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The Travelife Accommodation Sustainability Certification Scheme

Version 1.0 (P:P) | September 2025

Travelife Ltd owns, operates and manages the Travelife Accommodation Sustainability Certification (TASC) scheme, a unique product certification scheme that we have developed for the sole use of our clients. Travelife is both the scheme owner and the conformity assessment body that certifies tourist accommodation providers against the requisitos de certificación de Travelife, which are the standards a property must comply with to be Travelife Certified. Other than the use of individual independently contracted auditors, Travelife does not outsource any conformity assessment activities. No other conformity assessment body is permitted to carry out certification activities for the TASC scheme.

The purpose, objectives and core goals of the TASC scheme

The purpose of Travelife is to help ensure the long-term viability and success of the tourism industry so that it can continue to provide economic, environmental and social benefits on a global scale. Sitting specifically within the accommodation sector of the tourism industry, the TASC scheme has two simple objectives:

The Travelife Certification requirements have been carefully developed to ensure they are useful, relevant and meaningful in terms of improving the impact the accommodation sector has on people and the planet. The current requirements are based on 20-years experience with developing accommodation sustainability standards, auditing and certifying against them. We also ensure that we consult with stakeholders and experts when reviewing the requirements, and that we have aligned them with the Tourism Sustainability Certifications (TSC) Alliance standard, the GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels as well as the UN SDGs.

Our certification process has been designed to ensure it is consistent, impartial and robust so that regardless of the type of accommodation and the location, stakeholders know what to expect from a Travelife Certified property. This is why we insist on 100% compliance with all the certification requirements and why a full independent onsite inspection audit is required. This is also why a certification is only valid for two years and why our process must be repeated in full if a property wishes to recertify. It is also why we do not offer multi-site certification or any other type of sampling that would certify a hotel chain or group.

Ensuring we stay on track with our purpose and objectives involves us continually striving to meet four core goals. They drive the decisions we make, the policies and processes we implement and the general way that we operate and manage the TASC scheme.

  1. Improve the impact of the accommodation sector on people and the planet.
  2. Consistently maintain the highest levels of quality, impartiality, reliability, credibility and independence.
  3. Continually increase the number of accommodation providers that are Travelife Certified.
  4. Ensuring the ongoing financial viability of Travelife Ltd.

The scope of Travelife certification

Travelife certification is only for individual tourist accommodation providers that we often refer to as a “property” or a “customer”.

Although we can certify individual properties that are part of a hotel chain/group, we never certify the group itself via multi-site certification, sampling or any other method.

We do not certify tourist accommodation provided on vehicles or vessels, such as sleeper trains, yachts or cruise ships. Nor do we certify aircraft passenger cabins.

Generally we do not certify Airbnb properties because they cannot comply with requirement C21 which is about ensuring a property does not negatively affect the availability of local housing. If an Airbnb property was purpose-built for tourism then it may be eligible for Travelife certification. It is possible that there are some grey areas with certain types of Airbnb properties and, in those cases, the managing director will make the final decision about whether they are eligible for a certification attempt.

Travelife certification focuses on accommodation operations which means that the certification relates to policies, systems, processes and procedures.

We do not certify physical buildings or the construction methods that were used. However, many building fixtures, fittings and infrastructures do fall within the scope of our certification. For example, properties must ensure pipes are not leaking water, that HVAC systems are properly maintained and that appliances are operating efficiently.

The geographical certification scope is global. Although rare, we can refuse clients based on their location for logistical reasons that normally relate to concerns around auditor health and safety or auditor availability. For example, if the UK government advises against travel to a country we cannot carry out certification activities there, nor can we certify properties whose owners are sanctioned by the UK government.

The first certification attempt

When assessing compliance during a property’s first certification attempt, we focus on what the property is doing at the present time, the property’s plans for the next year and, where necessary, records that cover up to 12 months prior to the audit. For example, they must have information about their energy use and water consumption for the previous 12 months.

Sometimes we must look further back to establish current compliance. For example, a property that directly sources its own water must be able to show that they have all necessary licenses and permissions to do that, even if water rights were purchased decades earlier.

Recertification attempts

Generally the focus is on the present day and the two year period since their last inspection audit, with some areas only being looked at for the 12-month period since their last certification check-up  (these are explained under Certification check-ups). Some requirements involve verifying there are goals and plans in place for the next 12 months.

Los requisitos de certificación de Travelife

The Travelife Accommodation Sustainability Certification Standard (or “the Standard”) is the criteria we have developed that accommodation providers shall comply with in order to obtain certification. The current standard in use is the Travelife Accommodation Sustainability Certification Standard Version 3.1, which was last formally revised and updated between 2021 and 2023. Much of 2023 was spent training auditors and staff on the revisions, carrying out some test audits and preparing new guidance materials. It was ultimately put into use for audits from 1de January 2024 onwards.

The standard is a cornerstone document for the TASC scheme. However, it is also fairly technical and is therefore not in day-to-day use. Instead we use a working version called Travelife Certification Requirements, with the standard only being referred to when formal reviews are carried out, to draw comparisons between the Travelife standard and other standards, or to help us make a compliance decision we may be struggling with.

Las requisitos de certificación de Travelife is therefore the working version of the Travelife Standard that is written in simpler language and formatted in a way that is easier to follow. It is this version that is used by hotels to prepare for their audits, by auditors to make compliance judgements and by Travelife to make compliance decisions.

The requirements have an appendix containing supporting information that is either likely to change or has a level of detail that would complicate the wording of the requirements themselves.

Las requisitos de certificación de Travelife essentially describe an optimal sustainability management system for accommodation providers. They have been designed to ensure properties are following an annual cycle that aims to drive continuous improvement of their sustainability impacts via various planning, monitoring and reporting activities. They also contain several core practices that a property should always have embedded in their day-to-day operations.

Los requisitos se dividen en las siguientes secciones:

Sección A: Evaluación anual, planificación y políticas principales

Section A follows an annual improvement cycle that is designed to help properties understand where their business has the most impact, what they already do well, where they can be most effective in terms of making improvements and where their focus should be in the coming year and in future years. It also asks that they have written sustainability commitments, sustainability goals, a sustainability action plan and that some core policies are in place.

Sección B: Cumplimiento de la legislación y concesión de licencias

Section B is focused on the legislative aspects of their business. It is designed to ensure they are fully aware of, and complying with, all the laws, regulations, codes of practice and licensing requirements that apply to their business. This section includes a set of requirements related to fair labour practices, such as wages and working hours.

Sección C: Honestidad, transparencia, equidad y capacidad de respuesta

Section C aims to make sure that a property is operating its business honestly and treats all people fairly. It helps to ensure that their stakeholders can find accurate information about their operation, their sustainability work and are able to provide feedback to the property.

There are also numerous requirements in Section C for protecting and supporting their local community, including requirements related to protecting and respecting any Indigenous peoples in their location.

This section also contains several fair labour requirements that go beyond what is required by the law and/or ILO conventions.

Sección D: Participación y apoyo de los grupos de interés

The purpose of Section D is to ensure the property is engaging their most important stakeholders in their sustainability work in terms of education and soliciting their support. It therefore covers information and advice that should be given to both guests and staff, as well as ensuring staff have regular formal training on sustainability topics.

Sección E: Contratación sostenible

The requirements in Section E are designed to ensure that the property’s procurement methods support improvement of its environmental and social impact. This section has requirements designed to prevent a property from engaging in any practices that could involve human exploitation (modern slavery), and to protect properties from doing this unknowingly. It also requires them to inform their suppliers that they will not tolerate human exploitation in their supply chain.

Sección F: Minimizar las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero y proteger la biodiversidad

This section covers the practices that should be embedded within their operation that are known to be effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting biodiversity. The requirements cover practices that reduce the consumption of energy, water and hazardous substances, and reducing solid waste via a “reduce, reuse and recycle” plan that all properties must implement. Section F also covers wastewater, hazardous waste and controlling invasive species.

Sección G: Minimizar el impacto de una crisis o emergencia

This section aims to ensure that there are plans and procedures in place to minimise how an accident, disaster or crisis could impact the environment and people.

Sección H: Bienestar animal

Section H helps to ensure that where the property has any responsibility for the wellbeing of animals, those animals are properly cared for. It also addresses unacceptable practices involving animals that the property must not support and ensures that any human interactions with wildlife are carefully managed.

Section I: Measuring and monitoring environmental performance

The aim of Section I is to ensure there is a process in place to regularly monitor the property’s environmental impacts and the progress they are making against their environmental commitments, goals and targets. This information is used to produce an annual environmental performance report which is required for Section A.

Travelife uses the term “requirement scope” to describe which requirements apply in a given situation based on a property’s characteristics and certification history. We consider this to be part of the baseline scope that is explained in the Verification via an inspection audit section.

This is built into the wording of the Travelife Certification Requirements so it is clear to auditors, staff and accommodation providers whether a requirement applies to their audit or not.  For example, some requirements only apply if the property has 6 or more staff.

The scope is identified through the use of a target symbol, as shown in the image below. It is important to note that Travelife shall verify that the requirement is non-applicable by confirming that the property meets the description provided in the requirements scope. When that has been verified, the property is marked as compliant with that requirement.

Travelife was founded in the early 2000s with our first audits taking place in 2006. The original criteria were developed as a result of a two year multi-stakeholder consultation involving a broad range of European participants. This included tour operators, trade associations, NGOs, research institutions and consultants.

Since then, we have carried out over 5,000 accommodation sustainability inspection audits and regularly monitor sustainability developments and issues to ensure our requirements are always both useful and relevant. The requirements have therefore been fine-tuned over the years and have undergone a handful of formal revisions when we consult with stakeholders, conduct research and, when necessary, seek expert advice.

More detailed information can be found in the The History and evolution of the TASC scheme section.

The current version of the Travelife Certifications Requirements underwent a formal revision between 2021 and 2023, before being used to certify properties from January 2024. During that revision process we consulted with our certified properties, Travelife auditors, the travel industry as well as the United Nations Environment Programme. We also made sure that the requirements aligned with the Tourism Sustainability Certifications (TSC) Alliance standard, the GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels as well as the UN SDGs.

A formal review shall take place every five years. We have an internal policy and process for this that includes stakeholder consultation and assessing the sustainability landscape for new and emerging issues that can affect accommodation providers and their stakeholders.

As part of our quality management system (QMS), a high-level review shall take place each year to check that there are no immediate concerns that need to be addressed. These concerns could include anything that cannot wait for our five-year review, such as legislative changes, fast-emerging accommodation sustainability issues or a realisation that one or more requirements are no longer relevant, meaningful and useful.

When a possible change is identified, we shall follow an internal change management process that has been especially developed for amendments to the Travelife Standard and the Travelife Certification Requirements. This ensures that we fully assess the risks and opportunities involved with making a change, and have a fully resourced implementation plan.

How a property gets certified

In order to obtain Travelife certification, a property shall satisfy us that they comply with 100% of the Travelife Certification Requirements that are within the scope of their audit. Determining if they have complied with each of these requirements involves a three-step process, as described below.

An independently contracted auditor shall be assigned to carry out an audit which includes visiting the property. We refer to this as an inspection audit.

Audit Objectives: During the inspection audit, the auditor’s sole objective shall be to find evidence to support a determination that the property either complies or does not comply with each requirement. The auditor does this based on training they are given about how to find and verify evidence of compliance, as well as guidance notes that we provide for each requirement. Most of this occurs during the inspection audit itself, but auditors can begin collecting and reviewing evidence from when they are assigned to a property until they submit their audit report.

Audit plan: All Travelife audits shall include an opening meeting, a closing meeting and a range of auditing methods to help the auditor make a judgement about whether a property is compliant or non-compliant with each requirement. As part of preparation activities, the auditor shall document this in an audit plan that shall be shared with the property 7 to 14 days prior to the audit.

Audit scope: Audits shall be operated on the basis that there is a baseline scope that applies to all audits, and a unique scope that shall be determined based on the specific characteristics of a property and its location. Both scopes shall be documented within the guidelines we provide to auditors and the baseline scope shall be documented within the certification requirements.

Audit risk assessment and management: The same approach that is taken for audit scope shall be taken with managing risks. Baseline risks shall be assumed based on the property’s characteristics, location, history and engagement with Travelife, and therefore be used to determine both the audit duration and any specific competencies an auditor should possess. Unique risks are based on similar information but shall be determined by the auditor during preparation, or perhaps even during the audit, depending on which approach the auditors judges will deliver the best outcome. Audit risk assessment and management shall be documented within the policies and guidelines we provide to auditors.

Audit duration: The time spent onsite shall be between one and two days, depending on the scale of the property and if we consider it to be high or low risk in terms of our mutual experience. For example, a property that has been certified and had an inspection audit within the past three-years shall be considered low risk because we have recent knowledge of them, they have recent experience with Travelife Certification and are more likely to still have some of the required policies and procedures in place. Whereas a property that has never been certified, or whose last inspection audit was more than three years ago, shall be considered high risk because that mutual experience either does not exist or has degraded. The certifications manager or managing director may authorise a variation to the usual audit duration after taking into consideration the scale and complexity of the property, along with any risks associated with a shorter or longer audit duration.

Auditing methods: Establishing compliance or non-compliance shall involve utilising a variety of auditing methods and guidance about the auditing methods that should be used shall be provided in the auditor guidance provided for each of the Travelife Certification Requirements. Explanations of how to apply the auditing methods shall be provided in the training, policies and guidelines we provide for auditors. These include:

  • Reviewing and verifying documents
  • Reviewing and verifying records
  • Interviews
  • Observations of tasks and activities
  • Observations of the outdoor environment
  • Inspections
  • Taking measurements
  • Collecting information on how the property takes measurements and keeps records
  • Consultation with other stakeholders

 

Evidence usually needs to be verified. For example, records can be viewed to ensure that a property is measuring its energy consumption, but the auditor needs to check if these records are correct by selecting a sample of records, then asking to see supporting evidence such as energy bills. This is referred to as sampling, and it is routinely used in auditing because it is almost impossible to verify everything during an audit. Sampling can also involve selecting staff to interview, guest rooms to inspect and so on. Explanations about when and how to sample evidence shall be provided in the training, policies and guidelines we provide to auditors.

This is the only type of sampling that shall be used within the TASC Scheme. For example, Travelife shall not “sample” hotels that are part of a chain or group in order to certify an entire hotel chain or group.

The audit report: After reviewing and verifying all necessary evidence, the auditor shall make a compliance judgement for each certification requirement. That involves completing an audit report in the Evergreen system and marking each requirement as either compliant or non-compliant. The auditor shall explain and rationalise each of their compliance judgements by making notes about what they saw/found or did not see/find, including how sampling was used to verify evidence. They can further support their explanations by uploading documents, images or videos if they feel this would help Travelife make the final compliance judgement for any given requirement and/or better explain non-compliances to both Travelife and the property. In some cases Travelife may specifically instruct an auditor to upload evidence for a specific requirement(s). For example, when assessing the welfare of animals in captivity, Travelife is likely to ask the auditor to collect and upload photographs and videos of the animals and their enclosures along with evidence related to veterinary care. The auditor shall comply with such requests.

The auditor shall submit their report in the Evergreen system. Once submitted, it shall be quality checked by a Travelife certifications specialist (for brevity, any reference to certifications specialists in relation to the certification process shall include the Travelife certifications manager).

Quality checking involves looking at each compliance judgement and determining if there is enough information for Travelife to make a final compliance decision. If a certifications specialist judges that the auditor has not provided enough information, or that the information is unclear or inaccurate, the report shall be rejected back to the auditor who shall promptly make corrections and/or answer Travelife’s questions within the Evergreen system.

When the certifications specialist judges that the information is clear and sufficient, they shall determine whether they agree with the auditor’s compliance judgement for each requirement. This can result in a certifications specialist changing an auditor’s compliance judgement from compliant to non-compliant or vice versa. This is referred to as a compliance decision. Although there shall be an appeals process in case a property disagrees with the decision, a compliance decision is final.

A compliance decision shall be either compliant or non-compliant. In order to be certified, a property shall be compliant with 100% of the certification requirements that apply to them*. There are therefore three possible outcomes from the inspection audit as described below.

The property is certified

If they have zero non-compliances, they shall be certified for two-years from the inspection audit date, subject to maintaining compliance throughout their certification period as detailed under How does Travelife ensure that compliance is maintained?. At the end of this period, if they wish to be recertified, they shall undergo a recertification attempt as explained under How do properties recertify under the TASC scheme?.

Step 8c of the Certification Process explains how a newly certified (or newly recertified) property shall be managed.

The property is not certified because they have too many non-compliances

If they have 41** or more non-compliances they shall be failed and, if they wish to continue their certification attempt (or recertification attempt), they shall have another inspection audit that we refer to as a “repeat audit”. This involves repeating Steps 1 and 2 described above. A report detailing the non-compliances shall be made available to the property in the Evergreen system so they understand what improvements they should make before their repeat audit. The property shall be notified of this result in an email that shall contain information about what steps they should take to arrange a repeat audit including how much it will cost and how to arrange it.

Step 8a of the Certification Process summarises the rules that shall be followed about how much time a property has to carry out a repeat audit before having to pay a higher fee and begin a brand new certification attempt (or recertification attempt). These rules shall be included within clauses of the Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento.

The property has six months to correct non-compliances

If they have between 1 and 40 non-compliances, they shall be notified of these and shall be given six months from the inspection audit date to submit evidence to Travelife that they have these made improvements. We refer to this as “improvements” or “post-audit improvements”. During post-audit improvements, each set of evidence the property submits shall be reviewed by a certifications specialist who shall make another compliance decision. This process shall continue until the property has 100% compliances, at which point is the property shall be certified.

Step 8c of the Certification Process section explains how a newly certified (or newly recertified) property shall be managed.

A report detailing the non-compliances shall be made available to the property in the Evergreen system so they understand what improvements they should make. The property shall be notified of this result in an email that shall contain information about what steps they should take to arrange a repeat audit including how to submit evidence, the deadline and the consequences of missing the deadline (i.e. they will not be certified and will have to carry out a repeat audit if they wish to continue).

The property is not certified because they did not correct their non-compliances by the deadline

If the six-month post-audit improvements deadline passes and they have one or more non-compliances remaining, they shall be failed and, if they wish to continue their certification attempt (or recertification attempt), they shall have a repeat audit as described under The property is not certified because they have too many non-compliances.

*Please see the Do the requirements apply to all accommodation providers during every audit? section for information about when a requirement may not apply.

**Travelife shall not double penalise a property when compliance with one requirement is dependent on compliance with another. For example, requirement I1 asks a property to record their monthly energy consumption and requirement A1 asks them to produce an annual report showing their total energy consumption based on the recordings they made for requirement I1. That means that if I1 is non-compliant, they cannot comply with A1. This shall be counted as 1 non-compliance when determining if a property has 41 or more non-compliances which would result in them failing their certification attempt. An internal policy shall contain clear guidelines that certifications specialists shall follow in relation to avoiding double-penalising and they shall be provided with a tool they shall use to help them consistently reconfirm the total number of non-compliances should there be 41 or more.

In summary:

  1. Compliance judgements shall be made by auditors via an on-site audit. Auditors shall be independently contracted individuals and therefore not employed by Travelife*.
  2. Compliance decisions shall be made by certifications specialists who are Travelife employees.
  3. There shall be no standalone certification decision made by a certifications specialist during a certification attempt because either 100% of the requirements have resulted in compliance (the property is certified) or they did not (the property is not certified). However, there are circumstances where a decision can be made by the certifications manager to withdraw or suspend a certification because a property has later been found to be non-compliant with one or more of the requirements, or has otherwise breached the terms of the Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento and, according to those terms, the breach can result in a certification suspension or withdrawal. The decision about whether to suspend or withdraw a certification is referred to as a “certification decision”.

 

*The managing director can allow a Travelife certifications specialist or manager to conduct an audit provided they have completed all required auditor training and do not have any subsequent involvement in compliance or certification decisions for the property they have audited until at least 2-years have passed since the date of the audit they carried out. The audit, including the name of the staff member, the property and audit date shall be logged on a conflicts of interest register that Travelife shall maintain.

Is a property ever certified with a non-compliance?

In rare cases, a property may be certified on the condition that a non-compliance is rectified within a given time period, which may be until their certification expires. This may occur when a legislative change or another extenuating circumstance renders a property that was previously certified unable to comply with one or more requirements until significant investment has been made in improvements, or until the property can close in order to make the improvements. For example, an underground leaking pipe that requires the hotel to close so it can be accessed and fixed. Another real-life example involved changes to the legal minimum wage in a country that resulted in significant changes and additional costs for several hotel groups Travelife worked with.

We shall only allow this for a single non-compliance, or two to three that are closely related. In such situations, the process below shall be followed:

  1. The situation shall be discussed and agreed between the Internal Compliance and Quality Control (ICQC) team. This discussion shall include an assessment of the risks involved in allowing the property to be certified with a non-compliance(s), and how these risks should be mitigated.
  2. There shall be a detailed compliance plan in place that is signed by the property’s general manager or a more senior manager at the hotel group.
  3. The compliance plan shall have deadlines and clearly explain what evidence is required from the property in order to establish compliance and what the consequences are for failing to meet the deadlines given.
  4. A process shall be in place to monitor the property’s progress with the plan which should, if necessary, include communication with the auditor who is assigned to the property’s next audit and/or certification check-up.
  5. The managing director shall review and approve the plan.

How does Travelife ensure that certification compliance is maintained?

One of the risks identified during the development and subsequent operation of the TASC scheme is that Travelife cannot be 100% certain that compliance is maintained with 100% of the requirements 100% of the time.

As such, we accept that risk and shall account for it in the way we talk about what Travelife Certification means to ensure that the public and other stakeholders are not misled into thinking that any guarantees can be made. We shall be honest and transparent about this risk in our public and/or stakeholder marketing and communications materials, and shall invite people to send us feedback if they have concerns about sustainability at a Travelife Certified property.

However, there shall be mechanisms in place to minimise the risk of a certified property no longer being compliant with one or more of the certification requirements. These are summarised below.

Approximately one year after each inspection audit, the property shall undergoes a certification check-up which is an evaluation, conducted remotely, of whether the property still complies with a selection of the certification requirements that relate to annual tasks that should be carried out. This evaluation should be carried out by the same auditor that conducted the inspection audit, but it can be assigned to a different auditor or to a certifications specialist if the original auditor is unable to conduct the assessment, provided they have not conflicts of interest with the property being evaluated.

It should be noted that Travelife do not define the certification check-up as an audit but often refer to it that way because it is managed in much the same way as an audit in terms of administration, systems and processes. For example, the Travelife accounting system is unable to identify the certification check-up as anything other than an audit, so it may show as an audit in internal reports or on invoices. Likewise, certain Evergreen functions will treat the certification check-up in the same way that an inspection audit is treated.

Certification check-up requirements: The requirements selected for evaluation shall be based on the annual processes that each property is supposed to follow as part of what Travelife refers to as the “annual improvement cycle”.

Travelife shall also require properties to ensure the information held about them in their Evergreen property profile is still correct and to formally verify they are complying with all legislation and licensing requirements that apply to their operations.

Haga clic aquí to view the Travelife Certification Requirements that are evaluated during the check-up. These are referred to as the Certification Check-up Requirements.

Determining compliance with the requirements: The same two-step process described under How a property gets certified shall be followed with the only difference being that the evaluation is conducted remotely, so that no inspection audit of the property takes place.

Outcome: The purpose of the certification check-up  shall be to determine if the property can retain their certification for the remainder of their certification period or if it should be withdrawn. That means that rather than making a certification decision, the property shall either pass and retain their certification, or fail and have their certification withdrawn. The process that shall be used to make a pass or fail determination is outlined below.

A property shall pass the certification check-up and retain their certification if:

  • They upload all documents by the deadline (14 months after their inspection audit date) and;
  • Travelife determines there are zero non-compliances or;
  • Travelife asks the property to make improvements, and these are completed by the improvements deadline (within two months of the certification check-up evaluation date or no more than 18 months after the inspection audit date (whichever comes first)).

 

A property shall fail the certification check-up and have their certification withdrawn if:

  • They do not upload all documents by the deadline (14 months after their inspection audit date) or;
  • They fail to complete their post-check-up improvements before the improvements deadline (within two months of the certification check-up evaluation date or no more than 18 months after the inspection audit date (whichever comes first)).

 

In the event of a failure, the certification shall be withdrawn immediately and should the property wish to continue, they shall undergo a recertification attempt which shall include an inspection audit.

Table 1 summarises the possible certification check-up outcomes.

Table 1

Outcome

Result

Next step in the Certification Process

The property does not upload all required information and/or update their Property Profile in Evergreen before the certification check-up deadline.

Failed

The property’s certification is withdrawn. To continue, the property must pay the Recertification Fee and carry out a recertification attempt.

One or more non-compliances.

Mejoras

The property has two months from the certification check-up deadline to show compliance with all non-compliant requirements. Otherwise, the check-up is failed. To continue, the property must pay the Recertification Fee and carry out a recertification attempt.

Zero (0) non-compliances.

Passed

The property retains their current Travelife Certification until it expires.

Why are onsite audits not used for certification check-ups?

Travelife has carefully considered the risks and benefits involved with conducting certification check-ups onsite versus remotely. It was ultimately decided that provisioning onsite surveillance audits every year would price numerous properties out of Travelife certification who could otherwise have benefitted from it. This in turn reduces the potential for Travelife certification to improve the environmental and social impacts of tourism. Please refer to the Known risks to the quality and integrity of the TASC scheme section for more information.

Travelife invites feedback from anybody that has concerns about sustainability at a Travelife Certified property. An option to provide feedback is clearly shown on the B2B y B2C websites via this link. Travelife has an internal policy that staff must follow regarding how all feedback should be managed with special rules in place how feedback relating to possible non-compliances at a certified property should be investigated and subsequently followed-up.

Las Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento (that all certification customers must agree to) shall contain clauses relating to the property maintaining their certification, making it clear that failure to do so may result in the certification being suspended or withdrawn.

Las Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento shall contain clauses requiring the property to keep Travelife informed of any information or changes that may affect its compliance with the certification requirements. Properties shall also be required to update their Property Profile in the Evergreen certifications system annually so that Travelife is aware of any changes that may affect compliance.

Las Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento shall contain clauses detailing when, why and how a certification can be suspended, withdrawn and reinstated. As a general rule, any actions a property takes (or fails to take) that seriously threaten the overall integrity or credibility of the TASC scheme should result in a certification suspension or withdrawal.

It should be noted that suspensions or withdrawals would most commonly relate to non-compliances resulting from the certification check-up or feedback we have received.

Other circumstances that could lead to a suspension or withdrawalcan include a property misusing the certification mark or making misleading statements about what Travelife certification means.

Travelife shall immediately withdraw a certification if it is found that a property has intentionally hidden or falsified evidence, and may impose an embargo period during which time the property is not permitted to carry out another certification attempt.

How do properties recertify under the TASC scheme?

The certification period (validity) is two years from the date of the inspection audit*, subject to the property maintaining compliance as described in the How does Travelife ensure that compliance is maintained? section.

A property that wishes to recertify shall carry out another certification attempt that we may refer to as a “recertification attempt” in order to make any necessary distinctions between a property’s first attempt and recertification.

Properties can commence a recertification attempt when they have paid the recertification fee and up to 6 months before or within 12 months after their certification expiry date. If they wait longer than 12 months after their certification expires, they present slightly higher risks and require more administration because they have let their certification lapse for too long. This means they should pay a higher fee and may need to have a longer audit.

If they wait more than two years after their certification expires, they shall be treated as a new property. That is because it will be more than three-years since their last audit, so they present greater risks in terms of both our knowledge of their operation and their own knowledge of how to comply with the certification requirements. This means they pay the same fee as a new property and their audit can take up to two days (see the Verification via an inspection audit section for more information about audit durations).

If the property is eligible for a recertification attempt, the process shall be the same as any other certification attempt. The only difference is that recertifications shall be considered low risk, which means that the audit duration shall be 1 day, however the certifications manager or managing director may authorise a variation to this duration after taking into consideration the scale and complexity of the property, along with any risks associated with a shorter or longer audit duration.

*Travelife is planning to change this policy later in 2025 or in early-2026 so that properties that recertify before their certification expires shall have the additional months added to their certification expiry date. For example, if a property’s certification expires on 30th July 2028, and they are recertified on 30th April 2028 (three months early), their new certification will expire on 30th July 2030. Under our current policy, it would expire on 30th April 2030. Travelife will allow properties to have their recertification audit up to 6 months before their certification expires so that the maximum certification period is never more than 2.5 years. However, this policy cannot be implemented until some developments have been completed and fully tested in Evergreen (the Travelife certification and property management system).

El proceso de certificación

The certification process starts with the information we provide about the TASC scheme and ends when a property decides they do not wish to recertify or continue with a certification attempt. Here is a summary of each step in the process.

It is our policy to ensure there is always accurate and relevant information about the TASC scheme available on our websites.

For potential certification customers

We aim to ensure there is always information about the TASC scheme available for accommodation providers who are interested in pursuing a certification attempt. This includes making sure that the following information is available on our main B2B website (www.travelifestaybetter.com) and the links will take you to the location of this information:

The Travelife Certification Requirements and appendix

El proceso de certificación

Prices and what they include

The terms they must agree to (the Accommodation Certification Agreement)

A summary of the tools and resources they will have access to

A registration/application form

Answers to the most commonly asked questions

Information for hotel chains and groups

General information about Travelife Ltd

The Auditor Code of Conduct

The complaints and appeals policy

The anti-bribery and corruption policy

The impartiality policy

How to contact us

Detailed information about the development and operation of the TASC scheme (the contents of this page)

Information about who we work with

For current certification customers

In addition to the information provided for new customers, we have a comprehensive suite of information for renewing customers on the customer support website, some of which is repeated on the B2B site in case a new member of a customer’s staff is not sure how to access the support website. The support website is behind a login, so below we have only provided information about what can be accessed publicly:

How to renew their certification

Renewal prices and inclusions

A summary of the tools and resources that are available to them, and how to access them.

An online registration form must be completed for each individual property whenever they:

  • Wish to commence their first certification attempt.

  • Wish to carry out a recertification attempt.

  • Wish to start working with Travelife again after a period of inactivity.

  • Wish to arrange a repeat inspection audit in order carry out another certification attempt following a failed one.

Collection of property information

The registration form contains a series of questions that will provide Travelife with the information they need to verify that the property is eligible to carry out a certification attempt, and to onboard (or reboard) the customer.

Acceptance of our terms

Each individual property must confirm acceptance of the terms of the Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento, even if they are not paying a fee. Their registration will not be accepted if Travelife do not have confirmation that they have accepted these terms.

A review and acceptance process is built into the online registration forms. A link opens the Accommodation Certification Agreement so they can review it. The form also contains a clear and accurate summary of some important terms customers often overlook and there is a place for customers to formally confirm acceptance.

If for some reason the Agreement must be accepted outside the normal registration form, a special online form is available that does not require the registration form to be completed. This form also allows for a representative from a chain or group to confirm acceptance on behalf of the individual properties working with Travelife, but they must list each individual property on the form.

Pago

The fee that is due is determined by a series of questions about the property and their history with Travelife. The fee can be paid online with a debit or credit card, or the customer can request an invoice so they can pay by bank transfer. Once payment has been received (via either method), a formal invoice is sent to the customer showing that the fee has been paid.

Screening

Registrations are delivered to a central Travelife inbox that is monitored by all customer support staff. Customer support staff are responsible for reviewing the information to ensure that the property is within the certification scope (see the Scope of Travelife certification section). If they are not within scope, they will be notified within five days of their registration being received and any fee already paid will be refunded promptly and always within thirty days of their registration being received.

Onboarding customers

Note: The onboarding process applies to customers that have never worked with Travelife before, or it has been so long since they worked with Travelife that there is no record of them in Evergreen, the certification and property management system that Travelife began using in January 2021.

The onboarding process begins when we have confirmed the following:

  1. The property is within the certification scope (see The scope of Travelife certification section).

  2. We have received the correct payment.

  3. The customer has accepted the terms of the Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento.

 

The onboarding process involves the following steps that are usually carried out by a member of the customer support team:

  1. The customer is sent a welcome email with confirmation of their payment attached. The email includes information about the steps that the customer should take next and where to find the resources we have available for them.
  2. A Property Profile is created in Evergreen (our certification and property management system) which includes all the information we have collected about the property so far from their registration form and/or any other communications. It may be necessary to find some information elsewhere, notably their address coordinates that can be sourced from reliable online sites or apps such as GoogleMaps.
  3. The Travelife Coordinator identified on the registration form is assigned to the property in Evergreen and will serve as their main contact. This triggers an email asking them to create their Evergreen login credentials.
  4. A record is created in the Travelife Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which is where we manage some of the administrative activities associated with customers that are not yet available in Evergreen.
  5. A record is created in our accounting system and the payment is posted.

 

Reboarding customers

Note: The reboarding process applies to customers that already have a property profile in Evergreen, regardless of whether they are undergoing a recertification attempt, a repeat audit following a failed attempt or are rejoining us some time after a certification has lapsed.

The reboarding process begins when we have confirmed the following:

  1. We have received the correct payment.

  2. The customer has accepted the terms of the Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento.

 

The reboarding process involves the following steps that are usually carried out by a member of the customer support team:

  1. The customer is sent an email with confirmation of payment attached. The email includes information about the steps that the customer should take next and a reminder about where to find the resources we have available for them.
  2. The Property Profile in Evergreen is reviewed and, where necessary, updated with information given on their registration form and/or any other communications. It may be necessary to find some information elsewhere, notably their address coordinates that can be sourced from reliable online sites or apps such as GoogleMaps.
  3. A check is made that the Travelife Coordinator identified on the registration form has been assigned to the property in Evergreen. If not, they are assigned to the property which triggers an email asking them to create their Evergreen login credentials.
  4. Their record in the Travelife Microsoft Dynamics CRM is updated.
  5. Their payment is posted in our accounting system.

Audit assignment

“Audit assignment” is when we assign an auditor to a property in order to carry out their inspection audit. The auditor then works directly with the property to confirm a suitable audit date.

When audits are assigned

Travelife begins assigning audits to auditors approximately six months before a property’s certification expires or, in the case of new customers for example, about three months after the customer is onboarded or reboarded. Properties can request audits outside this period however, recertification audits cannot take place more than six months before the certification expiry date.

It is important to note that audits are only assigned and/or confirmed if the property is current with any payments owed to Travelife, and if they have updated their Property Profile in Evergreen within the last six months.

How auditors are assigned to a property

Audits that are eligible to be assigned to an auditor are displayed on a webpage that only auditors and Travelife can access. This page includes a form that shows all properties that are due to be audited, their location, the expected audit duration and any other special notes about specific competencies or logistics that auditors could benefit from knowing before they request to be assigned to the property. For example, certain countries might be flagged as being especially complex in terms of labour and human rights laws, so Travelife will highlight that an auditor experienced in those areas is required.

Auditors can select which properties they are interested in auditing and submit the form to auditoperations@travelife.org. The form asks them to declare any possible conflicts of interest they have with the properties they have selected.

Travelife audit operations staff determine which auditor should be assigned to each property in line with our an internal audit assignment policy. The policy requires audit operations staff consider impartiality (e.g. are there any conflicts of interest?), if the auditor possesses the required competencies, the travel logistics and travel costs, and any deadlines that should be met (e.g. ensuring the audit takes place before a certification expires).

When the auditor is assigned, an introductory email is sent to the auditor and the customer which explains the next steps each party should take, and that reminds the customer about where to find the resources we have available to help them prepare for the audit.

Audit confirmation

After the assignment, the auditor and the property communicate directly with each other to agree on a date and other important logistics such as start time, any help the auditor needs with transfers, overnight accommodation etc.

Once they agree a date, the auditor notifies the audit operations manger who creates an Audit Record in Evergreen. This triggers an audit confirmation email to both the customer and the auditor that confirms the date and once again reminds the customer about the resources that are available to help them prepare for the audit.

Other than answering questions and signposting customers or auditors to guidance materials, Travelife staff may have very little involvement in the process between this point  and Paso 6 of the certification process when the auditor submits their audit report.

Audit planning

The auditor is responsible for researching the property and, if they are unfamiliar with it, their location. This will include being sure they know the local legislative environment and any other pertinent information such as the municipal waste infrastructure.

The auditor develops an audit plan using guidelines provided by Travelife. The auditor must send this plan to the customer 7 to 14 days prior to the audit date. The plan includes some basic profile information about the property, audit day logistics, contact people etc. The property must review the plan and make any necessary corrections to this information before the audit.

Auditors must follow policies and guidelines provided by Travelife about how to prepare for inspection audits.

Updating their Evergreen profile

All customers are required to review and, where necessary, update their property profile in Evergreen. Travelife will not begin the audit assignment process until this has been done because auditors rely heavily on this information during the audit planning process. Travelife staff also rely on it during the audit assignment process and the post-audit processes.

The profile contains a range of questions* about the property’s location, facilities, number of staff and other information that can help us assess the complexity of the audit and any potential risks. For example, properties with rooms built over the ocean take extra time due to the potential environmental impacts of hazardous substances and general waste polluting the water. Properties with captive animals need careful planning and may require a third party animal welfare audit that the property has to arrange themselves.

*Although there is a profile for customers to update now, it is being significantly enhanced as part of an Evergreen upgrade that is currently under development and is expected to be ready from around summer (Northern Hemisphere) 2025. This will include automated reminders for customers about the importance of updating their profile along with when and how to do it.

Checking their compliance internally

Customers must access the latest version of the Travelife Certification Requirements from the customer support website. It contains important guidance notes and links to more detailed guidance for each requirement.

They should review each requirement and check that they comply. We recommend they make an improvement plan for those they do not comply with so they are ready for their audit.

There is a direct link between properties that do not take the time to do this and the number of non-compliances they have. Travelife provides regular reminders about the importance of audit preparation and how to access the support materials. However we continue to see many properties completely unprepared for their audit and we are continually looking at ways to mitigate this problem.

Below is a summary of the tools and resources that are available for properties in order to help them comply with the requirements.

Los requisitos de certificación de Travelife (and appendix) with guidance notes and links to more detailed guidance materials. This is available in multiple languages.

Requirement guides for all 143 requirements which explain the intention behind the requirement and what we are looking for in terms of compliance.

Subject guides that contain more information about topics we know many properties need more help with. These range from how to develop sustainability goals and write internal sustainability reports, through to how to measure water flow and develop a “reduce, reuse, recycle” plan for solid waste management.

Detailed guides and e-learning modules that essentially combine the requirement and subject guides for each section of the requirements.

Templates and examples to help with requirements that we know some properties struggle with. These are numerous and cover a range of topics. For example, there is a template for a legal register, a hazardous substances incident record and a sustainability action plan.

Recursos that can help properties with specific requirements. For example, there is a sustainability assessment checklist to help them carry out an annual self-assessment of their impacts and a list of conversion factors to assist with calculations involving measuring kilowatt-hours and carbon equivalent emissions.

Core sustainability knowledge e-learning modules explain the sustainability topics covered by the certification requirements and how they relate to both accommodation operations and the requirements. Subjects range from greenhouse gas emissions and hazardous substances to child safeguarding and animal welfare.

The Travelife Environmental Performance Improvement Tool (EPIT) is part of the Evergreen system. It has been specially designed for Travelife customers to help them record, monitor and report on their environmental performance, including their greenhouse gas emissions from energy, water and solid waste. It also allows them to record their purchase of single-use plastics, high-emission food and hazardous substances.

Final preparations for the inspection audit

Customers have access to an audit preparation checklist which contains the various tasks we recommend they complete in order to ensure the audit runs as smoothly as possible. They should also review the audit plan sent by their auditor which will give them a good idea of how the audit will run and also gives them a final opportunity to let the auditor know if any of their information about the property is incorrect.

From later in 2025, when some new Evergreen developments are available, properties will also be able to upload some core documents to their Evergreen profile that auditors can review ahead of the audit. For example, their sustainability self-assessment, their public sustainability documents and their environmental performance records if they have chosen not to use EPIT. Evergreen will also send automated reminders about audit preparation, including uploading documents that can help make the site visit run more efficiently.

As described under How a property gets certified, the inspection audit will normally last between one and two days depending on the scale of the property and our history with them.

Auditors must follow policies and guidelines provided by Travelife about how the audit should be conducted, the auditing methods that should be used and how to assess compliance with each requirement. We have summarised some of the most important parts of this policy below.

Audit objectives: The objective of each audit is to establish if, according to the auditor’s judgement, a property is compliant with each of the certification requirements.

Auditing methods: These include reviewing and verifying documents and records, interviews, observations of tasks activities and the outdoor environment, visual inspections of physical areas and equipment, taking measurements (and understanding how the property takes measurements), sampling and, where necessary, consultation with other external stakeholders.

Audit plan: Every audit must start with an opening meeting and conclude with a closing meeting. Every audit should include a document review, a review of records, a property inspection and staff interviews. Where necessary, sampling shall be used and, within the policy mentioned above, Travelife shall document when and how auditors should use sampling during the audit.

The auditor must complete an audit report in the Travelife Evergreen system. They must give a compliance judgement for each requirement and provide comments that support their judgement. They can upload supporting evidence if they wish to (e.g. photos, documents, videos). This is described in more detail under How a property gets certified.

Auditors should submit their reports within seven days of the inspection audit. However, Travelife accepts that this is not always possible when we have assigned an auditor multiple audits over the course of a week or more. As part of our quality management system, we monitor audit report processing times each month and take action when we feel that an auditor is taking too long without any justification.

Auditors may, at their sole discretion, agree to accept and review evidence from the property after the site visit and before they upload their report. For example, if the property was missing a certain document, or it had not been prepared correctly and was therefore judged by the auditor to be non-compliant, they may allow the property to email them a corrected version which may change their compliance judgement. This is an acceptable reason for delaying the audit report because it benefits the property without compromising the integrity of the TASC scheme.

Even when the above circumstances exist, the auditor must submit their report within 30 days unless they have been granted a written extension by Travelife who must in turn update the customer about the delay.

When an audit report has been submitted, the certifications manager assigns a certifications specialist (or themselves) to carry out a quality check. The assigned staff member evaluates the audit reports to ensure that the auditor has completed it correctly and uses the auditor’s compliance judgements to make the final compliance decision for each certification requirement.

The quality check and compliance decision process is described in more detail under How a property gets certified.

Full details of the three possible audit results can be found under How a property gets certified. A summary is provided below for convenience.

Not certified: The property has 41+ non-compliances*.

Improvements: The property has 1 to 40 non-compliances* and must show evidence that these have been corrected within six months of the inspection audits.

Certificado: The property has zero non-compliances.

The audit result is delivered to the property by email as soon as the quality check is complete.

* Travelife shall not double penalise a property when compliance with one requirement is dependent on compliance with another. For example, requirement I1 asks a property to record their monthly energy consumption and requirement A1 asks them to produce an annual report showing their total energy consumption based on the recordings they made for requirement I1. That means that if I1 is non-compliant, they cannot comply with A1. This shall be counted as 1 non-compliance when determining if a property has 41 or more non-compliances which would result in them failing their certification attempt. An internal policy shall contain clear guidelines that certifications specialists shall follow in relation to avoiding double-penalising and they shall be provided with a tool they shall use to help them consistently reconfirm the total number of non-compliances should there be 41 or more.

If the property has 41+ non-compliances their audit result is Not Certified, and they must have a repeat inspection audit (at their own cost) if they wish to continue with their certification attempt. They are sent a report detailing their non-compliances and are signposted to information to help them make corrections. They are only eligible for a repeat audit during the 12-months following their inspection audit, otherwise they must be reboarded at a higher cost, but their audit duration will likely be only one day. If more than three years have passed since their inspection audit, they are onboarded as a new property and, depending on their scale, their audit duration will likely be two days.

If the property has 1 to 40 non-compliances, their audit result is Improvements. They are sent a report detailing their non-compliances and are signposted to information to help them make corrections. They are also given a deadline (six months after the inspection audit) to complete their improvements.

Once they have made the required corrections, they must upload evidence for each non-compliant requirement in the Evergreen system in a special area designed to manage post-audit improvements. Within this area, both Travelife and the customer can upload files and exchange messages.

A certifications specialist is assigned to the property who is responsible for answering questions and making the final compliance decision. An internal policy describes the process the certification specialist must follow to ensure these decisions are made correctly and consistently.

As soon as the property has zero non-compliances, and provided the deadline has not passed, they are certified as described under Step 8c.

If the property misses the improvements deadline (i.e. they have one or more non-compliances when the deadline passes), their status is changed to Not Certified. They have 24 months to carry out another certification attempt under our rules for lower risk properties, which means paying a lower fee and that their audit duration is likely to be just one day.

If more than three years have passed since their inspection audit, they are onboarded as a new property and, depending on their scale, their audit duration will likely be two days.

A property is certified when it is 100% compliant with the certification requirements and their certification is valid for two years from the inspection audit date subject to them maintaining compliance with the certification requirements. This is described in more detail under How a property gets certified y How does Travelife ensure that compliance is maintained.

Below we have summarised what happens when a property is certified.

Confirmation email: An email is automatically sent from Evergreen to the Travelife coordinator as soon as the property is certified. The email outlines the tools the property can now use, how to download their certificate and the certification logo from Evergreen and their obligations regarding use of the certificate, logo, how they may describe themselves and so on.

Certificate: As soon as the property is certified in Evergreen, the system creates a PDF certificate. The certificate contains the following elements:

  • Property name.

  • Property address (this must be the physical location of the premises vs a head office).

  • The name of the certification. I.e. Travelife Certification or Travelife Certified.

  • Confirmation that their certification is based on an independent audit against the Travelife Certification Requirements.

  • A very high-level summary of the key elements of the standard.

  • The managing director’s signature.

  • The validity (date from and date to).

  • A unique certificate number.

  • Travelife’s address, company number and website.

Properties can order a Certification Pack which includes a printed certificate, a dated award plaque and dated window decals. The pack costs €75 however it is free for properties that are part of the ChainConnect programme or who have held 6 consecutive certifications.

Certification logo: As soon as the property is certified in Evergreen, the system makes a .png version of the Travelife certification logo available for download in Evergreen. The terms of use for this logo are contained in the Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento and properties are given a summary of these in the confirmation email along with a link to the Brand Guidelines which describe how the logo can be used as well as our general guidelines about how properties can talk about Travelife certification.

An internal policy describes how we police use of the certification logo. Please note that the certification logo is currently being updated and the trademarking is in process. That means that not all new versions of the updated logo are available, and it is being phased into circulation

Public certification listings: Each week Travelife produces a report called The World Report which includes the latest certification status of all customers. This is uploaded to the Trade Support area of the website, allowing travel companies that work with Travelife to download the report in order to update their own records. Travelife also works with a company called BeCause who maintain a database of accommodation sustainability certifications that travel companies can use via an API, searches or manual downloads. Each week Travelife updates the BeCause listings via an online portal.

Travelife also lists certified properties on the B2C website, www.staybetterplaces.com. The listings are updated weekly to ensure non-certified properties are removed and newly certified/recertified properties are added. A map and search function assists with finding certified properties.

An internal policy describes the process that Travelife staff must follow in relation to maintaining public certification listings.

This is described in detail under How does Travelife ensure that compliance is maintained?. The key points have been summarised here for convenience.

Certification check-ups: Approximately one year after each inspection audit, the property undergoes a certification check-up. This involves remotely assessing compliance with 20 of the certification requirements. If they fail the check-up, their certification is withdrawn and they must undergo another certification attempt. If they do this within 24-months of the inspection audit, they can carry out their certification attempt under our rules for lower risk properties, which means paying a lower fee and that their audit duration is likely to be just one day. If more than three years have passed since their inspection audit, they are onboarded as a new property and, depending on their scale, their audit duration will likely be two days. If they pass the check-up, their certification continues until its original expiry date (two years after the inspection audit).

Feedback: Travelife has a mechanism in place for people to provide feedback about a certified property. If a subsequent investigation reveals a non-compliance, the property is given time to correct the issue, otherwise their certification is withdrawn, and they will have to carry out another certification attempt as per the rules described in the Certification check-ups section.

The recertification process is described under How do properties recertify under the TASC scheme, and we have provided a summary of the most important points below.

A property that wishes to recertify must carry out another certification attempt and, other than a possibly reduced audit duration, the certification process is exactly the same as it is for a new property.

There is no reduction of requirement scope for a recertifying property. In other words, they must still demonstrate compliance with 100% of the certification requirements.

Due to the expected shorter audit duration and the fact that less administration and preparation time is involved, recertification fees are much lower than our other certification fees.

Properties are only eligible for a recertification attempt within 12 months after their certification expiry date. If they wait longer than 12 months after their certification expires, they will pay higher fees and may have a longer audit duration.

As soon as a property’s certification expires, and if they have not been recertified, Evergreen identifies the property as “Not Certified”. They will be removed from our public certification listings within approximately seven days of the certification expiry date.

Las Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento contains clauses that obligate customers to take certain actions when they are no longer certified, and they are given 30 days to carry these out. The actions include ensuring that any undated certification mark* is removed from all their materials and that they review their materials to ensure they do not otherwise represent themselves as Travelife certified.

An internal policy describes the rules and guidelines in relation to a monthly process Travelife staff must follow to check that expired properties are no longer using our certification mark, or otherwise representing themselves as Travelife Certified.

*Travelife certificates, award plaques and window decals show the years in which a certification is valid. For example, if a property was certified following an inspection audit on 5th July 2026, the logo will include “2026 2027”  whilst the certificate will contain the actual expiry date, which in this example will be 5th July 2028. Travelife does not police the use dated logos and certificates because it is clear when the certification validity ended. However, Travelife has an undated version of the logo which properties and other interested parties (e.g. tour operators) may also use to identify a property with a Travelife certification. It is this logo that is controlled as described in internal policies, agreements with entities that use this logo and external guidance such as “brand guidelines”.

How we ensure the quality and integrity of the TASC scheme

The purpose, objectives and core goals of the TASC scheme are underpinned by our strong commitment to consistently ensuring the quality, integrity and credibility of the Travelife Accommodation Sustainability Certification (TASC) scheme.

We have developed guiding principles, key performance indicators (KPIs) and an ISO 9001 certified quality management system that helps us meet this commitment, drives continuous improvement and that supports the purpose and objectives of the scheme.

Our purpose, objectives, core goals and quality assurance commitment are reflected our seven guiding principles that can also be thought of as quality objectives. These are embedded in the development, management and day-to-day operation of all aspects of the TASC scheme.

The Travelife guiding principles

  1. The TASC scheme should be accessible and inclusive.

  2. The TASC scheme should be relevant, meaningful and useful.

  3. The TASC scheme should be operated with transparency and clarity.

  4. We must always be responsive to stakeholders and their feedback.

  5. We must always be independent, impartial, consistent and fair.

  6. We must always be honest, direct and firm yet kind, empathetic and tactful.

  7. We must always ensure we operate our business responsibly.

Each of our guiding principles is monitored and measured by a series of key performance indicators (KPIs). As part of our quality management system, we carry out regular checks to see if we are meeting these KPIs and, if not, objectives are set so that improvements are made.

In total there are around 80 KPIs and they are occasionally adjusted in response to changes we have identified are necessary. Therefore, in the interests of brevity and accuracy, they are not included in this policy, but we are happy to share them along with more detailed explanations of what each guiding principle means in practice. You can request this by emailing info@travelife.org.

We also have “business KPIs” that we set each year and monitor monthly. These relate to things like customer growth and retention, and ensuring we are on track with auditing all properties that have audits due.

We have developed and implemented a series of policies that help us ensure we consistently meet our quality commitment, along with the purpose, objectives, goals and guiding principles that it underpins.

These policies contain the guidelines and rules our staff and auditors must follow, often referring to supporting tools, standard operating procedures and systems or tools such as templates, a step-by-step process for carrying out a specific task or using software to ensure a task is carried out effectively.

 “Competency” collectively describes the skills, knowledge, experience, behaviours and personal attributes that Travelife staff and auditors should hold and consistently display to help us meet our quality and integrity commitments.   We have separate internal staff and auditor competency policies that we have summarised below.

How the competencies are determined

Travelife became fully operational in 2006 and a lot of the logic behind our required competencies is based on experience gained over the years. We are also guided by the ISO standards listed below, particularly in relation to roles that have direct involvement with the management and operation of the TASC scheme, such as managers who help ensure internal compliance, staff involved in running audit programmes and certifications staff. More generally, ISO 9001 provides a framework for ensuring that we understand our operation and what is required to operate it to the highest possible standards. This helps us ensure that we are structured correctly, have the right roles in place and therefore better understand what is required to ensure those roles are carried out effectively.

Guiding ISO standards

  • ISO 9001 (Quality management systems – requirements)

  • Sections 4, 6 and 7 of ISO 17021 (Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems).

  • Sections 4, 6 and 7 of ISO 17029 (Conformity assessment – General principles and requirements for validation and verification bodies).

  • Sections 5 and 6 of ISO 17065 (Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services).

  • Sections 4, 5 and 7* of ISO 19011 (Guidelines for auditing management systems)

*Section 7 relates to evaluating auditor competency yet it provides a useful framework we reference when developing or updating the staff competencies.

When determining the required competences, careful consideration is given to the skills and experiences that are necessary to carry out a specific role, based on the part it plays in our operation. We also consider our guiding principles, quality assurance policies and the underlying key performance indicators (KPIs).

When the competencies are determined, they are divided into prerequisites (PRQs) that an individual must hold before they can be considered for auditing or employment, and those that can be developed by Travelife through training and coaching (OJTs).

How the competencies are verified

Internal policies describe the processes that must be followed during recruitment, onboarding and probation of new staff and auditors to verify that an individual holds the required competencies. These include competency assessments, interviews, theory and practical training.

How we ensure the competencies are maintained

There are separate auditor and staff competencies related to monitoring and maintaining competency. These involve monitoring feedback, annual evaluations and completion of annual refresher training programmes. All Travelife staff must observe a live audit each year, whilst auditors must be observed during a “field competency evaluation” at least once every two years.

The minimum required competencies for Travelife staff

These are the skills, experiences, attributes, behaviours and other requirements that all staff are expected to hold and continually demonstrate, regardless of their role or seniority.

All Travelife staff should:

 

Initial verification

Monitoring

Already have the right to legally live and work in the UK.

PRQ

Document (e.g. passport)

Documentation

Be able to commute to a London office (at their own cost) as required for their role.

PRQ

Verbal confirmation

Observations/reviewing work

Be fluent in both spoken and written English.

PRQ

Competency assessment

Interview observations

No es necesario

Have good literacy and numeracy skills. For example, can confidently write emails and complete basic math calculations, and can use tools to help them when needed.

PRQ

Competency assessment

Work/education history

Observations/reviewing work

Be educated to secondary school level or higher. For example, GCSE level, high school diploma or bachelor’s degree.

PRQ

Document (e.g. certificate)

No es necesario

Be able to interpret verbal and written messages so that they can property respond to requests, follow instructions, understand policies, procedures and guidelines.

PRQ

Competency assessment

Interview observations

Work/education history

Observations/reviewing work

Have excellent communication skills that can be used to deliver clear explanations, instructions, feedback and requests. This includes communicating with people who do not speak English as a first language (or at all) and can use tools to help them with this when needed.

PRQ

OJT

Competency assessment

Interview observations

Work/education history

Observations/reviewing work

Communicate with clarity, kindness and respect.

PRQ

Competency assessment

Interview observations

Observations/reviewing work

Be well organised and have processes and/or tools they use to help them effectively manage time, prioritise tasks and to stay on track with them.

PRQ

Interview questions

Work/education history

Observations/reviewing work

Completion of objectives

Be able to use the Microsoft Office suite to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

PRQ

Competency assessment

Work/education history

Observations/reviewing work

Have an understanding of world geography, knowing how to use maps and other online resources to locate and learn about different locations.

PRQ

OJT

Competency assessment

Interview questions

Work/education history

Observations/reviewing work

Know how to use technology as a resource for finding information and to generally support their work. For example, research, time management, proofreading, booking travel.

PRQ

Competency assessment

Work/education history

Observations/reviewing work

Have an interest in tourism sustainability.

PRQ

Interview questions

Work/education history

No es necesario

Have an ability to pay attention to detail.

PRQ

Competency assessment

Interview questions

Work/education history

Observations/reviewing work

Have a good sense of justice (what is right and what is fair) and be committed to equality and fair treatment for everyone.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Act ethically and with integrity, always striving to remain independent, objective, impartial and consistent when making decisions and judgements.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Be committed to being aware of their personal biases and to doing their best to ensure their biases do not influence the way they make decisions, judgements or how they treat people.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Give feedback and suggestions for improvement with empathy, tact and diplomacy.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Treat sensitive or confidential information about an organisation or a person with care, respect and discretion.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Be supportive and kind to their colleagues which includes a willingness to take a collaborative approach to problem-solving.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Be willing to admit to their mistakes and ask for help or clarification when they need it.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Be open to acting on suggestions for improvement from their peers and their managers.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Be open to the idea that there are always new things to be learned and committed to keeping their skills and knowledge up to date.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Care about always doing a thorough and professional job.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Know about all applicable health and safety requirements and procedures. For example, how to evacuate the office in a fire, how to safely set up and use their desk, the staff travel policy in relation to health and safety.

OJT

Completes induction

Completes ad-hoc training

Observations/reviewing work

Be able to use the equipment and software provided by ABTA that is required to carry out their work. For example, laptops, printers, phones.

OJT

Completes induction

Observations/reviewing work

Completes ad-hoc training

Observations/reviewing work

Understand the role and function of the ABTA IT team, including how to log support requests and how to access their guidance materials.

OJT

Completes induction

Observations/reviewing work

Completes ad-hoc training

Observations/reviewing work

Be able to identify technology and software is managed by Travelife directly (e.g. Evergreen, Travelife websites) and how to access support and guidance materials for these along with how and when to report a problem.

OJT

Completes induction

Observations/reviewing work

Completes ad-hoc training

Observations/reviewing work

Know how to use technology and equipment in a safe and secure way, as directed by ABTA, in order to protect themselves, Travelife and ABTA from theft, corporate espionage, viruses, hacking, scams and other activities that put data and/or our operation at risk.

OJT

Completes induction

Observations/reviewing work

Completes ad-hoc training

Observations/reviewing work

Have a good working knowledge of all aspects of the TASC scheme and the QMS, with excellent knowledge of the aspects that relate to their role.

OJT

Completes e-learning

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Observations/reviewing work

Have a good working knowledge of the Travelife Certification Requirements.

OJT

Completes e-learning

Shadow audits

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Observations/reviewing work

Have a good working knowledge of the sustainability topics covered by the Travelife Certification Requirements, with certifications specialist having an excellent knowledge of this.

OJT

Completes e-learning

Shadow audits

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Observations/reviewing work

Have good working knowledge of the all other general Travelife policies, with excellent knowledge of the policies that relate to their role.

OJT

Completes e-learning

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Observations/reviewing work

Understand Travelife’s operational and ownership structure, and the role of ABTA within these structures.

OJT

Completes e-learning

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Understand Travelife’s purpose, core goals and guiding principles, and how they contribute to these.

OJT

Completes e-learning

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Completes objectives

Observations/reviewing work

All Travelife managers should:

 

Initial verification

Monitoring

Have a diploma or degree in tourism, travel or hospitality (or an area relevant to their role) or at least 3-years prior work experience in tourism, travel or hospitality (or in a field related to their role).

PRQ

Document (e.g. certificate, reference check)

No es necesario

Have good risk management skills. For example, can assess risks then identify and implement mitigation measures.

PRQ

OJT

Work/education history

Interview questions

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Be able to identify and solve problems (e.g. errors, not complying with policies). This includes being able to carry out a root cause analysis (RCA) to ensure that problems are fully understood, then identifying and implementing improvement measures.

PRQ

OJT

Work/education history

Interview questions

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Be able to develop and deliver presentations.

PRQ

Work/education history

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Be able to develop and deliver training and coaching that relates to their area of the business.

PRQ

OJT

Work/education history

Interview questions

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Be able to give feedback with diplomacy and empathy, and only ever give feedback that is useful, relevant and constructive.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Be able to communicate instructions and expectations clearly, always giving reasonable deadlines.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Be willing to help out colleagues when they are under pressure, even if this means doing work they may consider to be below their level of skill, experience or seniority.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Be able to develop and manage planning, budgets and forecasts for their area of responsibility.

PRQ

OJT

Work/education history

Interview questions

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Completion of objectives

Have an excellent working knowledge of all aspects of the TASC scheme and the QMS, with expert knowledge of the aspects that relate to their area of responsibility.

OJT

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Observations/reviewing work

Have an excellent working knowledge of the all other general Travelife policies, with expert knowledge of the policies that relate to their area of responsibility.

OJT

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Observations/reviewing work

Know what their invoicing sign-off authority is and how to process invoices and expense claims.

OJT

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

If they have been assigned a corporate credit card, know how it is allowed to be used and how to process monthly claims.

OJT

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

All Travelife managers with direct reports should:

 

Initial verification

Monitoring

Take a proactive interest in the wellbeing and development of their individual staff members.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Lead by example versus a “do as I say, not as I do” attitude.

PRQ

Interview questions

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Know how to manage requests for time off (e.g. annual leave, compassionate leave) and sick leave.

OJT

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Demonstrate that they respond to communications from their staff promptly, especially requests for their work to be approved, for decisions to be made or for taking time off.

OJT

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

Know how and when to seek support from senior leadership and/or ABTA HR to deal with any staff-related risks or opportunities such as training requirements, professional development, concerns about a staff member’s wellbeing or performance.

OJT

Completes practical training

Observations/reviewing work

Observations/reviewing work

The certifications manager should:

 

Initial verification

Monitoring

Have a degree that covers tourism sustainability or at least 3 years work experience in tourism sustainability, including at least one year that involved conformity assessment activities (e.g. certification, auditing).

PRQ

Document (e.g. certificate, reference check)

No es necesario

Have expert knowledge of the Travelife Certification Requirements.

OJT

Completes e-learning

Shadow audits

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Observations/reviewing work

Have expert knowledge of the sustainability topics covered by the Travelife Certification Requirements.

OJT

Completes e-learning

Shadow audits

Observations/reviewing work

Completes refresher training

Observations/reviewing work

Have completed the Travelife auditor training programme.

OJT

Training completed

Field competency evaluation

Completes auditor refresher training

Engages with all other auditor training activities

Conducts a live audit at least once per year

 

Additional role-based competencies

Some roles require specific skills, experience or qualifications. Internal policies describe how these are determined as well as the process for verifying and monitoring them.

The minimum required competencies for Travelife auditors

All auditors must meet the following education, training and experience requirements. There are two sets of requirements depending on whether the auditor was contracted by Travelife before 1de January 2025.

Auditors that were already contracted on 31de December 2024

  • Have been educated to a secondary level or higher. For example, high school diploma or bachelor’s degree.

  • Completed a version of the Travelife auditor training programme that was in place prior to 1de March 2023 when the latest version of the auditor training programme was developed.

  • Have attended in-person practical auditor Travelife training during that covered the Travelife Certification Requirements Version 1.0.

  • Have had at least one live audit observed by Travelife (or an authorised representative).

  • Have completed at least 10 audits for Travelife in the previous 3 years.

  • Have signed the Travelife Auditor Agreement Version 3.0 or later.

Auditors contracted from 1de January 2025 onwards

Minimum requirements in order for an application to be considered for interview:

  • Are at least 18 years old.

  • Have a current and valid passport.

  • Can demonstrate they are fluent in both written and spoken English.

  • Can provide evidence that they have been educated to a secondary level or higher. For example, high school diploma or bachelor’s degree.

  • Can provide evidence that they have a qualification in environmental, sustainability o tourism studies or at least 2 years work experience in an environmental, sustainability, tourism or hospitality field.

  • Can provide evidence that they have at least one auditing (or auditing related) qualification.

  • Can provide evidence that they have completed at least 10 audits in any sector in the previous 3 years.

  • Have completed and passed the online basic competency assessment. Haga clic aquí to view or complete the assessment.

Minimum requirements in order to begin training:

Minimum requirements in order to begin probation (in order):

  1. Have completed the following online Travelife theory training modules and passed all the assessments:

    • Introduction to the Travelife Accommodation Sustainability Certification Scheme

    • Los requisitos de certificación de Travelife

    • Conducting Travelife Audits

    • Código de conducta de los auditores

    • Anti-bribery and Corruption

  2. Have completed the 3-day Travelife in-person practical auditor training.

  3. Have observed at least one live audit being carried out by a Travelife auditor. Where possible, this will be added on to the 3-day in-person practical training.

  4. Have had at least one live inspection audit observed by a Travelife auditor and scored at least 80% in the observed audit assessment. This audit will be paid normally according to Travelife’s auditor fees and expenses policy.

Minimum requirements in order to begin auditing independently:

  • Have completed 5 live Travelife inspection audits.

  • An auditor probation evaluation has been completed by Travelife and the outcome is “Meets minimum competencies”.

Personal attributes and behaviours

Below is a list of the personal attributes, behaviours, values and principles that auditors should consistently demonstrate. The auditor should:

  • Always do a thorough and professional job.

  • Communicate effectively and respectfully with people from different backgrounds, cultures and at different levels of seniority.

  • Act ethically and with integrity.

  • Be sincere, truthful, honest and transparent.

  • Treat sensitive or confidential business and personal information they find during audits with care, respect and discretion.

  • Be perceptive and observant in terms of their physical surroundings, the things that are happening around them and interpreting the meaning behind people’s actions.

  • Be versatile and can easily adapt to different situations, surroundings and cultures.

  • Be tenacious, persistent and focused, yet know how to use diplomacy and tact to keep probing until they find the information they need and to inspect the parts of a hotel they need to see, even when facing resistance or differences of opinion.

  • Be open to considering points of view and ideas that may be different to their own or new to them.

  • Remain independent, objective, impartial and consistent, especially when faced with pressure from outside influences.

  • Be able to make quick judgements based on reasoning and sound judgement, whilst remaining objective and impartial.

  • Be able to operate independently, completing tasks on time and correctly without supervision, whilst understanding that they need to cooperate with others.

  • Be committed to being aware of their personal biases and to doing their best to ensure that they do not influence the way they conduct audits or make compliance judgements.

  • Be open learning new things and committed to keeping skills and knowledge up to date.

  • Be secure with having their performance continually reviewed and open to acting on suggestions for improvement.

Senior auditors

Senior auditors are used to deliver training to new auditors and Travelife staff. They also carry out field competency evaluation audits and are sometimes called on for other tasks such as providing technical guidance to Travelife or sitting on an Appeals Panel as per of the form appeals process.

The managing director determines when a new senior auditor is required and which auditor should be invited to take on this role, considering advice from the audit operations manager and certifications manager.

They hold all the minimum required competencies but have additional competency requirements as summarised below.

Additional minimum requirements for senior auditors

  • Have been auditing for Travelife for the past 3-years.

  • Have conducted at least 50 inspection audits.

  • Continue to conduct at least 20 inspection audits per year.

  • Are up to date with all their training (e.g. annual refresher training or any other training Travelife has requested auditors to undertake).

  • Can provide evidence that they hold an ISO 14001 lead auditor qualification.

  • Scored at least 90% on the most recent field competency/observed audit evaluation that must have been conducted in the previous 2-years.

  • Have completed 3-day in-person training with a senior auditor which must include shadowing the senior auditor during at least one live inspection audit.

  • Has shadowed the senior auditor conducting at least one observed audit (i.e. a third auditor is observed as part of a field competency/observed audit evaluation).

The Travelife quality management system (QMS) has been designed to ensure that we are consistently following our policies. The QMS contains a series of processes we must follow in relation to the following:

  • Developing, implementing and monitoring strategies, plans (including resource requirements) and budgets that support our purpose, core goals and guiding principles.

  • Identifying and managing risks, opportunities and changes.

  • Staff and auditor training that ensures they understand the policies that apply to them, and how to carry out the tasks assigned to them.

  • Regularly monitoring our key performance indicators (KPIs) to both identify and act on risks and opportunities for improvement.

  • An internal audit and review process to check that we are following our policies and the international best practices that apply to our business. This includes checking that our goals, KPIs and policies remain relevant, meaningful and fit for purpose.

QMS activities

The Travelife business plan: The business plan outlines our business goals over a five-year period and the strategy we will use to achieve those goals. It also involves a review of the purpose, objectives, core goals and guiding principles of the TASC scheme. Developing the business plan is a detailed process involving a full review of the previous five years, stakeholder consultation and a robust assessment of risks and opportunities. The plan is approved by the Travelife Board of Directors.

The annual plan: The annual plan is designed to help us achieve the business goals we set in the business plan and to ensure we are staying on track with our purpose, objectives, core goals and guiding principles. The plan contains a series of objectives we need to complete as well as financial targets for the year. These objectives are funnelled into workstreams so and are usually cascaded down into a series of smaller sub-objectives that are assigned to different teams, or perhaps a specific team member. The annual plan is supported by a budget that is approved by the Travelife Board of Directors and the ABTA Board of Directors.

Annual internal audits: Travelife operates an internal compliance and quality control (ICQC) auditing programme. This involves each of the guiding principle KPIs being audited to ensure they are being met. This is administered by the Managing Director with an internal ICQC team conducting the audits. This team is led by the Managing Director and is composed of Travelife team managers. Although the audits are spread throughout the year, each set of guiding principle KPIs is audited at least once per year. The ICQC team also monitors compliance with our accreditation requirements.

Weekly monitoring and reporting: Each week we produce and circulate a weekly team update which includes a place for us to note any specific actions each team has taken to achieve the objectives assigned to them in each workstream. Additionally, the update has a special area for feedback we have received that needs to be actioned. This might be a hotel not being able to access Evergreen or a complaint from a hotel guest about sustainability at a property. The status of those actions is carried over into subsequent weekly reports until it is complete. Weekly team updates are shared with the Travelife team and the Travelife Operations Group.

Monthly reports and planning: Each month we produce a report that is designed to track and monitor our progress against the annual plan and some of our KPIs. It summarises financial performance against the budget, how well we are doing with our business KPIs and objectives, customer feedback provided in our post-audit surveys and auditor competency. At the beginning of each month, the Travelife team meets to review our objectives for the year to ensure that we are staying on track, that everyone has the resources they need and to capture any new actions/objectives that we need to complete. Monthly reports are shared with the Travelife team and the Travelife Operations Group.

How impartiality and consistency is ensured

The success of Travelife relies on the credibility of our certification scheme. This credibility is centered on independence, impartiality, fairness and consistency. Without this credibility, our certification will almost certainly lose respect with stakeholders feeling that they cannot rely on our certification mark as an indication that an accommodation provider meets our standards. Accommodation providers may feel that we offer no value to them because they cannot rely on us to treat them fairly.

This is about us ensuring that we do not allow third parties to influence our decisions for their own interests. This is a particular problem if their interests do not line up with the purpose, objectives, core goals and guiding principles of the TASC Scheme. “Their own interests” could relate to their finances, their reputation, mitigating their own risks or promoting their own sustainability agenda.

This relates to ensuring that we make decisions based on facts, evidence and reasoned judgement. It means that we continually do our best to put aside our personal biases and prior experiences when making decisions, especially compliance and certification decisions. Impartiality is perhaps the most important behaviour we must display yet, simply due to human nature and the way society works, it can be the hardest to consistently display and is very difficult to monitor.

This is about the same rules, standards and processes being applied all the time to accommodation providers, auditors and staff. Being consistent is an important part of ensuring we are applying our standards and processes equally and fairly so that everyone can prepare to meet a similar level of expectations.

A lack of consistency can result in frustration and a loss of trust because people cannot learn how to meet our expectations between their different interactions with us or cannot make sense of how we make compliance and certification decisions, or any other decisions that may affect them.

Our ability to be consistent is largely dependent on our ability to always be independent, impartial and fair. However, it is also influenced by our ability to carry out our tasks effectively and is therefore also dependent on our competencies and other factors that can affect our ability to properly focus on our tasks, such as workplace distractions, stress and fatigue.

Fairness is about everyone being treated equally without any favouritism or discrimination. It is also about ensuring that everyone is given the same opportunities for success. Being fair is largely the result of being independent, impartial and consistent. By embedding these qualities into everything we do, the people and organisations we work with should experience fair treatment. But there are other factors that can influence our ability to treat people fairly, or at least their perception of whether we have been fair with them. These primarily relate to our competency and to the logistical aspects of our operations.

At Travelife we celebrate the fact that our staff, auditors and stakeholders are diverse and unique individuals. However, we also acknowledge that humans are not robots! We each have our own failings, biases and experience the regular stresses and strains of life, all of which can affect our ability to be impartial and consistent. As such, we have identified a series of risks to our ability to be impartial and consistent that are summarised below. The Embedding impartiality and consistency principles within our business section explains how we mitigate these risks.

Personal conflicts of interest: This is when a person’s judgment is affected because they have a personal stake in the outcome of that judgment. It can mean that the person cannot act impartially, and therefore does not make the best decisions. A personal stake could be financial, professional, reputational or emotional. The outcome they are concerned about could be positive or negative. All that matters is that their judgment may be clouded by these outside pressures.

Commercial conflicts of interest: This could involve Travelife feeling under pressure to predetermine a certification decision due to a business relationship. It could also involve a certification customer having an unfair advantage or disadvantage due to a commercial relationship that Travelife has. For example, if Travelife offered paid consulting services (we do not!), the properties that could afford to pay for this would be unfairly advantaged over those that could not.

Personal biases: Everyone has biases that we have developed through our collective life experiences and influences. Sometimes we are acutely aware of how they make us feel, but often they are so ingrained into our psyche that we are not aware that they are influencing our judgements and decisions.

Stress and fatigue: People are known to be less thorough and accurate when they are experiencing high levels of stress, pressure or are simply tired or unwell.

Repetition fatigue: This happens when we repeat a similar task multiple times. Our brain tries to help us by memorising the steps in the task, allowing us to think about something else at the same time, or to multitask. It can also happen when we simply get bored with doing the same task repeatedly, and rush to get it finished. In all cases, this can cause us to pay less attention to detail and, in the case of making Travelife compliance judgments and decisions, possibly overlook a non-compliance or vice versa.

Bribery and corruption: A bribe is an inducement or reward offered, promised or provided in order to gain any commercial, contractual, regulatory or personal advantage. A Travelife example could involve a hotel offering a bribe to an auditor or staff member in return for a favourable certification outcome.

 

Embedding these principles within our business

One of our guiding principles is to be independent, impartial, consistent and fair. We have summarised what that means above and below are the ways we ensure this principle is embedded within our business.

As part of our QMS, an internal audit is carried out each year to check that we are meeting each of the KPIs listed below that relate to being independent, impartial, consistent and fair.

  • A policy describing Travelife’s commitment to independence, impartiality, consistency and fairness has been developed and implemented.

  • All new staff are trained about how to follow the above policy when they first join and all staff are given formal refresher training every two years.

  • Auditors are given clear information about our expectations of them in terms of independence, impartiality, consistency and fairness.

  • All new auditors are trained about how to interpret and follow their guidelines related to independence, impartiality, consistency and fairness. All existing auditors must complete refresher training at least once every two years.

  • An anti-bribery and corruption policy has been developed and implemented. There is a version that deals with the unique risks posed to auditors.

  • All new staff and auditors are given training about how to interpret and follow anti-bribery and corruption policies, with refresher training occurring at least once every 2-years.

  • A process is in place to monitor and record gifts and hospitality that are offered to staff and auditors (in accordance with the rules around gifts and hospitality in the anti-bribery and corruption policy).

  • A process is in place to monitor and record conflicts of interest.

Our internal staff competency policies include the following attributes and behaviours that are relevant to this topic. All staff are expected to hold and consistently demonstrate these, and this is monitored via an annual staff competency evaluation cycle.

All Travelife staff should:

  • Have an ability to pay attention to detail.

  • Have a good sense of justice (what is right and what is fair) and be committed to equality and fair treatment for everyone.

  • Act ethically and with integrity, always striving to remain independent, objective, impartial and consistent when making decisions and judgements.

  • Be committed to being aware of their personal biases and to doing their best to ensure their biases do not influence the way they make decisions, judgements or how they treat people.

  • Care about always doing a thorough and professional job.

From mid-2025, all staff will be required to sign a commitment to impartiality. The attributes and behaviours listed above will be included in all job descriptions.

The Travelife certifications team carry out an internal peer review process each quarter. This involves them scoring a random selection of each other’s audit report quality checks and compliance decisions in terms of the consistency of their decisions, the quality of their supporting notes and response times. They are invited to provide additional feedback that may assist with their peer’s learning and development. The findings are discussed during a special team meeting and the certifications manager determines if any follow-up actions are required, such as training, coaching and so on. This helps to ensure consistency and aims to motivate staff to maintain high standards at all times.

An internal auditor competency policy outlines the personal attributes, behaviours, values and principles that we expect auditors to consistently demonstrate and how we evaluate if they are achieving this. These include integrity, impartiality, independence and consistency. Information about how to display these competencies is described in the Código de conducta de los auditores that has been developed into an e-learning module that all auditors must complete when they first start, then every two years. The Auditor Agreement contains clauses related to abiding by their code of conduct, completing required training and undergoing regular competency evaluations.

Every effort is made to prevent conflicts of interest, which means ensuring that the person making either a compliance judgement or decision, or a certification decision, does not have any kind of personal stake in the outcome. This is enforced via internal policies, with the main themes being summarised below.

Consulting services: Travelife does not offer any form of paid consulting service, or is consulting otherwise built into our fees. We do provide generic guidance about how to comply with our requirements and will answer specific questions from properties to help them understand them. We also give specific feedback about what a property should do to demonstrate compliance during the post-audit improvements process.

Auditor consulting services: Travelife auditors are permitted to provide sustainability consultancy services to general accommodation providers, but they must declare any such history (or existing relationship) with a property they have been asked to audit, in which case Travelife will assign the property to a different auditor.

Audit assignments: During the audit assignment process, auditors are explicitly asked to declare any potential conflicts of interest which would normally involve any professional or personal relationships they may have with a property, along with the nature of this relationship. These are assessed by Travelife to determine if a different auditor should be assigned.

Travelife certifications specialists: Travelife certifications specialists are required to declare any professional or personal relationships they may have with a property that has been assigned to them for quality checks, compliance decisions or certification decisions. They must declare the nature of this relationship. Regular training and reminders are provided for this rule. Travelife then assesses the response to determine if there is a conflict.

Promoting other products and services: Auditors and staff are not permitted to promote or otherwise solicit business during any stage of the auditing process from when a property is assigned to them until 6 months have passed since the audit result. This includes consulting services they may offer or any other product or service they offer.

Familiarity/affinity with hotel staff: Although not always possible for logistical reasons, Travelife makes all reasonable efforts to ensure that an auditor does not carry out two consecutive inspection audits of the same property. An important exception is repeat audits that are required when a property fails their first inspection audit due to having 41 or more non-compliances and therefore has to have another inspection audit as part of the same certification attempt.

Travelife, as required by UK law, has an anti-bribery and corruption policy. A version for auditors has additional sections highlighting specific risks auditors are likely to face and that clarifies what sort of hospitality is acceptable. For example, we specifically ask hotels to provide complimentary accommodation for auditors.

All auditors and Travelife staff must undergo anti-bribery and corruption training when they first begin working with us and refresher training must be completed at least every two years.

Auditors are contractually obliged to comply with the policy as part of the Auditor Agreement. Each time the auditor submits an audit report, they are prompted by the Evergreen certifications system to report any attempt (or suspected attempt) to potentially influence their compliance judgements and any gifts or hospitality that was offered. A process is in place to investigate, resolve and record any such instances.

The ABTA legal department maintains a framework so that staff can also report similar instances. This includes a register where all gifts and hospitality with a value of more than £25 must be reported.

Confidentiality and data protection

Travelife, with support and monitoring by ABTA, complies with all data protection legislation that applies to our business and ensures this is correctly addressed in our contracts. The Aviso de privacidad is available on our website and on any forms where we collect personal identifying information.

It is our policy to only collect the information that is necessary for the operation of the TASC scheme and to only use it for those purposes. Travelife does offer e-newsletters for customers and members of the public, but these are operated on an opt-in basis and this information is never used for any other purpose, nor shared with any third parties.

Las Auditor Agreement y Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento each contain confidentiality clauses that address the obligations of all parties.

An internal auditor policy contains further instructions about how auditors must ensure they are meeting our confidentiality and privacy obligations. There are reminders in other places, such as a field handbook all auditors are given.

An internal policy describes the rules and guidelines that Travelife must follow. Our main confidentiality rules are summarised below.

All information we learn about an accommodation provider and its staff is to be treated as strictly confidential with the following exceptions:

  1. It has already been placed in the public domain by the property (e.g. it is on their website).

  2. Their property name, location address, website address, general email address, phone number and current certification status (e.g. “Audit Due”, “Certified”, “Improvements”, “Not Certified”) must be included in our public listings.

  3. They have given us their express written permission to share specific information with a specific third party (or publicly).

  4. It is necessary to provide it to an auditor so that they can conduct auditing activities for the property.

  5. We are legally obliged to provide it to a third party.

The very nature of our certification means that we must view information that is sensitive. For example, auditors need to view employee records to check that the minimum wage is being paid and if all staff have completed sustainability training. Sometimes this information has to be confirmed by Travelife during the post-audit improvement process. Travelife has strict rules in place about this that are covered by internal policies. The two most important ones summarised below:

  1. Documents and records containing names and other potentially sensitive information should be viewed in situ. For example, physically viewing during an audit or during an unrecorded video call where the property shares their screen to show a document.

  2. The customer is responsible for ensuring they never send Travelife staff or auditors files that contain personal identifying information unless this has been fully redacted. When a customer does this unsolicited, the auditor or staff member must immediately and permanently delete the file.

All new staff and auditors must complete training that covers privacy and confidentiality. They must repeat this every two years.

Reclamaciones y apelaciones

The Travelife Complaints and appeals policy describes the difference between a complaint and an appeal, and the process that should be followed for each. This is published on our B2B website and is referenced in the Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento.

Internal policies provide rules and guidelines that staff must follow when managing complaints, appeals and general feedback (positive or negative). This includes a procedure for managing complaints about possible non-compliances at Travelife Certified properties.

Where a complaint, appeal or other negative feedback reveals a failure or weakness in any aspect of the TASC scheme or our central business administration activities, a documented root cause analysis process is followed, which includes guidance for taking corrective actions.

Governance, structure and resources

Ensuring quality and integrity of the TASC scheme also involves ensuring we have an effective structure in place to ensure we can operate the scheme in accordance with our policies. We also must ensure we have mechanisms and infrastructure that support the operation of the TASC scheme and core business administration activities.

These mechanisms include having a robust governance and oversight system in place, as well as important resources such as funding, technology and support with central business administration (e.g. human resources, IT support, accounting).

Perhaps most importantly, it is essential that the Travelife has the right roles in place to ensure all our work can be carried out effectively, and that each of these roles is filled by people who are competent to carry them out.

Travelife Limited is a legal entity registered in England (company no. 03290532). Travelife is a wholly owned subsidiary of ABTA Limited (company no. 00551311). Operating for more than 70 years, ABTA is a trade association for UK travel agents, tour operators and the wider travel industry. Travelife does not operate any branch offices nor do we delegate certification activities to any external organisation or agent.

The relationship between ABTA and Travelife

ABTA provides corporate governance and oversight services for Travelife, along with several central business support and administrative services that are provided under a service level agreement between the two companies. These include:

  • Human resources and payroll (Travelife staff are officially ABTA employees).

  • Legal compliance.

  • Financial accounting.

  • IT support, including the provision of hardware and most software.

  • Communications and public affairs support.

  • Other corporate governance and business administration functions, such as risk assessment and reporting regularly to the ABTA Board of Directors.

In effect, Travelife operates like a department of ABTA, but there are some key differences between Travelife and other ABTA departments. These include:

  • ABTA has no involvement with the certification process, other than providing legal support as required and ensuring the certification activities are appropriately ensured. ABTA cannot be involved with compliance decisions or decisions about whether to suspend or withdraw a certification. However, they may be consulted if a decision involves a potential legal risk to Travelife.

  • Travelife has its own Board of Directors and a Managing Director.

  • Some key business functions are fulfilled by technology that is completely separate from the ABTA technology infrastructure, such as the Evergreen certifications system and the Travelife websites.

  • Although Travelife staff are fully engaged with all ABTA HR activities and policies such as training and being included in staff surveys, there are additional areas that are specifically for Travelife staff because they are necessary to operate the TASC scheme. These include monitoring and maintaining staff competency and having to make impartiality commitments.

  • Travelife has sole responsibility for our independently contracted auditors.

Travelife Ltd is a non-profit organisation that is primarily funded by income from the certification fees paid by customers. ABTA provides additional funding as required to cover any shortfalls under a formal intercompany loan agreement.

Travelife fits into the wider ABTA governance structure, much like any other ABTA department but with some additional oversight in relation to finance, risk and legal compliance due to its status as a separate legal entity. Travelife itself also has its own governance structure that is wrapped within ABTA governance. Both of these are illustrated in Figure 1.

The ABTA Board of Directors

The ABTA Board of Directors is responsible for taking decisions on the ongoing strategic direction of ABTA and approving major developments. The Board meets, on average, six times a year when they are provided with a Travelife update that is prepared by the Managing Director. The ABTA Board gives final approval of the Travelife budget.

Haga clic aquí to read more about the ABTA Board of Directors on ABTA’s website, where you can also see who the current Board members, chairperson and CEO are.

Travelife Governance Structure
Figure 1

The Travelife Board of Directors

The Travelife Board of Directors is responsible for taking decisions on the ongoing strategic direction of Travelife and approving major developments. The ABTA Chief Executive sits on both the Travelife and ABTA Boards to ensure continuity.

The Board meets quarterly, reviewing and approving the Travelife annual business plan, revenue and capital budgets and monitors performance in relation to approved budgets.

In order to maintain the independence and impartiality of the TASC scheme, the Travelife Board does not get involved in audit assignments, certification decisions or any other aspect of the certification process for an individual property.

The current composition of the Board is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

The Travelife Operations Group

The Travelife Operations Group provides support, guidance and direction to the Travelife managing director. This could relate to any aspect of the business and a standing output is the review and approval of the various governance and business administration activities such as budgets, board reports and risk assessments.

The Group is always comprised of the ABTA chief executive, the ABTA director of finance and the Travelife managing director. From time to time the most appropriate staff from other ABTA teams may be asked to join meetings to provide guidance and support in specific areas. For example, staff from the operations, human resources, public affairs or legal teams.

The Group meets at least once per quarter ahead of the Travelife Board meetings and the current composition is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3

The Travelife Action Group (TAG)

Although not providing governance or oversight, this group forms an important part of general industry stakeholder engagement that often results in useful feedback and/or assists with problem-solving and decision-making.

TAG comprises of tour operators that work closely with Travelife because they utilise TASC as part of their own sustainability strategies. The individual participants are almost always working on sustainability at a senior level at their respective companies. The meetings also include the Travelife managing director, team managers and all Travelife staff are invited to join.

During meetings, each participant gives an update on where they are at with increasing the number of Travelife Certified properties in their portfolio, along with any challenges they are facing. This gives the group an opportunity to exchange ideas on non-competitive issues.

Travelife also provides a general update on the number of certified properties and other relevant activities, often giving the group insight on successes and challenges, and inviting feedback from participants.

The current TAG participants include Corendon International, DERTOUR, dnata Travel, easyJet holidays, Nordic Leisure Travel Group and TUI.

How Travelife is structured

Travelife divides its business into the following four areas:

Senior leadership and governance (SL)

Lead by the managing director (MD), this area of the business is about the overall management of all business areas, including all aspects of the Travelife Accommodation Sustainability Certification (TASC) scheme and the quality management system (QMS). In addition to leading and inspiring staff, the MDs responsibilities specifically include the following, either carrying these tasks out directly, or delegating them to competent individuals:

  • Developing, implementing, monitoring and reviewing policies, processes and procedures.

  • Ensuring the quality and integrity of the TASC scheme, including impartiality.

  • Developing and managing the annual budget.

  • Contract management.

  • Ensuring the business is properly resources.

Manager: Managing Director (MD)

Teams/departments: Senior leadership (SL)

Reports to: ABTA Chief Executive Officer (CEO or ABTA CEO)

Additional oversight: Travelife Operations Team, Travelife Board of Directors, ABTA Board of Directors, ABTA Finance Committee

Direct reports: All heads of department/team managers and the management accountant.

Contributing/consultative roles or teams: ABTA Director of Finance, ABTA Director of Operations, ABTA Legal, ABTA HR.

Customer acquisition and retention (AR)

This area of the business relates to growing the number of accommodation providers working with Travelife and retaining existing ones. This necessitates various peripheral activities such as working with tour operators who are encouraging hotels they work with to become certified and developing partnerships that seek to promote Travelife certification. The functions in this business area are primarily concerned with what happens before a customer applies for certification.

Manager: Business development managers

Reports to: Managing director

Direct reports: None.

Contributing/consultative roles: Customer Support Manager, Certifications Manager, Audit Operations Manager.

Operations (OP)

This area of the business relates to managing both auditors and customers, along with all supporting administrative processes. It includes managing enquiries, customer screening and onboarding (and reboarding renewing customers), assigning and confirming audits, auditor recruitment, training and onboarding as well as monitoring and maintaining auditor competency.

Manager/s: Customer Support Manager + Audit Operations Manager

Reports to: Managing Director

Direct reports: None at this time.

Contributing/consultative roles: Certifications Manager, Business Development Managers, Management Accountant.

Certifications (CT)

This is a core area of the business that covers all aspects of the certification process from audit through to certification expiry or renewal. Additionally, it covers the development and maintenance of support tools and resources for both customers and auditors, as well as developing and delivering training about the Travelife Certification Requirements. Certifications also cover surveillance activities, managing appeals against compliance decisions, policing use of the certification mark and management of certification suspensions and withdrawals.

Manager/s: Certifications Manager

Reports to: Managing Director

Direct reports: Certifications specialists

Contributing/consultative roles: Audit Operations Manager, Customer Support Manager, Business Development Managers. Although not employees, Travelife senior auditors are often consulted by this staff working in this area and are involved with training certifications staff.

Travelife has structured teams and roles in order to support the delivery of core functions and activities across each of the four business areas, recognising that there are several areas that crossover and attempting to ensure that teams collaborate where necessary. This structure is shown in Figure 4 which also illustrates the following:

  • How the various functions described under Corporate governance and oversight fit into the overall structure.

  • The relationship between Travelife and ABTA in terms of the support services ABTA offers.

  • The five different teams that report to the Managing Director and their core areas of responsibility, along with an additional Internal compliance and quality control (ICQC) team that is comprised of team managers.

Figure 5 shows the current individual roles within each team and the people who fill them and Figure 6 shows the current composition of the ICQC team.

 

 

Travelife Organisation Structure
Figure 4

 

 

 

Figure 6

 

 

 

Travelife has a team of independently contracted auditors who carry out audits of accommodation providers in order to evaluate their compliance with the Travelife Certification Requirements. At the time of writing there are 26 auditors who are contracted under the Travelife Auditor Agreement.

Haga clic aquí to visit the public auditor recruitment web pages that explain more about what is involved in auditing for Travelife as well as the required competencies, training and onboarding programme.

Internal policies explain the rules and guidelines we must follow when we recruit and train auditors to ensure they hold the required competencies before they are allowed to audit independently. These policies also cover how these competencies are determined and how we ensure they are continually displayed.

Senior auditors

Senior auditors are used to deliver training to new auditors and Travelife staff. They also carry out field competency evaluation audits and are sometimes called on for other tasks such as providing technical guidance to Travelife or sitting on an Appeals Panel as per our appeals process. Internal policies explain the competencies that are required for senior auditors and how we identify that a new senior auditor is needed.

Resources and infrastructure

The ABTA finance team, overseen by the ABTA Finance Director, fulfill and/or oversee all financial and accounting aspects of Travelife. There is a dedicated role within Travelife managing day-to-day accounting tasks that reports to the Managing Director (MD). An internal policy describes the processes that Travelife must follow to ensure we are providing ABTA with the information they need to manage our accounts and general fiscal responsibilities, and to ensure we operate responsibly in terms of cost control.

There are a number of risk management processes embedded into Travelife policies and the QMS. These include a monthly assessment of general risks that is reported to the Travelife Operations Group, with the Travelife Board of Directors reviewing this twice per year.

The business and annual planning processes include various risk and opportunity assessments, as does an internal change management policy that all staff must follow when assessing possible changes or improvements that have been identified.

As part of our overall risk management processes, Travelife uses root cause analysis methods to identify the underlying causes of a problem or non-compliance in order to reduce the risk of an issue recurring or worsening, as a tool for improvement.

Travelife is included within the relevant ABTA company insurance policies and has additional policies to address our unique risks related to certification activities. The latter also poses additional liability risks that are addressed in the Auditor Agreement y en la página de Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento that covers accommodation customers.

The ABTA Legal team, working closely with the ABTA Public Affairs team, monitor incoming legislation and changes to existing legislation that could affect Travelife, supporting the Managing Director with responding to these (e.g. staff training, new systems/processes). An internal policy details the contract management process that Travelife must follow.

The ABTA Human Resources team provide all relevant functions and services including supporting Travelife with staff recruitment, contracting, onboarding, maintaining personnel records, staff policies, benefits, leave, sickness, health and safety, staff welfare, performance reviews, training and development.

The ABTA IT team (part of the ABTA Operations team) provision and manage all hardware and software including phones, laptops and related equipment. They provide in-house technical support and have a comprehensive security programme in place that includes delivering staff training.

There is some additional software that Travelife manages directly via external providers. This includes the Evergreen system, the various Travelife websites and subscriptions to other software services. Additionally, ABTA provisions a bespoke version of Microsoft Dynamics that Travelife currently use as a CRM.

The ABTA Operations team maintains a register of all company assets and equipment. A maintenance schedule is in place to ensure equipment is in good working order and fit for purpose, with replacements or upgrades provisioned as necessary. The Travelife Evergreen system is owned and managed by Travelife.

Travelife works from the ABTA office at 30 Park Street in London. A flexible hybrid work model is followed, with most Travelife staff working from home and only coming to the office one or two days a week, often less depending on their own preferences.

The history and evolution of the TASC scheme

Travelife was founded by the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO), an industry body that merged with ABTA in 2008. The concept of an accommodation sustainability auditing scheme came from a growing understanding within the travel industry that measures should be taken to address environmental, social, labour and human rights issues in the accommodation supply chain.

The idea was to follow a similar model that was already well-established for hotel health and safety audits. These audits are carried out by (or on behalf of) tour operators to ensure that the accommodation they sell to their clients meets basic health and safety requirements.

It was felt that a similar set of requirements could be developed for sustainability. However, in order to reduce the burden on hotels and tour operators by having each tour operator carry out their own sustainability audit, an independent organisation would be set up to offer this service.

This also meant that tour operators and their customers could be sure that each property’s compliance with the sustainability requirements was independently verified. A label would help people identify if an accommodation provider had met these requirements.

Travelife as a named scheme was originally established and funded via an EU LIFE project that commenced in 2004 and concluded in 2007. The project was administered by TOURLINK.

The FTO worked on this project in collaboration with the European Centre for Ecological and Agricultural Tourism (ECEAT), a Dutch company that now trades as both ECEAT and Travelife for Tour Operators. The FTO and ECEAT worked together with TOURLINK to establish a sustainability system for tour operators and tourist accommodation.

Around this time it was agreed that the FTO and ECEAT would call the resulting system Travelife. Both parties would share the Travelife name and logo, with ECEAT taking on tour operator sustainability and the FTO taking on accommodation sustainability.

Today Travelife Ltd owns the name, trademark and logos and a brand license agreement was signed in 2012 formally allowing ECEAT to use them for the purpose of tour operator certification. Although the two ‘Travelife’s’ still informally collaborate today, there is no other formal relationship between the two schemes.

There was very little framework in place at that time in the way of international standards, best practices and norms in the world of accommodation sustainability. For that reason, the first iteration of Travelife was called the Travelife Sustainability System. This involved a set of criteria that hotels would need to comply with, with that compliance being assessed during an inspection audit. However, the criteria were never referred to as a standard and instead of certifications, hotels were given awards.

The criteria contained in the handbook were developed as part of a 2-year multi-stakeholder consultation involving a broad range of European participants (see below). The concept for the handbook came from a similar system developed by the Dutch travel trade association, ANVR. Their standard was called Productgericht Milieuzorg Zygosystem (PMZ) and all of their Tour Operator members had signed up to it as a requirement of being ANVR members.

ECEAT and the FTO worked together to develop PMZ into a new set of criteria. After translating it into English, additional elements were added from the Código Base de Ethical Trading Initiative (Iniciativa para el Comercio Ético), the EU Ecolabel and the EC Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).

The resulting document was then circulated to all stakeholders for comment and subsequently underwent an extensive editing process as each stakeholder added their own expertise and experience, whilst aiming to ensure that sustainability issues of concern to them were factored in.

List of original stakeholders that were consulted

Trade associations

FTO (UK)

ANVR (Netherlands)

ABTO (Belgium)

FAR (Germany)

European Tour Operators Association (ETOA)

RID (Denmark)

DRV (Germany)

RiN (Norway)

ASTOI (Italy)

AMAVE (Span)

RIS (Sweden)

TÜRSAB, Türkiye

International Restaurant and Hotel Association (IHRA)

Travel companies

Numerous tour operators and other types of travel companies were involved as members of the trade associations listed.

Hotels

In addition to consulting with IHRA, numerous hotels were involved via tour operators. For example, both TUI and Thomas Cook group were involved in the early stages, both of which owned and operated hotels.

Misc

Leeds Met University, United Kingdom        

Rainforest Alliance

United Nations Environment Programme

NGOs

Travel Foundation

Dutch Alps Platform, Netherlands   

Royal Awards Foundation, Denmark

European Centre for Eco Agro Tourism   

International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, Sweden

Born Free Foundation

Tourism Concern

Planeterra     

Government bodies

Catalan Ministry of Environment, Spain       

Austrian Ministry of Environment      

In 2006 the Travelife Sustainability System was formally launched in the form of the Supplier Sustainability Handbook. The handbook contained the newly agreed upon criteria. It was aimed at tour operators and it was for them to use with the hotels in their portfolio. The handbook outlined a sustainability code of practice which was essentially the set of agreed criteria that a hotel could be audited against. Please refer to Figure 7 below which has been taken from the handbook. Haga clic aquí to view the full handbook and aquí to read a summary report from the LIFE programme.

Even today, and with the benefit of experience and hindsight, Travelife has high confidence in this original development process, evidenced by the fact that much of the original criteria are still in use today. They may be worded differently but the intention and purpose of these criteria has certainly stood the test of time, having gone through over 5,000 audits at the time of writing.

Figure 7

The first audits against the original criteria were test ones carried out by an FTO staff member, and the awards made following those audits which were classed at 2nd party. It was decided that tour operators could also carry out the audits in order to verify a property’s compliance. Depending on the tour operators relationship with the property, this means that awards made on this basis were either 1de party (if the tour operator owned/operated the hotel) or 2nd party (if the tour operators simply contracted the hotel).

By 2006 hundreds of tour operator staff members were trained to carry out these 1de or 2nd party audits and Travelife had invested in the PASS certifications system developed by Interface Management Systems (IMS) which saw the first formal audit and certification records. At this time, hotels were given either a bronze, silver or gold award depending on how many of the criteria they complied with.

During this period the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) had been established by the tourism industry, partly as a way to improve and harmonise sustainability standards in tourism. They subsequently developed an international accommodation sustainability standard called the GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels. Towards the end of this time they launched the GSTC Recognition programme which allowed for individual organisations such as Travelife to ensure their own standard was aligned with GSTC, and in return would be able to promote their system as GSTC Recognised.

This revision process took place between 2011 and 2012. Travelife established a criteria revision process in line with ISEAL recommendations that were in place at the time. This involved another extensive round of multi-stakeholder consultations to ensure the revision was fit for purpose and addressed several other risks and opportunities that had emerged over the preceding years. You can view the methodology, process and objectives for the first revision aquí.

List of first revision stakeholders that were consulted

Trade associations

ABTA (UK)

ANVR (Netherlands)

ALTSO (Türkiye)

NGOs

Travel Foundation

NAQUTOUR

IUCN

ECPAT

ECEAT

Wild Asia

Tourism Concern

ACTA

Travel companies

TUI Netherlands

TUI UK

Kuoni

Sunvil

Thomas Cook

Hotels

In addition to consulting with IHRA, numerous hotels were involved via tour operators. For example, both TUI and Thomas Cook group were involved in the early stages, both of which owned and operated hotels.

Certification programmes

Travelife for Tour Operators

Green Key

Fair Trade Tourism South Africa

EU Ecolabel

Misc

Breda University (Netherlands)

Eberswalde University (Germany)

Oxford University (UK)

Leeds Met University (UK)

Bomelia Consult (Germany)

Green Tiger Consultancy (UK)

GIZ (Germany)

This new criteria were finalised in 2012 and formal GSTC Recognition was obtained on 21de September 2012. Although much of the core criteria from the first version remained, there were some significant changes. For example, there would be no more bronze or silver awards. In order to obtain certification a property would have to meet 100% of the criteria that applied to them, however there were some criteria that did not apply to a property’s first audit or to smaller properties. There was resistance from hotels to dropping the word ‘Gold’ from the certification name so this was kept but didn’t really mean anything in practice!

The revised criteria were phased in during 2013 with the last audits being carried out against the original criteria in December 2013.

You can view the revised standard aquí where you will see that the applicable criteria were based on the property’s maximum nightly occupancy as shown in the table below.

Type

Maximum nightlight occupancy

Tipo 1

161+ guests.

Tipo 2

31 to 160 guests.

Tipo 3

1 to 30 guests.

Shortly after this a new standard called the Award of Excellence which contained additional and more challenging criteria for properties that wanted to demonstrate excellence in sustainability management. However, despite some initial interest, no property was ever audited against this standard and ultimately Travelife elected to stick with one single standard which was known as Travelife Gold Certification or Travelife Gold Certified.

Changes to auditing and certification processes

Travelife consulted with various third parties to establish a new certification process that would ensure better credibility and impartiality. This resulted in the following changes:

3rd party audits: Audits would now be carried out by auditors that were independent of both the auditee and the ultimate certification decision.

Independent auditors: Travelife began building up a team of independently contracted auditors to conduct 3rd party auditors. Although it would be possible for Travelife staff to conduct an audit, they would subsequently be removed from any aspect of the certification decision and use of the contracted auditors would always be the preferred option.

Auditor competency: Minimum competencies (skills, education, experience) were determined along with an auditor training programme. This involved auditors attending a 4-to-5-day training course delivered by a consultant who also happened to be Travelife’s most experienced auditor. Following this they would have to observe this auditor conducting a live audit, be observed by this auditor as they conducted a live audit and pass a written examination.

Certification process: A new certification process was developed that involved recruiting and training staff who were solely responsible for quality checking audit reports to ensure they had been completed correctly the auditor, and to make the final certification decision. This kept these staff separate from any marketing or sales activities that could cause a potential conflict of interest and allowed for specialist skills to be developed. This team also took on responsibility for developing guidance materials for both hotels and auditors, and were involved with auditor training.

In December 2016 GSTC revised its Industry Criteria for Hotels. This meant that Travelife also had to update their criteria to ensure it was equivalent and apply for recognition. The changes were minimal and were also mandatory as per GSTC rules. As such, no formal consultation process took place and the criteria were formally re-recognised by GSTC in July 2018. You can click the links the table below to view the different checklists that were used following this revision.

Type

Maximum nightlight occupancy

Tipo 1

161+ guests.

Tipo 2

31 to 160 guests.

Tipo 3

1 to 30 guests.

Appendix

Appendix I and II Animal Welfare

Around the same time Travelife improved the way that support and guidance materials were provided to hotels with the introduction of a new “Member Zone” that contained multi-lingual guidance materials, self-assessment tools and checklists.

Following several years of development, a bespoke Travelife certifications system called Evergreen was launched in January 2021. This provided greater speed and efficiency, generally bringing online processes up to date with current technology.

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, Travelife had decided to pursue GSTC Accreditation which would involve significant changes to every aspect of the certification scheme. Much of this work was delayed as Travelife dealt with the impacts of the pandemic but in 2021 a number of activities commenced, some of which are still being fine tuned.

In 2024, following a revision of incoming EU legislation that relates to accreditation of sustainability labels/schemes, a decision was taken to no longer pursue GSTC Accreditation and instead obtain accreditation from a national accreditation body (NAB) that is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

The most significant changes to the business are summarised below.

Third criteria revision

This commenced in 2021 and was carried out for three reasons. Firstly, the last full review involving a consultation had been many years prior and, secondly, because we knew that our eventual accreditation would be valid for 5-years and we would ideally want this latest revision to last for the majority of that period before the next 5-year criteria review was due. Lastly, we knew that some sustainability issues affecting accommodation providers had newly emerged since the last full revision was carried out, or had become either more or less important. For example, we were not requiring hotels to measure and monitor greenhouse gas emissions, something we did not think was acceptable in the 2020’s.

In summary, the review involved an initial consultation via a survey that was sent to all accommodation providers, auditors and staff working with us at the time, along with a range of stakeholders representing travel companies, NGOs and so on. In all, 1,143 individuals were sent the survey.

Just 75 individuals responded to the survey which was then used to help determine which new requirements should be added, which could be removed and how we might change the way we assess compliance.

The first round of stakeholders were asked if they wished to participate in a second round of consultation which included a summary of the changes. The 66 who wished to continue participation were sent this in the form of a survey and once again, the responses were used to develop the final draft of the new requirements.

The following stakeholders also participated in the third criteria revision.

List of third revision stakeholders that were consulted

Trade associations

ABTA (UK)

ECTAA

Travel companies

TUI Group

easyJet Holidays

Kuoni

Suntours Ltd Ab

DER Touristik Group GmbH

Jules Verne

cosmos and avalon

dnata Travel Group

dnata

Avocet Travel Management

TRANSAT

Hotels

40 of the 1k accommodation providers that were invited to participate responded to the consultation.

Auditores

15 of the 53 auditors that were working with Travelife in June 2021 responded to the consultation.

Misc

Travel Without Plastic

UN Environment Programme

Sustainable Sri Lanka

 

 

 

Travelife set up an internal working group that included the managing director, certifications specialists and a senior auditor. This group spent the next year fine-tuning the wording, order and format of the new criteria that were now being referred to as “requirements”. This including writing indicators (guidance notes) for each requirements in both a hotel and auditor’s version.

In 2022 the final version was sent to GSTC for recognition and this was received in March 2023. You can haga clic aquí to view the version used by hotels that is called the Travelife Certification Requirements Version 1.0. and here is a summary of the biggest changes compared to the previous version.

New name and terminology: Before we referred to the 163 criteria that properties had to comply with as the Travelife Checklist. Now instead of ‘criteria’ we use the term ‘requirements’. There are now 143 requirements that properties must comply with and these are called the Travelife Certification Requirements.

The numbering and order have changed: The requirements are broken down into 9 different sections that are designed to follow an annual process and to better group requirements into specific areas of focus, rather than grouping them by sustainability topic. For example, all the requirements relating to legislation and licensing are in Section B and all of the ones related to guest and staff engagement are in Section D.

Only one set of requirements: Previously, properties used a different version of the checklist according to whether they were undergoing their first audit or a recertification audit. There were also different checklists based on the size of the property. Now there is only one set of requirements that all properties use. There are still some requirements that do not apply to every property so next to each requirement we say what types of properties or situations it applies to.

Annual sustainability assessment: Each year properties must carry out an assessment of how their business impacts people and the environment. They must use the results of this assessment to set goals and commitments for the coming year, and include these on an annual sustainability action plan.

Greenhouse gas emissions: All properties are required to measure and monitor their greenhouse gas emissions from energy, externally sourced water and solid waste.

High-emission food purchasing: Properties must record and monitor the amount of fresh and frozen high-emission food they purchase (in litres or kilograms) from a list we provide in Appendix II of the requirements. This includes fresh or frozen meat, fish and dairy.

Single-use plastic purchasing: Properties must record and monitor the quantity of avoidable single-use plastics they purchase from a list we provide in Appendix I of the requirements.

Reduce, reuse and recycle plan for solid waste: Many of the previous waste criteria were changed so that general solid waste is covered by a smaller number of requirements. In the updated requirements, all properties must develop and implement a plan that is designed to ensure that they reduce, reuse or recycle as much waste as possible.

Sunscreens and personal care products that harm biodiversity: Appendix I of the requirements contains a list of ingredients contained in sunscreens, shampoos, shower gels, etc. that are known to be extremely harmful to biodiversity. Properties must not purchase any new products containing these ingredients and will be asked to suggest that guests do not use these either.

Banned chemicals: Appendix I also contains a list of chemicals that are currently banned under the Stockholm Convention. These are mostly found in pesticides and insecticides. Properties must not purchase any new products that contain these ingredients.

Banned refrigerant gases: Some refrigerant gases used in fridges, freezers and air-conditioning systems have been banned in most countries due to their impact on the ozone layer. In recent years, new gases have been added to this list because they have a very high GWP (global warming potential). Appendix I contains a list of these refrigerant gases and properties must not purchase any new equipment that uses them. It does not affect any equipment you have that already contains the banned gases, including buying more gas to service existing equipment.

Invasive species: Properties must make sure they do not purchase or plant any species that have been classified as invasive in their location. Where these are already present, a plan must be in place to control and/or eradicate them.

Crisis management: Larger properties must make sure they have a crisis management plan that includes sustainability considerations.

Energy efficient lighting in 80% of all areas: The previous criteria only asked for energy efficient lighting in guest areas. This has been changed so that 80% of lighting must be energy efficient in all front- and back-of-house areas of the property.

Maximum water flow rates in all bathrooms: The previous checklist only asked that maximum water flow rates were observed in guest bathrooms. This has been changed so that the maximum flow rates apply to bathrooms in all front- and back-of-house areas of the property.

Controlling heating and cooling systems in all areas: The previous checklist asked properties to ensure heating and cooling systems are turned off when doors and/or windows are open in guest rooms. This has been changed so that this must happen in all front- and back-of-house areas of your property.

Renovations and construction: If construction or renovations have been carried out since their last audit, the property must show that sustainable and accessible design and construction methods were incorporated wherever possible.

Protección de los niños: In addition to the previous requirement to train all staff about child safeguarding and how to report concerns to the appropriate authorities, the new requirements ask that properties provide information to guests about how they can report any suspected instances of child exploitation and abuse.

Human trafficking and bonded labour (modern slavery): New requirements have been added to help prevent modern slavery with the biggest change being how properties address this in their supply chain. Every 2 years they must send a modern slavery “zero tolerance” statement to the suppliers they have signed contracts with.

Stakeholders: Properties must identify their main stakeholder groups and how they will communicate various messages to each one, specifically which languages they will use.

Auditor training for the revised criteria

All auditors had to complete a series of online e-learning modules followed by a 4-day in-person course that was held in March 2023 at the Travelife office in London. Within 2-years of the revised requirements being launched, they must each undergo a field observation during a live audit.

New customer support materials

Much of 2023 was spent writing over 200 new guides, examples, templates and e-learning modules that have been designed to help properties understand how to comply with the revised requirements, and to learn more about accommodation sustainability topics. These are available on a dedicated customer support website that is accessed via their Evergreen account. These materials are being translated into Spanish, Greek and Turkish, with some of the more critical documents (such as the requirements themselves) being translated into multiple other languages.

EPIT (Environmental Performance Improvement Tool)

Travelife EPIT (Environmental Performance Improvement Tool) has been specially designed to help properties record and monitor their environmental performance, including their greenhouse gas emissions from energy, water and solid waste along with purchasing of high-emission food, environmentally hazardous substances and single-use plastics. Accessed from the Evergreen certifications system and free for all customers, the software was designed by Travelife to be easy for anybody anywhere in the world to use, even if they have limited emissions knowledge.

Ensuring compliance with relevant ISO conformity assessment standards

A thorough review of a number of applicable standards was carried out against existing Travelife systems and processes. This resulted in a number of changes, the most significant of which have been summarised below. 

Implementing annual surveillance: From 2025 all certified properties will need to undergo a “certification check-up” around one year after their most recent inspection audit. In 2022 Travelife worked with their software developer (Arkitecs) to establish what changes would need to be made to the Evergreen system to accommodate certification check-ups. It is hoped that these changes will be deployed in mid-2025.

Better information for planning and assessing risk: Throughout 2023 and 2024, Travelife have been working with Arkitecs to deploy a new property profile survey that every property must complete and/or review each year. It contains an extensive set questions about the property that can be used by both auditors and Travelife staff to better plan for audits in terms of duration, risks and opportunities. When it is rolled out in 2025, it will also provide an overall low, medium or high-risk assessment based on a number of factors including any “red flag” answers (e.g. proximity to sensitive natural areas, additional rooms/buildings added since their last audit and how much time has passed since the profile was last updated).

Country risk assessments: In 2022 Travelife designed and implemented a country risk assessment which provides a “traffic light” rating based on how likely there are to be problems around legislation, attitudes and corruption relates to the environment, labour, human rights and Indigenous peoples. Ratings are based on a questionnaire that Travelife staff must complete every 2-years with questions relating to the Global Corruptions Perceptions Index, ratification of relevant UN treaties and/or ILO conventions and so on. From 2025 this will be integrated into Evergreen.

As of 1de September 2025, Travelife has been auditing properties for 19 years and had carried out more than 5,000 audits. This extensive experience has led to the development of a robust, credible and meaningful scheme that Travelife are proud of, and one that we believe truly does lead to significant improvements in terms of the accommodation sector’s impact on people and places.

Travelife accepts that although consistency and adherence to best practices is critical when it comes to the quality, integrity and credibility of our scheme, it cannot remain static. It is important that we are able to respond to changing conditions, risks and opportunities. Our quality management system (QMS) has been designed to ensure we stay on top of changes we may need to respond to, and that we are regularly assessing risks and opportunities.

The QMS ensures that we are regularly monitoring the various aspects of the scheme so that we are quickly aware of problems. Each year the scheme undergoes a high-level review as part of our internal compliance and quality control auditing programme. The scheme undergoes a more formal review every five years when we develop our business plan.

When possible changes are identified, they shall be assessed as part of our change management processes. This includes a full risk assessment and, if a change is adopted, a detailed change implementation plan.

It should be noted that there is a special policy that Travelife shall follow when managing reviews of, and changes to, the Travelife Standard and the Travelife Certification Requirements. This is explained under Los requisitos de certificación de Travelife.

Assumptions, influences and consequences that have been considered

The TASC scheme is developed and operated under a set of assumptions, influences and consequences that we have summarised below.

  • Concern about the tourism industry’s impact on the environment and people will continue to grow, driving an increasing demand for sustainability certification.

  • Accommodation providers will respond to the increasing concern about tourism sustainability in a variety of ways, one of which will be to obtain a certification that can help them improve and to verify that this work has been verified by an independent body.

  • Travel companies (e.g. tour operators, online travel agents) will respond to increasing concerns about tourism sustainability, along with related legislative requirements, by requiring their accommodation portfolios to take action which includes certification with a reputable body.

  • Accommodation providers will have varying levels of skills and experience in relation to sustainability which the TASC scheme must account for. Similarly, they will have varying levels of resources available to dedicate to their sustainability work (e.g. time, funds).

  • An international scheme that is open to all tourist accommodation providers will always find consistency challenging. Scheme policies and processes must account for almost any possibility in terms of local conditions and accommodation types whilst ensuring that the scheme provides a label that can be relied upon, regardless of the location or property type.

  • An international scheme cannot be reasonably expected to work in all languages, nor have auditors available that speak every possible language. This must be accounted for by use of technology and translation services, as well as ensuring all written materials are written in simple English.

  • The impact of hotel seasonality will be a continual challenge. Properties that close for several months of the year will face challenges with audit preparation and completing any post-audit improvements. This will also create bottlenecks each spring and autumn when numerous hotels attempt to complete their audits during shoulder seasons. Seasonality can also cause customers to be delinquent with their payments. Policies and procedures must account for this as much as possible.

  • Travelife Ltd will need to be appropriately resourced and structured to ensure that the scheme can be operated correctly and is viable as a business. For example, funding, roles, technology infrastructure, equipment and general business administration.

  • The certification requirements must always be guided by issues that are of the most concern in accommodation sustainability, and those that properties have real potential to influence.

  • The certification requirements are influenced by reputable international organisations such as UN Environment and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This includes relevant international treaties and conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and various ILO conventions related to fair labour practices.

  • International best practices influence the policies and processes that determine how the TASC scheme is managed and operated. For example, ISO Standards and the requirements of national accreditation bodies.

  • Although perhaps more of a risk than an influence, external events do affect the way the TASC scheme is operated, potentially resulting in permanent changes. These could include:

    • Economic conditions such as inflation, exchange rate fluctuations and increasing travel costs may affect pricing and our ability to operate the scheme in a manner that is financially viable.

    • Legislative changes such as the incoming EU Green Claims and Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition directives. These can impose new rules on Travelife and/or our customers that must be accounted for.

    • A crisis, disaster or emergency can affect our ability to conduct certification activities, and sometimes lead to permanent changes to the TASC scheme. For example, we were unable to audit during most of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn influenced changes to policies and the certification requirements.

Note: The potential negative consequences are summarised under Known risks to the quality and integrity of the TASC scheme.

  • Gaining a critical mass of certified properties within a defined location is likely to improve the environmental and social impacts of tourism in the area. For example, if 80% of hotels in a given destination are Travelife certified, it is likely that tangible benefits will be seen. One of Travelife’s long-term goals is to attempt to quantify this.

  • The guests and staff of certified properties should gain knowledge about sustainability issues that they will hopefully share, generally increasing awareness of important topics such as climate change, human rights and the importance of respecting local people.

  • The presence of a reputable certification coupled with a positive guest experience should raise awareness of the value of booking a certified property. This in turn should drive up the demand for certified properties, ultimately improving the environmental and social impacts of tourism whilst increasing awareness of important sustainability issues. This should also provide certified hotels with business advantages over their non-certified competitors.

  • Travelife certified properties should see lower operating costs due to the requirements for them to reduce energy and water consumption, and to reduce waste by avoiding unnecessary purchases.

  • Travelife certified properties should see lower staff turnover and better guest satisfaction due to the requirements for them to ensure they are treating their staff well.

  • Travel companies that see a critical mass in certification uptake within their accommodation portfolio should be reassured that some key supply chain sustainability risks are being addressed. For example, modern slavery, child safeguarding, animal welfare, fair labour, community support and carbon equivalent emission reductions.

Known risks to the quality and integrity of the TASC scheme

Over the years, Travelife has identified several risks and potential negative consequences that threaten the quality, integrity and credibility of the TASC scheme. These are risks that are continually present and we believe it is important to share these publicly, partly to manage expectations but also to reassure scheme stakeholders that we are aware of them, continually monitor them and have mitigation measures in place. They are summarised below.

Mitigation measures

  • Travelife has internal policies that ensure we do not make any guarantees that misrepresent what achieving Travelife certification actually means.

  • Una public webpage explains what certification means and is transparent about the fact that it is impossible for us to be sure that a property is 100% compliant at all times.

  • During audits, sampling is used and a risk-based approach is taken when finding evidence of compliance (or non-compliance).

  • Las Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento contains a number of clauses that oblige customers to provide us with accurate and honest information, including penalties for deliberate dishonesty such as forged evidence.

  • The Agreement is also clear about the need for hotels to continually maintain compliance and the consequences of not doing so (certification suspension and/or withdrawal with no refunds given).

  • Surveillance activities help us to monitor compliance and our policies (and the Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento) allow us to suspend or withdraw a certification from a property that is no longer compliant with one or more of the certification requirements.

Mitigation measures

  • Travelife certification is valid for just two years whereas a three-year validity is common in certification across many sectors.

  • The certification is withdrawn completely unless the property recertifies; there is no extension or reduction of scope possible. The only possible exceptions would be extenuating situations that applied at a destination level versus to an individual property. For example, Travelife allowed certification extensions (with strict conditions) for hotels that were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Recertification involves a full onsite audit against 100% of the certification requirements, whereas many certifications across a variety of sectors do not fully reassess compliance with all requirements during the recertification process. In effect, other than a reduced audit duration for properties that meet certain conditions, a recertification attempt is identical to the initial certification attempt. The fact that this happens every two years significantly offsets the risk of having a remote surveillance audit in the intervening year versus an onsite surveillance audit.

  • Travelife encourages feedback about certified properties from guests, staff and the public, and has a robust process in place for investigating such feedback that may result in an onsite spot check.

Mitigation measures

  • All new auditors and staff must undergo the same training programme about the certification requirements and related sustainability topics. A refresher training programme ensures that this training is regularly repeated.

  • Training about consistency and impartiality is given to all new auditors and staff, and they must repeat it every two years.

  • All auditors and staff are instructed to follow the same set of guidance notes to help them consistently assess compliance with each requirement.

  • Auditor and staff competencies have been determined to address this risk.

  • Internal policies encourage staff to take regular breaks to ensure they do not experience repetition fatigue that can lead to inconsistencies and guidance about how to deal with repetition fatigue is given to auditors.

  • Auditors are encouraged no to make a compliance judgement if they are unsure. Policies are in place to ensure that Travelife manages these during the quality check process.

Examples include:

  • A property’s marketing materials could infer that their certification means they are more “environmentally friendly” than a non-certified property, which may not necessarily be true.

  • A social media influencer claiming that Travelife certification means that a property does not have any single-use plastics in their operation, which may not necessarily be true.

Mitigation measures

  • Travelife has internal policies that ensure we do not make any guarantees that misrepresent what achieving Travelife certification actually means.

  • Una public webpage explains what certification means and is transparent about the fact that it is impossible for us to be sure that a property is 100% compliant at all times.

  • Las Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento contains clauses about how a property is allowed to talk about their certification, and references a brand guidelines document that includes these rules.

Mitigation measures

  • Travelife has internal policies that describe how we should police these activities and the measures we must take for non-compliances. These include monthly checks of expired properties.

  • Las Acuerdo de certificación de alojamiento contains clauses about use of the certification mark, or generally talking about Travelife certification, when a property is not certified.

Marketing the TASC scheme

Travelife proactively markets the TASC scheme in line with internal policies that describe how we are allowed to talk about the scheme, general brand guidelines and the types of marketing collaborations we can engage with.*

Travelife employs two business development managers who take on this responsibility. One is responsible for Spanish-and Portuguese-speaking markets whilst the other is responsible for all other markets, although they collaborate closely on centralised activities.

The scheme is primarily marketed via the following methods:

  • Las B2B website, which is aimed at accommodation customers and the travel industry.

  • Las B2C website, which is aimed at travellers.

  • The public pages of the auditor’s website, that are aimed at prospective auditors.

  • Social media channels.

  • Engagement with tour operators and OTAs that wish to increase the number of certified properties in their accommodation portfolios.

  • Attending and/or exhibiting at trade or consumer travel shows.

Each year a sales and marketing plan is developed, along with a customer engagement plan. The business development managers are also responsible for relationship management with hotel groups/chains and the travel companies we work with.

*It should be noted that it is our policy is to avoid any kind of marketing partnership or collaboration with an entity that provides sustainability or management system consulting for accommodation providers, including internal sustainability or management system auditing services. Nor will we ever infer that a certification attempt could be improved by the use of any consultancy provider.