How to Get Your Hotel Travelife-Ready in 30 Days — A Practical Guide from an auditor

Jo Hendrickx
Jan 15
3 min read

Preparing for a Travelife audit shouldn’t feel like a last-minute scramble — and yet for many hotels, it does. Not because the requirements are difficult, but because the everyday reality of hotel operations makes it hard to keep everything aligned, updated, and documented.

We break down the preparation process into clear insights, practical reasoning, and straightforward actions your team can start applying immediately, especially your Heads of Department (HODs), who hold a lot of the operational evidence auditors look for.

Why Audits Can Feel Challenging for Hotels (Even When They Care Deeply About Sustainability)

Most hotels want to do things right. They have good intentions, existing initiatives, and strong policies. The problem is usually somewhere else:

1. Data is everywhere — but not always where it should be

Utility data lives in multiple Excel files, notebooks, email attachments, or personal folders. When numbers are scattered, you can’t track trends or explain anomalies, and auditors will always ask for trends.

2. Policies exist, but not in one consistent version

A sustainability policy published online, another one printed in a compendium, an older version pinned on a notice board, one missing a signature or review date that is out of date… This inconsistency is one of the most common red flags auditors see immediately.

3. Responsibility is unclear

Hotels often assume that “sustainability” is handled by one person. But most evidence, from waste logs to maintenance records and everything in between belongs to different departments. Without clear ownership, things often get overlooked until the week before the audit.

4. Daily routines aren’t connected to evidence

HODs often perform the necessary actions (meter readings, checks, maintenance, trainings), but don’t document them in a way that aligns with Travelife criteria. As a result, the hotel is doing the work, but can’t prove it.

The Core Insight: Travelife Readiness Is Just Good Hotel Management

When sustainability tasks are treated like separate, additional work, they feel overwhelming. But when integrated into normal operational routines, they become simple, predictable, and easy to maintain.

And that’s exactly what auditors want to see: a hotel that operates sustainably every day, not just before an audit.

Set Yourself Up for a Smoother Audit

Below are some essential foundations that transform audit preparation from stressful into straightforward. They sound simple, and they are, but when if just one is missing, the workflow breaks down.

1. A Single, Clean Source of Data

All consumption information (electricity, water, fuel, LPG, waste, guest-nights) is ideally stored in one place, updated monthly, and trend-ready.

Why it matters: Without consolidated data, calculating ratios and identifying trends is impossible, and auditors need to see both.

What to implement: One spreadsheet or dashboard owned by one responsible person, with monthly input from each HOD. The Travelife EPIT system, available to all hotels as part of the service, helps hotel to do this easily.

2. Policies That Match Everywhere

Every policy document must:

have the same wording across all channels,
include a signature,
show a review date,
be supported by clear goals and actions.

Why it matters: Auditors check consistency. If your own documents contradict each other, it signals poor internal management.

What to implement: A master policy file, reviewed annually is used as the only approved source for all published versions.

3. Department-Level Ownership

Travelife doesn’t live in one office. It lives in every department.

Why it matters: The strongest sustainability manager cannot compensate for disorganized departmental evidence. HODs must own their part of the criteria.

What to implement:

Clear responsibilities per department
A simple checklist for each HOD
Monthly micro-meetings to align evidence

4. Routine Measurements and Documentation

Small, regular actions prevent big gaps during audits.

Why it matters: Travelife checks both performance and documentation. If it’s not recorded, it doesn’t exist.

What to implement:

Monthly utility overview
Weekly water checks (including night consumption)
Waste tracking
Maintenance logs
Photos and records of community/employee actions

5. One Central Evidence Folder

Digital or physical, but logically structured and regularly updated.

Why it matters: Travelife auditors work fast. If you can't find a document easily, the auditor may assume it doesn’t exist.

What to implement: A folder with sections for:

policies,
data,
logs,
training evidence,
photos,
contracts and certificates,
community and social activities.

What Sits Behind a Successful Travelife Audit

It’s not about perfection or headline initiatives.

It’s about clarity, consistency, and ownership. When people understand their role, why it matters, and how to document the actions, being audit-ready comes naturally.

Download the Free 30 Day-Plan on the link below to get a step by step workflow that your team can follow

If you feel like you need more help, and you would feel more confident after talking with a Travelife auditor you might want to consider purchasing our 30 Day Travelife Reset Tookit.