Airbnb, the world's leading community-driven hospitality company, released a new study quantifying the environmental benefits of home sharing for travelers with North American guests using up to 63 percent less energy.

Conducted by Cleantech Group (CTG), this study finds that Airbnb promotes a more efficient use of existing resources and is an environmentally sustainable way to travel.

Traveling on Airbnb results in significant reduction in energy and water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste, and encourages more sustainable practices among both hosts and guests.

“Resource sharing is rapidly growing across a number of sectors including hospitality, consumer goods, and transportation,” said Michael Ellis, EVP Advisory for CTG. "Cleantech Group’s initial analysis demonstrates some of the improvements in environmental resource efficiency that Airbnb’s platform delivers."

“We have always believed that the Airbnb community supports environmental sustainability around the world, and it's truly amazing to see that the impact is even bigger than we could have imagined," said Joe Gebbia, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Airbnb. "In North America alone, Airbnb guests use 63 percent less energy than hotel guests - that's enough energy to power 19,000 homes for one year. With an impact that big, it's clear that the Airbnb community is making a huge difference."

Cleantech Group analyzed over 8,000 survey responses from hosts and guests worldwide (from February 2014 to April 2014) and conducted research on residential and hotel sustainability levels and practices. For the values presented in this study, CTG compared residences to the most sustainable and energy-efficient hotels.

Data reflecting the top 5th percentile hotels (in terms of energy use) from an Energy Star report was compared to residential energy data for the 40-50th percentile of homes in North America. A similar approach was used in Europe.  

This is a reflection of the wide range of residential units that participate in home sharing, as well as a recognition of the best practices that have already been implemented in hotels.

North American highlights from the study include:

• In one year alone, Airbnb guests in North America saved the equivalent of 270 Olympic-sized pools of water while avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 33,000 cars on North American roads.
• Airbnb hosts also tend to engage in sustainable practices. Nearly 83 percent of Airbnb hosts in North America report owning at least one energy efficient appliance at their property.
• Less than half of Airbnb hosts in both North America and Europe provide single-use toiletry products for their guests, also reducing waste per stay.
• In North America, 95 percent of Airbnb hosts say they recycle at least one item type at their property; 94 percent of guests report that they recycle when possible.
• When staying at an Airbnb, guests are 10-15 percent more likely to use public transportation, walk or bicycle as their primary mode of transportation than if they had stayed at a hotel.

European highlights from the study include:

• In one year alone, Airbnb guests in Europe saved the equivalent of 1,100 Olympic-sized pools of water while avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 200,000 cars on European roads.
• Airbnb hosts also tend to engage in sustainable practices. Nearly 79 percent of Airbnb hosts in Europe report owning at least one energy efficient appliance at their property.
• Less than half of Airbnb hosts in both North America and Europe provide single-use toiletry products for their guests, also reducing waste per stay.
• In Europe, 89 percent of Airbnb hosts say they recycle at least one item type at their property; 94 percent of guests report that they recycle when possible.
• When staying at an Airbnb, guests are 10-15 percent more likely to use public transportation, walk or bicycle as their primary mode of transportation than if they had stayed at a hotel.

Many environmental experts and leaders have been encouraged by the results of the study and the impact the Airbnb community is having around the world.

"These findings suggest that Airbnb, by the very nature of its business, has raised the bar in sustainable tourism to a level that the conventional travel industry will find hard to beat,” said Jonathan Tourtellot, Founding Director of the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations.

“Airbnb is demonstrating the potential of home sharing to help make destinations better places to live and visit,” said Brian T. Mullis, Founder and CEO of global non-profit Sustainable Travel International. “The research recently undertaken by the Cleantech Group demonstrates a reduced environmental footprint is possible for the travel industry with an increase in home sharing options.”

While Airbnb encourages more people to travel and to stay longer in the cities they visit, the study found that the environmental benefits of home sharing far outweigh the impacts of this induced travel. The results suggest that Airbnb's new model of sustainable tourism conserves precious resources even as more people have memorable trips.