Article
How Smart Planner Classifies Eco-Friendly Accommodation
Helping travellers make more informed choices - and encouraging tourism businesses to make sustainability visible
Choosing where to stay is one of the most important decisions travellers make when planning a journey. Accommodation can influence not only the traveller's experience and budget, but also the environmental and social footprint of the trip.
Yet understanding how environmentally responsible an accommodation provider really is can be difficult. Terms such as eco-friendly, green, sustainable, and eco-conscious are widely used across the tourism industry, but they do not always tell travellers what a property is actually doing.
At Smart Planner, we want to make this information easier to understand.
That is why accommodation listed across the Smart Planner platform can receive an Eco-Friendly Classification, represented by a simple 1-to-5 badge. The classification helps travellers quickly compare accommodation options while still being able to understand the practices and evidence behind the rating.
What is Smart Planner?
Smart Planner is an AI-powered regenerative tourism platform designed to help travellers and travel agencies plan and experience more personalised and meaningful journeys while creating stronger connections with destinations, local culture, communities and responsible tourism operators.
Rather than helping travellers decide only where to go, Smart Planner aims to help them make more informed decisions about how they travel.
Across the platform, travellers can discover accommodation, restaurants, activities, attractions, transport options and community initiatives. Sustainability information forms part of this discovery experience, helping users consider environmental and community impacts alongside the traditional factors they already use when planning a trip.
One way we do this is through our Eco-Friendly Classification badge.
What does the Smart Planner Eco-Friendly badge mean?
Smart Planner applies an Eco-Friendly Classification to accommodation items across the platform using a five-level scale:
Badge | Classification | What it broadly means |
|---|---|---|
1 | Very Low | Sustainability practices are absent, very limited or difficult to verify. |
2 | Low | Some environmental initiatives are visible, but they remain limited or inconsistent. |
3 | Medium | A credible and functioning baseline of eco-friendly practices is visible. |
4 | High | Sustainability practices are systematic, cover multiple environmental areas and are supported by stronger evidence. |
5 | Very High | The property demonstrates highly consistent, leading environmental practices supported by strong transparency and verification. |
The objective is not simply to determine whether a business describes itself as sustainable. Instead, the classification considers observable practices and available evidence.
The framework behind the classification was specifically developed to provide a practical, guest-observable approach: something that can be assessed through normal online research, information supplied by an accommodation provider, recognised certification directories and practices that a traveller could reasonably observe during a stay.
Developing a framework specifically for accommodation
Accommodation is complex. A small lodge, an urban hotel, a holiday park and a remote eco-retreat operate in very different environments.
For that reason, Smart Planner requested the development of a dedicated report and classification framework to examine how accommodation eco-friendliness could be assessed in a way that is practical, transparent and understandable to travellers.
The resulting Guest-Observable Eco-Friendliness Scale for Accommodation proposes a 1-to-5 classification based on practices that travellers and reviewers can reasonably identify and verify.
Importantly, the framework is not a copy of a single sustainability certification scheme. It is a proposed synthesis informed by recurring principles and requirements found across internationally recognised sustainability frameworks, including the GSTC Hotel Standard, WTTC Hotel Sustainability Basics, EU Ecolabel Tourist Accommodation, Green Key and Nordic Swan.
The complete framework identifies 12 potential assessment criteria:
Verification and transparency
Energy and climate
Water fixtures and stewardship
Linen and housekeeping defaults
Waste sorting and diversion
Single-use plastics and refill systems
Cleaning and laundry chemicals
Food offer and sourcing
Food waste and service packaging
Low-impact mobility
Biodiversity, site and wastewater
Local benefit, culture and responsible employment
These areas reflect the fact that accommodation sustainability extends beyond energy efficiency alone. The broader framework considers water, waste, plastics, food, chemicals, biodiversity, communities, local businesses and responsible employment.
The first Smart Planner version focuses on six core criteria
While the complete framework contains 12 candidate criteria, the first version of the Smart Planner platform uses the six core classification criteria to determine the overall Eco-Friendly Classification for accommodation.
These six areas were selected because they combine two particularly important characteristics: they represent material environmental impacts and, at the same time, can relatively easily be identified or verified by travellers.
1. Verification and transparency
We look at how clearly a property communicates its sustainability practices and how strong the supporting evidence is.
There is an important difference between saying “we care about the environment” and providing property-specific information about energy, water, waste and other environmental practices.
At higher levels, the framework looks for stronger evidence such as recognised third-party certification, property-level environmental data, measurable targets and independent verification.
This is an important part of protecting the classification from unsupported environmental marketing claims.
2. Energy and climate
Accommodation requires energy for lighting, heating, cooling, hot water, appliances and many other services.
Smart Planner therefore considers visible and documented energy-efficiency measures. These can include LED lighting, key-card master switches, occupancy sensors, digital thermostats, controls that prevent unnecessary heating or cooling, renewable electricity and publicly available emissions or energy information.
As the classification increases, the expectation moves from basic efficiency measures towards substantial renewable energy use, measurable targets and stronger property-level reporting.
3. Water fixtures and stewardship
Water conservation is particularly important for tourism destinations where visitor demand can place additional pressure on local resources.
The framework considers practical measures such as water-efficient showers and taps, low-flush or dual-flush toilets, guest guidance and, at higher levels, measurement of water consumption and systems such as rainwater or greywater reuse where appropriate.
Rather than simply looking for a sign asking guests to save water, the classification considers whether water efficiency appears to be integrated into the accommodation itself.
4. Linen and housekeeping defaults
One of the simplest ways accommodation providers can reduce unnecessary consumption is by reconsidering automatic daily cleaning and laundry.
The framework therefore considers whether towels and bed linen are changed every day by default, whether guests can opt out of housekeeping, and whether partial or reduced cleaning options are available.
Higher-performing properties make reduced-impact housekeeping a normal and clearly communicated part of the guest experience rather than placing all responsibility on the traveller.
5. Waste sorting and diversion
Smart Planner also considers whether accommodation providers make it practical for guests to separate their waste.
Simply having a recycling statement is not necessarily enough. The framework looks for clearly marked and conveniently accessible waste categories and, at higher levels, evidence that waste streams are actually separated and that organic or food waste is composted, processed through other recovery systems, or otherwise diverted from landfill.
The strongest performance also involves measuring and reporting waste or diversion outcomes.
6. Single-use plastics and refill systems
Finally, the first Smart Planner classification considers the property's approach to unnecessary single-use plastics.
This can be particularly visible in accommodation through miniature shampoo bottles, individually packaged amenities, bottled water, disposable food-service items and takeaway packaging.
The framework rewards the transition towards dispensers, refillable drinking-water systems, reusable alternatives and, at the highest levels, the near-complete removal of unnecessary single-use plastics across the guest experience.
Why these six criteria?
The six criteria are not arbitrary.
The research framework identifies them as core criteria because they combine high environmental materiality with high guest observability. In other words, they represent areas that matter environmentally while also being areas where Smart Planner, travellers and accommodation operators can reasonably obtain evidence.
This is important because Smart Planner's classification is intended to be useful in the real world.
A traveller should not need to be an environmental auditor to understand why an accommodation has received a particular classification.
A refillable shampoo dispenser can be observed. Recycling facilities can be seen. A hotel's linen policy can be communicated. Renewable electricity can be documented. Environmental certification can be checked.
Together, these signals provide a practical picture of how environmental responsibility has been incorporated into the guest experience.
Evidence matters
A fundamental principle behind the Smart Planner approach is that claims should be supported by evidence.
The underlying framework establishes an evidence hierarchy ranging from independent verification through to unsupported marketing claims. Independent certification, audited data and verified certificates provide the strongest evidence. Property documentation, policies and product information provide another useful layer, while direct observation - such as seeing recycling bins, refillable dispensers or energy-saving controls - can also support an assessment.
Unsupported marketing statements provide much weaker evidence.
For example, a website describing a hotel as “an environmentally friendly destination committed to protecting our planet” does not, by itself, demonstrate what the property actually does.
The framework therefore recommends that unsupported marketing claims receive limited scoring and that the highest classification should not be awarded without stronger independent evidence.
This conservative approach helps Smart Planner avoid rewarding greenwashing and encourages accommodation providers to make genuine sustainability initiatives visible and transparent.
Certification matters - but a badge is not the whole story
Independent sustainability certification can provide strong evidence within the classification process, particularly where certification includes auditing or verification.
However, Smart Planner's approach does not assume that displaying a sustainability logo automatically answers every question.
The framework recommends considering property-specific evidence and looking for consistency between certifications, public claims and observable practices. A chain-wide sustainability commitment, for example, may provide useful information, but it does not necessarily demonstrate that every practice has been implemented at every individual property.
Similarly, a property should not necessarily be considered environmentally poor simply because it lacks a major international certification. Smaller accommodation businesses may be implementing meaningful environmental practices without having undertaken a formal certification process.
The objective is therefore to consider what the property is actually doing and what evidence is available.
A classification designed to help travellers make better decisions
The Smart Planner Eco-Friendly Classification is ultimately a decision-support tool.
We do not expect every traveller to choose accommodation based exclusively on environmental performance. Price, location, accessibility, comfort, facilities, family requirements and personal preferences all remain important.
Instead, Smart Planner gives travellers another useful piece of information.
Imagine comparing two accommodation options with similar prices, locations and guest ratings. One has limited information about environmental practices, while another demonstrates efficient water and energy systems, refillable amenities, waste separation, reduced housekeeping and independently verified sustainability initiatives.
The Eco-Friendly badge makes that difference easier to recognise.
It also allows Smart Planner's trip-planning technology to incorporate sustainability information when helping travellers discover places that better align with their preferences and values.
The classification is designed to evolve
The current Smart Planner accommodation classification represents the first implementation of the framework.
For this initial version, we have deliberately focused on the six core criteria because they provide a strong, understandable and guest-observable environmental baseline.
The complete research framework already provides a pathway for future development, including areas such as sustainable food sourcing, food waste, cleaning chemicals, low-impact transport, biodiversity, wastewater management, local economic contribution, culture and responsible employment.
As Smart Planner evolves, the classification methodology can therefore become more comprehensive while remaining practical for travellers and tourism operators.
The research also recognises an important limitation: a guest-observable classification cannot replace a complete environmental audit or life-cycle assessment. Some highly efficient businesses may have limited public information, while others may communicate their initiatives more effectively. Regional factors such as water scarcity, electricity generation, public transport and waste infrastructure can also affect what is realistically achievable.
For this reason, Smart Planner treats the Eco-Friendly Classification as a practical comparative indicator, rather than a substitute for formal sustainability certification or environmental auditing.
Are you an accommodation operator? Talk to us
We recognise that sustainability is a journey and that businesses continually introduce new initiatives.
An accommodation provider may install solar energy, remove single-use amenities, introduce new recycling systems, change its housekeeping practices, obtain environmental certification or implement other improvements after its Smart Planner classification has been completed.
We also recognise that publicly available information does not always tell the complete story.
If you are an accommodation operator listed on Smart Planner and believe your Eco-Friendly Classification does not accurately reflect your current practices, we encourage you to contact the Smart Planner team and request a review.
Providing property-specific information, sustainability policies, certifications and evidence of your current environmental practices can help us review the classification and keep the information presented to travellers accurate and up to date.
Our goal is not simply to place a badge beside an accommodation listing.
Our goal is to make sustainability visible, understandable and useful - helping travellers make more informed choices, helping travel agencies recommend more responsible experiences, and giving tourism and hospitality operators another reason to continue improving the positive impact they create in the destinations they call home.