How Hotelbeds Helps Travel Providers Promote Sustainable Travel

Did you know that around 80% of global travellers have suggested that sustainability is important to them? Or that 6 out of 10 visitors prioritise hotels that are single-use plastic free?  

As a travel provider, the responsibility lies in your hands to cater to the growing demand from travelers who are seeking sustainable options, with the aim of reducing their carbon footprint. With more and more travelers aligning their values with their spending habits, it is evident that the industry is moving towards a permanent shift to sustainability.

To remain relevant, it’s essential to take into account the consumer trends within the travel industry as a whole, as travellers are increasingly showing a preference for sustainability. This includes a demand for single-use plastic-free hotels, a focus on eco-conscious initiatives in their accommodation choices, and a preference for destinations that prioritise climate change solutions and green investments.

So as your travel partner, we’d be remiss not to join those paving the way for travel as a force for good, and assist you in this shift towards sustainability.

Make Sustainable Travel Front and Centre

So, how are you able to make sustainability a priority for yourself, and easily accessible for travellers, with Hotelbeds?

With our range of travel booking tools and products, our strong commitment to sustainability as a business, and our continuous focus on empowering both travel providers and travellers themselves with opportunities that cater to their specific needs, we strive to provide the best possible travel experience for all.

Let’s take a look at how we’re helping you to help your clients travel sustainably.

Sustainable Hotels Programme

We have our Sustainable Hotels Programme (formerly our Green Hotels Programme) offered in line with our parent company, HBX Group.

Since its beginnings in 2020 our Sustainable Hotels Programme has continued to grow, from offering 15,000 to around 40,000 sustainable hotels, and a recent Accor campaign that Hotelbeds, also under HBX Group, boosted the single-use plastic free hotels we’re able to offer from 500 to 5000.

The Sustainable Hotels Programme was established to provide hotels worldwide with a platform to demonstrate their commitment to transforming travel, catering to the growing importance of conscious travel choices for consumers, and facilitating the integration of sustainable options into the booking process for our registered partners.

This leads us onto our next point...

The ‘Sustainable Hotels’ Filter in our Booking Travel Platform

Of course, travellers need more than just a ticked box to be assured that their choices are wholly sustainable.

Enter in, sustainability: certified.

One of the fastest ways for our registered travel partners to access, identify, and promote our collection of sustainable hotels is by using the ‘Sustainable Hotels’ filter in our Booking Engine.

Hotels are only shown in our ‘Sustainable Hotels’ filter in our travel booking platform, if they have sustainable certification – provided by industry-leading organisations such as the World Tourism and Trade Council (WTTC) and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).

You can read more about hotel certifications here.

By selecting 'Sustainable Hotels' in our Booking Engine, you and your clients can have peace of mind knowing that the hotels and resorts recommended are accredited with the highest levels of sustainability.

Considering that travellers are seeking authenticity more and more, it’s important that as their travel booker you’re able to offer trustworthy and approved sustainable options. Not only for ultimate peace of mind, but also to maximise that customer-agent relationship that we know is so important for you and your business.

Not signed up yet? Sign up and start taking advantage of our 40,000 sustainable hotels!

Personalised Travel Brochures

Imagine this: You are a valued member of the Hotelbeds network. With access to a vast array of hotels, experiences, car rental, and transfer services, as well as the expertise of our local and global professionals, all conveniently available to you.

What’s next?

Well, now you have your portfolio of sustainable hotels, you can promote them in a way that suits your clients best.

How? By personalising your own travel brochure.

The Star Brochure is considered our flagship product, encompassing everything essential for travel providers: destination inspiration, trend-focused articles, extensive hotel and resort listings, instant booking capabilities, and customisable options for individual client needs.

It's important to have a diverse portfolio of sustainable options for travellers, but it's equally important to present these travel options in a way that is both accessible and inspiring. The Star Brochure makes it simple for clients to make the right choice and say 'yes' to that perfect stay.

With our customisable travel brochure you can:  

• Choose to include existing content or create your own articles, welcome messages and more
• Add your own branding and logos to stand out from the crowd
• Book your clients’ dream trip right from the Star Brochure itself  
• Share your travel brochure quickly and easily

Furthermore, thanks to seamless integration with our travel booking platform, the Booking Engine, you have the opportunity to offer your clients additional trip-enhancing products such as experiences and mobility solutions. This not only enhances their travel experience but also increases your revenue potential. 

Additionally, the Star Brochure includes convenient 'Best For' categories that are strategically placed throughout the brochure, making it simple to find the ideal hotel for each client's unique needs.

Hotel Comparison in the Booking Engine

Once you and your client have found suitable sustainable options for their needs, it might be tricky for them to narrow down their choices.  

Luckily, our Hotel Comparison Tool in the Booking Engine makes this simple.

Simply select the sustainable hotel options that have caught your clients’ eye, and hit the ‘Compare’ button in our booking platform. It’s that easy. Our Booking Engine allows you to compare up to four hotels at the time of booking, offering a quick glance at each list of facilities to help your client make the decision.

Our Exclusive Campaigns

We believe that offering timely, incentivising, and seasonal campaigns is a crucial aspect of being a good partner. Our mission is to provide the best travel products to our partners in a way that excites and delights their clients. Therefore, it is only natural that we run these types of campaigns to meet your needs.  

Our campaigns are not solely driven by trends, but also serve as a crucial platform to showcase valuable and sought-after products that keep you, as agents, ahead in the travel industry.  

This includes promoting sustainable options, exemplified in our recent Single-Use Plastic-Free campaign.

This campaign was specifically designed to offer travel providers enhanced access to the sustainability certified hotels we previously mentioned. It features only the top recommended hotels and resorts from our Sustainable Hotels Programme.

We’ve seen huge success with our sustainably focused campaigns and are dedicated to constantly improving our offering of eco-conscious options. Last year, our campaign with Accor increased the number of hotels and resorts registered as single-use plastic free from 500 to 5000.

Read more about why travel providers should offer single-use plastic free hotels here.

Of course, our campaigns are only available to our valued partners, so sign up today to begin benefitting from targeted and seasonal campaigns to help you uplift your bookings.

So there you have it. While this is a few of the key ways that as a travel parter we make it easy for you to offer sustainable options to travellers, you’ll only be able to ascertain the true value of providing greener alternatives to your clients once you begin!  

Start catering to the demands of today’s traveller and focus on bringing sustainablility to the forefront of your promotion, and if you haven’t already, sign up to access a global portfolio of sustainable hotel options.