“This data confirms something we’ve long suspected,” says Alison Presley, manager of Travelocity’s Travel for Good® program. “Our eco-friendly hotels care deeply about the entire experience they provide and that attention to detail translates into an awesome stay overall.”

Happy customers

Online, customers can rate its hotels on a scale of 1-5 smiley faces. When the company studied the reviews for green hotels, a fascinating trend emerged. Consumers gave 83 percent of non-green hotels three smiley faces or more–but they gave a whopping 94 percent of green hotels three smiley faces or more.

Travelocity currently lists over 2,000 hotels in its Green Hotel Directory, and is currently the only major online travel company that flags green hotels site-wide with an eco-friendly tag. In an effort to prevent “greenwashing”, they do not accept “self-certified” hotels into the directory – instead the company works with an elite group of certification programs to ensure that each hotel in its program is making significant strides in sustainability.

For the It’s Good to Be Green sale, travelers can save up to 30 percent on more than 160 eco-friendly hotels around the world that have an average rating of 3.5 smiley faces or higher.

Ongoing green

Travelocity doesn’t just promote eco-friendly products–the company is also working hard to reduce its own footprint and to promote sustainability within the travel industry. The company’s sustainability efforts start at home with its LEED-certified Silver headquarters. And to date, Travelocity and its customers have helped The Conservation Fund plant more than 24,000 trees across five national wildlife refuges that will trap an estimated 25,400 metric tons of CO2 over the life of those forests.

The company is also a founding member of the Tourism Sustainability Council, which is working toward a more sustainable future for the industry.

Through a partnership with with EC3 Global — a certifier of sustainable travel and tourism organizations — Travelocity is now offering shoppers access to a wide range of “green” properties throughout Asia-Pacific.

No self certification

To date, Travelocity has flagged more than 1,900 hotels site-wide with the eco-friendly leaf and the company works with an elite group of certification programs. To have its hotels included in the Green Hotel Directory, a certification program must have a checklist that closely aligns with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria.

The criteria was developed by the Tourism Sustainability Council, a global coalition of U.N. bodies, research and academic institutions, social and environmental NGOs, certification programs, and it offers a comprehensive picture of what it means to be sustainable.

“It’s important that our eco-friendly leaf icon in the hotel shopping path is a symbol consumers can trust,” says Alison Presley, manager of Travelocity’s Travel for Good program. “There is no way to verify that a self-certified hotel is truly sustainable. And we know our consumers depend on us to hold the line against greenwashing.”

Through EC3 Global, Travelocity is able to flag hotels in destinations like Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, China, and more. Each of these properties has been audited by a qualified third-party professional who checks the effectiveness of sustainable practices applied. EC3 Global manages the EarthCheck Certification and Benchmarking Program, which is used by more than 1,000 organizations in more than 60 countries.

Mainstream responsibility

Travelocity doesn’t just promote eco-friendly products—the company is also working hard to reduce its own footprint and to promote sustainability within the travel industry. The company’s sustainability efforts start at home with its LEED Silver certified headquarters. And to date, Travelocity and its customers have helped The Conservation Fund plant more than 24,000 trees across five national wildlife refuges that will trap an estimated 25,400 metric tons of CO2 over the life of those forests.

The company is also a founding member of the Tourism Sustainability Council, which is working toward a more sustainable future for the industry.

For more, visit both Travelocity and EC3 Global online.

Orbitz has officially launched its AdventureFinder.com – a new travel Web site that provides instant access to what it touts as the “web’s most comprehensive destination for adventure vacations” throughout the world. the world’s leading adventure vacations.

The new website allows consumers to research, customize, and plan active escapes quickly and easily – choosing from nearly 2,500 trips and tours around the world from top tour operators. The sleek user interface and refined search and sort tools make it easy for travelers to quickly find the active adventures that best suit their needs.

“AdventureFinder is a unique Web site that includes a combination of tools, content, and resources relevant for active travelers that can’t be found on other adventure sites,” says Eric Brodnax, General Manager of The Away Network, which operates AdventureFinder. “The new AdventureFinder site also will give tour operators direct contact with travelers and provide more flexibility in displaying their products to consumers.”

Travelers are able to organize customizable trips, browse excursions tailored for groups, and communicate directly with tour operators. AdventureFinder is a brand of The Away Network (owned by Orbitz Worldwide) which operates a portfolio of brands including Away.com, GORP.com, Trip.com, Outside Online and Lodging.com.

AdventureFinder replaces GORPtravel.com within The Away Network as the principal brand focused on escorted adventure trips and active resorts.

Fast, easy search

Consumers can organize custom trips; browse vacations tailored for groups, singles, couples and families; and search/sort by price, trip duration, and preferred destination with more than 30 interests and activities.

Through its new upcoming Trip Profile pages, consumers will be able to communicate directly with tour operators to ask detailed questions about their adventures prior to booking the trip.

Monthly Deals help value-conscious consumers find true active escapes without the burden of a hefty price tag, while tour operator profiles, past traveler feedback, a list of staff’s favorite adventures, plus highlights of the best travel deals make the new site an essential resource for all adventure enthusiasts.

For more details, visit www.adventurefinder.com.

Accor is widely recognized within the hospitality industry as one of the most progressive companies in regards to sustainability initiatives. Sofitel’s commitment to Green Key follows on the heels Accor North America launching a Green Key pilot earlier this year with 20 Motel 6 and Studio 6 properties.

The Sofitel San Francisco Bay also participated in that pilot, and the positive feedback from the property on the Green Key program prompted Sofitel to act on a brand level.

“Joining forces with Green Key was a natural step for Sofitel Luxury Hotels, given the brand’s long-standing commitment to sustainable practices,” explained Renée Swoger, Senior Manager of Energy & Environment Services for Accor North America.

“Further, we understand that guests value environmentally-friendly hotels, and we are excited to offer them a recognizable rating system to help them book with ease and peace of mind.”

The Green Key evaluation is a comprehensive 150-question audit that is self-administered by the staff at the participating property, covering a broad range of operational areas and sustainable practices.

“We salute Sofitel Luxury Hotels for their efforts in this space and look forward to working with the individual properties on implementing the Green Key Eco-Rating System,” said Tony Pollard, Managing Director of Green Key Global. “Sofitel has the opportunity to be the first Green Key certified properties in Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Miami, and they are among a handful of early-adopters in each of their other markets.”

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

Participating properties are listed on www.greenkeyglobal.com, a valuable resource for environmentally conscious travelers, and also are recognized through LRA’s network of marketing partners including AAA, Travelocity and Expedia, among others. The Green Key process also includes random, on-site verification inspections of audit results, mitigating the risk of score inflation.

The agreement is part of Expedia’s efforts to upgrade the resources available to eco-conscious travelers within the Expedia.com website and the “Traveler’s Guide to Going Green” micro-site.

“Today’s travelers are increasingly interested in gauging the environmental practices of hotels and other travel suppliers,” said Expedia’s Janice Lichtenwaldt, who earned her MBA in Sustainability from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute. “To that end, Expedia has elected to increase the ‘green’ resources available to our customers, as well as the ‘green’ recognition available to our partner hotels. We did our due diligence to make sure our partners in this endeavor promoted sound sustainable practices, and Green Key certainly fit the bill.”

Green Key, the first program of its kind to rank, certify and audit hotels and resorts based on their commitment to sustainable “green” operations, has been in operation in Canada for more than ten years.

The organization launched in the United States in September of 2009 and has been adopted by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Sofitel Luxury Hotels and on a pilot basis by Accor North America. Currently, Green Key has more than 1,300 member hotels throughout the United States and Canada.

New opportunities for hoteliers

Expedia has created a number of avenues for Green Key member properties to be found on Expedia sites.

Green Key members can highlight their participation in the program by registering via the Expedia Partner Central interface, allowing them to be found via:

• within “Award & Affiliation” on the hotel infosite on the details page
• As an amenity searchable under the category of “Green/Sustainability”
• On the Green Hotels list which will be searchable by destination

“First and foremost, Green Key exists to provide our members with a comprehensive environmental program and guide to sustainable hotel operations,” explained Tony Pollard, Managing Director of Green Key Global. “But the marketing benefits of Green Key participation are a close second. We work very hard to provide our membership with every opportunity to promote their efforts and exposure through the Expedia website is an exciting addition to our marketing partner network.”

Step in the right direction

For some time, although highly publicized in the press, the efforts of the “big players” in online travel (Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc.) have been slightly lacking on the “green” front (see here) – overshadowed by the potential impact of smaller yet popular niche sites like RezHub.com – whose “Green Travel Hub” seems to provide the most comprehensive selection of eco-friendly travel options to date, as well as the similarly-tuned Green Hotels Directory.

And even with these options currently available, a recent TripAdvisor poll (Summer 2009) found that almost half of respondents consider green travel options to be hard to find.

Still, things are looking sweeter on the mainstream side, with this news from Expedia as well as Travelocity’s own Green Key-powered foray announced in December 2009.

It will be interesting to see where the industry goes from here.

What do you think, will the mainstream online agencies monopolize the market, or will the niche-sites pull ahead?

Most recently, Travelocity has taken yet another step toward “Good” travel via an alliance with the MASSIVEGOOD campaign – a worldwide campaign aimed at saving lives through micro-contributions. This new partnership seeks to inspire travelers to give $2 every time they travel. The donations will go toward buying dearly needed medication for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis in developing nations.

Travelocity president Tracey Weber joined Former President Bill Clinton and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations to announce its support of MASSIVEGOOD.

Everyone can make a difference – one click at a time

By empowering individuals to make a huge difference through tiny acts, change can happen.

Contributions through MASSIVEGOOD will go to UNITAID–an organization created in 2006 to increase access to treatments against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis in developing countries. Additional funding will go towards improving maternal health and child health in the developing world.

Travelocity has sent many volunteers to help in the fight again disease in developing countries. With this new partnership, everyone can help make a big difference by donating just $2.

Already three out of four children on HIV treatment globally are able to survive thanks to UNITAID funds. In the developing world, many HIV-positive mothers can give birth without transmitting the diseases to their children with medication made affordable through UNITAID’s programs. UNITAID’s operating costs are below 5% of expenditures and today more than 90 countries receive funding from the organization.

“What I love about travel is the way it expands your worldview,” wrote Alison Presley, a blogger for Travelocity. “I admit that I have occasionally felt like I had it hard here in the U.S. But all it takes is a trip beyond our borders and I remember how very lucky I am.”

Customers will be able to learn more about our efforts and donate by visiting: www.travelocity.com/massivegood.

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?

The American Automobile Association (AAA), which has over 51 million members in the United States and Canada, now features Green Globe Certified properties in its travel material. AAA has introduced a green category in its tour books and online content, and all properties certified by Green Globe Certification in the United States, Caribbean and Mexico will be featured and highlighted. All properties that sign up for the Green Globe Certification before June 30, 2009 will be included in the tour books, which have a circulation of approximately 16 million. Additional consumer use AAA’s online travel resources.

Travelocity, one of the largest travel companies in the world with annual gross bookings of more than $10 billion, has launched an eco-friendly directory, which highlights properties and destinations already offering meaningful sustainability initiatives. Green Globe certified hotels and resorts are featured on the Travelocity directory.

AIRMILES, a program owned by British Airways, implemented a new product category of “Greener Hotels” on its website and reservation system, which identifies for its customers the hotels that have achieved Green Globe Certification in order to allow travelers to choose environmentally responsible hotels within the AIRMILES program.

The Green Globe brand is also prominently displayed next to Certified hotels listed with Air Canada Vacations, a leading Canadian tour operator affiliated with Air Canada, Canada’s largest full-service airline. Air Canada Vacations offers a wide assortment of leisure travel packages including cruises and tours servicing over 100 destinations in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Green Globe certified properties are listed on the German language website of TUI Travel, a leading international leisure travel group which operates in approximately 180 countries worldwide and serves more than 30 million customers in over 25 source markets.

Green Globe Certified hotels are also highlighted with the certification logo by Danish-based tour operator Billet Kontoret.

“We are pleased to report the expanding presence of the Green Globe brand in applications around the world, and laud the effort made by Guido Bauer, our VP of Global Sales, in facilitating these new relationships,” stated Bradley Cox, Chief Operating Officer of Green Globe International. “There are a growing number of companies in the global travel and tourism industry which recognize the desire of their consumers to book stays with hotel properties that have made a true commitment to environmental stewardship, and the Green Globe logo conveys that they highest standards of sustainability have been met.”

“We expect that Green Globe’s participation with leading travel and tourism companies will continue to grow and provide even greater consumer awareness in the future,” Mr. Cox added.

The Green Globe brand and program, which traces its roots back to the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, where 182 Heads of State endorsed the Agenda 21 principles of Sustainable Development, has primarily been used in the travel and tourism industry but is now being expanded to include a growing number of environmentally responsible businesses in a variety of market sectors. The Green Globe brand is an ideal symbol for the world’s increasing awareness of environmental responsibility and response to global climate change.

Current Green Globe programs managed by the company and its affiliates include the world leading certification program and the Green Globe Index tool, which allows clients to calculate their CO2e footprint, the financial cost of that CO2e, and to track their performance of energy and water consumption and non-recyclable waste production.

Green Globe International encourages all shareholders and others interested in following the progress of the company to subscribe to receive email alerts whenever new information is made public. To subscribe, please visit http://www.greenglobeint.com/stayconnected/email/.

The GreenHotels Directory, a complete online reservation system designed for travelers seeking environmentally-friendly hotel accommodations, was launched by a partnership between Environment News Service and ARES Travel Network. Business and vacation travelers are able to instantly locate and make online reservations at hotels offering responsible conservation features.

Thousands of hotels have participated in the launch of the GreenHotels Directory initiative and more are being added every day. ARES has documented the environmental contributions of hotels and attractions so that travelers are offered a way to identify green lodging when booking their vacations.

Industry-wide surveys of more than 47,000 hotels have pinpointed quantifiable green features offered by the participating hotel members. Sustainable practices provide comforts away from home to travelers and to the environment. The GreenHotels Directory online reservation system promotes hotels engaged in green practices, from non-caustic cleaners to recycling to renewable energy.

Meeting the Needs of Travelers

“We know that travelers care about the environment and they will choose an Earth-friendly product when given the opportunity, said ARES president Alec House. “We also know that many of our partners are focusing on environmentally-friendly practices in order to strengthen our industry’s green impact and we want to share their strides with consumers.”

The GreenHotels Directory has captured the contributions of suppliers and highlighted them in the online booking engine. From platinum level entrepreneurs like the Proximity Hotel to the diverse line of Kimpton Hotels, visitors can recognize environmentally-friendly hotels by the “Travel Green” icon. Clicking the icon opens a summary of that hotel’s sustainable activities in the GreenHotels Directory.

In evaluating members of the GreenHotels Directory, all efforts by each hotel were considered as a whole in building each property’s green identity, rather than using a narrow rating system, which provides relatively few in-depth details about a hotel’s practices.

“Now consumers have detailed information on what each hotel is doing and can make the decision to ‘Travel Green’ wherever they go,” said Jenny Mendoza, ARES vice president of marketing.

Directory of Responsible Hotels

The Environment News Service, with its worldwide audience of environmental professionals, many of whom travel regularly, recognized the need for an information resource that would allow readers to find comfortable accommodations in responsible hotels.

“Professionals, activists and journalists working to solve complex environmental problems are often required to travel to conferences and meetings,” said ENS managing editor Jim Crabtree. “There is nothing quite so debilitating for people working in this field as having to stay in a hotel that is dramatically over-consuming resources and, generally, offering uncomfortable accommodations.”

“The problem is so pervasive that we determined to do something to address this issue,” Crabtree added. “In our effort to bring about a solution, we sought out ARES and because of their extensive work, formed an instant bonding partnership. We are delighted to be able to offer our readers and the public at large an easily available, effective resource for lodging that is considerate of the needs of people dedicated to environmental restoration.”

Decisions, decisions

While I still tend to prefer wholetravel’s light, airy and almost soothing design style and interface experience over GreenHotels’ slightly traditional look-and-feel, I would be interested to see them pull off a more traditional search mechanism in addition to their unique “What’s your travel inspiration?” starting point. Rezhub.com, on the other hand, seems to be a bit too old-school. While I really like the site’s functionality, I think the user experience needs an update. Perhaps the new GreenHotels will fill a void somewhere in between the two? Time will tell.

For more, visit www.greenhotels-directory.com.

With “green travel” becoming more and more popular, independent online booking tools like rezhub.com and wholetravel.com are quickly making names for themselves as a mainstay for the eco-conscious globetrotter. Now, the “big boys” are getting into the game as well, with their own versions of green criteria-measurement backed by their robust booking tools and services. Yet, upon visiting their sites to check out what all the hoopla is about, one is left wondering whether or not their hearts are in it at all, or if it is just a measure of financial saturation – trying to spread their reach throughout every profitable vertical in order to keep the little guys at bay.

Expedia.com, arguably the net’s most popular travel search and booking engine, says it creates “sustainable travel initiatives that address environmental and social concerns” while encouraging travelers to go green. “You can make a big difference in the places you visit with just a few small steps. Carbon offsetting and green hotels are just the beginning.” according to the site.

Sounds great, right? Just what we need? Well, true, but the challenge remains how to actually find these “sustainable” initiatives from within Expedia’s vast and exhaustive inventory of contracted travel suppliers.

Visit Expedia.com, and book a “sustainable” trip. Go ahead, try it.

What’s that? You can’t find how? There are no buttons, links, banners, sections or anything else remotely resembling a sign or symbol pertaining to booking a green hotel or eco-friendly car rental? How funny.

The truth is that on Expedia’s home page, a visitor has to click 3 or 4 times on the Discover Expedia Exclusives section (bottom right, below the fold, hidden from the easy-to-use-quick-to-make-money “Build a Trip”, “Travel Deals” and “Perfect Trip” sections) in order to finally find the link to the “green travel” portion of the site. So exactly how is it that the company is encouraging travelers to “go green”, without allowing the visitor to quickly and easily find these resources as easily as, say, Super Bowl XLIII Hotel Deals (“Don’t miss out! Hotels are going fast! Book now!”)?

While I agree that traveling “green” is everyone’s responsibility, especially that of the traveler, other sites like rezhub.com and wholetravel.com have built and continue to build upon self-made criteria, measuring a travel supplier’s efforts against the industry itself, in order to offer travelers an upfront choice on how to travel responsibly. It seems Expedia is, so far, less interested in doing the legwork and would rather pass the responsiblilty off solely to the traveler. If a traveler finds a green hotel or a hybrid car? Great. If not? Great.

Now let’s visit the aforementioned Travelocity.com, another giant in online travel. Word is that they have just launched an all new “green directory” of hotels on its website. Awesome!

So clicking over to their homepage…let’s see…Top Travel Deals, Las Vegas Deals, Mexico Deals - no that’s not it, let’s keep looking….Caribbean Deals, Hawaii, Florida, California - no not yet – Skiing, All-Inclusive, Gay….

Apparently Travelocity’s new, wonderful green directory is a secret. Unless you are part of some super-secret club and possess the actual link to the page, you aren’t allowed to “go green” on your next trip.

Once at the page, a visitor is treated to featured properties throughout the world, of which “…have been endorsed by a leading green hotel certification provider, or are making significant strides in at least three of the four areas the U.N. Foundation’s Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria recommends as the most critical aspects of sustainable tourism: maximizing tourism’s social and economic benefits to local communities, reducing negative impacts on cultural heritage, reducing harm to local environments and planning for sustainability.”

Now to their defense, it is true that the criteria for sustainability in all travel aspects is hardly established and it will be some time before a single, true standard is in place for the industry. It all sounds so promising, but again it is unfortunate that the “big boys’” efforts comes across as half-hearted attempts to reel in customers with the promise of something that is far from complete.