Auditing for Travelife
We are proud of our auditors and committed to ensuring they receive the highest levels of training so that we can ensure independent, consistent and robust audits at all our properties.
Although we do not often recruit new auditors, we are always happy to review applications in case someone has the rights skills, experience and languages that will help us meet our global auditing needs.
Please carefully read through all of the information on this page to find out if being a Travelife auditor is right for you and how to apply.
Minimum education and experience requirements
All applicants must be able to provide evidence that they have all of the following qualifications and experience:
GSTC Auditor Training (and passed the exam).
Educated to secondary education level or higher (e.g. high school diploma, bachelor’s degree).
Qualification in environmental, sustainability or tourism studies OR at least 2 years’ work experience in an environmental, sustainability, tourism or hospitality field.
At least one auditing (or auditing-related) qualification.
Completion of at least five audits (in any sector) during the previous 2-years.
The following are preferred but not necessary:
Tourism industry experience, particularly in the hospitality sector.
Experience of working with, or auditing against, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
All applicants must be fluent in both written and verbal English and speak at least one other language. Fluency in any of the following languages is especially desirable at the present time:
Arabic
Bulgarian
Croatian
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Indonesian
Italian
Lao
Nepali
Portuguese
Slovenian
Spanish
Swahili
Thai
Turkish
Vietnamese
You must be able to demonstrate the following skills and attributes:
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to pay close attention to detail, even during repetitive tasks.
Ability to balance honesty and firmness with being friendly and helpful.
Ability to stay focused on topics, even when others may try to distract you.
Ability to remain objective and impartial at all times, despite your personal views and experiences.
A strong sense of justice and always doing what is right.
A strong sense of empathy that does not cloud your ability to be impartial and objective.
Ability to withhold your personal opinions in order stay focused on the task at hand, even when you feel strongly about something.
Excellent time keeping and respect for the value of other people’s time.
Excellent trans-cultural skills and able to show respect to people from all backgrounds, treating everyone equally and fairly.
The ability to find ways to communicate when neither you or the other person share a language.
An awareness of your own personal biases and the ability actively control them at all times.
Self-assessment quiz
Please take this short, anonymous quiz before you proceed any further. It will help you identify if you meet our minimum requirements. We cannot see who has completed this quiz or how many times it has been taken by any individual, so it will not affect any formal application you submit.
Auditing for us
Even though you may be qualified, it is important that you are sure that auditing for Travelife is right for you. We recommend that you read through all of the information below before proceeding with your application.
You will complete an online theory training course, achieving a 100% pass mark. Once that is completed we will arrange for you to have practical individual training over 3-days with our Senior Auditor. This will involve observing live audits over the 3-day period then passing an online exam. There is no cost for the training but you will need to cover all of your travel, accommodation and subsistence costs.
You will then need to be observed carrying out one live audit yourself that you will be paid for, with your travel expenses covered just like we do for normal audits. Provided you pass the observation audit assessment, you will then be allowed to audit alone during a probationary period that covers your first 5 audits, for which you will be paid normally.
If you do not pass the observed audit assessment, or any other part of the training, we will advise the next course of action that could include more training, more observed audits or a conclusion of our relationship.
At the end of your probation we will assess your performance in a variety of ways including feedback from hotels, reviewing your audit reports and possibly more observed audits. If we are satisfied then the onboarding process is complete and you will enter into our regular auditor quality control programme. If we are not satisfied with the quality and consistency of your audits at the end of the probationary period, we will either suggest further training and development, or terminate our agreement with you.
Provide independent, objective assessments that evaluate whether Travelife accommodation providers comply with the Travelife Standard.
Provide Travelife with detailed assessment reports following each audit.
During audits, identify and communicate weaknesses and areas for improvement including best practice that goes beyond minimum requirements.
Take responsibility for arranging audit dates and times with accommodation providers that have been assigned to you for audit.
Provide outstanding levels of professionalism and customer service whilst remaining independent and objective.
It is essential that all of our audits are carried out completely, professionally and consistently. For this reason we have a audit quality control programme in place that includes the following:
Annual training
Each year you will be required to complete online refresher training that usually consists of 2 or 3 technical modules that cover specific parts of our certification requirements, particularly ones we have noticed inconsistencies with, 1 compliance module (e.g. anti-bribery and corruption) and one auditing skills module (e.g. completing audit reports, conducting interviews). You must achieve a 100% pass rate but you do have several re-sit opportunities.
Audit reports
Each audit report undergoes a series of quality checks by our Certifications Team. They check that the right level of detail has been provided, that your comments are clear and consistency. You will be given immediate feedback if something is not right with the report, along with time to correct it. Then once per year, we ask the Certifications Team to provide an overall assessment of the quality of your audit reports and will provide you with this feedback, along with any recommended improvements.
Minimum annual audits
One of the best ways to keep your knowledge current is to keep auditing and we will require you to carry out at least 5 audits for us each year in order to have your agreement with us renewed.
Hotel surveys
After each audit the accommodation provider is sent a short survey asking them to provide feedback about how the audit was carried out. The questions cover things like communication, timekeeping, professionalism and being thorough. We monitor the feedback as it comes in just in case we immediately identify any areas for improvement. Once per year we will compile the feedback and share it with you, along with any recommendations for improvement.
Auditor administration
Managing a global team of auditors and hundred of audits each year is complex and it is important that we keep accurate records, and maintain our financial accounts property. That means that auditors correctly and promptly completing administrative tasks such as responding to emails regarding audit scheduling and submitting invoices on time is a critical part of your work for us. We will monitor timeliness and accuracy throughout the year, letting you know as soon as possible if there is a problem. Each year we will give you general feedback on your administrative tasks, along with any recommendations for improvement.
The Auditor Code of Conduct
If your application is successful, you will be required to agree to abide by our Auditor Code of Conduct. Click here to read it and every 2-years you will need to complete and pass an online training module related to the Code of Conduct.
Anti-bribery and corruption
All of our auditors must agree to abide by our Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy that we strictly enforce. Click here to read it and every 2-years you will be required to complete and pass our online anti-bribery and corruption training module.
| Type of work | Fee |
| Micro property audit (maximum guest occupancy of 30 guests) | €160 + travel costs |
| Small property audit (maximum guest occupancy of 31 to 160 guests) | €160 + travel costs |
| Medium & Large property audit (maximum guest occupancy of 161 to 1,000 guests) | €260 + travel costs |
| Mega property audit (maximum guess occupancy of 1,000+ guests) | €350 + travel costs |
| Writing a country profile that is accepted for use by Travelife | €250 |
| Ad-hoc work such as delivering presentations at Travelife events, providing hotel consultancy work | €200 per day + travel costs |
Payment
By the 5th of each month you must submit us an invoice containing your bank account details for any work you carried out in the previous month. We will process this within 28-days and pay directly into your bank account.
The amount of audits you are assigned, and the frequency, depends on a number of factors such as how many hotels are due for audits and how experienced and engaged you are. You will need to complete at least 5-audits per year in order to maintain your status as a Travelife auditor.
Before you complete your final practical assessment you will be asked to sign our Auditor Agreement. This outlines the rights and obligations of both you and Travelife Ltd. The Auditor Agreement is available for you to review in the training area of the Auditor Zone. The contract is valid for 2-years and will only be renewed if you pass our annual performance assessment and complete any mandatory online training that will include a short annual refresher course.
You will also need to sign our Anti-Corruption and Bribery Policy and our Auditor Code of Conduct. Training will be provided on both of these documents and you will be asked to sign them after you complete your theory training course.
The application, training and onboarding process
It is important that we carry out a thorough vetting, training and onboarding process for all of our auditors. Because this involves live audits and a series of assessments, it can take several months before you are auditing independently. Please be sure you have carefully read through the information below so that you understand what is involved before you proceed.
All applicants are required to complete a test to assess your basic sustainability knowledge and English proficiency. This online assessment consists of six short questions and the answers are submitted to Travelife along with your application.
Once the competency assessment has been completed, you can complete the online application form. You will need to upload your CV so please make sure you have an updated version available that includes full details of your work and education history. You will also need to write about why you want to be an auditor for Travelife and answer some other general questions.
If your application is shortlisted, you will be asked to attend up to 3 online interviews with us, some of which will involve further competency assessments. We will do our best to make sure this process is as quick as possible and to consider any time difference.
If your applications is accepted, you will enter the 3-stage training programme. This begins with an online theory course that takes 8 to 10-hours to complete. At the end you will sit an assessment that requires a 100% pass rate but you are permitted to retake the assessment several times. The online training covers the following topics:
Introduction to tourism, travel and accommodation
Introduction to Travelife
The Travelife Standard
Anti-Bribery and Corruption
Travelife Auditor Code of Conduct
Travelife Complaints & Appeals
When you have passed the theory training assessment we will arrange for you to have practical individual training over 3-days with our Senior Auditor. This will involve observing live audits over the 3-day period then passing an online exam. There is no cost for the training but you will need to cover all of your travel, accommodation and subsistence costs.
A more senior auditor will observe you carrying out one live audit yourself that you will be paid for, with your travel expenses covered just like we do for normal audits. They will complete a practical assessment that will be reviewed by Travelife.
Provided you pass the observation audit assessment, you will then be allowed to audit alone during a probationary period that covers your first 5 audits. You will be paid normally during this period.
If you do not pass the observed audit assessment, or any other part of the training, we will advise the next course of action that could include more training, more observed audits or a conclusion of our relationship.
At the end of your probation we will assess your performance in a variety of ways including feedback from hotels, reviewing your audit reports and possibly more observed audits. If we are satisfied then the onboarding process is complete and you will enter into our regular auditor quality control programme. If we are not satisfied with the quality and consistency of your audits at the end of the probationary period, we will either suggest further training and development, or terminate our agreement with you.If we are not satisfied with the quality and consistency of your audits at the end of the probationary period, we will either suggest further training and development, or terminate our agreement with you.