What We Do
EcoHotels.com was founded in 2020 to promote sustainable tourism within the travel industry.
One Booking = One Tree
(Video from Saltoftehus)
Help Us Plant a Forest
At EcoHotels.com, we plant a tree every time you book with us. We have already planted 25.000 trees and will continue planting trees throughout Denmark as you book. Help us plant a forest and support our ecosystem by booking with us.
Forest areas are highly important for our climate, maintenance of the CO2 balance, and our biodiversity. So far, we have planted willow trees at Saltofte, Denmark. The advantage of planting willow trees is that they have a cyclic life cycle, which means that after they are cut down, the stem creates 5-6 cuttings. Within just a year, the trees will absorb great amounts of CO2. After 6-10 years, the willow trees are cut down and repurposed.
In the new life cycle of the cuttings, they can absorb 5-6 times the amount of carbon dioxide more than the mother plant. The cycle runs 4 times which is equivalent to 30-40 years before it is necessary to replant the willow tree.
The trees play a great role in absorbing CO2 from the surrounding air and converting it into oxygen. So for every tree we plant, we are making an immediate positive difference. An ambition of Saltofte is to double the forest area in Denmark. By securing the propagation of the forest areas, we are having a positive influence on the biodiversity in our areas of Saltofte.
Compelling experiences in certified hotels
EcoHotels.com is based on fair principles and low commissions for all the hotels that wish to join our movement. We pledge to do our best for the dedicated hotel owners, working hard to create a sustainable and hospitable environment for you to visit.
Acknowledging Sustainable
Initiatives/Measures
Trustworthy certifications are a great way to verify the sustainable practices of a hotel. Therefore, we make sure to highlight hotels that possess such certificates when you browse for hotels. To ensure a certain standard of certifications we primarily work with certifications acknowledged by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). However, we understand that sustainability has many faces and that each hotel may have its own approach to sustainability, depending on context and the priorities closest to their hearts. We see many cases of lodges, small hotels etc. having great initiatives, despite of not being certified (often because of costs tied to these certifications). These properties should, of course not, be denied access to our site,and therefore, we adopt a holistic perspective when assessing the sustainable efforts of properties.
At EcoHotels.com we also allow hotels that are not certified, for a limited time period, to hopefully influence them towards more sustainable initiatives. By this, we want to promote sustainable practices to our customers and support development towards more focus on eco-certification in the hospitality and tourism industry. (If the respective hotels have not implemented such measures after a certain time period, it will be removed from our platform.)
What is GSTC?
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council, GSTC, manages global standards for sustainable travel and tourism and acts as the international accreditation body for sustainable tourism certification. This means that the GSTC does not certify but accredits other certification bodies who then certify hotels throughout the world. The GSTC verifies that the certification processes of the accredited Certification Bodies happen in a competent and neutral manner. The GSTC provides a specific set of standards concerning Environment, Social, Cultural, and Management principles. They are the result of a worldwide effort to develop a common language about sustainability in tourism. Because tourism destinations each have their own culture, environment, customs, and laws, the criteria are designed to be adapted to local conditions and supplemented by additional criteria for the specific location and activity. If the GSTC recognizes that a certification business operates with standards equivalent to GSTC standards, certification businesses can receive GSTC Recognition.
Plastic for Rice
EcoHotels.com fights plastic pollution, one of the most pressing environmental issues. We support and collaborate with Plastic Exchange Bali, a non-profit sustainability movement and barter system where communities can exchange Plastic for Rice. The movement is The Biggest Island Clean-up in History.
Bali Fighting Plastic Crisis
Bali has been battling a severe plastic crisis for years, with the government going as far as declaring a “trash emergency” back in 2017. Indonesia currently produces 6.8 million tons of plastic waste per year, with only about 10% of it ending up in recycling centers and about 625,000 tons of annual plastic waste ending up in the oceans. These numbers are huge, taking into account the size of the country. A main reason for the Plastic Crisis lies in Indonesia’s lack of waste management and recycling systems.
Part of the solution is to handle the plastic waste before it sticks around in the environment, spreading toxins or finding its way to the oceans. This can be realized with improved waste management systems and better recycling rates, better product design that takes into account the short life of disposable packaging, and a reduction in the manufacturing of unnecessary single-use plastics.
Turning Crisis Into an Opportunity
The idea of the Plastic Exchange Bali movement was born as a response to the trash emergency, but also to the distress that the Balinese communities experienced due to the covid-19 crisis. The extreme dependency on the tourism sector meant that most families could not even afford to buy rice after the Indonesian borders closed. Plastic Exchange works by hosting Plastic-Rice Exchanges in different communities every other week. People collect and bring garbage to be weighed and sorted, and are then given a slip which they can exchange for an amount of rice, depending on the type and amount of garbage collected. The garbage is taken to a recycling facility in Bali. As of now, 50,000 kg plastic has been collected and 55,000 kg rice has been distributed throughout 200 Balinese villages.
The movement, Plastic Exchange is about restoring, balancing, and empowering communities to change their waste behavior through dignity-based exchange systems that result in a cleaner, healthier environment. The community-driven movement continues to grow through education, action, and commitment to the environment, economic prosperity, and personal responsibility. We encourage everyone who loves Bali to join this historic shift in consciousness while helping empower those who have been so deeply impacted by the global pandemic.
EcoHotels.com in Bali
For every booking made, EcoHotels.com donates rice to the Plastic-Rice Exchanges, hosted by Plastic Exchange. This means that for every booking made 1kg of plastic is collected.
To improve the waste management system and the low recycling rate in Bali, EcoHotels.com has also implemented a 3-bin system to help the local people manage their waste in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way. The 3-bin-system is an important step to prevent plastic waste from ending up in nature.
EcoHotels.com believes that environmental education is a fundamental part of the key to solving Bali’s waste problem. Therefore, we donate school supplies and sponsor talks by community leaders and founders of The Plastic Exchange Movement. The sponsored talks help spread awareness about waste, pollution, and the cause of Plastic Exchange. After each talk, additional collective community clean-ups in different spots around the area are arranged.
