The Problem With Tracking Short-Term Rental Emissions: ‘How on Earth Do You Count Them?’

While many hotels, airlines, and tour operators have started to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions, tracking the impact of short-term rentals remains a blind spot.

The largest players in the industry say they want to reduce their carbon footprints but they don’t account for emissions when guests stay in homes listed on their platforms. 

“No one does it and it is not on the agenda for short-term rental owners,” said one industry executive at the recent Short Stay Summit in London.

“Our travel provider partners’ emissions are not included in our emissions, which is in line with SBTI guidance,” said a spokesperson for Booking Holdings, referring to the Science Based Targets Initiative, which sets industry standards for emissions.

In its latest environmental report, Airbnb said that while its revenue has more than doubled since 2019, corporate emissions have remained flat. Airbnb measures energy used in offices, employee travel, and emissions from purchased goods and services like advertising, marketing, and customer support. 

What about emissions by guests? Airbnb said it believes home sharing is already a more sustainable option than hotels and pointed to ongoing efforts to support hosts in reducing their carbon footprint.

Easier Said Than Done

One UK based property owner, Annie King, who runs a short-term rental and is part of an Airbnb host community on Facebook, responded to Skift’s request for comment in the private group.

“How on Earth do you count them? I can barely keep up with cleaning and laundry let alone do this. Adding in something else to do fills me with dread. Try as I do, I just cannot get most guests to be sustainable,” she said. “We can try to minimize the impact our activities have on the environment but cleaning, laundry, maintenance still have to happen. I’d rather put more responsibility on guests. The abuse of heating and other utilities, the exorbitant amount of waste and poor recycling efforts have a huge impact on the environment.”

Kay Gibbs, a holiday let coach and mentor who also hosts, said she’d be open to tracking emissions – even if the process seems daunting.

“I think it would be fiddly but doable. I guess you’d calculate how much carbon a load of washing is, how much emissions for the laundry detergent, the welcome hamper items, the hoover to clean, and add it up. My own place is one where we prioritize sustainability but, I must be honest, I would be intimidated by the idea of trying to pin down our emissions. We have a ground source heat pump, electric vehicle charging, and keep our guest hampers local and meat free. We try but we are always keen to learn more.”

Felicity Stevens, who runs a short-term rental in Australia, has installed heat pumps and switched to renewable energy. Still, she says platforms don’t require her to report anything.

“From what I’ve seen, they generally put the responsibility onto property owners and hosts to manage and reduce their own emissions,” she said. “These platforms play a central role… so it seems reasonable that they share some responsibility when it comes to climate impact.”

Stevens added that emissions tracking is becoming more important for travelers – especially business travelers whose companies want to measure the environmental impact of work trips.

But counting emissions, even for large hotel chains, is complex. That’s partly because emissions are categorized into three “scopes.”

Scope 1 covers direct emissions – like fuel burned on-site or gas burned in vehicles owned by the business.

Scope 2 includes emissions from purchased electricity and heating.

Scope 3 is the tricky one: it includes emissions from supply chains, products used on-site, construction materials, and outsourced services.

“Most hosts would opt for Scope 1 and 2 operational emissions,” said Stevens, who also runs a website that helps hosts navigate sustainability. “But Scope 3? That adds a lot more complexity.”

Is There Industry Guidance?

Stevens said she’d like to see platforms get more involved.

“I’d love to see OTAs play a bigger role… by offering incentives, tools, and education that make it easier for everyone involved.”

A spokesperson for Booking Holdings said the company is “committed to continuing to work closely with our partners to assist them in strengthening and reaching their emission reduction targets, and we do that in myriad ways.”

An Airbnb spokesperson said: “Home sharing is inherently more sustainable that traditional lodging options, with Airbnb hosts often sharing extra rooms or their homes while they’re away. Our host community is passionate about sustainability, with nearly 80% of hosts saying they incorporate at least one sustainable practice into their hosting. And we continue to help hosts make their homes more energy efficient, investing in programs that support installing solar panels, heat pumps, EV chargers and more.”  

“We’ve also continued to make progress towards our goal of becoming a net zero company for our corporate operations by 2030, including regularly and voluntarily reporting our progress. There’s more work to do, but we’re proud of our progress to date.”

Airbnb said it runs programs in the UK, Spain, France and the United States to help hosts reduce emissions and plans to expand to other countries in the coming months. 

These programs give hosts assessments to test their properties energy use and also provide action plans to help reduce emissions.

In the UK, for instance, Airbnb said it partnered with the bank Natwest to support hosts offering grants of up to £3,000 to help fund upgrades.

Vrbo declined to answer questions and did not respond to Skift’s request for comment.

According to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI), the short-term rental market doesn’t yet have sector-specific emissions counting guidance.

“They should use our core methodologies and resources to set targets,” an SBTI spokesperson said. “It’s also worth noting that the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which the SBTI closely aligns with does not have specific guidance on this type of business model.”

Skift’s in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Skift’s editorial team.