How does Travelocity determine what makes a ‘green’ hotel?

How does Travelocity, one of the most popular online travel sites around, decipher which hotels are “green” and, if so, just how green?

Turns out, it doesn’t.

Instead, the web-giant has teamed up with Green Key Global, creators of the Green Key Eco-Rating Program (‘Green Key’), to recognize and rate “green” hotels and resorts.

Travelocity will include Green Key members in its Green Hotels Directory, while said hotels will also be tagged with an “Eco Friendly Hotel” symbol within Travelocity’s hotel shopping path.

Green Key, with its roots in Canada for over ten years, launched in the U.S. in September of 2009. It is the first program of its kind to audit, rank and certify hotels and resorts based on their commitment to sustainable “green” operations.

Travel for Good

A recent study by the U.S. Travel Association and Ypartnership shows that nearly 60%of consumers consider a hotel’s environmental practices when making a booking decision, while a smaller subset of that group is willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly lodging options.

In addition, the same study indicated that less than one-third of the respondents feel it is easy to find out about the environmental initiatives of travel and hospitality companies; the partnership between Travelocity and Green Key is designed to make this information more readily accessible to consumers while they are shopping for accommodations.

“We are very excited to include Green Key as one of the official certification programs for our Green Hotel Directory, as the program is highly-respected within the sustainable travel community,” said Alison Presley, Manager of Travelocity’s “Travel for Good (R)” program. “A hotel’s environmental practices are an area of interest to our customers, so recognizing Green Key membership on our site provides more value to the consumer.”

The Green Key evaluation itself is a comprehensive 140-question audit that is self-administered by the staff at the participating property.

Upon completion, the answers are tabulated and the property is awarded a ranking of 1 to 5 Keys and a corresponding display plaque. The property also receives a comprehensive report that includes recommendations, best practices and potential areas for improvement and savings.

But hold on a minute…”self-administered?” Isn’t that a bit like letting a student make up a test? Well, not exactly. Unlike other programs of this nature, Green Key includes random, on-site verification of audit results, mitigating the risk of score inflation.

“We are always looking for outlets to recognize Green Key members and their sustainability efforts,” said Zach Conen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Green Key Global. “Travelocity fits the bill perfectly, as they have been on the leading edge of providing information on responsible, sustainable tourism to the consumer.”

So far, with 700 properties in its Green Hotel Directory, Travelocity is the only major online travel agency that designates green certified hotel properties in its hotel shopping path. The ‘Eco Friendly Hotel’ symbol is integrated into the master Travelocity hotel search database.

What do you think – will other sites, like Expedia, Hotwire and Hotels.com follow suit and step-up their green rankings?

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Read more about: consumers, Expedia, green hotels, Hotels, Travelocity

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