The days of just booking a hotel by calling the chains toll free number have been greatly changed by large online travel agencies who have cornered the bookings part of the market by combining the best in selection, information and pricing – all key factors for someone planning a trip. Expedia.com® have emerged as the largest online travel agency but in addition to value and scope of selection they have also developed an online tool that is ideal for the environmentally conscious traveler. Via a very specific approval process hotels can be approved as green properties and customers can now search with that specific criteria in mind .

The Expedia.com Green hotel program has not been activated for very long but new properties keep getting added to the program which now boasts over 2,000 options for the well informed traveler which also is the largest such range of choices amongst online agencies. Tim MacDonald, senior vice president and general manager, Expedia.com adds:

“Expedia.com is committed to helping travelers find the broadest range of ‘green’ properties in the industry, the recent inclusion of Hilton Worldwide’s brands, that use the LightStay system, in Expedia.com’s Green Hotel Program helps fulfill that commitment.”

Expedia expect the choices to grow rapidly in the years ahead as the immportance of a hotel’s practices will soon be akin to their overall facilities and locations as travelers place this ever higher on their list of needs. The company are partnering with a non profit called Sustainable Travel International.org to build even more inroads within the marketplace. Expedia explain part of the approach more fully beneath:

Find green hotels that balance environmental protection and social responsibility—without sacrificing your comfort. Together with Sustainable Travel International, we’ve pinpointed the green hotels that are pioneering green travel practices. Green travel—also known as responsible travel, sustainable travel, eco-tourism, and geotourism—is redefining the travel industry. Hotels and other tourism companies are being challenged to do business in an increasingly environmentally friendly, socially responsible way. This growing demand has spurred many hotels, both large and small, to implement green business practices. To recognize these green hotels, each striving toward the three main areas of sustainability—environmental protection, socio-cultural responsibility, and local economic growth—we’ve compiled a list with the help of Sustainable Travel International!

The example of newly added Hilton’s measurements are a clear indicator of how individual proprerties will be assessed as over 200 operational practices are measured, including housekeeping, paper product usage, food waste, chemical storage, air quality and transportation. Expedia’s purchasing power also means that people who book green are also getting the best available deals for the hotels in question which makes the choice that much easier.

To learn much more about Expedia’s green hotel program please visit for the specific details on their site – or better still bookmark it and use it the next time you travel!!