Vacation rentals: How to shrink your carbon footprint

UNITED STATES – Travellers choosing to stay at vacation homes instead of hotels may have to spend more time searching for sustainable lodgings, but they will have more control over their environmental impact. The following are steps short-term renters can take to shrink their carbon footprint.

Search for sustainable rentals

The company Sustonica validates short-term rentals based on sustainability standards, including conserving water and minimising waste. But it does not act as a search engine. Instead, travellers will find its logo on certified listings on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com.

Airbnb’s rental categories can help travellers find off-the-grid options, highlighting more than 9,000 listings that rely on renewable energy sources or have no electricity, and Earth Homes, accommodations built with organic materials such as mud or rammed earth.

Booking.com, which lists vacation homes as well as hotels, allows travellers to search for listings with sustainability certifications from more than 65 organisations doing third-party reviews of practices ranging from renewable energy sourcing to recycling.

The company said that more than 16,500 properties – a combination of hotels and rentals – have separate, third-party sustainability certification.

The vacation home rental platform Vrbo does not have an eco-friendly search filter, citing the lack of industry consensus on what makes a rental more sustainable. Properties listed by its sibling agency Expedia may say they are “eco-certified” and users can search using that filter. But read the results carefully; some listings lack information on their sustainable features.

Wherever you search, scrutinise the listings, said Mr Bob Garner, founder of EnviroRental, a service that works with short-term rental owners on sustainability practices. Do bathroom photos show shampoo in large, shareable dispensers? Does the description mention recycling? If the host has a separate website, look for press links or blog posts related to sustainability.

Talk to the host

According to Airbnb, more than 80 per cent of its hosts say they incorporate at least one sustainable feature, such as minimising single-use plastics and providing guidance on using public transport.

The platform has a guide for hosts on sustainable tourism practices, with tips on things like creating a manual to direct travellers to local shops and restaurants.

“When you think you’ve found the right property, ask questions,” Mr Garner said. “If they can’t answer them, then there’s a red flag.”

Just the act of asking about environmentally-friendly features can have a lasting effect.

“If they think you care, there’s a greater chance of moving the needle,” said Ms Diane Daniel, founder of Vacation Donations, a non-profit that encourages short-term renters to donate leftover food in the Tampa, Florida, area.

Consider a public transit-friendly location

Even if you cannot find a solar-powered stay, you can choose a location that allows you to get around with minimal emissions.

Connect your “environmental consciousness with the idea of being a good traveller”, said Ms Beth Santos, chief executive officer of Wanderful, a global women’s travel community, and author of Wander Woman: How To Reclaim Your Space, Find Your Voice, And Travel The World, Solo.

She recommends travellers live like locals, including taking public transportation, visiting neighbourhoods beyond city centres and patronising small businesses. Take a “day zero”, or a single unscheduled day, to walk the neighbourhood to find nearby shops as well as transportation options.

Conserve energy

Conserve energy by turning air-conditioning off or down when you are out, switching off lights when you leave and turning off the tap while you brush your teeth.

“This could be one area where you say, ‘I don’t care, I’m on vacation,’” Ms Daniel said. But travellers should stay vigilant, she added. “Short-term rentals are the easiest places to regulate your footprint because it’s really up to you.”

Plan meals, reduce waste

Renters usually have the option of cooking meals. To avoid food waste, plan meals and shop for them as you go – and as plans change – rather than buying everything at once.

Take along staples like salt and pepper and ask the host if the kitchen is stocked with other supplies like cooking oil and coffee.

“Buying slowly over the week as you need things is a nice experience if you’re in a location where they’ve some nice delicacies and interesting farm shops,” Mr Garner said.

Consider ‘Community Offsets’

Carbon offset programmes invest in activities like tree farming that reduce carbon in an amount matching the emissions generated by a trip.

But it is a controversial practice that has led to inflated, if not bogus, claims of carbon mitigation.

Instead, consider donating your time to a local cause in the area where you are renting.

“Community offsets or volunteering work are opportunities to spend two hours one morning of a holiday to help in whichever volunteering work there is in this local area, from picking up trash to feeding homeless people,” said Ms Vanessa de Souza Lage, co-founder and CEO of Sustonica. NYTIMES