Evaluating Sustainability in the Hospitality Sector: Hilton Case Study

This report investigates the impact of sustainability on the hospitality industry, with a specific focus on Hilton Hotels in the UK. The research explores the core concepts of sustainability within the sector, evaluating effective sustainable business practices implemented by Hilton, such as energy and water management, and stakeholder engagement. The report also identifies challenges associated with adopting sustainable practices, including innovation design, resource scarcity, and competition. Through a literature review and analysis of Hilton's initiatives, the report highlights the brand's commitment to reducing carbon emissions, water consumption, and promoting social impact. The methodology includes a positivism research philosophy and a deductive approach to examine data. The conclusion emphasizes Hilton's efforts towards a zero-carbon economy and addresses the need to navigate environmental and stakeholder management challenges for sustained success. The report provides a comprehensive overview of sustainability's role in shaping the future of the hospitality industry.

sustainability is changing the face
of hospitality industry
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................3
1.1 Research rationale............................................................................................................3
1.2 Research Questions..........................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Aim & Objectives.............................................................................................3
1.4 Significance of the research..............................................................................................4
Chapter 2: Literature review............................................................................................................4
2.1 Introduction to Literature review......................................................................................4
2.2 main body.........................................................................................................................4
2.3 Conclusion to literature review........................................................................................7
Chapter 3: Methodology..................................................................................................................7
3.1 Research philosophy.........................................................................................................7
3.2 Research approach............................................................................................................7
3.3 Research methods and methodologies..............................................................................7
3.4 Research instruments........................................................................................................7
3.5 Sampling...........................................................................................................................7
3.5.1 Identifying population and Research site......................................................................7
3.5.2sampling strategy............................................................................................................7
3.6 Ethical implications..........................................................................................................7
Chapter 4: Findings..........................................................................................................................7
Chapter 5: Discussion......................................................................................................................7
Chapter 6: Conclusion, Recommendations and Implication for future research.............................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Sustainability is the natural ecosystems that can continue to support the sustainable development
and provide all the resources that are required to meet the needs of present and future
generations. In hospitality sector can enhance the pressure on the external environment. The
industry also relies on some of the aspects of natural environment that includes all the resources
that are assisting in its smooth functioning (Silvestre and Ţîrcă, 2019). Present report is based on
a research report that is prepared as per requirement of laid aims and objectives. Hospitality
sector is observing the changes because of changing dynamic external environment that leads to
greater requirement for sustainability measures to ensure long run survival.
1.1 Research rationale
Present research work is going to assist in future assessment of the way various sustainability
business practises are assisting hospitality industry in their long run survival and also
contributing towards society in an indirect manner. There will be application of present
researching, time management skills that is going to assist in successful completion of research
work. It is going to lead towards further research that will be based on analysing the different
other perspectives of sustainability in the hospitality sector. This research work will help me in
enhancing my present communication and researching skills that is going to help me in working
as per future professional requirements of the corporate environment. The overall skill
development is going to assist me in future maximisation of my existing skill sets.
1.2 Research Questions
1 What is the basic concept of sustainability is changing the face of hospitality industry?
2 What are some of the effective sustainable business practises in Hilton UK?
3 Identify some of the various challenges that are associated with having sustainable business
practises in Hilton UK?
1.3 Research Aim & Objectives
Aim: “To evaluate the way sustainability is changing the face of hospitality industry”. A case
study on Hilton hotel, UK.
Objectives:
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 To analyse the basic concept of sustainability is changing the face of hospitality industry.
 To evaluate the effective sustainable business practises in Hilton UK. To understand various challenges that is associated with having sustainable business practises in
Hilton UK.
Questions:
 What is the basic concept of sustainability is changing the face of hospitality industry?
 What are some of the effective sustainable business practises in Hilton UK?
 What are some of the basic various challenges that is associated with having sustainable business
practises in Hilton UK?
1.4 Significance of the research
Hospitality industry is quickly responding to changes that are affecting the present functioning of
hospitality organisations. There are many aspects that include sustainability more than just
environmental management as it is related with social and economic development. There are
various other concerns that includes promoting of work life balance promoting of employees
well being and health further the present report is very significant in analysing the sourcing of
supplies, stimulation of entrepreneurship process and achievement of overall sustainability
agenda in long run survival of business.
Chapter 2: Literature review
2.1 Introduction to Literature review
Literature review includes the section of dealing with secondary sources of available
information. In this section various existing sources of books, articles that are available online
have to be evaluated in order to reach towards valid conclusions and recommendations in the
present research report.
2.2 main body
Analyse the basic concept of sustainability is changing the face of hospitality industry
As per view points of Yoana Baynova (2019), hospitality is a business sector that is affected
majorly by the changes that are existing in the external environment. It is very important to
evaluate such concept with respect to changing trends in the organisation. Rethinking sustainable
business practise is very important to analyse its trend as per requirement of customers.
Adoption of sustainable business practises is a go to motto for many hospitality sector brands so
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that they can be more appealing for the nice market (Sobaih and et.al., 2021). There is
reinventing of hospitality business sector that is another way of having customer retention
strategies, hospitality remains a business concern for more basic concept of sustainability is
changing the face of hospitality industry practises in the society.
As per Erich Lawson (2018), The practical aspects of achieving sustainability in business
organisations are a very complex process that is related to an issue of revaluating the process that
is supporting the business process (6 ways sustainability is changing hotels, 2018). There are
some of the specific business practises that are energy consumption. In this there is need of
technological advancement that is increasing use of electricity in daily business practises has
affected energy consumption levels in hotels (Smit and Melissen, 2018). There can be cut back
on the energy usage by implementation of key card activated electric keys or light saving motion
for activated lights. Apart from this there can be several other sustainable business practises in
terms of water management. Water waste is preferred overlooked as sustainability aspect that is a
challenging issue for hoteliers. Waste management is related to cutting down of plastic use (The
Importance of Environmental Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry, 2020).
Evaluate the effective sustainable business practises in Hilton UK.
As per chladek (2020), Since year 2009 to 2014 Hilton has reduced its energy consumption
usage. Since 2009 Hilton has saved water to fill 4,144 Olympic sized swimming pools. In year
2015 Hilton has started collaborating with World wildlife fund for development of a steward
strategy. In 2012, there is a innovative idea that has contributed to No bin day. In 2012 a Hilton
team member in Gurgaon had a idea to remove the waste bins from the Hilton team member
restaurant (SUSTAINABILITY AND HILTON HOTELS: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW, 2016).
Hilton is a known brand of hospitality sector that is working towards enhancing success of the
hospitality business. The main approach of Hilton is to have stakeholder engagement that is
related with value chain perspective of the organisation. Where as In the year 2018, Hilton has
offered guests the option to reuse their towels in the stay period to stay in support for water
reduction efforts as part of their conserve to preserve brand standard (He, Zhang and Morrison,
2019). Apart from this there is also focus on social medal monitoring and engagement strategy
that announced major corporate responsibility programs on social media (WHY YOU NEED
SUSTAINABILITY IN YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY, 2019).
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(Source: TRAVEL WITH PURPOSE OUR APPROACH, 2020)
They have also started customer engagement by responding to comments & inquiries related
with environmental impact on the hotel operations on social media applications.
In year 2019, there was celebration of 100 years of leadership on hospitality and a decade of
working on the overall sustainability. There was launching of new 2030 goals for redefining the
sustainable travel by committing the doubling of investment on social impact. It can be said from
the above graph that Hilton has engaged with the stakeholders on a ongoing basis to inform the
strategy and get insights of expectations, expertise, priorities and feedbacks on sustainability
business practises (Misso and et.al., 2018). Since, the launch of travel with purpose 2030 goals
Hilton has been tracking all the targets to ensure that they are able to reach their goals. In 2018
Hilton become a first major hotel brand to set the science based carbon targets that are aligned
with climate science and the formation of Paris climate agreement since year 2008 they have
achieve a 34 percent reduction in scope 1 & scope 2 carbon emissions. Hilton properties are
required to use the light stay to set the energy reduction targets in line with the 2030 goals. There
has been a announcement of initial investment of 1 million$ to drive the aspect of sustainable
travel and tourism in Africa (Baum, 2019). They have also joined tent partnership for Refugees
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by offering them with hospitality skills training, donations and volunteer hours by offering
employment opportunities. In terms of environmental impact Hilton is committed to scope 1 and
2 carbon intensity by 31 percent by year 2030. In water management Hilton is committed to
reduce the water intensity usage by managing of operations by 50 percent by coming years till
2030. They have also achieved a 20 percent reduction in water consumption.
Various challenges that is associated with having sustainable business practises in Hilton
UK.
As per views of Emma Upton (2017), there are some of the challenges that are associated
with implementation of sustainability practises across organisations. It includes innovation
design challenges. Hilton hotel has to face a very high competition from other existing brands
that includes Marriott, Starwood and other global hospitality brands. So it becomes very crucial
to identify the creative and innovative strategies that can help in dealing with such sustainable
business challenges (Modica and et.al., 2020).
As per Jens Haubensak (2020), hospitality industry also had to deal with the various risk
and hazards that are affecting business in long run. Such as there is requirement to deal with the
issues resources insecurity, climatic changes, corrupting, diversity and such other related issues.
The overall implications on the business are huge and with the problems persistence there is
increased risks on functioning of such hospitality brands (A Sustainable Business Future: The 7
Challenges, 2017).
2.3 Conclusion to literature review
It is summarized from the above discussed aspects of literature review that Hilton is
committed as one of the leading hospitality brand to create a zero carbon economy and working
towards reduction of greenhouse emission in line with the climate science. It is one of first major
hotel brands that have set up sciences based targets aligned with the climate science. There are
some of the challenges that are related with sustainable business practises which include scarcity
of resources, dynamic nature of environment and fats changing aspects of stakeholder
management. All these aspects have to be dealt in order to maintain the effectiveness in the
sustainable business practises of Hilton.
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Chapter 3: Research methodology
Research methodology is one of the important aspect for researcher in order to collect
information on the particular topic. In addition to this, the main purpose of this section is to
gather relevant information and to draw valid conclusion. For this, research onion framework is
used by investigator that involves various layers which are as follows:
3.1Research philosophy: It is defined as the first layer of whole procedure and herein the
researchers select an appropriate philosophy in order to gather as well as evaluate data associated
to topic (Naepi, 2019). There are mainly two types of research philosophy that is positivism and
interpretivism. It is stated that both the research philosophy are effective and appropriate for
researchers but as per the topic positivism research philosophy is valuable (Erro-Garcés. and
Alfaro-Tanco, 2020. It helps in gathering data from valid sources due to which positive results is
drawn.
3.2 Research approach: It is the next layer of research methodology that is to be followed by
researcher for examining data associated to the topic. The two types of research approaches are
deductive and inductive. In the present study, deductive approach is adopted as it is effective and
assists in examining quantitative data within less time and cost (Jackson, 2018) . Moreover, this
research approach helps in collecting data testing of numerical information.
3.3 Research methods: It is basically the way by which data is collected in order to achieve
research objectives. There are number of ways in which data can be collected and it is widely
categorized into two heads that is primary as well as secondary techniques. In context to primary,
it is collected through questionnaire, interview and observation so on (Patraand Khan, 2019)
(De Costa, Crowther and Maloney, 2019). On the other hand, secondary information is collected
through various articles, news, magazines and many more. In the present study, both primary and
secondary data collection methods are used. The objective of using both the methods is it help in
understanding the topic effectively and gain original information about it which leads to
development of reliable conclusion.
3.4 Research instrument: It is defined as instruments which are used to collect data that is both
primary and secondary. There are different types of research instruments such as interviews,
observation, focus group and many more. In the present study, a questionnaire is developed by
researcher as it helps in gaining in-depth knowledge about topic (Huang, 2018). Apart from this,
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it also help investigator to gain viewpoint of different people on particular topic due to which an
effective study is conducted.
3.5 Sampling: It is defined as the procedure of choosing a respective sample from the whole
population through different sampling techniques (Pegram, 2018). There are mainly two types of
sampling method that is probability sampling and non probability sampling. For the present
study, random sampling which is a form of probability sampling is used by researcher as it help
in selecting sample size without any biasness. In addition to this, it also help researcher to select
large sample size (Ciocoiu, 2018). The 40 respondents will be selected from the total population
in order to gather information about the topic.
3.5.1 Identifying population and Research site
In order to gain knowledge and collect data coma there are various sources such as books,
article, newspaper, online polls Internet, websites and so on. It help in collecting proper
information about topic which leads to attainment of effective interpretation and analysis of data.
The employees of Hilton is taken into consideration as population as it assist in gaining in-depth
information regarding topic. Apart from this, employees know about policies and working of
company which decline issues while collecting data.
3.5.2sampling strategy
In the present research, random sampling which is a type of probability sampling is taken
into consideration by researcher. The main reason of selecting this method is it help in choosing
large sample size without any biasness. Apart from this, it also help in gaining knowledge about
topic from different participants due to which effective conclusion can be drawn. The 40
employees of Hilton is selected as respondent for conducting the study. The reason of choosing
employees as sample size is they have knowledge about company policies and can provide better
information which leads to achievement of positive results. In the present report the actual
sample size was selected to be 40 respondents and all the total 40 respondents returned the filled
questionnaire.
3.6 Ethical implications
In the present course of investigation, there is requirement to ensure that all Ethical
implications are properly undertaken by investigator. It involve taking permission from the
participants before using their responses in the course of research. There are various ethical
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principles Such as confidentiality, anonymity, informed consent and many more. It is vital for
researcher to follow all this ethical principles in order to implement activities that is associated to
investigation without any issues and video. Moreover, disclosures have to be made to them in
order to aware participants about implication of research work.
Questionnaire
Q1. Do you understand the basic concept of sustainability is changing
the face of hospitality industry?
Frequency
a) Yes 30
b) No 5
c) Partially 5
Q2 What are some of the effective sustainable business practises in
Hilton UK?
Frequency
a) Launching of new 2030 goals 14
b) Science based carbon targets 16
c) Reduce the water intensity usage 5
D) Have stakeholder engagement 5
Q3. Does adherence of sustainable business practises assist in
developing loyal customers for Hilton?
Frequency
a) Yes 37
b) No 3
Q4 some of the various challenges that are associated with having
sustainable business practises in Hilton UK?
Frequency
a) Resources scarcity 17
b) Climatic changes 10
c) Deal with the issues of stakeholders’ 6
d) Diversity and such other related issues 7
Q5 What are the different ways for enhancing customer engagement
towards concept of sustainability is changing the face of hospitality
industry?
Frequency
a) use of social media marketing 16
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b) Creating of attractive marketing campaigns 14
c) Laying down direct communication channels with customers 5
d) all of the above 5
Q6 Do you believe that development of sustainable business practises
in Hilton can help the brand in achievement of long run competitive
advantage?
Frequency
a) yes 17
b) No 14
c) In some instances 9
Q7 What are the effective ways that can be used by Amazon for
overcoming the issues associated with the use of paid digital marketing
for promoting their products in pandemic situation of COVID-19?
Chapter 4: Findings
Theme 1: basic concept of sustainability
Q1. Do you understand the basic concept of sustainability is changing
the face of hospitality industry?
Frequency
a) Yes 30
b) No 5
c) Partially 5
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Interpretation: While it was questioned to 40 respondents about basic concept of sustainability
is changing the face of hospitality industry. 30 had a positive view point, 5 out of 40 respondents
had a negative view and remaining 5 out of 40 had a view that it is changing the face of
hospitality industry but in practical instances sonly.
Theme 2: effective sustainable business practises in Hilton UK
Q2 What are some of the effective sustainable business practises in Hilton
UK?
Frequency
a) Launching of new 2030 goals 14
b) Science based carbon targets 16
c) reduce the water intensity usage 5
D) Stakeholder engagement 5
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