The following is a guest post from Alina Arnelle, chief sustainability officer at AI-powered sustainability data management platform BeCause. Opinions are the author’s own.
Eco-conscious travel is no longer a niche preference; it’s becoming a standard expectation as travelers increasingly prioritize sustainability and environmental responsibility in their choices, from accommodations to transportation. According to a recent Trip.com survey, just over half of today’s consumers say they routinely look for eco-friendly options when booking online — and a majority (75%) expect online travel agencies to provide that information via clear labels. But for OTAs to meet this demand for increased transparency, travel companies must come to the table with verifiable sustainability credentials.
However, navigating the labyrinth of green certifications can be a serious challenge, especially for global hotel brands operating across regions with varying environmental laws, market demands and consumer expectations. The differing standards, costs and sheer volume of certifications make it difficult to determine which ones are worthwhile, requiring decision-makers to carefully assess evolving regulatory obligations and guest preferences.
While there is no universal solution, these five strategies can help hotels navigate the certification maze and identify those with the most strategic value.
Select certifications that fit your priorities
When pursuing sustainability certifications, hotels must evaluate a range of factors, including energy consumption, waste management, water conservation, guest education and market demand. For example, government entities or corporations may require employees to choose eco-certified hotels, prompting properties serving this clientele to pursue certifications recognized by corporate travel management companies. Additionally, not all certifications are a fit for every hotel. Some such as LEED or BREEAM focus on building performance and may not be suitable for older properties. Others, like Green Globe, address broader operational practices that include community impact, guest education and supply chain management.
Hotels should also pay close attention to what their competitors are doing. Certifications like Green Key and EarthCheck, for example, are highly recognized within the tourism sector and can serve as valuable differentiators in competitive markets. For hotels new to certification, starting with Hotel Sustainability Basics — a globally recognized set of sustainability indicators that all hotels should implement at a minimum — can help establish a foundation for pursuing more complex certifications.
Align certifications with evolving regulations
With the EU’s Green Claims Directive and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive elevating sustainability reporting to the level of financial reporting, the certification landscape is set to change. The GCD aims to eliminate greenwashing by ensuring environmental claims are verifiable, driving a shift in the certification market and encouraging alignment with government-backed initiatives like CSRD.
In this context, hospitality companies committed to GCD compliance should pursue certifications that are independently accredited by third-party organizations, have demonstrated a collaborative approach to upholding industry-recognized standards for sustainable tourism and prioritize data transparency.
Utilizing advanced technology and a sustainability data management platform that streamlines and automates the information flow between certifiers and hotels is essential. These platforms ensure data accuracy, reduce human error and meet the rigorous standards of independent accreditation frameworks for data transparency.
Standardize certifications across properties … or not.
A key consideration for hotel chains is whether to standardize certifications across all properties or allow each location to pursue its own. Standardization builds consumer trust; for instance, a guest staying at a Green Key-certified property in one country knows what to expect at another. It also improves implementation efficiency:
Once the criteria for certification are understood, best practices can be shared across properties, simplifying the process and making it less costly to get certified at scale.
With the support of an AI-powered sustainability data management platform, a standardized certification policy also allows corporate managers to benchmark the sustainability performance of each property, identifying strengths and areas for improvement across the portfolio.
However, standardized certifications may not account for local environmental laws, conditions or guest preferences. A certification focused on reducing water usage may hold less relevance in regions where water scarcity isn’t an issue. Balancing uniform certification with regional adaptation is vital for global hotel chains.
Leverage certifications for revenue impact
Despite the investment required to obtain sustainability certifications, measuring whether these certifications lead to tangible returns, particularly in room revenue, is important. While guests increasingly value sustainable travel, the gap between their stated concerns and booking behavior remains. Many travelers express concern for sustainability, but their actual booking choices may still be driven by location, price and amenities.
But as sustainability continues to be a deciding factor for a growing segment of the market — especially millennials and Gen Z — hotels can differentiate themselves and attract more eco-conscious guests through certifications. In recent years, platforms like Booking.com have recognized this market demand by integrating a “sustainable hotels” filter that allows travelers to search for eco-certified properties. While certification alone may not directly translate into higher bookings, it can play a role in positively influencing decisions when combined with other factors and help improve guest satisfaction.
Future-proof your certification strategy
Data management and benchmarking tools provide significant advantages for hotels navigating sustainability certifications. Centralizing data collection through a sustainability management platform — designed specifically for the hotel industry — streamlines mapping data to various certification standards, reducing costs and workloads.
With centralized data, hotels can create meaningful benchmarks to measure performance against industry standards. These benchmarks identify strengths and areas for improvement, enabling data-driven decisions to enhance sustainability efforts.
Selecting the right sustainability certifications is a critical decision for hotels. By prioritizing credible certifications and leveraging sustainability data management platforms, they can solidify their position as sustainability leaders within the tourism space, build guest trust, mitigate risk, stay ahead of regulatory expectations and gain a solid competitive edge.
