Investment in sustainability and its accreditation will become a minimum requirement for everyone operating in travel, according to On the Beach Group chief executive Shaun Morton.
He reported that On the Beach has partnered with sustainable certification platform and consultancy Bioscore to identify hotels that meet Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) accreditation standards.
Speaking as he revealed full‑year results for the 12 months to September, Morton said Bioscore judged 37% of the online agency’s 5,000 top-selling hotels and 44% of its top 500 to meet GSTC standards and added: “We’re engaging with hotels to encourage them to qualify for accreditation.
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“This is going to become ‘table stakes’ for everyone. Our challenge has been whether there is a hallmark standard?”
Morton noted that the GSTC has a single set of criteria for sustainability certification schemes and said: “Customers are increasingly recognising sustainability and regulators will push us. It’s absolutely the right thing to do.”
On the Beach recently won a High Court case against Ryanair and was awarded more than £2 million in refunds for flights cancelled during the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic (Travel Weekly, November 9).
The landmark ruling confirmed the right of package organisers “to seek redress” from suppliers for cancellations under the Package Travel Regulations.
Customers are increasingly recognising sustainability and regulators will push us
Morton confirmed On the Beach is pursuing Ryanair for payment of “a similar amount of money” for outstanding refunds.
Ryanair has been denied an appeal by the High Court judge in the case, but has until December 11 to seek leave to appeal direct to the Court of Appeal.
On the Beach handled transactions worth more than £1 billion for the first time in the 12 months to September 30 and reported a pre-tax profit of almost £13 million on revenue of £170 million.
Morton hailed “an all-round good result” and said: “We’re very pleased with the order book for next summer. We’re seeing momentum carry on through the winter and into next year.
“Long-haul is the fastest-growing part of our business and we expect more good growth in that. People are more and more willing to book that type of holiday online.”
However, he said: “The highest potential growth is in mainstream holidays offered through travel agents. We have a very small share of that market. The opportunity is limitless.”