Green overnight stay backed by TripAdvisor

Checking into an environmentally friendly hotel on holiday in Europe could soon be much easier. That’s after the travel website TripAdvisor decided to award hotels and B&Bs with a GreenLeader […]

Checking into an environmentally friendly hotel on holiday in Europe could soon be much easier.

That’s after the travel website TripAdvisor decided to award hotels and B&Bs with a GreenLeader status if they notch up green behaviour.

It’s an expansion of a scheme the website launched in the US last year and it says hotels can get an “edge” over competitors by being green.

Rankings range from Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum and take into account how linen and towels are re-used, do hotels recycle and compost.

It also looks at whether they use solar panels or have electric car charging stations and green roofing.

The more green ticks a hotel or B&B gets, the higher it is ranked. This will cover businesses in 19 markets including the UK and Ireland, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

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Jenny Rushmore, Director of Responsible Travel at TripAdvisor said: “With so many travellers placing an importance on the eco-friendly practices of the places they visit, accommodation owners stand to gain a real competitive edge by promoting their environmentally friendly practices.”

She suggested businesses managing their environmental footprint will be able to promote their efforts to millions of travellers around the world “at no expense to their business”.

John Alker, Director of Policy and Communications at the UK Green Building Council said the scheme will show who takes “green” seriously.

He said: “For the hotel and leisure sector, going green is not only the right thing to do, it’s just good business. Green should be viewed as another aspect of quality.”

According to a recent TripBarometer survey by TripAdvisor, 81% of travellers place importance on properties implementing eco-friendly practices while 85% of UK hoteliers indicate they currently have green practices in place.

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