Popular travel companies are at the bottom of the new ethical standards | Travel websites

The first-of-its-kind report to assess the ethics of travel booking sites named luxury camping company Canopy & Stars and Fairbanks, a non-profit organization that donates half of its 15% commission to local community projects. Holiday makers.

The report, carried out by Ethical Consumers, the UK’s leading alternative consumer organisation, focuses on 29 companies that people use to book their own transport and accommodation rather than holiday operators.

“Companies talk about sustainability, but it’s difficult for people who don’t know how to analyze them to know how much action is being taken,” said Ruth Strange, the project’s leader.

The aim of the report is to provide consumers with reliable information and encourage people to reconsider how they travel, he added, “to avoid flying and consider alternatives”.

She stressed the importance of “thinking differently” and “influencing friends and family to make changes” when it comes to holidaymakers looking to book holidays abroad, as big companies and governments need to address the issue. Air travel exists on the planet.

Each company is given a starting point of 14, points deducted for not meeting ethical standards in various categories, setting clear targets such as reducing environmental impact and participating in tax avoidance schemes. Points are added for positive activities such as a non-profit, B Corp or charity.

It ranked industry leaders Expedia, Tripadvisor and Airbnb in the top 10. Airbnb ranked worst with its $120m CEO pay package in 2020 (albeit almost all in the form of stock awards).

YHA, the charity that provides youth hostel accommodation, and Independent Hostels UK, which aggregates UK hostels into one online guide, along with Canopy & Stars and Fairbnb are recommended as sites consumers should sign up for ethical practices. Canopy & Stars’ B Corp status and commitment to carbon management and reporting are commended.

“She was shocked to learn that very few of the brands we covered took their responsibility to the planet seriously,” says Strange, adding that “only three of the companies we looked at were judged to be adequately addressing their carbon footprint.”

Tui is ranked last on the list. The report indicated that the company had lost half a point on its history of migration flights to take migrants out of the UK. Despite years of animal rights campaigning, the site reportedly continues to sell tickets to parks where orcas are kept in captivity.