Sustainable tourism is rapidly expanding, and it is all thanks to the importance that we are giving to travelling in a clean and responsible way. It is logical to think that tourist destinations must have sustainable accommodations, either because they are committed to being part of a sustainable development for the benefit of all, or because of the increased demands from the guests’ side in obtaining quality services that are respectful towards society and environmentally friendly.

But for travelers like us who are looking for this type of accommodation, it is sometimes difficult to know how to detect authentic sustainable places that can meet the necessary requirements to label them as such, making sure it is not just a facade 👀. Therefore, we are going to show you 3 tricks to detect a sustainable accommodation:

1º Observe the services they offer

The first and easiest method is to observe that the services offered by the accommodations represent an improvement in terms of recycling, resource consumption, energy savings, respect for the environment and a greater benefit for its local community.

Some examples of these services can be:

🏡 Construction and air conditioning

The accommodation is of bioclimatic construction, which uses high energy efficiency systems allowing significant savings in electricity, heating and air conditioning. It is also very important that it uses local or recycled building materials. In addition, the accommodation should blend naturally with its surroundings, thus reducing the visual and environmental impact.

💧 Water in sustainable accommodation

The use of renewable energies such as thermal plates on the roofs to heat the water, in addition to the use of flow reducers, or even reusing rainwater for other areas such as irrigation or WC, are an excellent method of saving our most precious resource.

🌞 Light

The use of LED lighting, motion sensors or timers, or the self-generation of electricity through 100% renewable sources, such as photovoltaic panels or mini-wind power, are great ways to achieve minimal or no energy consumption.

🥑 Food

If the accommodation includes organic, ecological, 0KM or locally sourced food on its menu, it will be a highly valued and healthy option. They will also be promoting the local economy with fresh products without having to depend on imports.

🧻   Hygiene

It is basic and advisable to recycle and promote the separation of waste with different containers, such as plastic, cardboard, glass and organic waste. It’s also valuable that the accommodations do not use single-dose or disposable products and, at the same time, that they use organic and biodegradable cleaning and hygiene products. All of this will reduce the pollution of the environment.

We should note that, apart from considering these services, many accommodations have brilliant and innovative new ideas every day that are worth taking into account.

2º Eco requirements for sustainable accommodation🌱

The second method is to visit our Eco requirements section where you can see a list of internationally recognized environmental practices for the tourist accommodations to comply in order to be considered sustainable.

In our Eco posts you can discover the requirements that each sustainable accommodation or tourist activity meets.

3º Sustainable accommodations’ certification

The third method would be to know if the accommodations are certified as sustainable by reliable organizations.

These certificates are granted to activities and accommodations that meet certain standards set by the organizations that issue them. If they comply with these requirements, they will be provided with a certificate that they can show at the facilities or on their website.

So now you know, just by observing some of the services that these companies offer, we can safely detect authentic sustainable accommodations.