Demand for sustainability-certified hotel accommodation has reached a significant milestone, with travelers booking 100 million room nights at third-party certified properties on Booking.com in 2025, as green stays shift from niche preference to mainstream travel choice.
The figure comes from Booking.com’s 11th annual Travel and Sustainability Report, which surveyed 32,500 travelers across 35 markets globally. The data reveals that intent to book sustainability-certified accommodation is now remarkably consistent across all age groups.
A generational consensus on green stays
Unlike many sustainability behaviors that vary significantly between younger and older travelers, the intention to stay at certified sustainable accommodation is virtually identical across all generations. Over a third of each age group says they plan to book a sustainability-certified property in the next 12 months:
- Gen Z (aged 18–28): 35%
- Millennials (aged 29–44): 36%
- Gen X (aged 45–60): 35%
- Boomers (aged 61+): 35%
The near-identical figures across four distinct generational groups represent one of the most uniform findings in this year’s report, suggesting that sustainable accommodation has crossed the threshold from trend to expectation.
From intention to action
The 100 million room nights booked at sustainability-certified properties in 2025 demonstrates that the intent figures are already translating into real booking behavior at scale. The milestone marks a substantial step forward for the sustainable accommodation sector and signals growing consumer confidence in third-party certification as a reliable indicator of a property’s environmental credentials.
Third-party sustainability certifications are awarded by independent bodies that assess properties against defined environmental and social criteria, covering areas such as energy efficiency, water conservation, waste management and community impact. Their presence on a booking platform gives travelers a verifiable signal that a property meets recognized sustainability standards.
Part of a wider shift
The appetite for certified sustainable stays sits within a broader pattern of conscious travel choices identified across the report. Travelers are increasingly combining accommodation decisions with other sustainability-driven behaviors, including avoiding overcrowded destinations, traveling off-peak and seeking out cooler locations.
Globally, 43% of travelers say they plan to avoid overcrowded tourist destinations in 2026, up 11% year on year, while 42% plan to travel outside of peak season. The convergence of these behaviors points to a travel public that is thinking more holistically about the environmental and social impact of its choices.
A platform role in driving change
Booking.com frames the 100 million room night figure as both a milestone and a mandate to continue making sustainable options more visible and accessible on its platform.
“We want to make it easier for both travelers and partners to continue to make these more sustainable choices so that everyone can continue to enjoy the benefits that travel brings, and that destinations can continue to be enjoyed by visitors and residents alike,” said Danielle D’Silva, Director of Sustainability, Booking.com.
The report notes that sustainability certification is now one of several concrete behaviors — alongside waste reduction, energy saving and off-peak travel — that together define an increasingly broad and action-oriented approach to sustainable travel across all age groups.
The findings form part of Booking.com’s broader annual research into consumer attitudes toward the social and environmental impact of travel, now in its 11th year and covering 35 markets globally.
