Google’s latest feature makes it easier for travelers to find sustainable lodging options. This new feature tags environmentally preferable hotels that have achieved ecolabel certification from Green Seal or select other credible third-party certification organizations as “Eco-Certified” in Google Travel hotel search results. Hotels included in the Google hotel booking program will feature a leaf-shaped badge next to their listing and detail their specific sustainability measures in the “About” tab of Google’s hotel listings.
Google’s new environmentally preferable hotel designation makes it easier for travelers to choose safer, healthier, and certified green hotels. To be added to the tool, hotels must update their Google My Business account with their sustainability practices and maintain an ecolabel certification from a participating third-party organization.
Now more than ever, guests are looking for proven-green properties. In 2019, 70% of global travelers said they were more likely to book a green accommodation , and 62% preferred one with an ecolabel. Today, spurred by what a recent report calls the “pandemic effect,” consumers are continuing to turn toward sustainable travel, with 83% agreeing that sustainable travel is vital and 61% citing the pandemic as a reason they want to travel more sustainably moving forward.
Green Seal’s Environmental Leadership Standard for Hotels is a thorough, multi-attribute guide for hotel operations that addresses many of the areas sustainably minded travelers care about. The standard targets significant impacts, including healthier indoor air; pollution prevention; waste minimization; green purchasing policies, and energy and water efficiency. Hotels certified to Green Seal’s standard automatically qualify for inclusion in Google’s “Eco-Certified” tool, demonstrating to prospective guests that they provide the healthiest, greenest spaces.
