HOSTELWORLD: CARBON IMPACT ANALYSIS (1st edition)

Hostelworld Group is a leading Online Travel Agent that connects hostels and travellers across 178 countries. As a leading player in the travel industry, the company understands the responsibility of its industry in helping to reduce the carbon impact of global travel.

Hostelworld has recognised that its customers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious. Its own market research highlights 53% of their customers consider sustainability an important criterion in selecting accommodation and 82% of its customers believe hostels are more sustainable than any other type of accommodation.

With this in mind, Hostelworld partnered with Bureau Veritas to model the carbon intensity of hostels in comparison to hotels and substantiate whether hostels represent the most sustainable accommodation type in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT

PROJECT AT A GLANCE

Client: Hostelworld
Location: Global
Service provided: Carbon impact analysis report
Relevant industries: Travel & tourism

27,509 Total Beds Included Within the Scope of Research

3 Years of Data Analysed

75%hostels are 75% less carbon intense than hotels on average, on a per bed basis

Gary

Morrison

CEO

Hostelworld

I am pleased to see Bureau Veritas’ project reporting that hostels represent a more sustainable accommodation type versus hotels in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. This is very welcome news for a sector that is firmly focused on providing accommodation to an increasingly environmentally conscious set of travellers. We look forward to working closely with Bureau Veritas on future endeavours in this space further proving the merits of hostels when it comes to minimizing the environmental impact of travel.

David

Murray

Sustainability Business Manager

Bureau Veritas

In the current climate it is becoming increasingly valuable to start understanding ways to make more sustainable tourism choices. Our study has helped Hostelworld to promote hostels as less carbon intense than hotels. This is a valuable finding for the tourism sector.

Achievement

Bureau Veritas provided Hostelworld with an in-depth research study on the carbon impact of hotels vs hostels. As far as we are aware, the research study is the first of its kind in the tourism sector.

Our research saw us collect data on hostels across Europe totalling 27,509 beds in order to calculate an average tCO₂e/bed. This data was then benchmarked against the average emissions per assumed PAX in representative European hotel chains.

Our findings showed that on average hostels are 75% less carbon intense than hotels on a per bed basis, substantiating Hostelworld’s claim that hostels represent a more sustainable accommodation choice compared to hotels in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.