Tourism
Things to do in Iraq in a 10-day itinerary07.07.2022
What is sustainable accommodation, really? And how the heck do you find it before traveling?!
There’s more to sleeping than meets the eye.
Where you choose to rest your head while on the road is a major factor of your travels’ impact. I’m not just talking carbon footprints—from destroying housing markets to sustaining entire villages, tourist accommodation has the power to transform communities. For better or for worse.
Consciously choosing sustainable accommodation when traveling is one of the best ways to travel responsibly and ensure you have a net positive impact on the place and people you’re visiting.
Problem is, finding sustainable accommodation isn’t always easy, and it’s not always clear what’s actually sustainable.
Being responsible does take more time and critical thinking, but a bit of extra effort on your part can go a long way to support local people. And, you know, prevent further destruction of our (already rather doomed) Earth.
To give you a little nudge in the right direction, here’s how I find—and assess—sustainable accommodation when traveling.
A Khasi homestay in Nongriat, India. Khasi people, known for their living root bridges, have a deep respect for their environment and go to great lengths to preserve it.
Errrrbody be using and abusing these buzzwords, but many don’t understand what they actually mean in regards to travel.
“Responsible” travel choices are all about making decisions that are good for local people and environments in the short-term.
“Sustainable” travel is the long-term goal, where your travel choices support systems that will benefit locals and their environments for years to come. Truly sustainable systems are ideally run primarily by the locals themselves.
When it comes to accommodation, “sustainable accommodation” often implies environmentally conscious options, while “responsible accommodation” likely describes people-centric or ethical travel offerings.
I’m here to say that sustainable accommodation should benefit locals, have low environmental impact, and encourage respect and preservation of culture.
… but also, let’s not drown in semantics. To be honest, I don’t actually give a damn what -able you use, so long as you make choices that support locals and don’t destroy the earth. Words are just words; action is what matters here.
Amsterdam is beautiful—and quite sustainability-minded!—but the city is struggling with unsustainable overtourism issues like Airbnb overuse.
Businesses that are wasteful, damaging to the local environment or culture, and/or exploitative of their workers are not sustainable.
Mega cruise ships are the perfect example of unsustainable accommodation/tourism. They’re wildly polluting—both in their fuel usage and how they dump their waste into the water—they encourage fast-paced, culturally-isolated mass tourism that destroys destinations and has limited benefit for local tourism businesses, and their multinational setups allow corporations to evade labor and health regulations for their workers.
(Can you tell I despise cruise ships?)
Not every kind of unsustainable accommodation is as horrific as cruise ships, but you’ll find similar issues in many hotels around the world, especially those catering to large-scale group tours, generic package trips, and other low-cost, high-volume endeavors.
Urban Airbnbs are a different kind of unsustainable. In popular cities like Amsterdam, the prevalence of (illegally run) Airbnbs is causing a shortage of affordable housing for residents and problems with destructive or noisy guests. Amsterdammers are angry; clearly the setup isn’t sustainable.
Though Airbnb can be useful for finding places to stay in less busy areas, it’s best to avoid it in major metropolitan areas unless it’s heavily regulated.
Responsible tourism is like ~*so in*~ right now, and many businesses capitalize on people’s good intentions without doing anything in return.
This is called greenwashing: when a business claims it’s doing something environmentally friendly for marketing but actually isn’t doing sh*t. You know, like those little cards in hotel bathrooms recommending you don’t leave your towel on the floor to save the planet/rainforests/etc.
There are a few ways to assess if a business is greenwashing, but the simplest rule of thumb is: if self-proclaimed “sustainable” accommodation doesn’t clearly state why they are sustainable/environmentally friendly, they’re probably full of BS.
When assessing whether a hotel/guesthouse/campsite/cardboard box is actually sustainable or environmentally friendly, beware of the following:
The Ladakh region of India is ripe with low-impact village homestay choices for trekkers.
Confused or unsure as to what I mean? Don’t be!
Finding sustainable accommodation means choosing the option that best supports locals, has minimal environmental impact, and doesn’t destroy local culture.
Don’t freak out if you can’t find an option that checks all three boxes, or can’t afford the one that does. Work with what’s available for you.
For a more practical look, here are several types of accommodation I suggest looking for when searching for sustainable places to stay.
Homestays are a kind of guesthouse run by a local in their own home. They’re my favorite kind of sustainable accommodation, and a great way for travelers to get a taste of home life.
Dinner with my homestay family in Phubjika Valley, Bhutan.
“Eco-“ can be applied to all kinds of things—sometimes for no real reason at all—but generally it’s accommodation where low environmental impact is at the forefront of its design. Eco accommodation is also often in more remote, natural areas.
Volcan Eco Retreat is a sustainable dive resort on Camiguin Island in the Philippines, where I stayed with family in 2014. The owners and staff protect coral reefs in the surrounding area from fishing, and have gradually restored them over the last couple of decades.
True eco accommodation makes efforts to reduce waste and energy usage, use renewable energy, avoid using detergents and soaps that destroy the environment, etc. Many also support local conservation efforts, or purposefully employ locals to provide income alternatives to destructive practices such as logging and poaching.
In non-NGO jargon, “marginalized groups” basically means people who have been screwed by local society and don’t have the same access to opportunities as others thanks to racism/xenophobia/sexism/etc.
Every region has its own issues, but common marginalized groups include women, refugees, Black and indigenous people, local ethnic or religious minorities.
Homemade meal at a women-run homestay in Pakistan, which I booked through a platform run by a female entrepreneur.
Sustainability isn’t just about saving the environment. For systems and people to flourish long-term, everyone must be taken care of, not just [cis white] men. (The term here is “intersectional environmentalism”—here’s what that means.)
Many marginalized people depend on income or support from unreliable or unsustainable sources: women depending on men for income, refugees depending on relief schemes, etc. Supporting their businesses with your tourist money is the most sustainable way to support their efforts and their independence.
Hanging out with a Couchsurfer at the Edge of the World in Saudi Arabia
Couchsurfing is an online platform where travelers can connect with other travelers to be hosted in their homes free of charge. Or you can just meet for coffee. Up to you. At this point, I’ve used it to meet locals on four different continents!
Though it has its flaws, Couchsurfing is the most accessible way for budget tourists to interact with locals and share ideas. Surfers can stay in local homes and enjoy local food—no extra infrastructure necessary—and it encourages travelers to value local interactions, rather than selfies or Top 10s.
Any kind of accommodation on a local farm property, often with the intent of learning more about the farming process and enjoying local food.
The South Tyrol region of Italy is full of Agriturismo stays where visitors can learn about traditional ways of raising cows in the pastures, rather than in industrial setups.
Farm stays educate tourists about the origins of what we eat—an increasingly complex question in this day and age—and help small- to medium-sized farms survive in this era of highly destructive industrial farming. Also, local food!
Old cultural heritage sites—think mansions, palaces, castles, etc.— converted into accommodation. In layman’s terms: dope AF digs.
Narain Niwas is a small palace in Jaipur, India that was once a country house for an army general, but has since been converted into a heritage hotel managed by a single family.
Heritage hotels help to fund the preservation of cultural heritage, something often overlooked in developing regions. Though other aspects of heritage hotels might not be sustainable—waste generation, offering imported items, outdated electrical infrastructure, and so on—maintaining cultural heritage through self-sustaining means is absolutely sustainable tourism.
My homestay host in Shaimak, a remote and little-touristed village in eastern Tajikistan that I learned of through the local tourism office.
Until sustainability becomes a norm rather than a niche—don’t hold your breath—you might have to do some digging to find sustainable accommodation in your destination.
Not always helpful when going off the beaten track as I do, but these options work well in more touristed areas.
The best sustainable accommodation options are usually specific to the country or region, and even then they might not show up in searches if they don’t know about SEO.
Some common tactics I use to find sustainable accommodation in more offbeat areas:
It’s literally their job to help you find what you’re looking for, and they should be happy to help you find locally-run businesses/accommodation. To find local tourism boards, search “Tourism in X” or “Travel to Y” and contact the most official looking page. They might not always respond quickly, but they know best. Hopefully.
You’d be surprised how active people are on Google Maps, even in the middle of nowhere. I’ve found a few family-run guesthouses purely by chance in strange places just by perusing Google Maps.
Though not accommodation-specific, blog posts and articles about responsible travel should include recommendations for a few homestays or guesthouses.
Many small businesses don’t have a good grasp on digital marketing, and rely on handing out flyers, business cards, and other printed materials to local businesses. Keep an eye out for them in places like hostel lounges, cafes, restaurants, etc. They’re a great way to find more offbeat options.
In Mechuka, a small village in Northeast India, I found my homestay simply by… showing up and looking for signs saying “homestay”. It worked!
Though their main goal isn’t to be sustainable—it’s actually to squeeze as much money out of people as possible—there are still sustainable options on major hotel booking platforms if you know how to look.
Booking.com is my main go-to for finding last-minute accommodation, and it’s possible to find sustainable accommodation there. I found all kinds of homestays and locally-run guesthouses through Booking while traveling in Georgia and Uzbekistan, for example.
When searching for responsible options on Booking, I often check the following filters:
The results won’t be perfect, but using these filters will help you find options that are more likely to be locally-run.
TripAdvisor now has a GreenLeaders program where they clarify if a hotel is eco-friendly. However, hotels are the ones responsible for requesting the classification, and they’re not very transparent the process nor whether they check to validate claims. Use at your own discretion.
Hosts of a homestay I found via Booking.com in Yeghegnadzor, Armenia. (I ended up sitting down with them to help with setup and explain how the system works.)
Airbnb is another platform I use occasionally—mostly because I’m a sucker for good web design—but I try to avoid using it in big cities. Airbnb is known to cause all kinds of problems for locals in cities, including inflated rental prices and accommodation scarcity.
However, Airbnb also makes marketing more accessible for small business owners in many places—an important part of sustainable tourism—so I hesitate to shun it completely.
It’s best to stick to hotels/official rentals in cities and use Airbnb for more remote or unique searches if you want sustainable accommodation that doesn’t cause problems for locals.
Many countries and regions have lists or accommodation networks that you can tap into… if you know they exist, that is! This list is by no means complete, but here are some regional recommendations for finding sustainable accommodation:
From Priyanka Gupta of personal growth and travel blog On My Canvas: Run through word-of-mouth, the eco homestays of community-based tourism organization Himalayan Ark in Munsiyari, Uttarakhand are an ideal respite for those seeking rural life surrounded by nature. Munsiyari is a hill station at 2,200 m, in the Kumaon region of the Himalayas in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand.
There are 16 homestays and 15 or so guides. Naturalists and guides can take travelers on bird watching trips, butterfly observations, and hikes, among other local activities. 95% of tourism revenue is reinvested into the community that earns through farming, wool making, and other kinds of traditional jobs.
During COVID times, only 5 of 16 homestays are functioning—these are the ones with a separate entrance. BSNL mobile connectivity is limited in the area, so bookings are mainly done through email or phone.
If you want to visit Munsiyari, email Malika Virdi, the founder and director of Himalayan Ark ([email protected]). She’s now in her second term as the sarpanch(head) of the Sarmoli Jainti Van Panchayat, a panchayat set up in 2004 that looks over the common forest area where these homestays are. Alternatively, you can email Himalayan Ark directly ([email protected]).
Other recommended options for sustainable trips in India include:
I wrote a post about India’s Loktak Lake in 2017, including mention of Mr. Maipakchao, a homestay host who also works on conservation efforts in the area. In years since, countless people have stayed with Mr. Maipakchao because of that post!
Supporting sustainable causes doesn’t stop once your trip is over! There are many small but impactful things you can do to support local businesses from the comfort of your own home:
When you’re a guest in someone’s home or country—like I was here on Hatiya island in Bangladesh—it’s important to respect local culture and acknowledge what’s possible before setting any expectations. The same goes for accommodation.
After years on the road, I’ve seen too many people have fits over things like squat toilets, local food, and uncomfortable beds… thus totally missing the point of seeking out “local” experiences.
Sustainable accommodation options aren’t always the shiniest or smoothest places to stay, but that’s all part of the fun. Responsible tourism and sustainable practices need to be encouraged, not defeated.
If you’re staying in local accommodation and you want to complain, think before you speak:
Why do you find it unpleasant? For example, do you dislike food because it’s too spicy/salty/oily/something else compared to your local food? Would catering to your needs be easy for your host, or would it require buying alternative/imported products that aren’t as sustainable as local goods? If the latter, deal with it and remember you’re not in your home country.
Is it reasonable for you to demand change? Mattresses and Western toilets might be reasonable requests in a city or high-end eco-resort, but asking a budget homestay in a remote village to install an expensive ceramic sit-down toilet? No, bro.
Polite, constructive criticism is useful for business owners, but if your tourist problems require unsustainable solutions, sometimes it’s best to keep your woes to yourself.
A community homestay in Arslanbob, Kyrgyzstan
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