Booking.com has launched its travel sustainable badge, a credible, globally relevant sustainability measure that will provide highly coveted information all over the world, looking to encourage more sustainable travel choices. The badge is available to any kind of property that has implemented a combination of sustainable practices that meet the requisite impact threshold for their destination. Designed to be applicable to a wide range of property types, from apartments, B&Bs, and holiday homes to hotels, resorts, and even treehouses, and adaptable to local realities and considerations, the initiative is the first of its kind in the industry.
The goal of the badge is to make credible recognition of impactful sustainability efforts attainable for more properties worldwide and to provide travellers with a transparent, consistent and easy-to-understand means to identify a wider range of more sustainable stays, no matter where they want to travel.
Building off the credible standards for sustainable accommodation already in place, Booking.com has collaborated with industry experts, including through Booking.com’s leading role within the Travalyst coalition and other industry experts, to identify a set of the most impactful practices for a property to consider, divided into five key areas of: waste, energy and greenhouse gases, water, supporting local communities, and protecting nature.
This foundational framework is currently further broken down into 32 specific sustainability measures or practices those properties can implement, including everything from eliminating single-use plastic toiletries or switching to LED light fixtures that run on 100 per cent renewable energy sources to investing a certain percentage of profits into local community and conservation projects.
Of the more than 700 accommodation establishments in Vietnam that received the "sustainable tourism" badge, Hanoi has 91 accommodation establishments, Sapa has 23 accommodation establishments, Ho Chi Minh City has 76 accommodation establishments, Nha Trang has 22 establishments, and Phu Quoc has 17 accommodation establishments, from luxury resorts to homestays and small hotels that fully meet sustainability criteria.
One hotel out of 76 accommodation establishments in Ho Chi Minh City received the "Sustainable Tourism" badge.
According to an online survey in March 2021 by Booking.com, 100% of Vietnamese tourists participating in the survey expressed their desire to stay at a sustainable accommodation in the coming year.
“Building a truly sustainable travel industry will take time, coordination, and concerted effort, but progress is possible through continued innovation, partner support, and industry collaboration. With our travel sustainable badge and programme, we are recognising the sustainability efforts of a broader range of properties around the world in a credible and transparent manner for consumers. In addition to encouraging properties to strive towards achieving the travel sustainable badge, we believe it’s important to demonstrate that there is a spectrum for sustainability and that there is value in showcasing the growing number of properties that are at various stages on their individual sustainability journeys. Displaying the practices they have in place makes it easier for everyone to make a more informed, and hopefully more sustainable, choice for their next trip, no matter where they want to go. Thus, also inspiring even more of our partners to take the next step to operate more sustainably,” said Marianne Gybels, Director- Sustainability, Booking.com.
