Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss why 73% of travelers are prioritizing sustainable travel.
Video Transcript
JULIE HYMAN: Well, we haven't talked about it much yet, but today's Earth Day. And booking.com is out with a new report looking at how many people are prioritizing sustainable travel. It found that 73% of US travelers say sustainable travel is important to them.
And let's talk to CEO Glen Fogel of Booking Holdings right now about this idea. Glen, thanks for being here. I have to be honest, the cynic part of me read a lot of this report and said, really? Are people really prioritizing sustainable travel? And I'm curious if that was-- I mean, if you're seeing people-- a gap between people's intentions and actions on this front.
GLENN FOGEL: Well, thanks for having me. And look, what you're saying is absolutely correct. People do say in a survey how they are very interested in sustainable travel. And they say they want to look for sustainable travel. And we're making it easier because one of the problems in the past has been somebody says, look, I want to travel sustainably, but I don't know what to do and how to do it.
So our report talks about how we are doing things that makes it easier for people to travel sustainably. And even more important is, we're coming up with ways for people who are in the travel industry who are the suppliers, the hotels, how can they do it in a more sustainable way? Working together, we'll get there eventually. I know right now, it's not as much as we'd like it to be, but it's a long journey, and we're on that path.
BRIAN SOZZI: Glenn, if one knows nothing about how to travel sustainably, how do you go upon it, and what should you be looking for?
GLENN FOGEL: Well, when you come to booking.com, we are giving out a travel badge on the site, so a hotel that is doing sustainable things gets this green leaf badge. And that way, somebody knows that this hotel has been recognized for the things they are doing, whether it be conserving water, or maybe doing the right things with waste, or maybe lowering greenhouse emissions, or perhaps they're doing things that are doing good for the environment where they are-- all sorts of things.
And we really do a good job making sure that these hotels are doing this. Then a person who chooses that hotel knows that that hotel is doing the right thing in terms of sustainability. And even more important, if somebody wants to filter on our site, you can filter and say, I only want to look at sustainable accommodations.
JULIE HYMAN: And your report also found that 68% of travelers globally intend to stay at a property like that over the coming year. So obviously, you're seeing demand from your customers. At the same time, how they get there is important, right? And so if people are flying, for example, there's a pretty high outlay of emissions from that kind of activity. So what are you seeing in terms of how people are getting around?
GLENN FOGEL: Yeah, no, look, there's definitely an issue with the airline industry and how are they going to become more sustainable. As you know, they do use fuels now that are better for the environment than the old jet fuel, but there's a relatively small amount of that available right now. And there are places that are trying to develop more of that.
One of the great things we have on our Kayak site is that-- they're just working with it-- is a carbon sorter, and basically looking for flights that actually produce less greenhouse emissions than other flights, so for people who want to choose a flight that is more sustainable, they can do that. And of course, there always is the idea of purchasing an offset, putting money into something that will then help take some of that carbon out of the air. It's not easy.
And look, the technology to develop an electric plane is being developed, and there are some advances being made there. It's going to take some time. That's probably the hardest part of the travel industry. So let's start where we can. Let's go to the hotels, where we know we can do things better there. And we're providing a lot of information, a lot of handbooks. We talked with our-- look, 100,000 hotels now have our badge. And they got part of it because we are helping to teach them how can they do things better. And as we get there-- look, again, long, long journey. We've got to start somewhere. Let's start there.
BRIAN SOZZI: Glenn, the cost of taking a vacation this summer has really gone up, whether it's flying or staying in a hotel, just because of various inflationary pressures. Have consumers balked at all at this?
GLENN FOGEL: Not that I've seen yet. I think we all heard some of the airlines doing their reporting over the last couple of days and last week. I mean, the airlines have said people are buying airline tickets. That's what they said in their earnings reports. And I think what we have is a case of two years of people not being able to travel the way they wanted to travel. At the same time, they built up their savings. At the same time, it's not easy to buy a lot of things you'd like because of supply chain.
So let's say you want to buy a new car. Well, not so easily getting new cars sometimes right now. Let's go and travel. And they've got the savings, and they're going out, and they're doing it. Look, I am very hopeful that this will continue for some time because people have two years to catch up on their travel.
JULIE HYMAN: And Glenn, from some of the airlines, we were hearing that things were back to where they were from pre-pandemic levels. Is that what you guys are seeing also?
GLENN FOGEL: Well, I don't want to report-- we're not reporting till May 4, but I will say, I did read those reports, and I--
JULIE HYMAN: Give us a little hint.
GLENN FOGEL: I think that--
JULIE HYMAN: Give us a little hint, Glenn.
GLENN FOGEL: I can't do that. But what I can say, what I can say is, I think around the word, "globally," look, we've all seen some of these public numbers and people talking about people wanting to travel. And look, it's different in different parts of the world. The US, obviously, is further ahead than, let's say, Asia, where, unfortunately, the COVID virus is still having some impact there. They're slower in recovering in travel. And China, look, big problem there right now.
So it depends on where you are and how fast things are coming back or not, but I think we all feel that it's time to start living our lives more normally. So I really hope that the US administration would drop the pre-testing to come to the US. We're one of the very few countries that are still doing this. And I really think that is inhibiting people coming to visit the US. And that hurts the industry a little bit.
BRIAN SOZZI: Glenn, how big a headwind is that to your business?
GLENN FOGEL: Well, we are more international than we are domestically around the world. We do better internationally, and domestically is part of a general statement. That being said, though, because we are so global, when somebody says, well, I'm not going to go to the US because I have to do that pre-testing, and they say, I'm going to go somewhere else instead, we can put them somewhere else. So I really am thinking about trying to help build up the US industry.
JULIE HYMAN: And Glenn, sorry, I didn't want to get you in trouble in the quiet period before your earnings. But I do want to ask also about in terms of changing regulations about the mask mandate removal, which seems set to stick, unless the challenge from the administration is successful. And as you look at it, how does this net out for travel?
Because on the one hand, one would imagine some people are happy that the mask mandate has been lifted. They might travel when they otherwise wouldn't have. But maybe there are other people on the flipside who say, well, I don't feel necessarily as safe, if there's not the mask mandate. So what do you think is the net effect?
GLENN FOGEL: Yeah, that's an absolutely correct way to look at that, but I'd say on both sides that it's a really small amount, I imagine, of people who previously are saying, I don't want to wear a mask, so I'm not going on a plane. And I think it's a relatively small number who, unfortunately-- and this is a sad thing to say-- I just don't feel safe because maybe I'm immunocompromised. Maybe I'm taking cancer treatment right now. Also, I can't get on the plane because it's just-- I feel it's too risky. And that's not even talking about the science.
Is it really risky or not? Mm, I don't know about that, and that person may still be going to restaurants or not. But if somebody feels that way, the question is, well, should it be accommodating their feelings or not? I think it really has to come down to the science. And the science says that overall, it's no more risky to be on a plane than is to be in a restaurant or some other place. Then why would we have that? And I do understand people's feelings, but again, in terms of the business, I don't think it's that big a deal.
BRIAN SOZZI: Well, do come on back when you report those earnings in a couple of weeks. Glenn Fogel, Booking Holdings CEO, good to see you.