Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact that travel has on the environment and its role in the climate crisis. With tourism accounting for 8% of the world’s carbon emissions and the hotel sector alone responsible for one-eighth of that volume, more travelers are choosing to book hotels with solid eco-credentials.

According to the latest Sustainability Travel Report from Booking.com, 76% of consumers want to travel more sustainably in the coming year (up 15% from 2021), while 65% say they would feel better about booking accommodation if they knew it had a sustainable certification or label (compared with 57% in 2022).

For hotel brands, enshrining sustainability as a key element of their environmental, social and governance policies isn’t just the right move for the planet, it also makes good business sense. Nearly 45% of today’s travelers would be willing to pay more for travel options with a sustainable certification. And a growing percentage are willing to pay significantly more per night — up to 75% more in some cases — to a hotel that can demonstrate genuine green policies.

But increased revenue from meeting consumer demand for eco-friendly accommodations and capitalizing on the higher rates these customers are willing to pay is just one way hotels can boost margins by implementing more sustainable practices. Reducing water usage, utilizing renewable energy sources such as solar, and retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient all help hotels save in the long run, particularly when considering the incentives available to go this route.

Hotels already know this, and many already have green plans in place. Yet there remain challenges to achieving a seamless sustainability “ecosystem” (no pun intended), one in which hotels can easily record the results of their environmental initiatives, align that data with recognized certification criteria and communicate those metrics to travelers.

Read the full article at BeCause