Travelers who choose to stay in a vacation home rather than a hotel may have to spend more time looking for sustainable accommodations, but ultimately have more control over their environmental impact. It will look like this. Below are steps short-term renters can take to reduce their carbon footprint.
Find sustainable rental properties
Sustonica validates short-term rentals based on sustainability criteria, such as conserving water and minimizing waste. However, it does not function as a search engine. Instead, travelers can find its logo on certified listings on platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com.
Airbnb's rental category helps travelers find off-grid options, with more than 9,000 properties that rely on renewable energy sources or have no electricity, or are built with organic materials like mud or rammed earth. It highlights a series of accommodation facilities called “Earth Homes''.
At Booking.com, which lists vacation homes as well as hotels, travelers can find sustainability certifications from more than 65 organizations that provide third-party reviews of their efforts, from renewable energy sourcing to recycling. You can search for properties that have been acquired.
The company says more than 16,500 properties, both hotels and rentals, have individual third-party sustainability certifications.
Vacation home rental platform Vrbo does not have an eco-friendly search filter, citing a lack of industry consensus on what makes rentals more sustainable. Accommodations listed by his brother agency Expedia may be marked as “eco-certified,” and users can search using that filter. However, read the results carefully. Some listings lack information about sustainable features.
Wherever you search, be sure to vet listings, says Bob Garner, founder of EnviroRental, a service that works with short-term rental owners on sustainability practices. Does the bathroom photo show shampoo in a large shareable dispenser? Does the description mention recycling? If the host has a separate website, consider sustainability. Look for relevant press links or blog posts.
talk to host
Airbnb says more than 80% of its hosts have incorporated at least one sustainable feature, such as composting, reducing single-use plastics, and providing guidance on using public transportation. The platform maintains guides for hosts on sustainable tourism practices, including tips on creating manuals to guide travelers to local shops, restaurants, and markets.
“If you think you've found the right property, ask a few questions,” Garner says. “If they can't answer, that's a red flag.”
Simply asking about eco-friendly features can make a lasting impact.
“If you think you care, you can make a difference,” said Diane Daniel, founder of Vacation Donations, a nonprofit organization in the Tampa, Florida area that encourages short-term renters to donate leftover food. will increase,” he said.
Consider pedestrian- or public transportation-friendly locations
Even if you can't find a solar-powered place to stay, you can still choose a place to travel that minimizes your carbon footprint.
She is the CEO of Wonderful, a global women's travel community, and author of Wonder Woman: Take Back Your Space, Find Your Voice, and Travel the World Alone. ”
She advises travelers to live like locals, including using public transportation, visiting areas outside the city center, and patronizing small businesses. She uses “day zero,” her day without a plan, to walk around her neighborhood, looking for nearby shops and transportation.
save energy
Save energy by turning off or down the air conditioner when you leave, turn off the lights when you leave, and turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth.
“This might be one of those areas where you say, 'I'm on vacation, so I don't care,'” Daniel said. But travelers need to remain vigilant, she says. “Short-term rentals are the easiest place to adjust your footprint, because it's really up to you.”
Plan your meals and reduce waste
Renters usually have the option of cooking their meals. To avoid food waste, plan your meals instead of buying everything at once and shop as you go and as your plans change. Bring essentials like salt and pepper, and ask your host if the kitchen is stocked with supplies like cooking oil and coffee.
“If you're in a place with delicious delicacies and interesting farm shops, it's a really great experience to spend a week slowly shopping for what you need,” Garner says.
Wonderful's Santos recommends packing collapsible food containers. “By putting it in your luggage, you also have a place to take leftovers and reheat them,” she says.
donate leftover food
Take home as much leftover food as possible, and find a food pantry that accepts donations of what you can't carry.
“Fresh food is very difficult to handle unless you have a pantry nearby that is open at checkout,” says Daniel from Vacation Donations.
Don't think the cleaners want your food. If you're in need, Daniel recommends knocking on your neighbor's door if you live in an apartment, or searching for local groups on Facebook asking for food donations.
Consider “community offsets”
Carbon offset programs invest in activities such as tree planting that reduce the amount of carbon commensurate with the emissions generated by travel. However, this is a controversial practice that has led to exaggerated, if not false, claims about carbon reductions.
Instead, consider donating your time to local causes in the area you rent.
“Community Offsets and Volunteering is an opportunity to spend two hours on your weekend morning helping out with volunteer work in our area, from picking up trash to feeding homeless people,” said co-founder Vanessa De. Souza Raji said. Chief Executive Officer of Sastonica.