If you are from a head office preparing for renewals under our ChainConnect programme then please login to Evergreen to access our special ChainConnect support page. You can still use the information below to find general information about how to prepare for audits at the individual properties in your group.
How to renew your certification
Step 1
Update your property profile
It is important that you check the information we already hold about your property so that we have the right contact information.
It is also important that your auditing profile is correct with things like the number of rooms, pools, any animals on-site and so on because your auditor will use this to prepare for your audit.
Step 2
Pay your renewal fee
You will need to have a current subscription before your audit. You can check the expiry date in your property’s Evergreen profile.
Travelife will automatically send you a renewal invoice about 8 weeks before the expiry date and you can email us if you have any questions.
Step 3
Schedule your audit
We recommend you have your audit at least 30-days prior to your certification expiry date so that your certification does not lapse.
We will normally remind you about 3-months before your certification is due to expire and you can request an audit at any time using the online Audit Request Form that you can find from the Audit Preparation section of Evergreen.
Step 4
Refresh your knowledge
If it has been a long time since you last worked with Travelife, or you are new to your job, you will find a range of resources to help you get ready for your Travelife audit.
Our Introduction to Travelife e-learning module takes less than one hour to complete and summarises the Travelife requirements.
We have several other short e-learning modules in English and Spanish that cover accommodation sustainability topics such as energy, water, waste, human rights, child safeguarding and animal welfare.
Step 5
Prepare for your audit
The Audit Preparation section of Evergreen takes you to a range of useful resources that you should review:
- Step-by-step audit preparation guide
- A self assessment tool
- The audit checklist
- Step-by-step guides
- Examples
- Templates
- E-learning modules
Step 6
Audit day
When an auditor is allocated to your property, Travelife will put you in touch with them so they can confirm details such as their arrival time.
After an opening meeting the auditor will ask to see various documents and you must make sure they can access all parts of the premises, including some guest rooms. They will also ask to speak to various staff, sometimes requiring that they interview staff in private.
At the end of the day there will be a closing meeting where you will be given some feedback but the auditor cannot tell you if you are certified as that decision will be made by Travelife (see Step 7).
Step 7
Audit result
The auditor’s report must be written then fully reviewed by Travelife before you will be given the result that will be emailed and can be found in the Audits are of Evergreen. This can take up to 30-days during peak auditing periods.
If you met 100% of the requirements you will be certified.
If you have between 1 and 40 non-compliances, you will be given an Improvement Report explaining what you need to do and you will have 6-months to provide evidence that you comply with each one, then you can be certified.
If you have more than 40 non-compliances you will be given a report explaining where you went wrong and will need to pay for a repeat audit. Please note that less than 5% of hotels have to do this so as long as you are well-prepared you should not find yourself in this position.
Step 8
Travelife Certified
You will receive an email from us confirming that you are Travelife Certified. The email will contain information about how to access your logo and certificate that are always available from the Audits area of Evergreen where you can also find your final Audit Report.
If your previous certification had already expired, Travelife will ensure you are relisted on the Travelife Collection website and included in our reports to tour operators and OTAs within 14-days of your certification date.
You will also be able to access our marketing toolkit, participate in the Hotel of the Month competition and be provided with regular updates from Travelife.
Your certification will expire 2-years after your audit date, at which point you’ll need to repeat these steps in order to be recertified.
Step 9
Maintaining your certification
You are also required to maintain your certification at all times by ensuring your property is always 100% compliant with the Travelife certification requirements. Travelife will suspend and, in extreme cases, withdraw your certification if we find that you are no longer compliant.
You’ll also need to remember to continue recording your monthly environmental measurements (e.g. energy, water), to follow your sustainability policies and commitments, and to complete your annual reports.
There is a range of resources to help you stay compliant in the Sustainability Toolkit that you can access in Evergreen, including e-learning modules to help you train any new staff that are responsible for maintaining your Travelife Certification.