How carbon offset on IMPT hotel bookings actually works
What gets offset
For every IMPT hotel booking, we calculate the estimated emissions of the stay using a standardized model based on:
- Electricity and heating: energy use per room-night, varied by region (grid carbon intensity matters — a stay in Iceland on geothermal heat is very different from a stay on a coal-heavy grid)
- Water heating: hot water use, hot tub/pool overhead where flagged
- Waste: per-guest waste generation and treatment route
- Embodied emissions of consumables: linen laundering, toiletries, food where included in rate
We don't claim to offset flights, ground transport, or food consumed off-property — only the stay itself. If you want a more complete trip-level offset, the IMPT app lets you add additional offset volume.
Where the credits come from
All credits are sourced from registries with public, auditable issuance records — primarily Verra (VCS) and Gold Standard, with a small allocation to nature-based solutions verified under Plan Vivo. We deliberately avoid the "tree-planting" headlines that don't come with verifiable retirement records.
Credit retirement is logged transparently — you can request the retirement serial number for any specific booking via support@impt.io.
What we don't claim
We don't claim a carbon-offset booking is the same as a low-carbon booking. The hierarchy is still: avoid → reduce → offset. Choosing a destination served by renewable electricity, traveling by train or bus where possible, staying longer in fewer places — these all reduce emissions in absolute terms more than offsetting an emissions-heavy trip.
What we DO claim is that the offset on every IMPT booking is real, verified, retired, and built into the booking price with no premium. That's the floor, not the ceiling.
The bigger picture
IMPT's thesis is that climate-conscious travel becomes the default only when it's also the easier, faster, and cheaper option. Built-in offset, IMPT token rewards on stays, and direct-to-hotel pricing (no Booking.com markup) are how we make that the default. Browsing the destination guides on this site is one way in. Searching on the main app is the other.