Who's invited?
Certifications processes and verification
We want to work with hotels that are dedicated to the sustainable development of the tourism industry. 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. There exist many certifications and labels out there and some are just greenwashing (as we are sure you agree). To ensure a certain standard of certifications we have chosen to work with and include the certifications acknowledged by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) on our site.
The GSTC does not certify, but the organization accredits other Certification Bodies who then certify hotels throughout the world. The GSTC in that sense 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. If the GSTC recognizes that a business operates with standards equivalent to these, businesses can receive GSTC Recognition.
Being certified by a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body or being certified by a business with a GSTC-Recognition constitute the foundation for the certifications and labels included on our page and are the gateways to joining our site and community of hotels.
We believe that certifications are truly essential in ensuring a more sustainable future. Yet we acknowledge the difficulties and the confusion connected to the enormous amount of certifications and out there. Additionally, not all businesses have the same opportunities to recover in the aftermath of the pandemic and to navigate the landscape of certifications.
We have therefore chosen to temporarily allow a few hotels on our page, that for sincere reasons are not currently certificated. These hotels have promised to become eco-certificated in the near future and will lose their place on our page if they are not certified within 6 months of being part of EcoHotels.com. If a hotel is not currently certified by a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body or by a business with a GSTC-Recognition, it will appear clearly that the certification is in process and not yet obtained.
To ensure as much transparency as possible you can read more about the various GSTC-Accredited Certification Bodies and businesses with GSTC-Recognition below.
Green Key Certification
Green Key is a voluntary eco-label for hotels, hostels, campsites, holiday parks, small accommodations as well as conference centers, attractions, and restaurants. The Green Key award is based on compliance with strict criteria in the areas of environmental management (water, energy, waste, cleaning, etc.) and sustainability education (staff, guests, suppliers, etc.). Compliance with the criteria is confirmed through a rigorous application process and verified at on-site audits. The award is valid for one year at a time. Currently, more than 3,200 establishments in 60 countries are Green Key awarded. The program is managed by the international charity, the Foundation for Environmental Education. Green Key is endorsed by the World Tourism Organization and its hotel criteria are recognized by Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
FEE International Head Office
Green Key International
Scandiagade 13
2450 Copenhagen SV
Denmark
info@fee.global
www.greenkey.global
info@fee.global
www.greenkey.global
Green Globe Certification
The Green Globe International Standard for Sustainable Tourism has been developed over decades of research and development. It is the original Standard that all tourism eco-labels are based on. The Green Globe certification is a structured assessment of the sustainability performance of travel and tourism businesses and is based on internationally accepted criteria developed during the 15 years of the Green Globe program. Green Globe is active in harmonizing with other established sustainability certification programs around the world. The process of harmonization contributes to maintaining core criteria and at the same time address regional issues through the adoption of locally developed standards.
Green Globe Headquarters
1223 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 925
Santa Monica, CA 90403
U.S.A.
wecare@greenglobe.com
www.greenglobe.com
Travelife Certification
Travelife is an internationally recognised accommodation sustainability programme. Travelife was developed in 2007 in response to a growing global understanding that businesses needed to take a more proactive role in operating responsibly to address climate change and conservation. Containing a range of criteria that assess accommodation performance in the areas of human rights, labour, community engagement and environmental impacts, the GSTC-recognised standard was designed by the tourism industry, for the tourism industry. A global team of independent auditors visit every property to conduct an audit against the Travelife Standard.
Travelife Ltd
30 Park Street
London, SE1 9EQ
UK
info@travelife.org
www.travelifestaybetter.com
EarthCheck Partner
EarthCheck is the world’s leading scientific and environmental benchmarking, certification and advisory group for the travel and tourism industry. For over 30 years, they have worked with leading research centres and universities around the world to address the key sustainability and climate change issues facing tourism destinations, communities and enterprises. EarthCheck believes that the planet deserves more than half measures. Using a science based approach, they help travel and tourism organisations increase efficiencies, maximise guest experience and minimise their environmental footprint. With changing regulatory environments, rapidly evolving markets and complex risk implications, organisations require specialised tools and expertise.
EarthCheck Headquarters
189 Grey St
South Brisbane QLD 4101
Australien
greenteam@earthcheck.org
www.earthcheck.org
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBZyXvgvBWA&feature=youtu.be
BiosphereTourism Partner
Biosphere © is a full management and positioning system for a destination, company or tourism product, through accompaniment and advice on continuous improvement towards the “Horizon 2030”. Through the fulfillment of a series of requirements (directed towards climate change, environmental, social, economic and cultural issues), it offers the opportunity to entities in the sector to design products and services with a new model of non-aggressive tourism, satisfying the current needs of customers and users, without compromising future generations. The Biosphere Methodology translates the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations, which were sponsored by UNESCO and UNWTO, to the tourism industry. This certification guarantees an adequate long-term balance between the economic, socio-cultural and environmental dimensions of a destination, reporting significant benefits for the entity itself, society and the environment.
BiosphereTourism Virtual Office
info@biospheretourism.com
www.responsibletourisminstitute.com
www.biospheretourism.com
Good Travel Seal
The Good Travel Seal is a certification program for sustainability, health and virus-awareness, introduced by the Good Travel Guide as a response to COVID-19, in 2020. It is especially created to serve small, family-run enterprises (SMEs). The program offers a simplified version of the GSTC Standard, tailor-made for B&Bs, small hotels, hostels, guesthouses and more. This step-in program also prepares medium-sized hotels for GSTC-Recognised certification. A unique benefit of the Seal is its transparency. Through a publicly available score card in the Good Travel Guide (pilot Bonaire) we show customers exactly in which aspects hotels perform well and in which not. The Seal is the most friendly-priced certification in the market and has a free add-on Virus-Aware Seal to enable businesses to be certified for observing all measures against COVID-10 and other virus contamination.
Good Travel Guide & Seal
Rapenburg 8
2311 EV Leiden, The Netherlands
certification@goodtravel.guide
www.goodtravelseal.com
The “Green Star Hotel” Program – Egypt’s Green Certification Program in support of Sustainable Tourism
The Green Star Hotel (GSH) is a national green certification and capacity-building program managed by the Egyptian Hotel Association (EHA) under the patronage of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism. The GSH program offers an opportunity for hotels operating in Egypt to be internationally recognized for raising their environmental performance and social standards while reducing their operational costs. A team of certified local and international experts guide interested hotels through a sequence of training and information support sessions leading to field audits to ensure compliance with the program standards prior to granting the GSH certification.
Green Star Hotel Programme
Egyptian Hotel Association (EHA)
8, El Sad El Aly St. 1st floor,
Dokki Giza – Egypt
info@greenstarhotel.org
GreenSign / InfraCert – Institute for Sustainable Development in the Hotel Industry
The GreenSign sustainability seal is awarded by the InfraCert - Institute for Sustainable Development in the Hotel Industry. The certification is practical, specially developed for the hotel industry and based on high standards in accordance with EMAS and DIN ISO 14001. With the GreenSign seal, InfraCert offers hoteliers an integrated and sophisticated test system that structures, evaluates and documents ecological, social and economic aspects of hotel management in over 90 criteria. The hotelier is given the opportunity to further expand his sustainability activities and to efficiently optimize the operating processes. In Germany, GreenSign is the market leader as a sustainability seal for hotels. It has also established itself internationally with over 250 certified hotels in 14 countries.
InfraCert – Institut für Nachhaltige Entwicklung in der Hotellerie
Katharinenstraße 12
10711 Berlin
Tel. +49 (0) 30 318 62 84 21
Mail: presse@greensign.de
Web: www.greensign.de
Turning crisis into opportunity
Yield Planet
The interface offers an easy-to-use yet powerful functionality for distributing properties across multiple channels to meet and surpass the challenges of modern online distribution and revenue management.
"We optimize online hotel distribution and revenue management."
YieldPlanet is a premium software provider focused on hotel distribution and channel management. Delivers powerful solutions to meet and surpass the challenges of distribution and revenue management. Helps hoteliers to manage online distribution channels effectively from a single point of control and make faster, smarter pricing decisions.
Yield Planet's most important features:
The software automates the interactions between hotels and OTAs, while providing hotels with data, which can be used to optimize revenue & pricing, select & manage pricing strategies, and manage room inventory. At the same time the OTAs benefit from receiving real-time information on hotels’ inventory and pricing.
About
YieldPlanet provides innovative revenue management solutions and global distribution connectivity for the hospitality industry with the aim of solving hotels’ online distribution and pricing problems. The company works closely with the scientific community on a next generation of revenue management solutions that leverage the most advanced data technologies. YieldPlanet`s Channel Manager seamlessly connects hotels to over 300 OTAs. More than 15 000 properties worldwide, from apartments and hostels to leading brands rely on our company software solutions to optimize their online sales, increase profits and maximize revenue.
Contact Info
Why to become a partner
Dear Hotel, We’d love to have you join our movement towards a sustainable future, and at EcoHotels.com we welcome all sustainable hotels and sincere eco-entrepreneurs, strongly committed to sustainable development!
EcoHotels.com provides a booking site based on fair principles: low commissions, best practice sharing, and a sense of community – ensuring that we can continue to run our properties with a passion for sustainability.
It´s time for us to stand shoulder by shoulder with the businesses that are the core of our business – the hotels. Without you, there is no EcoHotels!
The hotel industry worldwide is suffering, and EcoHotels wants to do everything we can to support it, ensuring a sustainable future that can also – literally – sustain us all.
BEING THE CHANGE...
EcoHotels.com is committed to giving back to the environment, planting trees to increase reforestation and bio-diversity.
Initially, the trees will be planted in Denmark, helping this overly farmed country to increase eco-diversity and create a livable habitat for insect and animal species, as well as reducing CO2.
But other projects are under way and in the near future, we will enter into sustainable alliances to plant trees around the world, through the EcoHotels Foundation, which is in the process of being established.
Certifications
There are many certifications out there, and some are more intense than others. So we have decided that the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s list of approved certifications will be the gateway to joining our site.
Let’s be a power for good
Tourism one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing industries, and we have the potential to be a power for good. For that to happen, we need more facts, more transparency, and less greenwashing. EcoHotels.com aims to be a tool for the sustainability-conscious traveler, who values commitment and responsible actions equally to a good experience and a comfortable stay.
We hope to welcome you into our family, and work with you towards a brighter and more sustainable future – full of exciting adventures across the world!
