30 independntly judged awards in four categories

Carefully selected to showcase the broad spectrum of sustainable achievements by hotels, the Eco Stay Awards highlight excellence in Sustainability Planning, Local Community, Cultural Heritage and Environmental Impact.

    1. Climate and Tourism Leadership Recognises hotels that actively engage in climate action and sustainable tourism planning, demonstrating leadership in fostering resilience and sustainability within their communities. GSTC Criteria: A3, A10

    2. Sustainability Compliance Excellence Recognises hotels with robust sustainability management systems and excellence in adhering to legal and regulatory requirements, emphasising the importance of both internal sustainability practices and external legal compliance. GSTC Criteria: A1, A2

    3. Staff Sustainability Engagement Recognises hotels that actively involve their staff in the sustainability journey, providing regular training, and ensuring their understanding and commitment to sustainability practices. GSTC Criteria: A4

    4. Guest-Driven Sustainability Celebrates hotels that effectively monitor and enhance customer satisfaction regarding sustainability, showing responsiveness to feedback and commitment to continuous improvement. GSTC Criteria: A5

    5. Health and Wellness Integration Recognises hotels that integrate health and wellness into sustainability practices, promoting physical, mental, and environmental well-being. GSTC Criteria: A4

    6. Sustainable Design and Operations Innovation Recognises hotels demonstrating exceptional innovation in sustainable design, construction, and operational practices, including responsible land use and the integration of cultural and environmental considerations. GSTC Criteria: A7, A8

    7. Transparent Sustainability Communication Recognises hotels excelling in all facets of sustainability communication, ensuring transparency, accuracy, and educational value in their interactions with stakeholders, guests, and the community. GSTC Criteria: A3, A6, A9

    8. Sustainable Event Planning Recognises hotels that excel in planning and executing sustainable events, including eco-friendly logistics and waste management. GSTC Criteria: A3, A4, A6, A10 (MICE)

    9. Eco Champion Award Recognises the staff member at each hotel who excels in promoting sustainability, driving eco-friendly initiatives, and ensuring accurate and timely submission of all required data for the property's eligibility for the Eco Stay Awards. GSTC Criteria: A4, A6

    1. Community Impact Leadership Recognises exemplary engagement with and impact on the local community, focusing on supporting community infrastructure and development without jeopardising essential local services. GSTC Criteria: B1, B8

    2. Local Economic Empowerment Recognises efforts to bolster the local economy through employment, sourcing, and support for local entrepreneurs, emphasising economic empowerment. GSTC Criteria: B2, B3, B4

    3. Inclusive Employment Practices Recognises ethical employment practices, including anti-exploitation efforts, non-discrimination, and promoting diversity, underlining a commitment to high ethical standards and fostering an inclusive workplace. GSTC Criteria: B5, B6

    4. Exemplary Work Environment Celebrates hotels that ensure labour rights, provide safe working conditions, offer a living wage, and support employee development. GSTC Criteria: B7

    5. Sustainable Livelihoods Advocacy Honours hotels that ensure their activities do not adversely impact local access to livelihoods, maintaining respect for local land and resource use. GSTC Criteria: B9

    6. Inclusive Event Practices Recognises hotels that ensure events are inclusive and accessible to all, promoting diversity and equity. GSTC Criteria: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 (MICE)

    1. Cultural Heritage Preservation Recognises hotels for their overall excellence in managing cultural interactions and actively contributing to the protection and preservation of cultural sites and traditions. GSTC Criteria: C1, C2

    2. Authentic Cultural Integration Recognises hotels that integrate authentic elements of local culture into their operations, design, decoration, cuisine, or retail offerings, ensuring respect for intellectual property rights and active engagement with the local community. GSTC Criteria: C3

    3. Artefact Stewardship Acknowledges hotels that responsibly manage historical and archaeological artefacts, ensuring they are not sold, traded, or displayed inappropriately and are in compliance with local and international laws. GSTC Criteria: C4

    4. Responsible Event Management Honours hotels that ensure responsible management of events, including minimising environmental impact and promoting social responsibility. GSTC Criteria: C1, C2, C3, C4 (MICE)

    1. Sustainable Food Excellence Recognises excellence in providing sustainable food and beverage options, emphasising local, organic, and ethically sourced ingredients. GSTC Criteria: D1.2, D2.4

    2. Sustainable Procurement Leadership Recognises hotels that excel in implementing environmentally preferable purchasing policies, prioritising sustainable suppliers and products. GSTC Criteria: D1.1

    3. Carbon and Energy Leadership Recognises hotels that excel in managing their carbon footprint and energy consumption, prioritising renewable energy sources usage and implementing innovative energy-saving practices. GSTC Criteria: D1.3, D2.1

    4. Eco-Friendly Transportation Honours hotels that significantly reduce transportation-related emissions by encouraging the use of cleaner, more efficient transport options and by optimising their supply chains to minimise transportation requirements. GSTC Criteria: D2.2

    5. Eco-Friendly Pollution Management Recognises hotels that excel in reducing various forms of pollution, including minimising harmful substances and ensuring their responsible storage, use, and disposal, thereby protecting local ecosystems and enhancing guest experiences. GSTC Criteria: D2.5, D2.6

    6. Waste Reduction Excellence Honours hotels that excel in waste management, emphasising the reduction of waste through efficient purchasing as well as the implementation of practices to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste effectively. GSTC Criteria: D1.2, D2.4

    7. Event Waste Reduction Recognises hotels that have implemented effective waste reduction and recycling programs specifically for events and conferences. GSTC Criteria: D1.2, D2.4

    8. Water Stewardship Celebrates hotels that demonstrate excellence in comprehensive water management, including sustainable water use, conservation strategies, and effective wastewater treatment. GSTC Criteria: D1.4, D2.3

    9. Biodiversity Conservation Recognises hotels that excel in the conservation and management of biodiversity and ecosystems, emphasising the protection of native species and the prevention of invasive species. GSTC Criteria: D3.1, D3.2

    10. Responsible Site Visitation Celebrates hotels that adhere to best practices for managing and promoting visits to natural sites, ensuring minimal impact and promoting environmental awareness. GSTC Criteria: D3.3

    11. Ethical Wildlife Practices Recognises hotels that uphold the highest standards in wildlife interactions, ensuring ethical treatment and conservation of wildlife through responsible practices and adherence to local, national, and international regulations. GSTC Criteria: D3.4, D3.5, D3.6

Eligibility

To enter the 30 Eco Stay Awards, hotels must first earn a Verified Bamboo Badge by meeting essential benchmarks in HR, Energy, Food, and Waste to ensure a foundation of sustainable practice - using Tuu’s entry platform and our third-party verification process by HLB International.

The entry
platform

Tuu’s simple and intuitive custom-built eco tracking platform is designed with ease of use as a priority.

  • Easily input and visualise your hotel’s HR, Energy, Water, Food and Waste data.

  • A full dashboard showing graphs of your sustainability results tracked month by month - perfect for identifying areas for improvement.

  • Monthly rating score out-of-100 to help you track your progress internally before getting public recognition.

    Our rating is tracked to Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking (CHSB), Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program, The Hospitality Alliance for Responsible Procurement (HARP), EHL Insights, Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.

  • Data will only be shared with our third party Verification Partner, HLB International - only with your written consent. We anonymise all data for our own reporting and benchmarking.

  • Permanent free access to the tracking dashboard so your hotel can visualise and improve sustainability performance over the long term.

Why this matters now

The pressure is rising. ESG and owner expectations are rising fast, travellers demand transparency and authenticity, greenwashing regulation is forcing change, and most sustainability efforts still go unseen — or are misunderstood.

The Eco Stay Awards offer a ready-to-use solution built for credibility, clarity, and compelling storytelling that matters to guests, owners, and partners.

Winning hotels benefit from independent assessment by expert judges, a trophy and framed certificate, multi-format logo rights usage (print, digital, OTA listings), an Eco Profile and bespoke social media cards to celebrate your sustainability achievements.

6 steps to celebrating genuine sustainability success

1. Request an account
Get started by signing up to join.

2. Upload data and proofs
Use our free sustainability tracking platform to visualise your sustainability data across 5 key areas (HR/Energy/Food/Water/Waste).

3. Data submission
Ensure at least six months of data, current or past, is uploaded.

4. Apply for third party verification ($1,000)
Our advisory partner HLB will review all data. Qualifying properties earn a Verified Green, Silver or Gold Bamboo Smart Badge and the right to apply for up to 30 Eco Stay Awards.

5. Enter the Eco Stay Awards
Complete entry forms for any of the 30 Special Recognition Awards, focusing on your hotel's unique strengths. These are evaluated and judged the advisory panel. (Winners package: $2,000 per award - no entry fee or billing if unsuccessful).

6. Tell impactful sustainability stories
As your consultative content studio, we craft you editorial-quality content shaped around your verified data, Eco Stay Awards entries, and expert insights from our judges.

Get started