Dissertation: Sustainable Practices and Customer Impact at Marriott

This dissertation investigates the impact of sustainable practices on customer retention and attraction within the hotel industry, specifically focusing on Marriott. The study explores the reasons why sustainability is crucial for the future of the hotel industry, examining Marriott's specific sustainable practices and their influence on customer behavior. It also delves into the challenges faced by hotels in the absence of sustainable initiatives. The research employs a structured approach, including a literature review, research methodology with quantitative data collection through surveys, data analysis, and discussion of findings. The study aims to identify the need for sustainable practices and their effects on valuable customers, providing insights into how hotels can enhance their business practices and attract and retain customers through environmental responsibility.

Dissertation
(Sustainable practices and its impact over retaining
and attracting valuable customers within hotel
industry. A Study of Marriott)

Abstract
The term sustainability is stated as the ability which is utilized to uphold and maintain the whole
process continuously. As it is known to target on preventing any sort of harm to natural or
physical resources. The major motive behind protecting natural and physical resources is to save
these resources for the future generation. The study will outline the various reasons due to which
the sustainability proves as a key for the future in hotel industry. As per the market situation, it is
essential to use resources mindfully so that the resources will be managed properly for the future
generation. It will also demonstrate the different sustainable practices which are utilised by the
chosen hotel in relation to enhance the business practices. Along with it, it will summarise the
sustainable practices and its influence on retaining and attracting valuable customers in the hotel
industry. It can also be seen that there are various issues which are faced by the companies in
relation to the absence of adding sustainable practices into business practices. Such issues will be
projected in the study for the purpose of better understanding.

Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................3
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................6
1.1 Overview of the topic.......................................................................................................6
1.2 Research aim, objectives and questions...........................................................................7
1.3 Rationale of the research..................................................................................................7
1.4 Scope of the research........................................................................................................8
1.5 Organisational background...............................................................................................8
1.6 Overall structure of the dissertation.................................................................................9
2. LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................................................11
2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................11
2.2 Theoretical Review.........................................................................................................11
2.2.1 Theory 1..................................................................................................................12
2.2.2 Theory 2..................................................................................................................13
2.3 Empirical review............................................................................................................14
2.3.1 Theme 1: Reasons that make sustainability as a key for future growth of hotel
industry............................................................................................................................14
2.3.1.1 Cost effective..............................................................................................15
2.3.1.2 Improved brand image...............................................................................15
2.3.1.3 Better customer experience........................................................................16
2.3.1.4 Building corporate image for their brand...................................................16
2.3.2 Theme 2: Different sustainable practices adopted by hospitality industry in their
business practices.............................................................................................................17
2.3.2.1 Listing out the suitable products and ways................................................17
2.3.2.2 Form a green team......................................................................................18
2.3.2.3 Avoid plastic..............................................................................................18
2.3.2.4 Go Paperless...............................................................................................18
2.3.2.5 Automation for conservation of water and energy.....................................18
2.3.2.6 Opt for eco-friendly options.......................................................................19
2.3.2.7 Investment in green energy........................................................................19

2.3.3 Theme 3: Need of sustainable practices and its impact over retaining and attracting
valuable customers for hotel industry..............................................................................20
2.3.4 Theme 4: Challenges faced by hotel industry in the absence of adding sustainable
practices into business practices......................................................................................23
2.3.4.1 Ineffective climate change management....................................................23
2.3.4.2 High cost business functions:.....................................................................24
2.3.4.3 Poor monitoring and evaluation system:....................................................25
2.4 Conclusion......................................................................................................................26
2.5 Summary.........................................................................................................................26
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...............................................................................................28
3.1 Research philosophy.......................................................................................................28
3.2 Research approach..........................................................................................................29
3.3 Research Design.............................................................................................................30
3.4 Primary Data Collection.................................................................................................31
3.5 Initial Pilot Study............................................................................................................32
3.6 The Quantitative Survey Questionnaire.........................................................................32
3.7 Sampling Issues..............................................................................................................33
3.8 Questionnaire Response Rates.......................................................................................33
3.9 Ethical Issues..................................................................................................................34
3.10 Pre-Testing and Validating Survey Instruments...........................................................34
3.11 Reliability and Validity................................................................................................35
4. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS......................................................................................36
4.2 Data interpretation..........................................................................................................36
Findings..........................................................................................................................................44
Chapter 5: DISCUSSION..............................................................................................................45
Chapter 6........................................................................................................................................52
Conclusions and critical reflection....................................................................................52
Overall implication of the study........................................................................................53
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................57
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................63
Questionnaire........................................................................................................................63

Appendix 2.....................................................................................................................................64
4.1 Frequency distribution table...........................................................................................64

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview of the topic
Sustainability is referred as the ability to maintain or support the process a process continuously
overtime. It majorly focuses over preventing any harm to natural or physical resources. The
major motive behind protecting natural and physical resources is to save these resources for the
future generation. There are mainly three pillars of the sustainability and they are society,
environment and economy. These are the pillars which help an organisation to profit the people
as well as planet (Linneberg, Madsen and Nielsen, 2019). Hospitality industry is the type of
industry which majorly focuses over providing great services to its customers. With the help of
sustainability, hotels are able to attract large number of customers and engage them with the
services they are offering. Sustainability has become the major issue as more number of people
have become more concerned about how hotels are using natural resources and protecting the
environment for the coming generation. Hospitality industry looks for several ways for
incorporating sustainable practices in their organisation (Shurrab, Hussain and Khan, 2019). It is
the industry which holds the place of largest industries in the whole world. Nowadays, people are
greatly aware that pollution is taking place because of increasing business in the whole world.
Every hotel, resort or organisation is contributing in increasing the negative impact on natural
resources, environment and society. However, hospitality industry is consistently working on
identifying the different sustainable practices for protecting the environment as well as the whole
society. Every business starts in the market in order to grow and become successful as it is must
to elevate the image of the company in the market which will provide a competitive advantage to
the business. With the aim of standing out of the other companies, one of the best ways is to
provide them better offer as compared to other companies in the market. For example, there are
various ways which are used in order to get rid of various issues such as the workforce and the
company both must take care in reducing in making use of plastic. That can be done by avoiding
using plastic as it is seen that it is one of the harmful substance which must be banned in the
environment. That is why it is better to get rid of it as soon as it possible and along with it the
term plastic is known to be a non-degradable material, which makes it more complex to
decompose. That is why one can either recycle, reuse, or avoid using it completely.

1.2 Research aim, objectives and questions
Research Aim
To identify the need of sustainable practices and its impact over retaining and attracting
valuable customers within hotel industry. A study on Marriott.
Research Objectives
 To determine the reasons that make sustainability as a key for the future of hotel industry
 To examine different sustainable practices used by Marriott in their business practices
 To investigate the need of sustainable practices and its impact over retaining and
attracting valuable customers for Marriott
 To evaluate the challenges faced by Marriott in the absence of adding sustainable
practices into business practices
Research Questions
 What are the reasons that make sustainability as a key for the future of hotel industry?
 What are the different sustainable practices used by Marriott in their business practices?
 What is the need of sustainable practices and its impact over retaining and attracting
valuable customers for Marriott?
 What are the challenges faced by Marriott in the absence of adding sustainable practices
into business practices?
1.3 Rationale of the research
The main purpose of doing the present investigation is to carry out detailed data about the
importance of sustainability within hospitality industry. It is identified that sustainability is one
of the key features for the whole hospitality industry. It is the report which mainly focuses over
highlighting the all those sustainable practices adopted by hotel to protect the whole society as
well as the environment (Kim, Barber and Kim, 2019). The main focus of the study will be
showing the with the adoption of sustainable practices how hotel uses these to decrease the
negative impact of society and environment due to their business operations. It is being identified
that customers are the significant resource and they give great significance to sustainability. It is
essential to understand the role of sustainability within hospitality industry. It allows the business
to comply with other regulations with the aim of getting long term success. Due to which various
customers and investors find it attractive as sustainability is a positive term which has the
positive impact to the company and society both. That is why it will be easy to attract the

talented employees and potential investors to the company. Moreover, by making use and
implementing the green energy sources into the company will increase the chances of receiving
the tax benefits. Along with it, the employees prefer such companies which take care of society
and its employees as compared to other companies. Sustainability is known to be the ability of
the company to maintain continuous changes take place over the time. It is the ability of the
company to fulfil the current needs by keeping in mind about the future needs and wants.
1.4 Scope of the research
The scope of the current study is to determine the positive impact that is created on their
customer base with the implementation of sustainable practices. In recent time it becomes very
crucial for the hospitality industry to adopt sustainability in their business operation because it
assist them to increase the experience of the guest in better way. It also aids in influencing the
perception of the new buyers for their brand (Roxas, Rivera and Gutierrez, 2020). Acquiring
sustainable practice also helps the hotel to fulfil their present need as well as future wants in
effective way. The demand for sustainable practice increases due to increase in the demand of
the buyers. It helps the company to mitigate the negative impact which was faced in absence of
sustainability. It also helps the company to attract new clients for the hotel. In recent time most
of the customer is interested in eco-friendly hotel and make most of the purchase in that
company were sustainable practices is being adopted.
The scope of the current research is also limited as only quantitative data for the study is
gathered. Only numerical data is collected which does not gather in depth information for the
study (Della Volpi and Paulino, 2018). Numerical data only show the result in umbers and figure
through which deeper understanding cannot be made.
1.5 Organisational background
Marriott is an international American company that operates their business worldwide.
The business is being operated by franchising or licensing their hotel, resorts or residential
property. The brand was founded in the year 1927 by J. Willard Marriott and Alice Marriott. The
headquarter of Marriott is in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. There are more than 30 brands
comes under Marriott international and approximately there are 8000 property of the chain
operates in different country. For the current research the brand is choosing in order to identify
the impact which is seen on consumer base of the company after adopting the practice of
sustainability in their business.

1.6 Overall structure of the dissertation
In this study, the investigator of the study comprises of five different chapter with the aim of
completing the whole dissertation in an effective and systematic manner. The chapters will cover
the following in the research are explained below-
Introduction: The primary chapter of the current study is introduction. It shows the
research aim, objectives and questions of the whole study along with purpose of the whole study.
This is that chapter in research which us most important because through this section researcher
get to know what has to be done in the investigation. It acts as a crucial part to execute for
investigation in effective way. Along with it, under each and every study, the initial chapter
which is conducted by investigator is defined as the introduction chapter. That is why it is one of
the vital chapter in the research because the whole study will depend upon the introduction part.
Under this section, there are various vital components of the study will be included that is
research aim and objective, research question, rational of the study, significance of the study,
overview of the topic and many more.
Literature review: The second vital chapter is literature review. It is the chapter which
involves second-hand information for addressing the research questions. The secondary sources
included in this study are books, articles, journals, publications, newspapers etc. This chapter
critically talks about the past information which is gathered by various researcher on the same
topic. With the assistance of this chapter investigator increase their knowledge on the topic so
that further investigation can be done in sound way. This section also addresses the research gap
in accurate way. In this second chapter of the research part, it will evaluate the past published
information on the chosen topic and it also cover the secondary data of the particular topic. The
second hand information is attained so that knowledge about the topic can be gained. There are
numerous sources through which the past information gathered by third party can be obtained for
example books, online site, government site, magazine and many others.
Research methodology: The third chapter covers the research methods for the collection
and analysis of information. Researcher will be following Saunders research onion framework
and this will give layers for the collection and analysis of data. The methodology part helps the
investigator to use right type of data for attaining the aim and objective of the study. This section

also helps in using the right source to collect the data so that quality result can be obtained.
Research problem is also being addressed with the assistance of gathered and analysed
information. It is known to be the third chapter in the present study, methodology section
highlights about the ways and method by which the data can be collected and analysed for the
purpose of study. It is one of the dynamic section in the study as this section is known to present
the right way and technique for the purpose of extracting and measuring the information. Under
this section various components are involved that is research philosophy, approach, strategy,
choice time horizon, sampling method and many others. This section also supports in identifying
the data collection source for conducting investigation.
Data analysis and findings: The fourth chapter covers the findings and analysis of the
information. It gives the discussion on the basis of raw and second-hand information in a
systematic way. In this part researcher inspect and analysed the raw data in order to acquire
beneficially information for the study. This is vital to analyse the data because proper finding
about the topic can be get. Under this chapter, the researcher will choose the techniques through
which the data can be inspected in the proper ways so that the information can be further used. It
is said to be essential for the analysis the data as it will directly support in finding the best quality
outcome for the study. Under this section the result which will be obtained by making use and
measuring the proper information is then presented in different arrangement depends upon the
type of information.
Conclusion and recommendations: The last chapter that covers the summary of each
chapter in a systematic manner. It also provides the recommendations which provide the
suggestions to the specific company to improve their weak areas. It is said to be the last portion
in the dissertation with the conclusion and recommendation chapter. Furthermore, conclusion is
defined as that section which comprises of short summary of the present study. Also, it is that
part which provides an essential information of the chosen topic. That is why the conclusion
holds the summarised and quantity result of the information. Whereas the recommendation is
defined as that part which provide some preventive measures and suggestion to the chosen
company in order to get rid of various issues and problem which are faced by the chosen
industry.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Literature review is that part in the investigation which discuss about the secondary
information related to the chosen topic. This section helps the investigator to determine detailed
information about the study by using various past information. Literature review is one of the
important chapter for the investigator as this part helps them to gain more understanding on the
topic. The data which is used in this part is gathered from different sources such as books,
journal, articles, website, government sites and many more. This also help the investigator to
identify the research gap between the past investigation so that current research can fulfil that
gap. In this literature review, the need of sustainable practices and its impact over retaining and
attracting valuable customers within hotel industry is discussed in detailed manner.
2.2 Theoretical Review
Sustainability plays an important role within business as it helps in reducing the negative
impact on the environment through implementing green practices within hotel. The pre-
implementation of sustainability practices helps in creating positive influence on the customer
experience. By going green the profitability and occupation rates of the hotel get increased and
also it leads to better loyalty and word of mouth marketing. Sustainable hospitality business
helps in saving money by reducing waste and spending. Thus, there are various green initiatives
can be taken by the hotel in order to reduce the negative influence from the environment such as
reducing plastic use, limiting water waste, utilising eco-friendly cleaning supplies, switching to
energy efficient lighting, making eco-friendly changes in the wash room and many others. The
importance of sustainable hospitality is that it helps in creating positive environment, provide
support to local communities and gives economic advantages for the destination. Sustainability
related practices helps in securing the future for all the people in order to sustain in the
competitive market in an effective manner so that future generation can live a peaceful life.
Practising sustainability helps in ensuring that the hotel business makes new ethical choices that
bring a liveable and safe future generations. Reduced usage of energy is also an effective practice
of sustainability that helps in leading to a significant decrement in the long-term cost of energy.
There are several initiatives that business can consider for reducing the overall use of the energy
such as switching to decrease long term cost of electricity, energy efficient lighting, according to

the schedule of production. Using wind and solar energy as well as energy-efficient equipment
decreasing the utility bills that occur monthly (Marinakou and Giousmpasoglou, 2019). The three
fundamental pillars of sustainability are society, the environment, and the economy. These are
the pillars that support an organization's ability to benefit both people and the environment
(Babu, Kaur and Rajendran, 2018). The hospitality business is one that prioritises offering top-
notch services to its clients. Hotels are able to draw in a lot of guests and keep them interested in
the services they provide because to sustainability. Sustainability is the ability of the organisation
in order to continue going through changes over time. By implementing sustainable practices,
hotel can gain various benefits which improves the growth and profitability of business. The few
benefits of sustainable practices within hotel are increased profitability, improves guest
experience, reduce energy related cost, boost workforce morale and innovations, attract new
customers and many others. Thus, the best sustainability trends and initiatives for hotels are
energy conservation, amenities, promoting sustainable means of transportation and careful
selection of local food products at hotel restaurant and many others. There are various theories
related to sustainability which must be implemented by the hotel while using sustainable
practices they are theory of corporate social responsibility, triple bottom line and stakeholder
theory.
2.2.1 Theory 1
Theory of corporate social responsibility:
Corporate social responsibility theory states that company must lay emphasis on both the
responsibilities such as making money and interacting ethically with the surrounding community.
It also states that corporate social responsibility helps in earning profit as well as it also plays an
important role in increasing community welfare. There are mainly four obligation which are
depicted under corporate social responsibility theory such as economic responsibility, legal
responsibility, ethical responsibility and philanthropic responsibility. Economic responsibility
mainly focuses on making money and improving the profitability of business. The organisations
that don't make money are domed to perish. By implementing this theory, Hotel industry must
focus on earning money by implementing various sustainable practices. Legal responsibility is
the other obligation within corporate social responsibility. There are various laws and rules
which need to be implemented by the company while using sustainable practices. Hotel industry