… and ditch single-use plastics (SUPs) for good!

Of course, sustainability is necessary for the planet—but in order to thrive the travel industry needs to rapidly create and promote a world where exploration does not equal damage, sustainable initiatives, single-use plastic-free accommodation and travel experiences are the norm.

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest challenges facing the planet and the travel industry right now; plastic waste, especially microplastics, decreases the visual appeal of destinations, pollutes the natural environment, and can contribute to poor human and loss of biodiversity.

The tourism industry itself is a large contributor to plastic pollution, and it’s time that the industry tackles this problem from the inside—with initiatives just like the HBX Group Certified Sustainable Hotels Program, which now offers around 21,000+ sustainable hotels; 6300+ of which are single-use plastic-free.

As travel agents, you’re at the forefront of being able to change travel even before it happens, with access to travelers when they are most open to inspiration and influence - the ‘dreaming’ phase of the traveler journey.

So, it’s time to leave the single-use plastic out of your customers’ itinerary to keep business coming in.

Read on for some key reasons why offering sustainable travel is key for today's landscape, and how Bedsonline makes it easier than ever to do so...

Appeal To A High-Spend Segment: Sustainable Travelers

Every travel agency wants to be front and centre of their clients’ mind when they’re dreaming up the perfect trip, right?

Having a portfolio of and promoting hotels and destinations with sustainability at the forefront of their ethos is a sure-fire way to attract the high-value, sustainable traveler segment.

Plus, ensuring that more sustainable hotels and travel opportunities are front and center for travelers at the beginning of their booking journey encourages and enables more sustainable choices – allowing the industry to work together to transform the ‘traditional’ traveler into a sustainable traveler.

So, naturally, you want to go where the opportunities are, and for the foreseeable future, the highest value segment for travel agencies is the sustainable traveler.

But who is this type of traveler?

• Over 80% of global travelers consistently identify sustainable travel as an important factor (according to recent Statista reports).

   

• Gen Z and Millennials: are highly focused on transparency and sustainable certifications. These travelers are the most likely to engage in conservation activities, book properties that prioritize sustainability or travel that is immersed in community heritage, natural biodiversity, and authentic, meaningful experiences.

   

• Coincidentally, Gen Z is the demographic that spends the most on travel, indicating that, despite inflation, travel remains a top priority in their lives. Thus, providing sustainable travel options can help attract and retain these high-spending customers.

   

• Additionally, Millennials comprise about 20% of the world’s population, but contribute around 25% to global consumer spending, which represents significant purchasing power!

Add to this the fact that the global sustainable tourism industry is expected to skyrocket over the next decade, it's clear that there are great opportunities for companies, organizations, and providers who embrace sustainable tourism and partner with others in the travel industry with a focus on sustainability.

Make Sustainable Travel Front and Centre

The rising demand for sustainable hotels and experiences is also something we’ve clearly seen at Bedsonline in the last few years.

As part of our parent company, HBX Group, our Certified Sustainable Hotels Program started in 2020. Since then, it has grown to around 21,000+ hotels, representing 13,85% of our total Direct Contract Portfolio.

Similarly, our portfolio of single-use plastic-free hotels has grown significantly, expanding from 500 to 6300+, with new properties around the world constantly taking up the pledge to reduce and eliminate single-use plastics from their operations.

What’s more, our growing collection of certified sustainable hotels are easily accessible under our ‘Sustainable Certifications’ filter in our online Booking Engine, which refines searches to highlight hotels that have gained some of the highest industry-level certifications for their sustainability operations.

Hotels are only shown in our ‘Sustainable Certifications' filter in our travel booking platform if they have achieved industry-certified sustainability levels, such as those offered by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), or Travalyst approved frameworks.

Plus, the sustainable data for each hotel is also continuously verified and updated in real-time due to direct integration with BeCause, a leading sustainability data platform; meaning that you always know you're getting served the most up-to-date information to present to your clients.

This, combined with the powerful, data-driven and user-friendly nature of our Booking Engine, which helps streamline daily tasks for travel providers, means it is easier than ever for travel agents to find certified sustainable properties for eco-conscious travelers in just a few clicks.

Register your travel agency today to access our growing portfolio of sustainable hotels and begin broadening your offerings to the most vital segment out there at the moment – young, sustainably-focused travelers!

Better For The Planet, Society, and Your Reputation

In today’s digital era, the reputation of a business online is just as important as the services it provides.

This is why it’s so important that to remain successful within the growing audience of eco-conscious travelers, you need to not only be seen promoting green alternatives, but you need to believe in them.

Top tip: practice what you preach. Bolster your reputation by embodying the practices that you are promoting online or endorsing; your audience will quickly catch on to any business that could be accused of ‘greenwashing’, and will avoid it.

Practical Ways Travel Agents Can Embrace Sustainable Travel:

• Make sustainable choices the default - use our ‘Sustainable Certifications’ filter in our travel booking platform to quickly find hotels that are certified sustainable.

  • Doing so is a convenient way to capture the approximate 85% of travelers who suggest that sustainable travel is important to them, at the point of booking.

     

• Partner with single-use plastic-free tour operators - work with tour operators and travel experience providers that have actively reduced or removed single-use plastics from their experiences. This could range from encouraging or requiring travelers to bring their own reusable bottles during an experience, or ensuring that plastic-free food and beverage items are provided when necessary.

   

• Curate an end-to-end travel itinerary with businesses that have reduced or eliminated single-use plastics. Booking with businesses that are recognized for their sustainable operations at every touchpoint, including airlines and cruises, ensures that sustainability is normalized at the point of booking. This creates more embedded sustainability through the supply chain.

   

• Commit to reducing your impact, and mean it - signing pledges like the Glasgow Declaration for Climate Change in Tourism, for example, can be an extra incentive.

   

• Invest in ‘give back’ projects - like tree planting, much like our parent company HBX Group is dedicated to planting tens of thousands of trees in the HBX Group Forest. Or beach clean-ups, like those organized by our parent company HBX Group, in destinations as far-reaching as Shanghai, Mexico, and Mallorca.

To get a head start, register your travel agency with Bedsonline to access a growing portfolio of certified sustainable and single-use plastic-free hotels and attract the increasingly eco-conscious traveler of today and tomorrow:

Become a Bedsonline partner

A Sustainable Case Study with Hyatt: Why Does Sustainability Awareness Matter for Hotels?

Going single-use plastic-free presents a challenge for any business in the travel industry, due to the complex logistics involved. But there is proof that such an aim not only is attainable, but also rewarding for businesses that commit to reducing their plastic waste.

With this in mind, Hyatt and HBX Group have partnered to co-create a guest-facing awareness campaign designed to promote the integration of sustainability into the hotel experience.

This collaboration between our parent company, HBX Group and Hyatt reflects a shifting industry dynamic, where such partnerships across the travel and tourism value chain are becoming essential to creating meaningful change from within the industry itself. 

How? Initiatives just like this can contribute to a more consistent, sustainable approach across the value chain, and reach even more audiences than either individual business if this project was put into action alone.

Watch the full video below:

Tourism Is Going Sustainable. Don’t Get Left Behind

As travelers are becoming more conscious about their impact, there's a potential risk that popular destinations with high plastic waste will be left behind.

In fact, there are examples from all around the world, and across many different sectors within the industry, that demonstrate the growing demand for plastic-free and sustainable travel opportunities:

• Recycling initiatives to reduce landfill waste have only gained traction - for example, since its launch in 2016, the Refill Not Landfill initiative based in Cambodia has spread to 20 countries including Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Myanmar and New Zealand, saving thousands of tonnes of plastic from the oceans! Plus, we're even partnering with key hotelier partners in recycling initiatives that take discarded pool floats and turn them into fabrics.

   

• Notable initiatives around the world and across the travel industry that are embedding sustainability into everyday operations include: destination-wide bans on single-use plastics in Bali and the EU, zero-waste luxury models from brands like Six Senses and Soneva, airline initiatives such as Qantas’ plastic-free flights, and tour operators like G Adventures eliminating disposable plastics across their itineraries.

   

• Regenerative tourism and volunteering schemes are also in high demand, and are a critical avenue for positive-impact and eco-conscious tourism practices while offering significant opportunities for tourism businesses across the industry. In fact, a recent report by Red Sea Global (RSG), the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, Wave, and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation highlighted that the 'demand for eco-conscious experiences and travel is far outweighing the industry's capacity to deliver restorative experiences'.

  Plus, regenerative tourism has become a key touchpoint for luxury travel, where value lies in authentic connection and positive impact.

Consider using the Luxury Collection, a select portfolio of 11,500+ exceptional hotels, accessible via the Bedsonline Booking Engine, to capture bookings from discerning travelers looking for authentic and responsible travel experiences.

Learn more about elevating every trip with the Luxury Collection.

However, while as many as 85% of global tourists want more plastic-free alternatives, many travelers can also be quick to respond negatively if these alternatives are not convenient.

This is where innovative solutions are essential to embed sustainability into the supply and value chain, helping to close the gap between traveler intention to book sustainable travel and the accessibility of sustainable options during the booking process, and encourage more sustainable practices as the norm within the industry.

Linking to this, we’ve previously discussed the continuing rise of 'detour destinations' and the wider sentiment of responsible travel; a travel movement that, according to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council:

‘Refers to the behaviour of individual travelers … [which] align with minimising the negative impacts and maximizing positive ones when one visits a tourism destination.’

The elimination of single-use plastic waste is one of the movements that resonates with today's traveler. A more authentic and meaningful experience is often dependent on the quality of a traveler's in-destination experience; something that has been proven to increase when plastic pollution is not present.

What’s the first step?

Offering certified sustainable hotels to your clients is the first step of many when it comes to enabling travelers to make more sustainable choices.

We’ve made this easier than ever with our Certified Sustainable Hotels Program, available to you in our Booking Engine using the 'Sustainable Certifications' filter to easily find hotels and accommodation options that have achieved industry-standard sustainability.

Plus, our sustainable data integration with BeCause means that this information is constantly verified and up to date, so you can recommend these certified sustainable hotels with confidence to eco-conscious travelers.

Not only this, but our collection of 6300+ single-use plastic-free hotels is constantly expanding, allowing travelers to immerse themselves in memorable trips and leave their chosen destinations just as they found them.

Register your travel agency today to begin removing single-use plastics for good and delight your clients with more sustainable alternatives!

Access certified sustainable hotels today