Hostel carbon impact
Case studies

HOSTELWORLD: CARBON IMPACT ANALYSIS (2nd edition)

03.19.24

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. Recent market research highlights more than 60% of their target customers are likely to consider more sustainable travel options and Hostelworld’s own research has revealed that 82% of its customers believe hostels are more sustainable than any other type of accommodation.

With this in mind, Hostelworld first partnered with Bureau Veritas in 2022 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. The recently published 2023 version of the report builds further on the findings in the initial report. 

PROJECT AT A GLANCE

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

30,697Total Beds Included Within the Scope of Research
1Year of Data Analysed
82%hostels are 82% less carbon intense than hotels on average, on a per bed basis
Caroline
Sherry

CFO & ESG Steer Co-lead

Hostelworld

We are really pleased with the results of our continued collaboration with Bureau Veritas. To see increasingly positive results in this, the second edition of the report, further validates the inherent sustainability of hostels for our customer base.

This report is an invaluable tool in substantiating hostels as the pioneers of sustainable travel. Our work with Bureau Veritas demonstrates our commitment to our hostel partners; working with them to celebrate the immense work being carried out by the sector.

achievement

Bureau Veritas once again provided Hostelworld with an in-depth research study on the carbon impact of hotels vs hostels. We were able to compare this year’s report with previous reports to show the increasing gap between hostels and hotels in terms of carbon impact. 

Our research saw us collect data on hostels across Europe totalling 30,697 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 82% less carbon intense than hotels on a per bed basis, compared with 75% in the previous year’s report. This substantiates Hostelworld’s claim that hostels represent a more sustainable accommodation choice compared to hotels in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
 

Alexandra
Petrujinschi

Principal Sustainability Consultant

Bureau Veritas UK

As part of the continuous effort to provide sustainable accommodation opportunities to its customers, Hostelworld partnered with Bureau Veritas for the second year and conducted new research on the carbon impact of hostels versus hotels. Our study proved again that hostels are an eco-friendlier option for travel lovers. Customers want to make informed decisions when booking their trips, and this research is a valuable tool.