What are the most widely used digital practices in the hotel industry that are also good for the environment?

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 07. 17. 09:50

Tourism is responsible for nearly 10% of global carbon emissions, so there is an increasing urgency to reduce the sector’s environmental impact. Pressure is already mounting from guests: more than 70% of travelers are specifically looking for sustainable accommodations, and many are willing to pay more for green solutions. Regulators and market players are increasingly moving towards making tourism part of a sustainable economy.

The future of tourism is green, but we are still a long way off

Around 8-11% of global CO₂ emissions can be attributed to tourism, according to the latest report from the UN World Tourism Organization1. In 2025, more and more countries – including the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland – took steps to encourage ecotourism, and demand from guests for green alternatives has increased dramatically. According to the Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report2, 76% of travelers already consider sustainability in their travel decisions, and 70% would pay more for a sustainable alternative3. This trend is particularly noticeable among young people, such as Generation Z, who are regularly looking for accommodations that are close to nature and have a small ecological footprint, where digitally accessible services complement the tranquility and proximity to nature.4

Digitalization as a key to sustainability

Digital technology also plays a key role in this environment. For example, accommodations can reduce their environmental impact with paperless check-in, resource use tailored to cleaning needs, and cloud-based administration. Several accommodations using SabeeApp’s hotel management system have introduced these practices – typically not because of an ESG label, but because they result in more cost-effective, faster, and more sustainable operations.

“We believe that there is no real solution to the issue of global warming while forests are disappearing from the face of the Earth every day. As a tech company, we also have a responsibility, and we want to live up to it. With the design and functions of our software, we strive to make hotels completely paperless, so that not only does operation become more efficient, but we can also work together to save as many trees as possible from unnecessary cutting. That is why we are already actively looking for a partner with whom we can work together from 2026 to plant trees worldwide and reduce our ecological footprint.” – said Herman Szabolcs, founder and CEO of SabeeApp.