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The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory review of how the global hotel industry publicly communicates its approach to sustainability.

The paper begins with an outline of the growing importance of sustainability within the hospitality industry and a short discussion of the characteristics of sustainability. The paper draws its empirical material from the most recent information on sustainability posted on the world's leading hotel chains' corporate websites.

The findings reveal that while there is considerable variation in the information the leading hotel chains provided publicly on their sustainability commitments and achievements, they embrace a wide range of environmental, social and economic issues. More critically, the authors argue that these commitments are driven more by the search for efficiency gains, that they are couched within existing business models centred on continuing growth, and that as such the global hotel industry is currently pursuing a “weak” rather than a “strong” model of sustainability.

The paper suggests that although the leading global hotel companies are well placed to take a leading role in promoting sustainability, they may need to extend their sustainability reporting and to introduce external assurance procedures.

The paper provides an accessible review of the sustainability agendas currently being pursued within the global hotel industry and as such it will interest academics, students and practitioners interested in both the hospitality industry and corporate sustainability strategies.

This study aims to provide a comprehensive treatment of the various issues surrounding the concept of the cost competitiveness, competitiveness and sustainability of the hospitality industry. We also investigate how innovations in the Indian hospitality industry can optimize costs without compromising the quality of the product or the services offered.

The methodology used is mainly survey-based with the use of both structured and unstructured questionnaires. In addition, some interviews were conducted with policy-makers and academics to explore from their perspectives what might be the innovations and sustainability issues in the next decade.

The paper helps to identify the essential aspects of cost competitiveness, competitiveness and sustainability in the hospitality industry and to better understand if cost optimization can be accomplished simply by realigning process or cost. These issues have become very important in India in the present context of globalization.

With growing competition on a global level, the hospitality industry needs to proactively manage its internal operations and focus on reducing costs and raising service quality. In this context, the paper helps to reveal sustainable cost effective practices that are geared to today’s competitive environment.

The inspiration to write this paper arises from the recent global economic slowdown and the fact that the hospitality industry is confronted with growing competition on a global level. This study highlights how value can be created for customers by applying suitable strategies.

The authors’ focus is on the way in which sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) discourses and practices emerge in the collaboration of multinational companies (MNCs) with the local hotels in developing country contexts. This paper aims to identify the prevailing institutional orders and logics that bring about CSR and sustainability discourse in tourism industry in Turkey. It also investigates how and to what extent the CSR and sustainability practices align with the local institutional logics and necessities.

Empirical evidence is generated through case studies covering Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (Hilton), its Turkish subsidiary and a local hotel chain to ensure data triangulation. Primary data were collected through interviews with the executives of the selected case hotels, which was supported by extensive secondary data.

Some components of CSR and sustainability logics developed in the headquarters diffuse into local affiliate hotel, not all. Local affiliate hotels seek to acquire local legitimacy in their host environment, despite a standard format imposed by their headquarters. Local necessities and priorities translate themselves into such initiatives in a very limited way in the affiliates of the Hilton where there is mostly a top-down approach. Similar approach has also been observed in the case of the local hotel which is part of a family business group. Family’s values and family business headquarter shape the CSR and sustainability strategy and the logics reflecting the local component.

This paper addresses a theoretical and empirical gap by demonstrating the role of MNCs in the diffusion of sustainability and CSR practices, as acknowledged by Forcadell and Aracil (2017). The authors contribute to the critical writings about the positive impact of CSR and sustainability in the context of the MNCs and their subsidiaries, which is not substantiated due to limited empirical evidence. In addition to these contributions to the CSR and sustainability literatures in tourism and hospitality domains, the authors add to the institutional theory by demonstrating the link between institutional orders and institutional logics. They also show the multiplicity of logics that emanate from the differences of logics developed in the headquarters (centrally imposed) and local affiliate organizations (context-specific) and contribute to theory by highlighting tensions.

This study appeals to management teams and executives of hotels dealing with these issues of tailoring of CSR practices to local necessities. The authors do not only raise awareness of this consciousness but also demonstrate practical application of some of these strategies and prioritization by detecting market specificities and distinctive societal needs. Hotel managers should resist against the headquarter- or family business-driven uniform approach to CSR and sustainability and reflect on corporate policies through checking isomorphic tendencies. This entails being cognizant of local conditions and necessities and respond to them in a flexible and accommodating way. It involves engaging with a full spectrum of stakeholders, including the leadership in headquarters as well as local organizations (e.g. NGOs, suppliers, etc.) and other institutional forces (e.g. state) to align their sustainability and CSR practices with the locally dominant logics. Managers should be aware of certain logics governing CSR and sustainability practices; some of these logics might be constraining critical thinking and innovative practices.

Managers should be proactive in interpreting different institutional logics and process them through critical reflection and boundary spanning and mapping of new opportunities. Moreover, MNC hotel executives should be aware of the limitations of a blanket approach toward CSR and sustainability and increase their sensitivity toward local conditions.

Through this study, the authors are able to add further value to the critical writings about the positive contribution of CSR and sustainability in the context of the MNCs and their subsidiaries, which is not substantiated due to limited empirical evidence.

The purpose of this commissioned paper is to offer some personal reflections on sustainability within the hospitality industry.

The paper opens by identifying sustainability as a teasing paradox for the hospitality industry and a short discussion of the characteristics of sustainability. It then explores the growing interest in corporate sustainability and offers a review of the range of academic research into sustainability within the hospitality industry literature. More generally, the authors suggest three fundamental sets of issues that currently face the industry, namely, defining sustainability within the industry, materiality and independent external assurance and sustainable consumption and the industry’s commitment to continuing economic growth.

In addressing these three sets of issues, the authors make a number of suggestions. First that definitions of sustainability within the hospitality industry can be interpreted as being constructed around business imperatives rather than an ongoing commitment to sustainability. Second that materiality and external assurance are not treated comprehensively within the industry, which undermines the credibility of the sustainability reporting process. Third that the concept of sustainable consumption and any critique of the industry’s commitment to economic growth are conspicuous by their absence in the both the research literature on sustainability and in sustainability reporting within the industry.

The paper suggests that the hospitality industry may need to examine how it defines sustainability, to extend its sustainability reporting to embrace materiality and external assurance and to address the issues of sustainable consumption and continuing economic growth if it is to demonstrate a worthwhile and enduring commitment to sustainability.

The paper provides some accessible personal reflections on sustainability within the hospitality industry and, as such, it will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners interested in the hospitality industry and more widely within the business and management community.

This paper aims to address the key sustainability issues in Canada's tourism and hospitality industry.

The foundation for this paper was laid during a well attended Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes (WHATT) roundtable discussion between industry leaders and hospitality educators in May 2012.

The paper provides valuable information on the concept of sustainable development and outlines key sustainability issues and trends in the Canadian tourism and hospitality industry. The umbrella organization for the hotel industry in Canada, the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC), collaborates with key stakeholders to find innovative and sustainable solutions to challenges the industry is facing. Top future trends are captured in the conclusion.

As the team of authors includes the president of the Hotel Association of Canada and a partner/Canada's national leader of the sustainability practice in the world's largest consulting firm, this paper will be of immense value to students, educators, researchers and industry leaders. Supports two innovative economic options to boost Canada's tourism marketing – reinvesting a portion of international visitor's GST and charging an international visitor arrival levy.

The paper draws on sustainability theories and best practices in Canada to explain the role of innovation in facing challenges in the tourism and hospitality industry in Canada. As the team of authors represents both the industry and academia, this paper will be of immense value to students, educators, and researchers, as well as practitioners.

A company's overall success and resilience in the market is increasingly linked to its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. Following a brief review of sustainable development and corporate sustainability, the concept and rationale behind ESG is discussed with an emphasis on the criteria and limitations of ESG scores. ESG matters are mostly limited to global hotel chains but critical to an entire industry that seeks to decarbonize its operations until 2050 while also tackling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is a potential misalignment of the ESG criteria to achieve the ambitious SDGs based on the narrow, environmentally based view on sustainability in the hotel sector. A set of recommendations is designed to align the SDGs to ESG requirements and expectations supported by industry examples within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and resiliency imperative.

The paper presents the findings of research into the barriers to and drivers of environmentally sustainable policies and practices (ESPPs) in the Australian hotel industry. This study aims to explore these drivers and barriers from the perspective of hotel managers and involve a range of hotels with different hotel industry profiles and management structures.

The study conducted one-on-one interviews with hotel managers to explore the barriers to and drivers of ESPPs. The purpose of the sample and sample size was to ensure representation of different segments of the hotel industry to include international chain affiliated hotels, Australian chain affiliated hotels and independent hotels.

An analysis of the findings suggests that the major barriers to implementing and sustaining environmental sustainability in the Australian hotel industry are time, financial challenges, availability of resources and the views and imperatives of hotel owners and shareholders. The major drivers are financial, marketing, owner and shareholder interests and guest preferences. These stakeholders play a major role in creating both barriers and drivers.

Based on the results, this study can modify the application of stakeholder theory to a degree and argue that stakeholders need to co-operate further to drive sustainability. This study demonstrates that management of environmental sustainability is a challenge for many hotels and there is a particular need for small and independent hotels to embrace environmental sustainability to keep pace with their larger counterparts.

This study is broadly informed by the stakeholder theory. Owners, shareholders and associated stakeholders have a significant influence over environmental sustainability in the Australian hotel industry and they create both drivers and barriers. Responses from hotel managers in this research demonstrate that owners act as a barrier to as well as a driver of environmental sustainability initiatives in the Australian hotel industry.

Efforts to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals are increasingly part of tourism business planning, forming part of their business policies, linking with society and generating a sustainable hotel offer. The great impact it causes and, which in the short term it will achieve, digital tools in hotel activities can be evidenced. It will also help to collect the information that serves for the certifications of hotel companies. In spite of all the efforts, there is still a great knowledge gap that needs to be filled to achieve the expected business results and that it can be evidenced that the hospitality industry is now more than ever focussed on the care of its workers and on contributing to the sustainability of the world.

The aim of this research, which is based on a literature review and bibliometric analysis, is to reveal the development of green technologies in hotels, based on the articles published in tourism and hospitality journals between 1999 and 2020.

Based on five conditions and five databases, 64 journal papers were retrieved and reviewed. Among the surveyed publications pertinent to the eco-friendly/green technology practices at hotels, the majority focus was on the need for eco-friendly/green technology practices at hotels and the schemes implemented to achieve sustainable development.

The research findings especially from the last decade report that today's guests generally prefer green hotels based on their increased awareness of environmental degradation and an ever-growing need for conservation and sustainability.

The environmental responsibility which is inherent in the hospitality and tourism industry due to the environmental burden generated by the combined effect of both industries on Mother Earth, brings forth a substantial sense of commitment on the part of hotel companies. In that regard, a set of corporate initiatives in the form of green technology practices are implemented by hotels, toward the development of new product and service offerings, management of processes and corporate policy formation.

This research focuses on green technologies aimed at sustainability in the field of accommodation and tourism, consisting of a systematic literature search on the subject. It is important in the way that it provides a general overview to researchers in terms of the theoretical implications of green technologies while also offering a road map with respect to green technology applications to the practitioners of the field.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the environmental management policies and practices of the top 50 hotel companies as disclosed on their corporate web sites.

This study employed content analysis to review the web sites of the top 50 hotel companies as defined herein.

Only 46 per cent of the selected hotel companies used web pages to post information related to environmental issues on their public web sites. The web pages of Wyndham, IHG, Accor, Whitbread, Hyatt, Rezidor, Sol Melia, TUI, and Scandic featured more revealing environmental information than that posted by other companies, which indicated their environmental commitment and engagement. The results of content analysis identified 12 major environmental focus areas in which the sample hotel companies engaged.

The findings on environmental policies and practices are limited to the environmental information featured on the web sites of the top 50 hotel companies. Some of these companies may have established environmental policies or initiated environmental programs not disseminated on their web sites. In addition, web page information can be changed at any time, and the findings of this study are based upon a snapshot of the web sites as of March 2010.

This study establishes a benchmark of the dissemination of environmental information on the internet by leading hotels, and provides a preliminary picture of environmental initiatives and engagement among these top hotel companies. The information generated from this study can serve as a guide for hotels that would like to engage in an environmental management program. This study also provides a source of information for hotels that would like to develop environmental web sites to demonstrate their environmental commitment to their stakeholders.

Information concerning the content of environmental information disseminated on the web sites of large hotel companies is sparse. Consequently, this study aims to provide a snapshot of where the hotel industry is with regard to on‐line environmental disclosure and related environmental policies and practices.