We are constantly evaluating our lives and looking for ways in which we can live more sustainably. That also holds true to how we want to travel. We seek to discover more sustainable ways of travel and the opportunities to find and book more environmentally friendly vacations.

And yet, this is not always so simple.

There are many aspects of sustainable tourism to consider, including staying at eco-friendly accommodations. However, finding eco-friendly accommodations is not as easy as one may think. Many of the popular booking sites do not include eco-friendly features in their search filters, including Airbnb.

Despite 87% of global travelers stating that they want to travel sustainably and 40% saying that online booking sites offering a sustainable or eco-friendly filter option would help, Airbnb, and other leading booking companies, do not currently include a green search filter. At Plaine Products we want to support others that embrace sustainability, so we’re trying to change that.

We already know that Airbnb stays are more sustainable compared to hotel stays and many of their experiences are also helping introduce people to sustainability. In an internal study in 2018, it was found that 88% of Airbnb hosts incorporate green practices into their hosting, such as environmentally-friendly cleaners, encouraging recycling or composting, and more. However, there is no good way to identify those hosts.

Sign and Share to Support A Green Filter

in 2021 Plaine Products embarked on a campaign to encourage Airbnb to add a sustainable filter on the AirBNB site to help to help users find and support eco-friendly accomodations.  While we did not achieve our goal of getting the filter on the site, we hope that it helped move the needle in the right direction.

We are frequent users of Airbnb and we selfishly would love this feature ourselves! We also have many Airbnb hosts who stock our products and we want to help them highlight this feature and any other environmentally friendly actions they’ve taken to green their properties.

The addition of a Green filter to Airbnb’s accommodations search would allow hosts with eco-friendly practices and properties to differentiate themselves and reach guests who share those values. Green features could include properties powered by renewable energy, having car-free accessibility, using toxin-free cleaning products, having energy-saving lighting, reducing single-use plastic via reusable personal care products, cleaning products, and kitchen storage options, among others.

Airbnb set the industry standard early in the global pandemic with cleaning protocols. We think that Airbnb has another opportunity to set the green standard that will meet the growing demand for more sustainable travel options.

A Green Filter would:

• Help highlight the hosts that are investing in greening up their homes.
• Resonate with the desires of Airbnb users who are interested in sustainable travel.
• Raise awareness and visibility for environmentally friendly actions.

A Green Filter would be a natural extension of the Airbnb Experiences some hosts use to educate guests about sustainability. It would further encourage hosts to address climate change and other environmental justice issues from the personal space of their very own homes — and simultaneously give guests the chance to do good while enjoying great travel and leisure adventures. It’s an easy win-win.

In the meantime, if you are an Airbnb host who stocks Plaine Products in your properties, please tag us in photos and share listings with us! We would love to share your properties on our social media channels and encourage users to choose greener properties!