Reimagining the way we stay for a sustainable and inclusive future.
Heartful started with a simple belief:
Travel and accommodation can be more than just transactions — they can be a force for good.
Frustrated by the impersonal nature of most platforms, we set out to build something different. A place where values like trust, sustainability, and local connection come first. Every listing on Heartful supports individuals, communities, or causes, creating real-world impact with every stay.
We're not just here to help people find a place to sleep.
We're here to help them belong, give back, and travel with purpose.
Purpose
To equip and support conscious hosts and guests with short-term accommodation options that reflect diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability.
Vision
To reimagine the way we stay, creating a tourism sector where everyone feels truly welcome, and where care for people and the planet is at the heart of every stay.
Values
The guiding, uncompromising principles that drive the way we conduct ourselves – our behaviour, approach and outcomes.
Quality
Attention to detail and thoughtful, special touches – because everyone deserves a quality stay. We firmly stand for corners uncut and steps un-skipped.
Accessibility
To us this is about inclusivity – making everyone feel welcome, safe and at home. This goes beyond the clinical and black and white. We'll advocate for considered, meaningful elements that put the human at the centre.
Sustainability
Sensible, purposeful and good for people and planet. This shows up for us in lots of ways, from the expectations and criteria we set for hosts, promoting sustainable practices, partnering with sustainable providers, right through to tempering our own growth and ambitions with a dose of reality.
Creativity
Unleashing our creativity and imagination will help save the world. We invite creativity in the way we solve problems, how we engage with hosts and guests, through to how we create more inclusive, unique, design-led stays.
Responsibility
In our business, this means we're transparent and accountable. We'll look to the collective for consensus, but take the responsibility for the final call. We'll share our wins and our failures. By setting a higher bar, we're all striving for better.
Our Story
On the back of her top ranking podcast, Hosting With Heart, and the Australian accommodation directory of the same name, Heartful was founded in 2023 by social impact entrepreneur, professional designer and former short-term accommodation host Jen Clark.
Jen, a Macedon Ranges, Victoria local who lives with multiple disabilities and is a member of the LGBTIQ community, has spent over 25 years in the graphic and digital design sector, including 4 years leading the interactive design team at one of Australia’s largest online directories businesses, Sensis.
She was a finalist in the 2008 Telstra Business Awards and was also nominated for the Telstra Business Woman of the Year award in multiple years from 2008 to 2011.
Via her 13-year-old design practice, Jen Clark Design, she won the Australian Web Industry Association’s ‘Best Startup Website’ award in 2017, arming her with the technical skills and practical experience needed to oversee the build of a highly complex digital platform like Heartful.
In late 2023, Jen successfully spearheaded a Birchal equity crowdfunding campaign, raising $132,000 from over 130 investors to bring Heartful to fruition.
As someone committed to real action on climate change and to helping create a more accessible, inclusive world, Jen cannot wait to see Heartful grow and emerge as the accommodation booking platform of choice for conscious travellers and hosts alike.
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