I have always kind of wondered about the seriousness of the commitment of the leading online travel agencies (OTAs) in regard to promoting green lodging establishments. In the past when I have gone to their websites in an attempt to try to find the properties, I have been unsuccessful or at least had a difficult time in locating a link for more information. (Perhaps that is why the OTAs call their green sites “microsites”—so small nobody can find them.) To some degree the green hotel sections are still difficult to find, as I describe in the article written this week about the top online travel agencies and their treatment of green lodging.
Orbitz, for example, has a nice looking eco-travel microsite but I challenge anyone to find a link to it from the Orbitz home page. If you find it, let me know. I called Orbitz this past week for some answers but did not hear back. What could those at Orbitz be thinking? Perhaps they think their own site is not worth linking to? Expedia’s “traveler’s guide to going green,” which includes a green hotels directory, can only be found by using the search engine on the Expedia site. I spoke with a representative of Expedia and they currently have a valid excuse, as they are in the process of updating their website’s green section. When they do relaunch their green travel site in the next few months, will they make it easy to find? I trust they will—hint, hint.
Among Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity, Travelocity is currently doing the best job promoting its Green Hotel Directory. There is a large banner ad at the bottom of the home page that links to it. Just above the banner—still kind of tiny—is a “Green Travel” link that also links to the Directory. The Directory is just one of several green travel components on the microsite. Others include “Voluntourism” and “Go Zero Carbon Offset.” I spoke with a Travelocity representative and they currently have more than 700 green hotels in their Directory. A great start but they have many more properties to include.
Property Selection Process
One of the most interesting things about the OTAs is how they decide which properties to list. Orbitz relies heavily on the Energy Star program for its group while Expedia and Travelocity draw from various certification programs—those at the state and national level—including ones such as Green Key, Green Seal, Audubon Green Leaf Eco-Rating Program, etc. (The Orbitz and Travelocity representatives I spoke with did not mention including LEED certified properties; they should obviously include those.) I strongly recommend contacting your Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity representatives to learn how you can take advantage of their green marketing opportunities.
In deciding which of the OTAs to focus on, I looked at those represented in Experian’s recent “Top 20 websites in the ‘Travel’ online industry for the month of December 2009, based on visits.” Not included in Experian’s list but still worth mentioning is RezHub.com. Last fall the organization relaunched its website. The site includes more than 1,600 green properties in 40 countries. The RezHub.com Green Audit allows properties that participate in environmentally friendly activities and amenities to define that participation and earn a green score. Visitors to RezHub.com can sort results by green score. RezHub always donates 20 percent of its profits to environmental nonprofit groups.
If you have an OTA/green lodging experience you would like to share, send it to editor@greenlodgingnews.com, or call (440) 243-2055.
Greening the Hospitality Industry Conference
Green Lodging News will be exhibiting at the Greening the Hospitality Industry Conference in Denver. The event will be held from February 9 to 11 at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center. If you will be attending the event, be sure to stop by. To learn more about the conference, click here. Green Lodging News is an official sponsor.
Advertising Opportunities in 2010
There are still some excellent Green Lodging News advertising opportunities available for 2010, including ad spots on the website and in the weekly e-newsletter. There are also many Green Supplier Spotlight dates available throughout the year. If your company has a product or products it would like to feature in Green Lodging News in 2010, be sure to contact me at (440) 243-2055, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com. The 2010 media kit is available by request or by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
Green Lodging News Blog & Twitter
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As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
