Vacation apartments have become even more popular since corona. While labels in other sectors provide information about the sustainability of a product or service, vacation apartments in Switzerland do not offer any such awards. This is now set to change: Together with the destination Engadin Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair (TESSVM), ibex fairstay is launching a pilot project for the sustainability certification of vacation apartments.
For guests who are concerned about sustainability when choosing accommodation, it is often difficult to recognize in the jungle of offers which offers meet their own expectations of sustainability. In the hotel industry, labels that have become established at national and international level offer support and guidance. In Switzerland, such sustainability labels for vacation apartments are completely non-existent - until now.
Project launch in the para-hotel industry
Together with ibex fairstay, the specialist for sustainability in the accommodation industry, the destination Engadin Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair (TESSVM) is launching a project that will allow the parahotel industry to offer sustainable products in future and thus consolidate its position on the market. The para-hotel industry is an important pillar of tourism in Alpine regions, including Graubünden. In the Engadin Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair destination, vacation apartments account for over 50% of overnight stays, depending on the location, and are therefore a central component of the destination's offering. It is therefore important that these offers also develop more sustainably step by step. In order to close this gap, TESSVM has actively approached ibex fairstay. At the same time, the destination would like to be officially certified as a sustainable destination - another milestone towards more sustainability in tourism.
In the project launched in April 2022 and running until January 2023, ibex fairstay is further expanding the possibilities for certification in the accommodation industry. In addition to the adjustments to the methodology for campsites that have already begun, the focus is on vacation apartments, or "serviced apartments" according to the classification of Hotellerie Suisse, another important player in the para-hotel industry. Serviced apartments can be classified in the accommodation landscape between bed & breakfast and the hotel industry. The major difference is the lack of F&B services: guests either prepare their meals in their apartment or enjoy the local restaurants.
Project participants
The Office for Economy and Tourism in Graubünden recognizes the need to promote and award sustainability in vacation apartments and supports the project financially. The project sponsor is Tourismus Engadin Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair AG, Scuol, represented by the director Martina Hollenstein Stadler; project management and development are the responsibility of ibex fairstay in Maienfeld. The following companies, also based in the canton of Graubünden, are pilot partners and active members of the working group: the vacation apartment agency Engadin Booking, which arranges private properties in the Engadin, the independent Pradas Resort Brigels in the Surselva and the national vacation apartment provider Reka with vacation centers in the canton of Graubünden, here with the Reka Center Bergün. After the pilot phase, the project is to be extended to the whole of Switzerland. If everything goes smoothly, the participating vacation homes will be able to proudly place the ibex fairstay sustainability label under their Christmas trees at Christmas 2022, making them one of Switzerland's pioneers in sustainability.
Here you can find the press release in the htr of May 30, 2022: New label for sustainable vacation apartments
