Travel agency offsets CO2 emissions of its customers’ hotel stays for free

GreenHotelWorld enables travelers to find the most eco-conscious hotels and have the CO2 emissions from their stay offset for free.

One percent of the world’s carbon emissions are created by the hotel industry, and while many individual hotels such as Cottage Lodge in the UK and Tubohotel in Mexico are making concerted efforts to provide a greener service, a new platform called GreenHotelWorld is stepping in on behalf of those hotels which have yet to step up to the plate — by offering to offset the carbon emissions of any stay booked through their site.

Eco-conscious travelers can search for their dream hotel using the GreenHotelWorld website. The online travel agency has partnered with Expedia and lists more than 130,000 hotels in 107 countries, with detailed information on how green their practices are. GreenHotelWorld has also teamed up with myclimate to ensure all users’ stays are carbon neutral — by compensating the CO2 emissions of the less eco-responsible accommodation options free of charge.

As with a regular travel site, customers begin by entering their destination and date of travel. The platform then uses a green rating algorithm to filter their options, showing which hotels have certified green practices and which do not — they have more than 5,200 eco-friendly hotels in their database. Travelers can even prioritize certain green practices such as environmental protection and social responsibility.

GreenHotelWorld guarantee to offset 26.6 kg CO2 per overnight stay booked through them, which corresponds to the global average energy use per guest per night. Are there other ways of enabling customers to pursue eco-responsible tourism?