United Kingdom,
07
December
2022
|
16:20
Europe/Amsterdam

Booking.com Celebrates One Year of Travel Sustainable with New Product Features for Accommodations, Rental Cars and Flights

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  • Three levels are being introduced to the Travel Sustainable programme for accommodations, in addition to special badging to highlight properties with third-party certifications
  • 400,000+ accommodations globally, and 15,366 in the UK, are now being recognised for their efforts to operate more sustainably
  • Search filter for fully electric and hybrid rental cars is now live across the Booking.com app and website, with hybrid options and electric vehicles available in 60 countries
  • Carbon emissions data and offsetting options set to begin rolling out for select accommodation options in Europe
  • The total carbon emissions footprint for a selected flight will start to be shown on the flight details page over the coming weeks, with a sorting option being introduced in 2023

LONDON, 15th NOVEMBER, 2022 Today, leading digital travel platform Booking.com announced an array of new product features in celebration of the one year anniversary of its Travel Sustainable programme, introduced in 2021 to provide travellers with transparent and credible information to make more mindful choices for their trips. With the ongoing aim to recognise the efforts of a wide range of property types to operate more sustainably and to provide travellers with consistent and easy-to-understand information, the company is introducing three distinct badge levels to the Travel Sustainable programme.

Aligned to the principle that reputable, third-party certification remains the gold standard in the industry, the new levels to the Travel Sustainable programme provide even better visibility and recognition for currently uncertified properties that are taking steps to operate more responsibly with regards to their impact on the environment and their local community. The levels help illustrate a clearer pathway for accommodations to work towards eventual certification, especially those that might be at an earlier stage in their sustainability journey. The aim is to also help encourage and incentivise more accommodations to continue making progress towards that goal.

For travellers, the new badge levels being introduced to Booking.com’s Travel Sustainable programme have been designed to more clearly demonstrate a broader spectrum of where different accommodations are at on their individual sustainability journeys, as well as the specific measures they are implementing. The aim of the enhanced structure is to also more clearly highlight those accommodations that have made outstanding commitments and investments on this front to achieve one of more than 40 recognised ecolabels and certifications.

The new badge levels for Travel Sustainable are as follows:

Level 1: This new entry-level designation for the Travel Sustainable badge indicates that a property has implemented some impactful sustainability practices. This Level 1 badge will soon show up with one leaf and includes a full display of all practices that have been implemented.

Level 2: Accommodations receiving the Level 2 version of the Travel Sustainable badge have made considerable investments and efforts to implement impactful sustainability practices. The Level 2 badge will soon show up with two leaves and includes a full display of all practices that have been implemented.

Level 3: The Level 3 Travel Sustainable badge is reserved for those accommodations that have made large investments and efforts to implement impactful sustainability practices, but have not yet achieved an official third-party certification yet. The Level 3 badge will soon show up with three leaves and includes a full display of all practices that have been implemented.

Certified properties: Accommodations that have made huge commitments towards sustainability, including the additional effort and investment to achieve one of 40+ credible third-party certifications, receive the highest level of recognition as part of the Travel Sustainable programme. These accommodations are recognised with a certified badge, including the name of their certification. In addition to those certifications officially approved by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Green Tourism and the EU Ecolabel, the list of third-party certifications automatically qualified for this highest level of the Travel Sustainable programme now also includes Green Seal, Nordic Swan Ecolabel, Green Hospitality Ecolabel, Ibex Fairstay, Fair Trade Tourism, LEED and Edge.

With the introduction of these new levels, 400,000+ accommodations on Booking.com are now being recognised for their efforts to operate more sustainably. The countries leading the way globally in terms of the highest number of accommodations receiving a Travel Sustainable badge on Booking.com are: Italy (46,365), France (27,677), Germany (24,038), Spain (23,650), United States (19,396), Brazil (19,160), India (15,743), United Kingdom (15,366), Greece (12,442) and Poland (10,745).

The new Travel Sustainable badge levels have already been introduced and communicated to Booking.com’s accommodation partners globally and will start to appear on the Booking.com website and app over the course of the coming weeks, with refreshed visuals to clearly distinguish the new levels of the programme. The idea is to begin exploring how best to display this information in a way that is helpful to consumers throughout their journey on Booking.com.

More than 1.25 million accommodations globally on Booking.com have shared at least some information about the sustainability practices they have in place. Regardless of whether they have met the minimum impact threshold to receive the entry level version of the Travel Sustainable badge, these practices are transparently displayed on their listing page. For more information on how impact is assessed, as well as how the company is supporting accommodations to level up through educational materials in collaboration with external experts and organisations, visit sustainability.booking.com or refer to the details in the Travel Sustainable Handbook.

New filters for hybrid and fully electric rental cars

A new search filter for fully electric and hybrid rental cars is now live across the Booking.com app and website, making it easier for travellers to find more sustainable ground transport options for their next road trip, with hybrid vehicles and fully electric options available in 60 countries. As more rental car providers around the world expand their fleets with these more sustainable alternatives, inventory and availability is expected to increase over the coming year.

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Carbon emissions information for accommodations and flights

As part of Booking.com’s new partnership with climate tech company CHOOOSE, carbon emissions data for accommodation bookings in Europe will be displayed for the first time on the platform in an effort to both understand where and how to present this information so it is useful for customers in their decision-making process. The aim is also to explore how to best integrate offsetting options as part of the booking process in an understandable and seamless way. The new features will first go live for accommodation options in Europe, with the intent to expand globally.

Similarly, together with CHOOOSE and in line with the aviation framework developed together with the Travalyst Coalition, Booking.com will also start providing information about the carbon emissions associated with flight options on the platform. The total carbon emissions footprint for a selected flight will start to be shown on the flight details page over the coming weeks. The option to sort flight searches based on this carbon emissions data will be introduced in 2023.

“As we optimise and develop our Travel Sustainable programme further, our ambition is to continue making it easier for everyone to make more sustainable choices for their next trip,” said Danielle D’Silva, Head of Sustainability at Booking.com. “We’re examining every part of the trip on our platform and actively looking for ways to provide more information to travellers in a credible and trusted way. Whether it’s an apartment for a weekend getaway, an electric car for their upcoming road trip or carbon emissions data about a flight, our aim is to nudge our customers and partners towards these more responsible options and do our part to ensure a healthier future for our planet and industry.”

Booking.com’s Travel Sustainable Programme is a key pillar of the company’s climate action commitments. For more information on Booking.com’s Travel Sustainable programme please visit sustainability.booking.com, as well as for more detail on the company’s Climate Action Plan as part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG).

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For media enquiries, please contact the Booking.com press office via

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About Booking.com

Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com’s mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. By investing in the technology that helps take the friction out of travel, Booking.com seamlessly connects millions of travellers with memorable experiences, a range of transportation options and incredible places to stay - from homes to hotels and much more. As one of the world’s largest travel marketplaces for both established brands and entrepreneurs of all sizes, Booking.com enables properties all over the world to reach a global audience and grow their businesses. Booking.com is available in 44 languages and offers more than 28 million total reported accommodation listings, including more than 6.6 million listings of homes, apartments and other unique places to stay. No matter where you want to go or what you want to do, Booking.com makes it easy and backs it all up with 24/7 customer support.

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