Hotels for Trees eyes UK expansion through Avondata partnership

Independent property management system (PMS) provider Avondata has partnered with Dutch non-profit organisation Hotels for Trees in a bid to accelerate the charity's expansion in the UK.

Hotels for Trees was founded in 2021 by Linde Borger and Floris Licht, who both worked for Hilton and Accor.

It is aiming to plant at least a million trees per year by 2025 by offering guests the choice to skip their daily room cleaning. In Europe, participating hotels pay €5 (£4.30) to the charity for every room that is not cleaned.

Some 180 hotels have signed up to the initiative from over 30 countries.

The new partnership gives the environmental charity access to all of Avondata's properties, which include hundreds of hotels, pubs and inns that use its cloud-based property management system, Rezcontrol.

Dan Rant, general manager of Seamill House in North Ayrshire, Scotland, said: "We wanted to give something back and make a positive contribution to the environment. I was already preparing for the hotel to be assessed by Green Tourism, and this initiative actually helped us to achieve a Bronze.

"We are very proud to be the first Scottish hotel to partner with Hotels for Trees - the scheme empowers both our team and our guests, and to date Seamill House has been responsible for planting over 70 trees, since we signed up in June."

Sarah Cade, director of Avondata, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have this opportunity to make a difference. We believe many of our hotels will be interested, which gives Hotels for Trees a real expansion opportunity, especially here in the UK."

Floris Licht, founder of Hotels for Trees, added: "We are thrilled to have Rezcontrol on board. This new strategic partnership gives us the opportunity to help many hotels in the UK who are keen to implement green initiatives."