IATA and the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (WSHA) have agreed to deepen sustainability cooperation between the airline and hospitality sectors, initially focusing on how airlines procure hotel accommodation for crew stays and other operational needs. The agreement was signed in Brussels during IATA’s World Sustainability Symposium and will produce practical guidance for airline hotel tenders and contracting decisions.
The guidance will draw on IATA’s Integrated Sustainability Program and WSHA’s Universal Sustainability KPIs Programme. It is expected to outline sustainability criteria for hotel tenders, environmental, social and governance considerations in contracts, and examples of best practice.
The initiative is intended to connect airline procurement priorities with hospitality-sector sustainability practices and reduce fragmented reporting across the travel value chain. Longer-term cooperation could cover sustainability measurement, plastic and waste reduction, community engagement, human rights, climate resilience and resource efficiency.
The organizations may also assess whether closer airline-hotel cooperation can improve sustainability outcomes at destinations and across corporate and leisure travel. The agreement establishes a collaboration and guidance-development process; it does not create a mandatory industry standard, completed procurement system or specific airline-hotel contract.