Travel For Ukraine Auction launches

- Over £100K of trips donated by the travel industry for an auction to raise funds for the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal -

The Travel for Ukraine auction has launched: Almost 50 amazing trips, worth over £100K, with every penny bid going to support refugees displaced by the current conflict in Ukraine. Go to https://uk.givergy.com/travelforukraine/ to view the incredible trips which include stays in world class resorts, spas, health and fitness retreats as well as boutique hotels, holiday cottages, houseboats and yurts in worldwide locations - #travelforukraine.

The Travel For Ukraine initiative has brought together a wide selection of trips which have been generously donated by the travel and hospitality industries to allow all the proceeds to go directly to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal (dec.org.uk).

What's more to encourage bidding, the minimum price for all the lots is around 40% of their real value, with prices starting from just £200 and going up to £5200 for a trip with a value of £13,000.

The choice of breaks going under the virtual hammer is huge which will hopefully attract a lot of interest. There's the chance to meet Santa in Lapland on a family trip, a luxury stay at Soneva Kiri in Thailand for up to four people, week long health and fitness trips from The Ranch at the soon to be launched new location in Italy as well as a transformative health retreat for two with in:spa.

Or for relaxing breaks there's a week at Windjammer Landing in St Lucia or at LUX Grande Gaude in Mauritius, a wellness break for two at Ananda Spa in the Himalayas, a stay on Phuket in one of The Nai Harn's Ocean View Suites or a stay at Daios Cove on Crete or Vila Vila Parc on the Algarve in Portugal.

New trips are being added as interest grows. For any interested hotels or travel companies who are willing to add to the roster of holidays go to this link to find out more.

Kathryn Brierley, founder and managing director of The Healthy Holiday Company and in:spa retreats, is behind the initiative. She has rallied friends in the travel industry to get involved and donate trips in order to provide a really wide selection of holidays in the UK, Europe and further afield working in partnership with travel PR specialist consultancy Travel Tonic.

“Like everyone, I've been watching the news and feeling that I really wanted to do something to help. The incredible work done by the #cookforukraine movement really inspired me to reach out to my travel industry partners to see if they wanted to join forces and put together an impressive auction of trips where we could reassure people donating that every penny counts,” Brierley says.

Closer to home stays to be auctioned include a night at The Grove in Hertfordshire, a spoiling suite stay at the Hyatt Regency London, a city to sea escape combining Bath and Cornwall, as well as several superb holiday homes from Oliver's Travels, a glamping holiday in Monmouthshire at Penhein, a stay at the Culloden Estate and Spa near Belfast as well as The Caledonian in Edinburgh. The choice is endless with the full list of options to be viewed here and being added to daily.

The project hopes to raise tens of thousands of pounds for the 11 million people who have fled the conflict in Ukraine – and every pound counts: £100 could provide emergency food for two families for a month, £50 could pay for blankets for four families. 

“The response has been overwhelming and I know we have only scratched the surface with the potential for other lots to be added to the auction over the next week. I'm especially grateful for everyone's support as all these businesses have been hit hard in the last couple of years by the pandemic,” Brierley added.

The full details of each of the trips are listed on the auction's website and bids are open until 23.59 on Sunday May 8 when the winning bid for each lot will be announced. Some of the trips have a few terms and conditions attached which are clearly stated and a few like the group fitness retreats and the Santa trips have specific departure dates.

In the meantime, for everyone to comment about the auction and share with friends and family on social media please use #travelforukraine and tag in the social media channels below to join in the conversation.

To access the auction and bid for these trips go to:  https://uk.givergy.com/travelforukraine/

For anyone who is interested in donating a trip for auction you are able to add a prize via a form on the auction site. The prize will then be reviewed before being uploaded. A minimum value of £500 has been set and trips can be added until the end of 4 May 2022 https://uk.givergy.com/travelforukraine/?controller=additionalInfo&action=page&number=2

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Social channels: 

Instagram @travelforukraine and Facebook @travel4ukraine Twitter travel4ukraine

#TravelforUkraine

The campaign is being run by The Healthy Holiday Company - www.thehealthyholidaycompany.com@healthyholidaycompany.

Notes to Editors: 

For further press information please contact Fiona Reece and Claire Southern at Travel Tonic - 01452 346 116 or fiona@traveltonic.co.uk / claire@traveltonic.co.uk 

How to support Travel for Ukraine campaign:

• Go togivergy.com/travelforukraine and choose the auction item you would like to bid on. 
• Register on the site and enter your card details to make your first bid. You will be notified by text and email if you are outbid, so you can consider increasing your donation. 
• Winning bidders will be notified they have been successful after the auction endsat 23.59 BST on 8 May 2022.
• If you've been successful, your credit or debit cards will be charged and you'll be issued with details of your trip. 
• The money collected by the auction site Givergy will be paid directly into the DEC fund.
• The Healthy Holiday Company has covered all of the Givergy platform fixed fees. However, there is a processing fee of 2.5 per cent that is deducted from all successful bids. Or you can add this amount as part of your donation.
• Terms and conditions for each bid are listed on the site. Most are flexible, although do note that some, like the family Santa trip and the group fitness retreats, have specific dates or a limited window of availability. None of the trips include flights and these can either be booked via the partner or directly.