Green Hotels Don’t Cost More: How UK business travel can save money and the planet

19 Nov

HRS’s latest sustainability report shows that business travel programmes using its Green Stay data and AI tools reduced hotel emissions by 24 % by September 2025 – while also achieving cost savings.

This is particularly significant for UK‑based business travellers, because it challenges the common misconception that “green” hotels must cost more – in fact, the data demonstrates that sustainability and cost efficiency can go hand in hand in corporate travel.

According to HRS’s 2025 State of Sustainability in Corporate Travel report, travel programmes that leverage its data-driven automation have seen not just lower emissions but also average daily rate (ADR) savings. Many Green Stay Champion hotels – those rated highly on carbon, water and waste metrics – are offering lower ADRs than their less sustainable peers. HRS clients recorded a 5% saving in ADR alongside a 24 % emissions cut.

This dispels a key barrier for travel managers and procurement teams: the belief that sustainable hotel choices necessarily come with a premium. The report reveals multiple instances where more sustainable properties are competitively priced, making them a viable option for corporate travel programmes, rather than a cost burden.

HRS CEO Tobias Ragge puts it succinctly:

“The story isn’t ‘less sustainability,’ it’s ‘smarter sustainability’.”

By operationalising data, aligning it with traveller choice, and focusing on preferred hotels, corporations can simultaneously deliver savings, compliance and sustainability.

A key enabler of this shift is HRS’s Green Stay Initiative, an ISO- and GHG‑Protocol-certified programme that captures sustainability data at the property level across thousands of hotels. The initiative spans over 600 chains in more than 175 countries and is now used by 85 per cent of corporate‑travel‑relevant hotels.

For UK business travellers and their travel managers, this report should be encouraging. It provides strong evidence that sustainability does not mean higher costs and that corporate travel programmes can decarbonise without sacrificing value. In fact, by using data-backed, AI-optimised strategies, organisations may secure greener stays and better rates.

Paul Baker, Sales Director at Global Travel Management, comments:

“This development is a real win for UK business travellers – the HRS data shows that choosing greener hotels doesn’t demand paying more. With the right technology, sustainable stays can be just as cost-effective and even cheaper than conventional options.”

The HRS report also notes that as sustainability becomes a core procurement criterion, Green Stay hotels are winning more corporate volume: their share of contracted room nights increased from 69 per cent in 2025 RFPs to 74 per cent in planned 2026 RFPs.

In short, the notion that eco‑friendly hotels are more expensive is being decisively challenged. The data supports the fact that “green” does not equal “costly” when it comes to corporate lodging - and business travel programmes that lean into verified sustainability data can deliver both environmental impact and financial benefit.

If you’d like to explore how sustainable hotels could work for your corporate travel programme, please contact your Global Travel Management Account Manager for further information.