Interhome, the holiday home specialist, is creating an industry-wide sustainability label: ECOmodation. In the first step, all holiday accommodation in Interhome’s portfolio will be reviewed against the certification criteria. In the second step, the label will be made available to the entire holiday home industry.

From a holiday home in Croatia with solar panels on the roof to a chalet in the Swiss Alps with energy-efficient kitchen appliances – the holiday home agency Interhome is awarding environmentally friendly holiday accommodation the newly created “ECOmodation” sustainability label.

Basis for certification: 24 scientifically developed criteria
Interhome worked in close cooperation with Professor Strasdas from the Centre for Sustainable Tourism at Eberswalde University and Dr Roßmannek from the University of Freiburg to create the scientifically based certification. 24 criteria have been jointly developed over the last few months; holiday accommodation must fulfil them to receive the “ECOmodation” sustainability label. In addition to environmental aspects such as 100 percent renewable energy, green heating systems and recycling, this also includes social and legal matters. There is no downgraded version of the certificate if the criteria are only partially fulfilled. The label is therefore not awarded if even one of the mandatory criteria is not met.

Certification of the Interhome portfolio as the first step towards the industry standard
Starting in the autumn, Interhome will check which of the roughly 40,000 holiday homes in its portfolio meet the sustainability criteria and can receive the “ECOmodation” label – currently five to ten percent of the holiday homes are expected to achieve this. In this process, Interhome is working with the Austrian company BEESark, which specialises in sustainable solutions for the environment, climate and economy. BEESark acts as an independent party that reviews the holiday accommodation data and awards the label if the criteria are met. BEESark will also conduct regular audits, both digitally and on site, to ensure that the accommodation covered by the award continues to comply with the sustainability label in the future. “We are delighted to have BEESark as a respected partner at our side,” says Jörg Herrmann, Co-CEO of Interhome. “BEESark not only guarantees the sustainability of the audited accommodation, but as an independent certifier of the ‘ECOmodation’ label, it also lays the foundation for other providers of holiday accommodation to use the label for themselves.” Interhome’s long-term goal is for the new label to be used throughout the industry – so that it serves as a credible standard for guests – and will launch this in collaboration with BEESark.

Accurate calculation of the CO₂e footprint
Interhome is going one step further in its commitment to sustainability and transparency. In addition to introducing the new sustainability label, the company will also be accurately calculating the exact CO₂e footprint of a stay in its holiday flats and houses as of autumn 2024. In collaboration with BEESark, the footprint for each Interhome accommodation is worked out by calculating the emissions of guests at maximum occupancy per night. “We want to offer our guests the greatest possible transparency. We can also precisely track and monitor our clear climate target of halving the Interhome footprint compared to the reference year 2019 by 2030. This means we are not reliant on estimates and can implement targeted and effective measures,” explains Jörg Herrmann. “Interhome has already played a pioneering role in the development of the quality star classification for holiday flats and houses. Now we also want to set a standard for environmental sustainability in holiday accommodation with the aim of having it adopted by the whole industry.”