I just finished reading an article on Terracurve.com titled Being skeptical: The big online players step up to green travel, sort of. Interestingly enough, it looks as though Expedia, Travelocity, and Hotwire have all launched their own green travel programs. The author discusses the fact that Travelocity and Expedia are reportedly releasing “green travel” booking tools - and how they measure up to conscious-travelers’ demands. In the end it's revealed that “that the “big boys’” efforts come across as half-hearted attempts to reel in customers with the promise of something that is far from complete.” Interestingly enough, the same day the article appeared on Terracurve, Hotwire.com sent out a press release revealing their own green travel program in that they'll be paying for half of each carbon offset travelers choose to purchase.
I found it slightly strange that Expedia, Travelocity, and Hotwire all launched their own “green travel” booking tools on just about the same day but what I found even more strange and rather irritating was the fact that not one of them are advertising or even linking to these “green travel tools” on their homepage. Check out the screenshots and see if you can find even a pixel dedicated to their green programs:
Nothing huh? Well luckily I was sleuthy enough to locate the tools, and I wasn't too impressed with what I found.
Expedia.com - After you finally track down their green section, you'll find sparse information and a few green travel tips. Their list of green hotels is only 288 properties long, their rent a hybrid section offers bookings with Fox Rent A Car in about 6 locations, and I honestly was confused about what exactly their World Heritage section was all about.
Travelocity.com - Once again, the link to the green section is hidden, and once you do finally arrive you'll find a short list of green hotels and absolutely no information about how that hotel is green or what steps it is taking to protect the environment.
Hotwire.com – AFTER you make a hotel, car rental or flight booking apparently you are offered the opportunity to purchase a carbon offset. Since I did none of these things, I was not offered one, or any information about one.
While it's nice to see some of the bigger websites actually taking the steps to promote green travel, like our friends at Terracurve pointed out - "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.
" What do you think about these efforts?
Article Originally Written By: Melissa Evans
