Tripkicks, Advito Add Hotel, Rail Carbon Measurement to Concur

Advito and travel technology add-on Tripkicks have expanded their capabilities of providing carbon emissions data in the SAP Concur online booking tool to include measurements for hotel and rail, the companies announced.

Tripkicks in May began providing emissions data for air travel via an API connecting Concur data to BCD Travel consulting arm Advito's analytics suite, applying Advito's Gate4 methodology based on an ISO-certified calculator for carbon emissions. The companies now can provide the figures for hotel and rail, designating the most sustainable choices with a green leaf icon and providing additional information on the benefits of making those choices.

The displayed data do not affect the order of results but serve to provide information at the point of sale, Advito global principal and SVP Olivier Benoit said.

"It does not impact policy setup," Benoit said. "Travel managers set up their online booking tools, and it does not interfere with that."

For hotels, the Gate4 methodology includes such factors as electricity mix at the country level, market tier, amenities, occupancy and energy use, according to Advito. It also takes into consideration hotels' sustainability initiatives and carbon reduction programs.

For rail, methodology includes such factors as passenger load per train, electricity mix and the provider's sustainability initiatives.