How to find sustainable hotels 🌎
What makes a hotel sustainable?
You might not have thought that hotels could be sustainable, but just like everything else, hotels leave an impact on our planet. It's estimated that hotels contribute 1% to global carbon emissions (Sustainable Hospitality Alliance). From overall energy and water consumption to the single-use plastic toiletries, hotels (and tourism in general) create waste.
A sustainable hotel will take measures to reduce their overall impact, as well as operate in an environmentally, socially, and economically responsible way (the three pillars of sustainability, baby)! This could mean the hotel is working to reduce their energy and water (or adopting renewable/ regenerative systems to do), has proper waste management like recycling and composting, or even supports mindful travel that gives back to their local communities.
Okay, but how do I know if a hotel is actually sustainable?
Let's break it down into 2 main categories: TRANSPARENCY AND CERTIFICATIONS.
TRANSPARENCY🔍
However, for true sustainable hotels, you'll be able to tell right away because caring for our planet is probably worth talking about! On their sustainability page, you'll be able to see what types of initiatives they are working towards. Here are some examples (and key words to look for in general) broken down into our 3 pillars. (Remember? Environmental, social, and economic responsibility).
Environmental Responsibility 🌎
>Carbon neutral (or carbon offsets)
>Energy efficiency
>Locally sourced ingredients / materials
>Zero-waste or plastic-free initiatives
>Reuse programs
>Waste management
Social Responsibility 👥
>Diversity & Inclusion
>Employee wellbeing + development
>Community engagement
>Accessibility
>Human Rights
>Guest education
Economic Responsibility 💰
>Sustainable procurement
>Operational efficiency
>Give back programs
>Resource conservation
CERTIFICATIONS✅
The golden rule for any sustainable business is to have third party certifications to back up environmental claims. For example, any brand can say they're "organic," but we wouldn't really know unless they were "USDA certified organic." Same goes for hotels.
Now of course, certifications are expensive and timely to receive, so just because some hotels don't have them doesn't mean they aren't taking necessary steps to adopt sustainability. Regardless, these are common certifications / third party charitable partners that I look for:
1. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
2. Certified Carbon Neutral
3. Green Globe
4, Energy Star
5. 1% for the Planet
6. Kind Traveler Partner
7. Green Key
Okay, okay.
Now that you're an expert on how to find sustainable hotels, let's get into some of my recommendations in the following guides.
Please note that I have not yet had the chance to stay overnight at all of these accommodations (unless otherwise noted), but these would be the hotels I would choose from (from a sustainability POV). I will be updating this section of the guide with more destinations, but feel free to shoot me a DM over on Instagram if you have any requests!✍️
I hope you enjoyed reading (my first) and free guide on how to find sustainable hotels, and I hope you use it on your next "planet-friendly" adventure! 🌎
Don't forget to find me on Instagram and TikTok @sophiaxverde, and follow me here on Thatch for more travel guides 🗺
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