only 36% of the online conversation about travel is positive. Isn’t it time we changed that? You CAN!

Share your own #NiceTravels

Share your own #NiceTravels moments for the chance to win free stay, and pay it forward in your own way. Make sure to post a picture of your act of kindness with #NiceTravels and #ContestEntry on Instagram, and Twitter, or upload directly to NiceTravels.com and you could win a free one-night stay from the hotel brand that wants to make travel nicer for everyone – DoubleTree by Hilton.

Check out the mosaic

You can look for your uploaded #NiceTravels pic on the cool mosaic and see your own random act of kindness that you’ve inspired, plus check- out what others have done to be nice.

Click here to see how Nice Travels.

Snap a picture capturing the everyday kindness that you encounter and share it across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using #NiceTravels and #ContestEntry for a chance to win a free night at DoubleTree by Hilton AND have your picture added to their interactive mosaic at NiceTravels.com in the form of none other than a cookie, because niceness starts with a warm chocolate chip cookie at DoubleTree by Hilton.

Enter through May 25, 2016