152,2kg of CO2

The necessity

The hotel industry accounts for approximately 1% of global CO₂ emissions (source). A hotel stay can have a significant environmental impact, with emissions ranging from 4.7 to 152.2 kg CO₂e per hotel room per night, depending on the country and other factors (source).

But hotels can play a role in reducing this impact. By giving guests the option to skip a daily room clean, hotels can reduce the resources used during a stay while contributing to (re-forestation) through Hotels for Trees.

And there is more to achieve than a reduction in CO₂. Forests, biodiversity and natural landscapes are part of what makes destinations attractive. By supporting forest restoration, hotels help protect the experiences that bring guests to their destination, today and in the future.

32 countries

295 hotels

57 projects

We are active worldwide

Hotels for Trees actively supports the transition towards a more sustainable hotel industry worldwide.

Our goal

Hotels for Trees aims to make the hotel industry more sustainable by converting room cleaning cost savings into newly planted trees.

Our goal is to expand our operation across the globe in the years to come, whereby we aim to plant at least 1 million trees per year at the end of 2027, together with our partners.

At this moment

Working on our goal

How it all started

… Of course each guests pays for this service and for many it is part of the luxury aexperience of travelling. The main question however is, do all guests really need their room cleaned every single day? Or whether, if offered in an easy and attractive way, they would be willing to skip a day of room cleaning in exchange for something green and something good? With this question in mind a new win-win-win initiative was developed. First of all, the initiative gives hotel guests an easy and meaningful way to make a difference. By choosing to skip a daily room clean, guests can support Hotels for Trees’ (re)forestation projects. Secondly, it helps hotels reduce the resources used for cleaning and their associated environmental impact, including CO₂ emissions, while also saving on cleaning costs. It gives hotels an opportunity to engage guests in a positive initiative and bring their commitment to responsible practices to life. Finally, and most importantly, every contribution helps restore forests and protect biodiversity and the natural environments that make destinations special to guests.

The idea for Hotels for Trees stems from founder Floris Licht, who has been working in the (international) hotel industry since 2003 and has so far worked for Hilton and Accor across 5 different countries.
Amazed about the fact that when at home, we are used to cleaning our house every few weeks, whereas when we stay at hotels for multiple nights we find it very normal that someone cleans our bedside cabinet and wash basin every single day. …

Floris Licht

Founder

The Start

Hotels for Trees is based on a concept that is “easy” for both hotel guests as well as hotels. Hotel guests only need to hang the unique door hanger on the outside of their door during their multiple day stay in order to participate. Joining this movement is easy for hotels, because there is no registration fee and the hotels only donate money when a daily room clean is skipped. Furthermore, all hotel brands from all different quality levels can participate.

Hotel guests who choose to take part in this initiative can already see their tree registered on the website the next day. This website also shows how many trees each hotel has planted per day, week, month or year and how much impact this initiative has already made in total.

The finance behind this concept is not a secret. Hotels that participate pay Hotels for Trees a set fee for each room that is not cleaned. Out of this amount 80% is used by (re-)forestation partners to plant a (certified) tree. The remaining is used to run and further grow Hotels for Trees.