Expedia Expands Its Green Hotel Directory

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You’re so ready to pack your bags and jet off for that much needed vacay – but an eco-tastic gal like yourself can’t just bon voyage and hope for the best. You need to know some specifics about your destination. Things like whether or not your hotel room is cleaned with environmentally-friendly cleaning products, if there are in-room recycling bins, do the sheets and pillows reek of bleach, is the hotel energy efficient, and does it offer paperless check ins/outs?

Most of us can’t afford to shack up with Branson in one of his eco friendly homes on Necker Island, but that’s okay because with Expedia‘s latest expansion of their Green Hotel program from their Green Travel Guide, we won’t need to.

Since teaming up with the non-profit Sustainable Travel International, Expedia now offers over 1,700 hotels who prioritize environmental sustainability. These “eco-accommodations” may not be 100 percent green to the core, but they are certified by organizations including Green Seal, Green, LEEDS and STEP, are said to “balance environmental protection and social responsibility,” and fit budgets of all shapes and sizes. Expedia has also partnered with TerraPass to create carbon offset bundles which are based on distance flown and are said to fund clean energy and carbon reduction projects.

Well, that at least makes me feel a little less guilty about flying 7,000 miles to put my feet up on a bamboo chaise lounge and sip on an infused agave nectar cocktail poolside.

Image: Toprural