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The purpose of this paper is to explore how effectively leading sustainable hotels have integrated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their reporting. The main aim is to pinpoint areas for improvement concerning SDG reporting which can help the hospitality industry to achieve a transformation in a more SDG-aligned global tourism system.

For this study, a content analysis technique was used to extract the information regarding strategic consistency of SDG reporting. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied to the analysis of this information. This paper seeks to assess the extent to which the materiality analysis, corporate targets and performance indicators defined by the world’s top sustainable hotels in their sustainability reports are consistent with those SDGs linked to the business. To that end, the authors have selected the most sustainable hotels according to the SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment in 2020.

The results of this study show that the most sustainable hotel companies did not take a strategic consistency approach when reporting the SDGs. These findings identify four areas for improvement concerning reporting, which may promote the adoption of a strategic and consistent approach in SDG reporting.

This study includes a set of recommendations to provide the market with complete, coherent and comparable information on their contribution to the SDGs and, therefore, foster collective learning to bring about sustainable tourism transformation.

This paper represents a contribution to the discussion on the strategic or symbolic implementation of SDGs at a corporate level. In addition, this paper reflects a deeper understanding of how hotel companies could improve their reporting and management system to contribute to SDGs.

In the context of heightened awareness and understanding of responsible tourism, it has become increasingly imperative for luxury hotels to introspect on the impact of their operations on environmental and social sustainability. This study aims at examining the prevalence and growth of sustainability practices in the Indian luxury hotel segment as it increasingly competes on a global platform.

The research approach adopted in this paper is qualitative and emic. Primary data is gathered for the study through semi-structured interviews with select luxury hotel general managers from four hotel chains of Indian origin – ITC Luxury Hotels, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, Taj Hotels and Palaces and The Leela – to gain an insight into sustainability initiatives adopted in the Indian hospitality industry. Secondary research data regarding the eco-friendly, green measures implemented in these hotels is collected primarily from the websites of the respective hotel chains and supplemented by review of academic literature, media articles, industry reports and company press releases.

The findings of the study reveal that Indian luxury hotel brands are increasingly adopting green products and integrating innovative sustainability practices in their day-to-day operations. However, several of these initiatives are in the non-customer-facing domains such as the engineering and back-of-the-house operations. Very few Indian hotel chains are building these sustainability initiatives into their core philosophy and embedding it in the front-line customer service experience at their properties to reinforce the green image of the hotels.

The paper also proposes the 6Cs Framework of Sustainability that can be utilised to categorise the green sustainable practices adopted in responsible hotels in a simplistic manner under six broad verticals. Practitioners, researchers and educationists in the hospitality industry would find the implications of this study useful in the context of a post-pandemic world where sustainability is influencing consumer choices across industries in today’s eco-conscious and enlightened business and marketing environment.

This study aims to demonstrate the derivation of social sustainability metrics that guide the decision-making of hotel managers regarding sustainability strategies based on the case study of Hotel Tigaiga in the Canary Islands, using a noninstrumental approach of the stakeholder theory.

The analytic–synthetic method of integrated social value (ISV) was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the stakeholders’ representatives, direct observations and relevant documents.

Metrics referring to hotel outputs valued by stakeholders and expressed in monetary terms were obtained.

The findings cannot be directly applied to a similar hotel. Applying the ISV model to a set of similar hotels to standardize outputs and proxies is necessary.

The results can guide efforts to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Hotel Tigaiga’s social sustainability strategies.

Research on measuring the sustainability of hotels in terms of generating maximum value for society is limited. This study is unique because it demonstrates the process of deriving comprehensible indicators to guide hotel managers toward social sustainability.

This paper aims to look at the sustainability practices adopted by the Pakistani hotel industry. Sustainability is a relatively under-researched notion from the perspective of the developing world, and in particular, the research lacks evidence from the Pakistani hotel industry.

The authors follow an exploratory multiple case study design to study the sustainability practices adopted by the Pakistani hotel industry. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with the senior hotel managers.

The results suggest that sustainability is only partially integrated into the business strategy for most of the sample hotels, and a systematic approach to sustainability is currently lacking. Overall, the central focus of the hotels is on developing commercial performance, whereas some fragmented social and environmental sustainability initiatives are implemented on an ad hoc basis.

This study identifies some practical issues and challenges in relation to sustainability implementation in the Pakistani context. It is suggested that the government, community organizations and the private sector firms need to actively collaborate to promote the sustainability agenda.

This paper extends the extant literature by exploring sustainability implementation in the Pakistani hotel industry. While there is limited sustainability research in the context of the developing world, this study contributes by bridging this gap in the present literature.

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of sustainability communication on social media. More specifically, the effects of message appeal (sensual vs guilt) and message source (hotel vs social media influencer [SMI]) on perceived environmental corporate social responsibility and the intention to stay at the eco-friendly hotel were examined.

Three studies using the experimental design were carried out. Study 1 examined the relationship between message appeal (sensual vs guilt), perceived environmental social corporate responsibility and the intention to stay at the eco-friendly hotel when the hotel posts sustainability messages on social media. Study 2 replicated Study 1 findings when the SMI posts sustainability messages. Study 3 examined the moderating role of message source (hotel vs influencer) in the effects of message appeal (sensual vs guilt) on behavioral intentions.

Sustainability messages with the sensual (vs guilt) appeal are more persuasive when the eco-friendly hotel (vs SMI) posts it on social media. Furthermore, the traveler’s perception of the hotel’s environmental corporate social responsibility mediates this relationship.

This study extends the literature on sustainability communication by demonstrating the role of message source and message appeal in influencing the traveler’s perceptions and intentions toward eco-friendly hotels.

According to the study findings, eco-friendly hotels can motivate travelers to make pro-sustainable choices by accurately matching the message appeal with the message source in the sustainability communication on social media.

This study is one of the earliest studies that examine the congruency effect of message appeal and message source for sustainability communication on social media in the hospitality realm. The findings offer novel insights for eco-friendly hotels to develop effective sustainability communication on social media.

The purpose of this study posited that tourism companies and more especially hotels located in tourist destinations dependent on air transportation, need to commit more strongly to sustainability because of their greater distance from the main outbound markets. The research focused on determining whether hotels’ star rating, location, age and size influence their sustainability communication and on identifying the characteristics of the messages used in hotels’ sustainability communication.

To accomplish these objectives, a sequential mixed methods design with three interconnected phases was used, including quantitative data and content analysis.

Less than 10% of hotels located in a tourist destination strongly dependent on air transportation and peripheral to the main outbound markets actually communicate about sustainable practices on their websites. Communication practices are dependent on hotels’ star rating, location, size and age.

The study limitations are that it was conducted in only one destination and that the hotel websites’ layouts are heterogeneous, which means that the analysis and comparison of the relevant information is extremely challenging. In addition, the research only considered hotels or similar lodgings, leaving out other types of accommodation.

Hotels in tourist destinations dependent on air transportation need to adjust their sustainability communication in response to the trend among tourists toward greater consciousness about the environmental impacts of their individual tourism-related choices. Hotels also need to provide more accurate and detailed information on sustainable practices, with both affective and rational appeals that focus on tourists’ experiences.

The study was conducted in a destination dependent on air transportation and peripheral to the primary outbound markets.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how business organizations design and implement sustainability practices to foster competitive advantage.

This qualitative study is based on an exploratory multiple case study involving 11 Mexican hotels recognized as “champions” in sustainability. Data gathering took place via in-depth interviews with hotel managers.

The key internal resources and capabilities must be supported by integrated microfoundations. The interaction between attributes of key resources and microfoundations reveals four transversal dimensions, namely, leadership orientation, organizational culture, team-based organizational structures and human resources and control management systems to build a sustainability-based competitive advantage in the hospitality industry.

The implementation of sustainability processes in the hospitality industry depends on the ability of leaders to craft systems, build commitment and align interests and goals consistent with sustainability. Business managers may find some guidance for implementing sustainability-related initiatives from the results of this paper.

This work presents both theoretical and practical contributions, integrating and operationalizing a set of key resources (using the VRIO framework) and microfoundations approach to create and maintain a sustainability-based competitive advantage, in contrast to existing studies where those resources and conditions are examined in a piecemeal fashion.

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.

The aim is to provide insights on the inclusion of sustainability training during internship and the engagement of interns in the sustainability practices of the hotel. The paper investigates how aspects of knowledge and participation in sustainable practices can bring about a positive change in the industry's future and also aid in the creation of smart green leaders.

The paper utilizes qualitative research methodology and draws on in-depth interviews with students and learning and development managers using multiple sources of evidence to derive a holistic picture.

The paper aims to highlight the importance of incorporating sustainability training as an indispensable part of hotel internships. It also reveals the positive impact and long-term behavioural changes of students along with presenting strategies to create student stewards for sustainability.

The limitations of the study arise from its small sample size, which nonetheless generated some rich insights.

There has been much research in the area of hospitality internships, however, it has not been considered from the perspective of sustainability development or green internships. In this sense, the paper is novel as it challenges the traditional expectations of hospitality internships.

This study analyzes the competencies toward sustainability in hotel facilities in order to identify the level of implementation of sustainability practices, as well as individual competencies for sustainability in the hospitality companies.

Interviews and a survey with hotel employees were conducted in two important touristic Brazilian cities, Florianopolis, and Rio de Janeiro, considering the TBL (triple bottom line) dimensions. The data were analyzed with content analysis and descriptive statistics and conjoint analysis.

Preventive competencies in the companies' management were identified. The research also revealed that competencies for sustainability are fairly present in the hospitality context yet, which demonstrates the urgency to discuss the theme in both academic and business practices.

The access to the hotel managers impaired the performing of a robust statistical analysis; the study provided new insights about the topics investigated and generated information for the theoretical framework about competencies for sustainability.

The research results emphasized the need for the hotel industry to invest in sustainable strategies to meet its target audience, but also to raise the level of its staff and reduce costs in the long term, offering benefits to society, the environment, and, to their businesses.

The research socially contributes through promoting discussion on sustainability, which is one of the most challenging and relevant issues for society. Besides, it can assist the diffusion of the competencies for sustainability in the hotel industry, as an attempt to decrease their negative externalities on the environment and primary audiences.

It was identified a distance between practice and the triple bottom line concept, which is linked only to environmental practices. Besides, it was found limited knowledge about the concepts of competencies in the companies.