http://www.terracurve.com/2009/01/26/being-skeptical-the-big-online-players-step-up-to-green-travel-sort-of/
Travelocity and Expedia, dominant forces in the online travel space,
are reportedly each releasing their own versions of "green travel"
booking tools. The question is, how do they measure up to
conscious-travelers' demands?
With "green travel" becoming more and more popular, independent online
booking tools like rezhub.com and wholetravel.com are quickly making
names for themselves as a mainstay for the eco-conscious globetrotter.
Now, the "big boys" are getting into the game as well, with their own
versions of green criteria-measurement backed by their robust booking
tools and services. Yet, upon visiting their sites to check out what
all the hoopla is about, one is left wondering whether or not their
hearts are in it at all, or if it is just a measure of financial
saturation - trying to spread their reach throughout every profitable
vertical in order to keep the little guys at bay.
Expedia.com, arguably the net's most popular travel search and booking
engine, says it creates "sustainable travel initiatives that address
environmental and social concerns" while encouraging travelers to go
green. "You can make a big difference in the places you visit with
just a few small steps. Carbon offsetting and green hotels are just
the beginning." according to the site.
Sounds great, right? Just what we need? Well, true, but the challenge
remains how to actually find these "sustainable" initiatives from
within Expedia's vast and exhaustive inventory of contracted travel
suppliers.
Visit Expedia.com, and book a "sustainable" trip. Go ahead, try it.
What's that? You can't find how? There are no buttons, links, banners,
sections or anything else remotely resembling a sign or symbol
pertaining to booking a green hotel or eco-friendly car rental? How funny.
The truth is that on Expedia's home page, a visitor has to click 3 or
4 times on the Discover Expedia Exclusives section (bottom right,
below the fold, hidden from the easy-to-use-quick-to-make-money "Build
a Trip", "Travel Deals" and "Perfect Trip" sections) in order to
finally find the link to the "green travel" portion of the site. So
exactly how is it that the company is encouraging travelers to "go
green", without allowing the visitor to quickly and easily find these
resources as easily as, say, Super Bowl XLIII Hotel Deals ("Don't miss
out! Hotels are going fast! Book now!")?
While I agree that traveling "green" is everyone's responsibility,
especially that of the traveler, other sites like rezhub.com and
wholetravel.com have built and continue to build upon self-made
criteria, measuring a travel supplier's efforts against the industry
itself, in order to offer travelers an upfront choice on how to travel
responsibly. It seems Expedia is, so far, less interested in doing the
legwork and would rather pass the responsiblilty off solely to the
traveler. If a traveler finds a green hotel or a hybrid car? Great. If
not? Great.
Now let's visit the aforementioned Travelocity.com, another giant in
online travel. Word is that they have just launched an all new "green
directory" of hotels on its website. Awesome!
So clicking over to their homepage
let's see
Top Travel Deals, Las
Vegas Deals, Mexico Deals - no that's not it, let's keep
looking
.Caribbean Deals, Hawaii, Florida, California - no not yet -
Skiing, All-Inclusive, Gay
.
Apparently Travelocity's new, wonderful green directory is a secret.
Unless you are part of some super-secret club and possess the actual
link to the page, you aren't allowed to "go green" on your next trip.
Once at the page, a visitor is treated to featured properties
throughout the world, of which "
have been endorsed by a leading green
hotel certification provider, or are making significant strides in at
least three of the four areas the U.N. Foundation's Partnership for
Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria recommends as the most critical
aspects of sustainable tourism: maximizing tourism's social and
economic benefits to local communities, reducing negative impacts on
cultural heritage, reducing harm to local environments and planning
for sustainability."
Now to their defense, it is true that the criteria for sustainability
in all travel aspects is hardly established and it will be some time
before a single, true standard is in place for the industry. It all
sounds so promising, but again it is unfortunate that the "big boys'"
efforts comes across as half-hearted attempts to reel in customers
with the promise of something that is far from complete.
http://www.terracurve.com/2009/01/26/being-skeptical-the-big-online-players-step-up-to-green-travel-sort-of/
