Volume #3
Learn about local customs | Debunking booking.com’s Travel Sustainable Badge (Part 2: Water)**
This week’s read time: 7 minutes
In this volume, we’ll explore:
Why you should make an effort to learn about the local customs while on holiday.
Debunking booking.com’s Travel Sustainable Badge (Part 2: Water)**
If you missed previous newsletters, you can look them up here.
👉🏼 Make An Effort To Learn About Local Customs
Making an effort to learn about local customs while on holiday is not just about avoiding the occasional cultural oopsies, it’s about turning your trip into an adventure!
What’s in it for travellers?
Authentic Local Experiences: Showing genuine interest in learning about local customs while on holiday fosters deeper conversations with locals, potentially leading to friendships. These individuals can introduce you to their world, unveiling hidden gems not found on the www. (world wide web). If the vibe feels right, don’t hesitate to ask about their favorite restaurant or even ask if you could join them for a meal. From experience, 9 out of 10 times they will say yes and we promise this will unlock a whole new experience and will most likely be your most memorable.
Enrich Yourself: Have you really been to a destination if you don’t have anything to boast about when you get home? Instead of showing off on your social media or with an "I LOVE XX" t-shirt (is that still a thing?), how about you show off some of that newfound knowledge of the destination’s local customs? After all, knowledge is always power.
Safety: Being aware of local customs helps ensure your safety in a foreign land. Avoiding behaviors that may be disrespectful or inappropriate reduces the likelihood of running into problems or misunderstandings.
#Respect Clear & Simple.
What’s in it for Planet, People & Economy?
🌏 Conservation of Cultural Heritage: By engaging with local customs, you promote cultural preservation and respect for indigenous practices, contributing to the conservation of diverse cultural heritage worldwide.
👥 Promotes Tolerance and Empathy: Learning about local customs fosters cultural understanding and appreciation, promoting tolerance and empathy among travellers and locals. It also encourages meaningful interactions, leading to potential friendships and enriching experiences for both parties.
💼 Contributing to Local Economies: Supporting local customs often involves patronising small businesses, artisans, and cultural practitioners, contributing directly to the local economy.
**Disclaimer: 3 days ago, on March 25, 2024, Booking.com decided to remove their Travel Sustainable Badge programme altogether. You can read about their explanation here.
We considered creating new content for this week's newsletter but ultimately decided to proceed as planned. Although the programme is no longer in place, we believe the content below still holds educational value for travellers and tourism businesses.
To be honest, we are slightly disappointed that Booking.com has chosen to remove this programme. Yes, there may have been a certain level of greenwashing to the programme, someone has provided a very good explanation here. However, having a major player like Booking.com shed light on the importance of sustainability was undoubtedly a catalyst for change within the industry.
Now that it is gone, we feel like the industry has taken one step forward and two steps back.
Nevertheless, we want you to know that no matter how challenging things may become or how TRAppe. may one day be perceived as not doing "enough" in terms of our sustainability efforts, we will always, ALWAYS, remain committed to the cause of redefining the expectations and norms of the travel industry.
We truly believe when done right, travel can be a force for good.
👉🏼 Debunking booking.com’s Travel Sustainable Badge (Part 2: Water)
In 2021, Booking.com rolled out a Travel Sustainable filter and badge to help travellers identify accommodations that are taking extra steps to make their guests' stays more sustainable.
We're here to unravel the mysteries behind every badge and icon, revealing how each one plays its part in the whole sustainability scene.
Why you should care!
These accommodations can sometimes be much more than just a bed for the night; they can elevate your travel experience to a positive and meaningful journey.
Now, you might be wondering, "What does food waste have to do with my travel experience? Why should I care about double-glazed windows in my accommodation?" Well, trust us, each of these actions significantly contributes to your comfort and overall satisfaction.
Supporting businesses with sustainable practices also encourages the broader travel industry to adopt similar measures. This, in turn, contributes to a positive shift toward more responsible and sustainable tourism on a global scale. So, your children and your children’s children will still have the opportunity to see our beautiful planet as we know it.
Piqued your interest? Good! Read on, and we promise you won’t be disappointed.
We are not here to make you feel guilty about your choices; we are simply providing you with the facts to enable you to make your own decisions about the way you want to explore the world.
Booking.com has broken them down into 5 categories: Waste, Water, Energy & Greenhouse Gas, Destination & Community and Nature.
In case you have missed our debunk about Waste 🗑️
Today we’ll look into the meanings behind Water 🚰
👉Fun Fact👈
Did you know: By 2030, the demand for fresh water is expected to be 40% more than the available supply? Almost 20% of the world’s population live in a water scarce region and 85% of international tourists go to places with water scarcity. As a tourist more often than not you will be using more water than the local community.
Under Water 🚰, you have the following categories:
Water-efficient toilets
Water-efficient showers
Option to opt-out of daily room cleaning
Option to reuse towels
1. Water-efficient toilets
We know no one wants to talk about toilet bowls…
But did you know that toilet flushing accounts for about a third of household water usage? You probably flush away as much water in a day as you drink in a whole month, and on average, a person flushes 5.5 times per day. We know, shocking. Imagine that on a hotel scale…
However, thanks to advancements, water-efficient toilets are now a thing. The best low-flow toilets use up to 84% less water on average than standard models.
🧮Math Time 🧮
Let’s do a quick calculation: on average, a normal toilet uses 4.9 liters, and you flush on average 5.5 times a day. A water-efficient toilet can save approximately 22 liters of water per day, which is equivalent to 44 standard water bottles!
👉🏼 By picking an accommodation that has water-efficient toilets, you are saving 44 standard water bottles per day. And this is what we mean by a seemingly minor choice having an impact.
2. Water-efficient showers
Let's be clear – we're not trying to make you feel guilty about enjoying a refreshing shower while on holiday (Please shower! 🧖🏼♀️). Instead, we want to highlight the impact of opting for a water-efficient shower head compared to a standard one.
Using a water-efficient shower head can lead to significant water savings. Traditional showers typically consume 9.4 liters of water per minute, whereas water-efficient models use 5.6 liters or less. Given the average shower duration of around 8 minutes, making the switch could save you up to 30 liters of water per shower.
👉🏼 By selecting accommodations with water-efficient showers, you could be saving the equivalent of 60 standard water bottles!
Also worth mentioning here is that showers and toilets account for most of the water wasted in accommodations. Laundry and landscaping tie for second place.
3. Option to opt-out of daily room cleaning
👉Fun Fact👈
On average, it takes about 20 to 30 minutes for a housekeeping team to spruce up your room. Each housekeeping team tackles between 12 and 20 rooms in an 8-hour shift.
Now, onto the important facts… Many international hotel brands have been rocking this trend for quite a few years now, generously offering guests the choice to opt-out of daily room cleaning.
👉🏼 So what's the real scoop behind skipping the daily room cleaning? We're glad you didn't ask:
Water Conservation: Daily housekeeping involves the use of water for tasks like washing towels and linens. Laundry can account for up to 30% of an accommodation’s total environmental impact.
Energy Savings: The process of cleaning rooms, including washing and drying linens, requires energy. Reducing the frequency of these tasks leads to lower energy consumption.
Less Waste Generation: Daily room cleaning generates waste in the form of used towels, toiletries, and other disposable items. By opting out, you are reducing the overall waste generated by the hotel.
4. Option to reuse towels
Think about it, do you ever use your towel only once in your own home? So why should it be any different when you’re on holiday?
The saving grace is that in 2024, this is now a common practice across most accommodations and not something you have to particularly look out for.
👉Another Fun Fact That No One Asked For👈
The lifespan of a towel in a hotel is about a year. And they get washed after you leave, even if you didn't use them, this is the standard hygiene operation practice across most accommodations.
👉🏼 So why is it important to reuse your towels?
Water Conservation: As mentioned above, washing of towels and linens involves the use of water and each 10kg wash consumes at least 50 litres of water.
Energy Savings: Laundering towels requires significant energy, and the process contributes to carbon emissions. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the energy used in washing machines accounts for about 90% of the total energy consumed during the life cycle of a cotton towel.
Reduced Chemical Usage: The washing of towels involves the use of detergents and chemicals. By reusing towels, you are helping to minimise the environmental impact of these cleaning agents, which can have ecological consequences when released into water systems.
Lower Carbon Footprint: The energy-intensive process of washing, drying, and transporting towels to and from hotels contributes to the carbon footprint. By reusing towels, you are helping to reduce the overall carbon emissions associated with these activities.
At TRAppe, we believe in transforming your travel habits not through one monumental leap, but by making a positive impact through the small decisions you make. While these actions might seem small, they contribute to a positive impact in one way or another.
Do these choices add excitement to your adventures? Perhaps not. Will it cost you anything to quickly check whether your accommodation has these water-efficient labels? No. In this case, we hope you choose the latter.
Honestly, wouldn't it feel good to go to sleep every night knowing that you've saved 44 standard water bottles today? We choose to be kind to the planet and hope you will too! 😎
Don’t miss out on Part 3, where we debunk the category of Energy & Greenhouse Gas! 🔋💨
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P.S. We want to clarify that we have no affiliation with booking.com or any direct connections to the company.