Photo: Shutterstock The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (WSHA) have agreed to strengthen sustainability cooperation between airlines and hotels, starting with how airlines select and contract hotel accommodation.
The agreement was signed at the World Sustainability Symposium and will bring together IATA’s Integrated Sustainability Program and WSHA’s Universal Sustainability KPIs Program to develop practical guidance for hotel procurement.
The guidance will cover sustainability criteria for hotel tenders, environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in contracts, and case studies highlighting best practices. The aim is to help airlines make better-informed purchasing decisions while encouraging hotels to improve and demonstrate their sustainability performance.
Airlines and hotels face overlapping challenges, including responsible procurement, environmental management, social responsibility, supply chain performance and growing expectations around sustainability reporting. The two organizations said closer cooperation could help align approaches across the travel industry.
Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s senior vice president for sustainability and chief economist, said airline sustainability depends in part on the partners supporting their operations. She said the collaboration would connect airlines’ procurement priorities with the hospitality sector’s expertise and strengthen supplier engagement.
Glenn Mandziuk, president and CEO of WSHA, said the partnership aims to move aviation and hospitality away from fragmented reporting toward more consistent, practical standards that can support measurable environmental and social outcomes.
Beyond hotel procurement, the organizations may explore cooperation in sustainability measurement and reporting, plastic and waste reduction, community engagement, human rights, climate resilience and resource efficiency.
They may also examine how closer collaboration between airlines and hotels could support sustainability efforts at destinations and across both corporate and leisure travel.
The initial phase focuses on hotel services purchased by airlines, with wider areas of cooperation remaining potential future developments rather than confirmed commitments