What are green vacation rental events, and how can you participate?

Vacation rental industry events bring significant benefits for you as a short-term rental operator, and for the industry as a whole. At the same time, however, they can be seriously unsustainable. Have you considered the carbon footprint of your events calendar?

Fortunately, there’s a way for you to reap the benefits of vacation rental conferences whilst honouring your sustainable principles. Let’s walk through the ways in which events are choosing to be greener, and how you can play your part.

• What is a green short-term rental conference?
• Characteristics of a sustainable vacation rental industry event
• Why you should attend green industry events
• How to limit your own emissions
• The most exciting sustainable vacation rental events of this year

What is a green short-term rental conference? 

A green short-term rental event is one that meaningfully limits its own environmental impact and, ideally, encourages its attendees to do the same.

Green VR Events is leading the way in encouraging vacation rental conferences, awards ceremonies, and expos to step up their sustainable game. They recognise that vacation rental events set the agenda for the wider industry. Pushing these events to adopt more environmentally friendly operations is crucial for reducing our collective carbon footprint.

That’s why they’ve created a 25-step playbook that guides event organisers through strategies for meaningfully greening their conferences. Keep an eye out for organisers who are working with Green VR Events. You can know that attending their experiences is the greener choice.

Characteristics of a sustainable vacation rental industry event 

Even if a conference or trade fair doesn’t explicitly say that it’s working with Green VR Events, there are other characteristics you can look out for in order to know if it’s a sustainable choice:

1. It’s a member of Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency 

Being a member of Tourism Declares  means that they’re committed to halving their emissions by 2030, and reaching Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.

If an event has committed to Tourism Declares, you should be able to find the declaration on their website, along with details of how they’re lowering their emissions.

2. It doesn’t provide single-use plastic 

There are now many alternatives to single-use plastic cutlery, straws, plates, and bottles. Event organisers can opt for biodegradable options made of wood, or even pasta! This is a really simple way for any gathering to reduce its waste.

3. It offers vegetarian and vegan food options

Meat-free and plant-based foods generally have a significantly lower carbon footprint than their meaty alternatives. With a whole range of delicious veggie and vegan catering options now available, it’s easy for organisers to reduce their event’s meat consumption and by extension their carbon emissions.

4. It thinks carefully about the gifts it offers

Whilst swag can feel like a fun treat to receive, it often ends up being discarded pretty quickly. After all, how many of us actually need another lanyard, keyring, or notebook?

Event organisers might choose to ditch swag completely, or they might search for more eco-friendly options, such as a reusable coffee cup.

5. It works with green sponsors and exhibitors

Whenever an event accepts sponsorship from an organisation, it’s choosing to give that organisation a platform. If organisers spotlight associations which are making conscious movements towards sustainability, this is a good sign that the event is taking its own environmental responsibilities seriously.

If you’re interested in learning about other markers of a green event, dive into the Green VR Events playbook.

Plus, if you’re wondering what action you can take to make your own vacation rental business more eco-friendly, download your copy of the EnviroRental Sustainability Roadmap. It offers a practical, step-by-step guide to reducing your environmental impact.

Why you should attend green industry events

You might be involved in organising, exhibiting, or speaking at a short-term rental event. In this case, it’s crucial that you become a sustainability advocate within the event organisation.

However, you might simply be attending these events, in which case you have limited control over how they’re run. So, why does any of this matter to you?

For a start, by attending green events you can know that you’re doing the right thing. Tourism contributes 8% of greenhouse gas emissions and, in a time of devastating environmental change, we all have a responsibility to reduce our impact wherever possible.

There are, however, benefits even beyond this:

Accomplish your Climate Action Plan 

A Climate Action Plan is simply a record of your goals for reducing emissions, and how you’re going to go about this. If you want concrete guidance on creating an action plan, check out the EnviroRental Sustainability Roadmap.

Your action plan will aim to cut emissions from the entirety of your short-term rental business, and this includes emissions associated with the events you attend. Reducing these emissions by attending greener events is a really easy way to take a big step towards your goals.

Bolster your short-term rental marketing 

With an ever-growing appetite for eco-friendly stays, the sustainable changes you’re making to your vacation rental business are a big draw for many travellers.

For many potential guests, hearing that you’re applying sustainable principles to every aspect of your business (not only the ones that are visible to them), will set you apart from the competition.

Intrigued? Why not read about the other business benefits that sustainable choices bring to short-term rental owners and property managers.

Tune into cutting edge sustainability news

Conferences are often the forums where organisations choose to unveil their latest developments, strategies, and technology. If you want to stay up-to-date with which tech is going to help you reduce your waste, and which new strategies are helping people to meet their eco goals, then green conferences are the place to be.

Influence the direction of the vacation rental industry 

The more of us who choose to attend sustainable events, the greater the reach of those events will become. It may feel as though you’re one small cog in a much larger machine, but the choices we make have a very real impact. 

If green events become more and more popular, and attendees feed back that they enjoy attending them because they’re green, then other events will be encouraged to follow this example.

If you’re interested in learning about how other short-term rental operators are powering an industry-wide sustainability movement, check out our case studies of eco heroes who are already doing their bit.

How to limit your own event emissions

Whilst you probably have limited control over the details of how an event is organised, there are still certain things you can do to limit your personal emissions:

• Attend local events – by primarily choosing to attend conferences, awards evenings, and trade shows which are nearby, you immediately cut down on your travel emissions.

• Choose the greenest possible form of transport – you’ll cut your emissions even further if you use public transport to reach your event. Of course, in some situations you might need to fly or drive, in which case carbon offsets might be a good secondary option.

• Stay in environmentally-friendly accommodation – check to see if your short-term rental, B&B, or hotel has a page on their website dedicated to environmental initiatives. Try to choose the operator which has made the most significant steps.

• Avoid swag where possible – if an event is handing out yet more lanyards and pens that you know you won’t use, then don’t accept them. If they realise that this kind of swag isn’t popular, they’ll hopefully rethink their approach next year. 

• Encourage event organisers to make sustainable changes – you’ll probably receive a request for feedback shortly after the event ends. Use this opportunity to thank organisers for the sustainable steps they’ve taken, and to highlight where they could do even more.

If you’re looking for effective, achievable strategies to reduce your business’s environmental impact in other areas, take a peek at the EnviroRental Sustainability Roadmap. We map out twelve practical steps to help you green your business in a meaningful way. It couldn’t be easier to get started.

The most exciting sustainable vacation rental events of 2023

Each of the events below is a member of Green VR Events, and each has implemented bold new initiatives to operate in a more eco-friendly manner.

GuestyVal

When: 8th-10th May 2023

Where: Tel Aviv, Israel

Join Guesty for the short-term rental conference with a twist, as they blend education and networking with a good dose of sightseeing and culture. Discover how they’ve updated their event operations to go greener in 2023.

Vitur Summit

When: 10th-12th May 2023

Where: Málaga, Spain

The Vitur Summit brings together professionals from the European short-term rental sector and beyond, creating a space to connect and learn from one another. Discover how organisers are lowering the event’s carbon footprint and encouraging attendees to implement their own sustainable changes.

The Book Direct Show

When: 16th May 2023

Where: Barcelona, Spain

The Book Direct Show is all about – you guessed it! – helping short-term rental operators to hone their direct booking strategies. Discover how you can reduce your dependence on OTAs (online travel agents such as Airbnb and Vrbo) and build a robust, independent vacation rental business.

In 2022, The Book Direct Show carefully outlined the steps they’d taken to operate more sustainably. They’ve spearheaded the move towards greener vacation rental events by:

• offsetting their team’s carbon footprint, and encouraging attendees to do the same

• providing online access to primary conference recordings so that attendees don’t have to travel

• asking sponsors and exhibitors to reduce their wastage at the event

• becoming a member of Tourism Declares Climate Emergency

• choosing an eco-friendly venue

You can read about their sustainable initiatives in their own words here.

Scale Rentals Show

When: 17th-18th May 2023

Where: Barcelona, Spain

Open to property management businesses that operate 25 or more properties, the Scale Rentals Show is aimed at professionals who want to grow their businesses steadily and sustainably. Scale Rentals has already nabbed EnviroRental’s very own Bob Garner and Nikki Mattei as speakers.

Scale Rentals is deeply committed to embedding green initiatives throughout their operations. That’s why they’ve chosen a carbon-neutral ticketing platform; created banners which can be reused for future events; and offer free exhibitor packages for organisations educating operators about sustainability. 

And this is only a taste of what they’re doing to combat the climate crisis – you can get all the juicy details here.

The Direct Booking Success Summit

When: 3rd-5th October 2023

Where: Online

Jenn Boyles’ Direct Booking Success Summit is a free online summit for holiday rental operators who want to increase their proportion of direct bookings. Online events immediately reduce their carbon footprint by eliminating the need for attendees to travel, and avoiding emissions associated with hiring an event space.

Vacation Rental World Summit

When: 3rd-4th November 2023

Where: Barcelona, Spain

The VRWS is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2023, and they plan on marking the occasion in style! Gather with peers and educators in the short-term rental industry to learn, network, and collaborate.

The VRWS has been a trailblazer in green events, making significant and purposeful steps towards reducing its climate impact. From participating in the Stripe Climate Programme and reducing waste through digital tickets, to signing up to Tourism Declares Climate Emergency, the organisers have consistently implemented meaningful eco strategies. And they’ve managed to do all of this whilst ensuring that attendees experience the same high-quality event.

Scale Rentals France

When: 29th November-1st December 2023

Where: Paris, France

Scale Rentals France is a sister event to the international Scale Rentals Show taking place in Barcelona earlier in the year, the difference being that Scale Rentals France focuses specifically on the French short-term rental market.

Discover how organisers are implementing sustainable initiatives across the entire show.

Avantio conference

When: Date to be advised

Where: Valencia, Spain

The Avantio Partnership conference is a very well organised event which is working hard to tackle its carbon footprint. Sustainability is now a firm fixture on the agenda and they choose a venue with a sound eco approach. building on the success of last year’s sustainable conference, this year should be even better. We will update with a date when we know it.

Start your sustainability journey with EnviroRental

Interested in adopting environmental initiatives across your short-term rental business but not quite sure where to start? Or perhaps you’re already on the path to sustainability but uncertain about your next step? Let the EnviroRental Sustainability Roadmap be your guide. 

We’ve collected practical, actionable advice from professionals with years of experience in green vacation rentals to provide you with a handbook for achieving meaningful sustainability.