Tuu Eco Stay Awards make hospitality sustainability claims verifiable and valuable

May 7, 2025

Greenwashing has become too common and with sustainability in hospitality shifting from claims to proof, three leading hotels in Asia from Accor, IHG and Zannier Hotels have become the first to earn verified recognition from the data-backed Tuu Eco Stay Awards, proving sustainability can strengthen both credibility and competitive edge.

While the first recipients span global and high-profile brands, the Tuu Eco Stay Awards are designed to work for hotels of all sizes. For independent and regional groups, the programme offers a cost-effective, high-trust pathway to compete with and benchmark against global brands on sustainability leadership.

Regent Hong Kong, Pullman Phuket Karon Beach Resort (Thailand), and Zannier Bãi San Hô (Vietnam) each submitted at least six consecutive months of operational data for independent review, earning Tuu’s Verified Bamboo Badge, a measurable mark of trusted progress that general managers can benchmark, marketers can amplify, and ESG teams can build on.

Each hotel took a different path to progress, but all backed it with evidence and operational data across five core metrics - Energy, Water, Food, Waste, and Human Resources - maximising the reporting already compiled for recent EarthCheck Platinum, Green Key, and Green Globe certifications to earn Tuu’s Verified Bamboo Badge.

Terry Blackburn, founder of the Tuu Eco Stay Awards advised “we realised many hotels weren’t making the most of the marketing opportunity to celebrate their genuine eco achievements, but we also knew credibility had to come first. That’s why we take a rigorous, data-backed approach from the start.”

At Regent Hong Kong, that process is helping validate a major achievement: a 23% reduction in electricity use following renovation.

"Thanks to our owner's commitment to transforming Regent Hong Kong into a sustainable hotel, this renovation was rooted in responsibility,” shared Harvey Wong, the property's director of engineering adding “we set and review ESG targets throughout the year, and platforms like the Tuu Eco Stay Awards help bring added clarity and credibility to the progress we’re making.”

Unlike broad certification schemes, the Tuu Eco Stay Awards offer a performance-based, practical alternative, giving hotels a clear framework for tracking monthly progress. Verified Bamboo Badges are valid for 12 months and are stored on a third-party blockchain registry to ensure transparency and traceability.

"Greenwashing has been too common, even in our industry. What appealed to us about the Tuu Eco Stay Awards was that it’s based on facts, not fiction or wishful thinking,” says Alain K. Bachmann, general manager of Zannier Bãi San Hô, which uses solar to supply up to 40% of the resort’s energy. “It gave us a clear picture of where we stand today, and a strong foundation for what we want to improve next.”

Tuu issues each verified hotel a public-facing Eco Profile, a digital page that shows its Verified Bamboo Badge, aggregated monthly score, and sustainability highlights to build transparency at a glance.

“By collecting and verifying data, hotels can turn sustainability ambition into evidence-based action,” adds Paul Ashburn, Partner at HLB Thailand, the third-party verification partner of the Tuu Eco Stay Awards. “It’s about moving from intention to impact—and that credibility matters to everyone from guests and regulators to investors.”

That credibility also supports hotels like Pullman Phuket Karon in applying their sustainability efforts across departments and guest touchpoints.

Christian Carminati, hotel manager of Pullman Phuket Karon notes “a data-driven platform like the Tuu Eco Stay Awards helps validate our efforts and benchmark our progress in a meaningful way. We’ve focused on hands-on initiatives like structured waste reduction and phasing out single-use plastics, and this gives our team and guests confidence that those changes are making a real impact.”

Hotels with a Verified Bamboo Badge also earn the right to apply for 30 independently judged Eco Stay Awards across four categories: Environmental Impact, Local Community, Cultural Heritage, and Sustainability Planning. Judging is open year-round and aligned with global ESG benchmarks, helping hotels turn verified sustainability into long-term recognition and marketing value.

Earning the Verified Bamboo Badge and entering the full suite of Eco Stay Awards is just the beginning. Tuu supports hotels in turning verified progress and awards into engaging content, from in-room storytelling to investor-ready reports. Each verified hotel receives a tailored storytelling kit to help communicate its impact with guests, owners, and brand platforms.

With more than 20 hotels already participating across Asia, the Tuu Eco Stay Awards is gaining traction with boutique independents and global brands alike. And with greenwashing regulations tightening and guest expectations evolving, the timing couldn’t be better.

Blackburn adds “guests want to stay in sustainable hotels, so let’s give them a simple way to spot the ones doing it right, and help those hotels share content that’s engaging, credible, and backed by real progress. No one wants to hear about plastic straws and towel reuse anymore. That should be a given, not the story.”

The success of the Tuu Eco Stay Awards is supported by industry partners committed to sustainability in hospitality. Official Sponsors include ecoSPIRITS, Lumitics, and Bizsu. Official Partners include the Asia Sustainable Travel, Phuket Hotels Association, C9 Hotelworks, and Delivering Asia.

About the Bamboo Verified hotels
Reopened in 2023 after extensive renovation, Regent Hong Kong reimagined the iconic 1980s-era Intercontinental on Victoria Harbour, showing how older urban hotels in the world’s most expensive real estate markets can still deliver bold sustainability progress.

Accor’s Pullman Phuket Karon Beach Resort — a renovation of one of Thailand’s largest resort properties, with 662 rooms spread across 75 acres — proves that operational scale and existing infrastructure are no barriers to reducing resource use.

Zannier Bãi San Hô combines luxury with local impact, integrating solar infrastructure that supplies up to 40% of the resort’s energy, along with organic farming and vernacular architecture across its 240-acre coastal setting.

About Tuu
Tuu is a sustainability intelligence system helping hotels turn operational impact into data-backed progress and purposeful storytelling. Designed to make ESG performance measurable, comparable, and communicable, Tuu supports hotel teams, brand leaders, and ownership groups to track performance, verify results, and share credible sustainability content across stakeholder touchpoints.

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