Travel Sustainable

Our sustainability recognition programme, accessible to all
partners worldwide.

We believe in making more sustainable travel choices easier for everyone. If done with respect for local communities, environments and biodiversity, travel can broaden horizons, reduce barriers and bring people closer together. We aim to promote a more sustainable travel industry, so we can collectively preserve a world worth experiencing.

Our shared journey starts by showcasing our partners’ sustainability practices

Every day, travellers discover more properties that are displaying sustainability practices on our platform. This helps guests book with confidence when looking for more sustainable experiences as they know what to expect during their stay.

Globally, over two million accommodation partners can display their sustainability practices and reach millions of potential guests – no matter their property type, size and location.

Partners can choose from 32 sustainability practices – selected for their high impact potential and validated by independent sustainability experts. The practices are visible on property pages in all the languages we support.

And now we’re making more sustainable travel choices even easier

Introducing Travel Sustainable, a global, first of its kind and independently validated recognition programme.

Travel Sustainable leverages the first set of attributes validated by the Travalyst Independent Advisory Group. It highlights practices that are most relevant to a broad range of property types, as well as their high-impact potential, whether it is an apartment in Amsterdam, a Himalayan homestay or a resort along Australia's Gold Coast.

According to our research, 76% of travellers say they intend to make more effort to travel more sustainably in the coming year – yet 29% tell us they don’t know how to find sustainable travel options.

The Travel Sustainable filter and badge helps these travellers and more find accommodations taking extra steps to make their guests' stays more sustainable.

Our internationally recognisable and independently verified programme is now available for all properties

Our Travel Sustainable badge offers partners across the world recognition for their sustainability practices.

Booking.com has collaborated with industry experts, such as Sustainalize, to identify a set of the most impactful practices for a property to consider in five key areas: waste, energy and greenhouse gases, water, supporting local communities and protecting nature. This foundational framework is currently further broken down into 32 specific sustainability measures or practices that properties can implement, including everything from eliminating single-use plastic toiletries or switching to LED light fixtures to running on 100% renewable energy sources or investing a certain percentage of profits into local community and conservation projects.

For each one of these practices, we developed a robust methodology to assess each practices’ relative weighting. This weighting is dependent on the regional environmental and/or social impact of the practices.

Already, thousands of properties that meet the required threshold for impact have received the first version of the Travel Sustainable badge, including those with a broad range of existing certifications and labels, such as those officially approved by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and the EU Ecolabel.

We’re currently developing a verification process that will help to ensure the sustainability information we provide to guests is as accurate and up-to-date as possible. It combines two processes; feedback from a property’s previous guests and evidence collection from a trusted third party auditor.

More detailed information on how individual properties around the world have achieved the badge is available in this updated section of the Travel Sustainable Handbook on the Booking.com Partner Hub.

Making more sustainable travel choices has never had more benefits for properties or customers

An internationally recognisable badge for properties who adopt independently verified sustainability practices

An accessible way for properties and their sustainability practices to be recognised – our inclusive criteria model is validated by independent sustainability experts, such as Travalyst
Assessment is easy – completed online with the outcome sent within 24 hours of submission
Travel Sustainable partners achieve increased visibility across our platform so customers can easily make sustainable travel choices
We are constantly adding independently verified sustainability practices for partners and their guests, so we never stop improving

Read the latest on sustainability here