Sustainable accommodation: how do you pick out those truly sustainable locations?

Of course, you also want to tackle your holidays as green as possible. That includes sustainable accommodation. But: sustainable accommodation is not as easy as it seems. Indeed, within the travel industry, you will find many greenwashing encounter. Even a label does not always say it all. Yet there are many great places to stay that are green. How do you pick out the really sustainable ones?

Sustainable accommodation, what does it mean?

These days, many accommodation establishments claim to be sustainable, when this is not or barely so. For instance, you probably regularly see one of the following phrases: ‘Our hotel is sustainable’, ‘We separate waste’, ‘We use LED lighting’ or ‘We have water-saving showers’. Of course these are good steps! But shouldn't these things just be heartily normal by now? When we talk about sustainable accommodation, we are talking about accommodation that is actively working on sustainability and making sure that you can spend the night sustainably. Fortunately, more and more accommodation and hotels are fully committed to becoming greener.

How can you be sure that an accommodation is sustainable?

To find out whether an accommodation you want to spend the night in is actually sustainable, you can do several things. For instance, you can check whether the accommodation place you have your eye on has a label such as Green Key or Green Globe has. In addition, you can look at exactly what an accommodation is doing to become more sustainable. Do they have solar panels and use local products? Then they are doing a good job! If you doubt whether they actually do what they say, read the reviews. There you will undoubtedly find even more clues to check whether your overnight stay is going to be sustainable.

Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam is energy-neutral.

Hallmarks for sustainable accommodation

There are hundreds of sustainable labels. Each label has its own set of rules. Since there is no legislation surrounding the accuracy of these labels, it is often hard to figure out which one to believe. You can find them on well-known overnight booking sites like Expedia and TripAdvisor. All different labels that would indicate that your accommodation is as green as possible and therefore you can stay here sustainably. But which ones are true and which ones are not? Here are two labels that are often used and that you can rely on anyway and a bonus suggestion.

Green Globe is a seal of approval in the travel and hospitality industry. Green Globe is an internationally recognised sustainability label and is used in 90 countries. Besides the environment, economic and social measures are also included in the Green Globe label. In this way, good working conditions, the use of fair trade products and the local environment, among others, are promoted.

Green Key is one of the best-known quality marks in the leisure and recreation sector in the Netherlands. Almost ten per cent of hotels in the Netherlands have a Green Key quality mark. When does a hotel or accommodation earn a Green Key quality mark? The hotel is assessed on twelve different points. Building and greenery, energy, waste and textiles are among the important themes. If all themes have been assessed, then a hotel can be awarded a Green Key certificate Bronze, Silver or Gold. Gold is of course the top score in this respect!

A nice and affordable more sustainable overnight stay can be found at one of Stayokay's hostels where they also have private rooms with private bathrooms, such as rooms in the cube houses in Rotterdam.

What are green accommodations doing to become more sustainable?

Accommodations fully committed to more sustainable use focus on much more than just waste separation and LED lighting. They may be busy generating their own energy through solar panels or a heat pump. The building is well insulated, so little heat is lost in winter and little heat comes in in summer. An appropriate air-conditioning policy will also apply. In the restaurant, they prefer to use produce from their own vegetable garden, prepare meals with local products and avoid food waste. In addition, you will find that sustainable hotels no longer offer small bottles of shampoos and encourage you to use your towels more than once. Do you see these kinds of pointers reflected on your hotel's website? Then you are probably in the right place.

Websites to book your sustainable accommodation

Want to make sure your overnight stay is a sustainable choice? Then make it easy on yourself and book through one of the websites below. These pages focus mainly on sustainable accommodation. Also search online using the search term sustainable accommodation, then you also pick up the English-language articles.

• Nature cottage.nl here you will find various cottages in the middle of nature. The cottages are located in the Netherlands and Belgium. Many of the cottages on nature cottage.nl are small-scale and managed by private individuals.
• Stayokay can be found in twenty different locations in the Netherlands. These fine budget and sustainable hostels can be found in the most surprising locations. Stayokay Rotterdam offers accommodation in a cube house and Stayokay Soest is located in the middle of the woods. In Haarlem, you can spend the night in a beautifully renovated old school. Check out our review of Stayokay Haarlem here.
• Ecobnb is a booking site where you can book sustainable accommodation. For each accommodation, they specify exactly what sustainable steps they take.
• Campspace is a website where you can find locations where people sleep at home. Often you can pitch your tent in people's gardens or meadows. Sometimes there is also already an accommodation where you can spend the night sustainably. This could be a treehouse or a yurt, for example.
• ECO accommodation is a platform for energy-neutral overnight accommodation in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is not a website where you can book accommodation. However, you will find lots of inspiration for sustainable overnight stays, with explanations per accommodation as to why they are sustainable.
  
  

Tips for your sustainable stay

Would you like to do your bit on location too? As a guest, you can easily help the hotel or cottage where you sleep to use even less energy:

• Turn off all lights when you leave.
• Use the air conditioning or heating as little as possible. When you leave the hotel room, turn off the air conditioning and heating.
• Close the curtains when you leave. This will keep the temperature inside a lot more comfortable.
• Bring your own toiletries. Then you won't have to use the small shampoo bottles in the bathroom. That saves plastic again!
• There is often a bottle of water in the hotel room. Leave these and fill your own reusable water bottle. Of course, only if there is clean drinking water from the tap.
• There is really no need to use a clean towel every day. Hang it out neatly and housekeeping will leave it hanging for you.
• Breakfast buffet? Choose only what you will actually eat = no waste.
• You can also take a sustainable approach to travelling to your sustainable destination. Ideally, you should use public transport. Will you fly or go on a car holiday anyway? Then you can offset the CO2 emissions of your flight or car journey. How to do that, you will read in this article.
• Once on location? Then do as much walking as possible. Extra bonus: you see a lot more when you slow down!

Funny reminder to take shorter showers.

You can spend your nights sustainably from now on

Of course, a sustainable lifestyle at home is something you would prefer to continue in your leisure time and on holiday. Fortunately, there are more and more sustainable accommodation options these days. You just have to find them. But isn't preparation half the fun? Add the above websites to your list of favourites, remember the labels and you are one step closer to a green holiday. Safe travels!

More sustainable travel tips from thegreenlist.nl

• Would you rather go camping? Then check out the best tips for finding a second-hand motorhome, caravan or tent here.
• Durable and charming: special campsites and glamping sites in the Netherlands.
• Or how about a sustainable train journey across Europe? Read the best train hotspots and tips here.
  
  

Photo credits: Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam, thegreenlist.nl.