Hospitality Industry Sustainability: Factors and Dimensions

This report provides an overview of sustainability in the hospitality industry, defining sustainability and outlining the critical factors for its maintenance, including cost savings, economic incentives, guest experience, brand image, and regulatory affairs. It delves into the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability, emphasizing resource conservation, pollution reduction, profit maximization, corporate social responsibility, and community development. The report also addresses the significance of food miles, green financing, green marketing, and the protection of local farmers and the economy through sustainable practices. It concludes that adopting these practices can reduce resource consumption, protect the environment, and ensure the long-term viability of the hospitality sector and related communities.

Running Head: SUSTAINABILITY FOR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
Sustainability for Hospitality Industry

SUSTAINABILITY FOR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY 1
Contents
Introduction of Sustainability..........................................................................................................2
Factors Necessary for Maintaining Sustainability in Hospitality Industry......................................2
Environmental, Economical and Social Dimensions.......................................................................3
Food Mile, Green Financing, Green Marketing and Protection of the Local Farmers and
Economy..........................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5

SUSTAINABILITY FOR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY 2
Introduction of Sustainability
Sustainability can be defined as meeting the needs of present generation without making any
compromise with the capability of the future generations to meet their needs (Epstein, 2018).
Economic, social and environmental dimensions are the three pillars that comprise sustainability.
Sustainability is the most important issue faced by the hospitality sector in different parts of the
world. This report focuses on the factors required for the maintenance of sustainability in the
hospitality sector while referring to its environmental, economical and social dimensions.
Factors Necessary for Maintaining Sustainability in Hospitality Industry
Following factors are essential for the maintenance of sustainability in hospitality sector-
Cost Savings- The hoteliers are provided with compelling incentives when their operating costs
are reduced. Efficiency strategies and cost reduction can be achieved by investment in emerging
environmental technologies and operational procedures.
Economic Incentives- Construction of green buildings and development of environmental
retrofits can be encouraged through the economic incentives provided by the government.
Guest Experience- The experience of the guests can be positively impacted through investment
by the hoteliers in environment technology. Occupancy and ADR are affected by furnishings,
lighting, cleaners that leave an impression on the customers (Sowamber, Ramkissoon and
Mavondo, 2017).
Brand Image- some level of sustainability platform are required to be incorporated by the hotel
brands into their brand definition. They are required to be repositioned for the purpose of
catering the younger generation of more socially and environmentally active customers (Stottler,
2018).
Regulatory Affairs- The hospitality sector is required to make the use of current environment
regulations that focuses on facility operations like hazardous materials handling, storm- water
management and environmental health and safety.

SUSTAINABILITY FOR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY 3
Environmental, Economical and Social Dimensions
There are three pillars of sustainability namely environmental, economical and social dimension.
Environmental-The environmental dimension of sustainability in the hospitality sector demands
getting actively involved in the conservation of resources, reduction of pollution, conservation of
ecosystems, biodiversity and landscapes. The hospitality sector should analyze the environmental
impact and should take the needed actions and measures for the purpose of mitigating such
environmental impact. The hospitality sector is further required to look into the conservation of
the depleting resources, reduction of carbon emissions, and controlling the environment from
pollution (Jones, Hillier and Comfort, 2016).
Economical- For the purpose of maintaining economical sustainability, the hospitality sector
should focus on major areas such as areas such as delivering quality products and services,
maximizing profit, enhancing work efficiency, implementing economy of scale, exploiting
automation, engaging local partners, fostering growth of associates, supporting local vocational
education, etc.
Social- The social dimension of sustainability in the hospitality sector demands the involvement
in actions relating to corporate social responsibility, fair trade, community development, respect
for local communities, supporting local entrepreneurs, equitable hiring, implementing policies
against commercial exploitation and employee protection. The hospitality sector is also required
to focus on the provision of basic services including energy, water and sanitation to the
neighboring communities.
Food Mile, Green Financing, Green Marketing and Protection of the Local Farmers and
Economy
Food mile can be defined as the way of attempting to measure the distance travelled by food
before reaching the final consumer. Green Financing refers to increasing the level of financial
flows (from insurance, micro- credit, banking and investment) from private, public and not- for-
profit sectors to sustainable development priorities. On the other hand, green marketing can be
referred to as the process of making the sale of products and/ or services on basis of their
environmental benefits (Pant and Rastogi, 2018).

SUSTAINABILITY FOR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY 4
The local farmers and the economy along with those related and affected by the above mentioned
dimensions of sustainability can be protected. This is due to the fact that sustainability will result
in social conditions that will support economic activity till the next generation. Sustainability
will reduce the excessive consumption of resources and will protect the future of the farmers and
will assist in providing them with employment opportunities in the future. With the help of
adoption of sustainable practices by different industries such as hospitality industry, the
extensive use of energy and raw- materials can be reduced which, in turn, will reduce the heavy
burden faced by the environment. In this way, both the local farmers and economy will be
protected (Hall, 2017).
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that sustainability is meeting the needs of present generation
without making any compromise with the capability of the future generations to meet their
needs. This report focused on the factors required for the maintenance of sustainability in the
hospitality sector while referring to its environmental, economical and social dimensions. The
factors include cost savings, economic incentives, guest experience, brand image and regulatory
affairs. The local farmers and the economy can be protected through the use of sustainable
practices in various industries.

SUSTAINABILITY FOR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY 5
References
Epstein, M.J., 2018. Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring
corporate social, environmental and economic impacts. Routledge.
Hall, C.M., 2017. Hospitality sustainability practices, consumer behavior and marketing.
In Routledge Handbook of Hospitality Marketing (pp. 361-371). Routledge.
Jones, P., Hillier, D. and Comfort, D., 2016. Sustainability in the hospitality industry: Some
personal reflections on corporate challenges and research agendas. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(1), pp.36-67.
Pant, L.K. and Rastogi, A.K., 2018. A Study on Green Marketing: its Use and
Importance. Journal of Global Economy, 14(4), pp.81-90.
Sowamber, V., Ramkissoon, H. and Mavondo, F., 2017. Impact of sustainability practices on
hospitality consumers’ behaviors and attitudes: The case of LUX* Resorts & Hotels.
In Routledge Handbook of Hospitality Marketing (pp. 384-396). Routledge.
Stottler, T. 2018. The Importance of Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry, [Online].
Available at: https://www.danacommunications.com/importance-of-sustainability-in-the-
hospitality-industry/ [Accessed on: 11 December 2018].