London, Wednesday 28 January 2026: Travalyst, the independent not-for-profit coalition of leading travel and technology companies founded by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, today announces the second iteration of its certifications initiative. The updated initiative will help certification schemes, accommodation providers, and booking platforms navigate the criteria set out in the impending EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGT).
The world of sustainability certifications for accommodation has long been complex, with varying rigour throughout. This has created challenges for certification schemes, accommodation providers and platforms seeking to distribute and display clear and compliant sustainability schemes and labels to consumers.
The ECGT, which will apply in the EU in September 2026, aims to boost sustainable consumption across all industries by fighting misleading claims and improving product information through mandatory governance, transparency, and verification requirements.
The difference between iterations
The first iteration of Travalyst’s certifications initiative launched in spring 2024. It focused on reviewing accommodation sustainability certifications, standards, and schemes against a set of Travalyst-defined criteria for good governance, and was designed to be a first step in increasing transparency globally.
As a result of a six-month internal and external stakeholder consultation in 2025, for the second iteration of the initiative, Travalyst is supporting relevant industry stakeholders* to prepare for the requirements of the ECGT before its implementation by providing a mechanism for schemes to declare their compliance with the regulation. The initiative also offers a guidance note prepared by legal counsel for certification schemes of all sizes, preparing for this regulation.
Travalyst partners and wider industry will gain visibility over which certification schemes have declared suitability to be displayed to European consumers, and accommodation providers will gain clarity on which schemes comply with governance and transparency requirements.
Travalyst will, in time, provide an open-access list of schemes that have declared compliance, hosted on its centralised Data Hub.
Setting out clear guidance
Although EU regulation, by adopting the ECGT criteria in a global context, Travalyst aims to scale a consistent threshold of good governance for certification schemes across regions and markets, reducing fragmentation and improving comparability.
Travalyst will also introduce additional transparency by categorising certifications with third-party auditing and accreditation.
Julie Cheetham, CEO of Travalyst, said: “Our initiative forges clarity and confidence in certification as a robust way of displaying to the consumer sustainability efforts by accommodation providers. As we prepare for tighter regulation, by establishing a shared, transparent reference point for the sector to clearly see which schemes are committed to regulatory compliance, we help the industry deliver trustworthy, consistent information to travellers worldwide.”
Kate Heiny, VP Sustainability Booking Holdings, said: “At Booking Holdings, we are committed to making it easier for travellers to make more sustainable travel choices. Further to that, we have always believed that reputable third-party certifications represent the highest standard when it comes to highlighting efforts by accommodations to operate more sustainably. Travalyst’s updated list of certifications which have declared themselves compliant with the ECGT is a positive step towards greater clarity for travellers.”
Olivia Ruggles-Brise, Vice President of Sustainability at BCD Travel said: “We welcome this new iteration of the Travalyst certifications initiative. By clarifying how accommodation certifications align with forthcoming ECGT regulations, it strengthens the reliability of sustainability information available to travellers, travel managers and corporate travel teams. Developed through broad stakeholder engagement, this update represents an important step toward greater transparency across the sector.”
Certification schemes are invited to submit their self-assessment via travalyst.org/work/certifications-initiative.
*Stakeholders include accommodations, certifications and booking platforms.
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About Travalyst
Travalyst is an independent not-for-profit entity working to change the way the world travels – for good. Founded in 2019 by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Travalyst is a global coalition of some of the biggest brands in travel and technology: Amadeus, BCD, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Google, Mastercard, Sabre, Skyscanner, The Travel Corporation, Trip.com Group, Tripadvisor and Visa. Travalyst mobilises the industry to provide trusted information at scale to empower better decision-making and accelerate impact-led change.
Compliance criteria
Eligible certification schemes are invited to declare they meet the following criteria, which mirror the requirements set out in the Empowering Consumers Directive:
Travalyst aims to support certification schemes in understanding and preparing for the ECGT by offering a clear criteria document, a standardised declaration format, and an accessible guidance note developed by expert legal counsel. This helps schemes of all sizes navigate regulatory change. Certification schemes can view the guidance note via travalyst.org/work/certifications-initiative or emailing [email protected].
About Data Hub
The Data Hub is an interoperable ecosystem built to facilitate the exchange of sustainability data at scale and ultimately help consumers make more informed choices. More information here: https://travalyst.org/work/data-hub/
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