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Certifications initiative

At Travalyst, we’re working to increase access to clear, consistent and credible sustainability information, and this starts with our partners’ platforms. Millions of people booking travel visit these platforms every single day; supporting them to make more informed choices about where to stay is crucial.

We know that people increasingly want to travel more sustainably, but they need accurate information to base their decisions on. Being awarded a certification is one way an accommodation provider can substantiate their sustainability efforts; research published by Booking.com revealed that 45% of travellers view accommodation that is labelled more sustainable, as more appealing1.

As sustainability has become louder in the consciousness of travellers globally, the accommodation sector has seen a correlating increase in the number of sustainability-focused certifications. There are hundreds of certifications for sustainable accommodation globally, which can give rise to confusion.

Some of our partners display sustainability certifications that a property has been awarded, and recent research has found that 67% of travellers agree that all travel booking sites should use the same certifications and labels1. With an aim to create consistency, given the vast number of certification schemes and bodies in the industry, we have worked with our Independent Advisory Group to align on three criteria that certification bodies and scheme owners must comply with in order to be included on our list for industry alignment.

These criteria are designed to establish an initial threshold that supports the certification industry to meet evolving regulatory requirements, but they represent just the first step in a broader, ongoing effort to improve the sustainability governance of certifications for the accommodation sector. The three criteria are:

  1. Third-party audit that includes on-site and/or remote online assessment of sustainable practices reported by the property.
  2. Publicly available standards upon which the certification is based.
  3. Focuses on evaluating the impact of social and/or economic, and/or environmental factors, among others, as encompassed within, but not restricted, to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

We facilitate an independent review process against these criteria, and periodically update a list of Certifications found to be compliant. This list is available for our partners and the wider industry to align with; providing a much needed opportunity for consistency across booking platforms.

See the list here

This is a long-term initiative intended to provide consistency in the sustainability certifications shown across travel booking sites, and to support accommodation certification bodies to meet evolving regulatory requirements. As such we will continue to work with our stakeholders to closely monitor the fast-evolving legislative landscape and adapt our approach accordingly. We expect the criteria to change over time, as well as the types of data we collect from sustainability certifications, in order to meet the needs of our partners, wider industry and travellers.

1 Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report 2024

The process

If you’re a certification body or scheme owner that complies with our criteria and are interested in having your certification or standard reviewed, please share your contact information here. A member of our team will reach out to you with more details. For an idea of what to expect in the process, please see the Ground Rules of this initiative.

Download Ground Rules

This process has been validated by our Independent Advisory Group, and the review will be undertaken by an independent expert. The next round of reviews will take place in late October 2024.

Apply to be reviewed here

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

Who can apply, and how can they apply?

A

All entities that operate a certification process, whether a certification body or industry stakeholder such as a hotel chain or accommodation provider, can apply to be reviewed.

A certification body or scheme owner can only take part in this initiative if they apply to be reviewed. If a certification body does not apply, we cannot review whether they comply with the three criteria.

Q

Is there any fee attached to this initiative?

A

No. We do not charge any fee for the review process. Our aim is to align the industry behind clear, consistent and credible sustainability information which is then shared at scale, for free, on platforms people already know and trust

Q

What happens after the review process?

A

If an applicant certification body or scheme owner is found to be compliant with the three criteria, they will be included in our list of certifications, which is publicly available for our partners and the wider industry to adopt and implement.

If a certification body applies but does not meet the criteria, they will be informed of missing requirements and are welcome to provide further documentation for review. At present there is no limit on the number of times a certification body can re-apply, and there is no closing date for the initiative.

Q

Why is a third party audit necessary for a certification body to be approved as part of this review?

A

A third party audit supports the reliability and credibility of sustainability claims. Third party auditing for the verification of sustainability claims is likely to become a requirement in EU legislation through the forthcoming Green Claims Directive.

Q

How do these criteria align with the evolving EU legislative landscape?

A

As the EU’s Green Claims Directive is yet to be finalised and is not expected to enter into force before 2026, it is challenging to predict the impact of EU legislation on certifications. We will continue to work with stakeholders to closely monitor the fast-evolving legislative landscape, and adapt our approach accordingly.

Q

If an applicant has successfully made the list, does it mean they will be displayed automatically on Travalyst partners’ platforms?

A

Our partners reserve the right to display certifications on their platforms at their own discretion.

Contact

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at [email protected]

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