As part of this partnership, Orbit trusts the Qualmark STB within our Orbit Plus+ preferred supplier programme, so we can more easily profile properties that show a proven commitment toward a sustainable future and reduction of their environmental impact.
The framework has a holistic approach to sustainability and is used to assess accommodation providers in five key areas:
Properties are awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze, depending on how far they are on their sustainability journey across all key areas. All three levels of accreditation mean properties meet all of Qualmark’s standards, offer a high level of service, and are aware of their environmental impact.
In a 2022 survey to understand what our customers valued about sustainable practices, Orbit found that socially sustainable practices were just as important, if not more important than environmental activity.
Qualmark considers all corners of sustainability within their framework.
of respondents said sustainable practices were an important part of their booking decision.
was the most important sustainable practice with 63.5% of respondents including it in their top 3. Followed by environmentally friendly amenities and good waste management practices.
Qualmark is a quality assurance organisation who not only independently validates the quality of New Zealand accommodation, but their Sustainable Tourism Business (STB) Award criteria assesses and validates properties delivering a quality sustainable experience to travellers.
It’s important when delivering a sustainability framework that the information provided to our customers is validated. Each member property is assessed by a specialist accommodation assessor which means you can be confident these properties are committed to doing better.
There are several sustainability strategies out there used by properties, which can make it difficult to compare or easily share. We can combat this by using a single programme like Qualmark which means that all properties identified are measured using the same criteria.
Qualmark's criteria are also GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council) aligned, which means all the criteria properties are assessed by, are aligned with global benchmarking standards for all accommodation. Qualmark is currently in the process of becoming officially GSTC recognised and is awaiting confirmation.
