In tandem with the strong growth in the tourism industry, there are increasing concerns over its accompanying impacts. Increased tourism activity puts enormous burdens on infrastructure, because it involves the movement of people, often over long distances, and can generate enormous waste. Concerns with potential adverse effects stimulated efforts to minimize the negative impacts of tourism development. Sustainable development recognizes the need for concern for the environment in all development (George, 2019). This means concern for the natural environment, for the socio‐cultural environment and for the built (historical) environment. It also recognizes the need for involvement of all stakeholders.
Within this context, a growing number of private sector companies have turned their attention to environmental issues. Hotels have been identified as one of the tourism sub‐sectors within which there could be substantial savings of resources and costs. Consequently, there is a recognition that hotels could help address the concerns of tourism development. Dealing with environmental issues is also thought to be beneficial for enhancing corporate image. This study focuses on green hotel adoption, its benefits, and the factors influencing hotels to embrace green practices. It examines these issues using hotels located along the coastline of the Indian Ocean at Mombasa town, Kenya. Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya and considered the country’s main tourism hub. There are historical buildings, beaches and natural parks within and close to Mombasa (Mungai and Irungu, 2013).
Definition and Concept of Green Hotels
The hotel as a form of enterprise is older than civilization. The word hotel is used to identify establishments that provide food and accommodation for people away from home for financial compensations. The hotel is a recognized business establishment, open to the public which provides temporary accommodation, meals and other services only to the guests. The word accommodation refers to a shelter or a dwelling place made for someone in which a person can stay. It is one of the basic needs of humans and hence there is a huge establishment of hotels all over the world. In current scenario, hotels have become synonymous to luxury but the objective of hotel is to provide security and protection for danger free living (Eshun and Odame Appiah, 2018).
Environmental sustainability in tourism is becoming an essential aspect for a better quality of life, environmental stability and economical growth. Tourism is felt to be one of the major sectors generating substantial income for a country. Mitigating the negative consequences of tourism and to energyising its positive outcomes needs proper step. Improvement in the use of environmental management practices in the tourism industry is a key factor for achieving Sustainable Tourism Development (STD). Hotels play an important role in tourism development and depend largely on natural and cultural resources. The tourism industry is one of the factors responsible for the degradation of the natural and cultural environment and is a consumer of natural and non-renewable resources (Mungai and Irungu, 2013). Several economies of countries around the world are becoming dependent on tourism. It has a pivotal contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), foreign exchange and employment generation. However, tourism development appears to be at loggerheads with maintaining ecological balance. Rapid and unplanned tourism development activities are endangering and degrading the long-term potential of tourism. Global warming, ozone depletion and biodiversity loss are other serious international environmental issues affecting the tourism industry.
Importance of Sustainable Tourism Practices
Some hotels take the initiative to implement sustainable practices as a part of environmentally responsible design and operation, this is known as a “green hotel.” A green hotel is an establishment, which offers accommodation, food and beverage, conference and banqueting, and leisure or recreation services and takes the extra step to promote environmental conscious awareness by engaging employees, business partners, suppliers, and guests in sustainable practices such as water conservation, energy conservation, education, waste minimization, and green procurement and supplies (Rowe, 2018). Unfortunately, the hospitality industry is not immune to negative environmental effects. Hotels generate high levels of waste, consume excessive amounts of energy, have a significant impact on local infrastructure and cultures, and deplete natural resources that could otherwise be available for the local population.
The hotel business is very resource-intensive and uses much energy and water. The current trend toward greater social awareness and ecological responsibility has resulted in hotels taking initiatives to adopt sustainable practices. The green hotel movement has grown in response to increasing demand and concern for cleaner environments and creative tourism. Local tourists become more inclined to embrace sustainability as environmental issues surface. External pressure from the government, community, marketing, compliance, and funders also drive hotels to embrace the green philosophy of importance (George, 2019).
Environmental Benefits of Green Hotels
Although various luxury hotels are now pursuing green initiatives, not many five-star hotels in Uganda have thus far pursued these agendas. This study employed a quantitative method to collect responses from 50 managers of five-star hotels via a self-administered questionnaire using an online survey. The results demonstrate that some green practices including energy conservation, environmental purchasing, waste management and water conservation have been implemented in the five-star hotels in Kampala. Further, the results indicate that there has been an array of benefits to the five-star hotels from the adoption of green practices. The benefits include increased profits, cost savings, competitive advantage, high customer retention and increased sense of fulfillment among the employees (Barakagira and Paapa, 2023). However, some hindrances like high maintenance costs, insufficient knowledge concerning green practices, inadequate resources and trainers, and insufficient government support have stifled the smooth exercise. It is recommended that managers continuously train staff on the implementation of various environmentally sound practices aimed at enhancing competitiveness and profitability. Further, communication and awareness about the significance of green practices to the hotel employees and guests are likely to enhance their productivity and promotion (Mungai and Irungu, 2013). Finally, implementation of green management policies by the responsible government agencies in the hospitality industry is likely to be vital at mitigating the environmental challenges that emanate from hotel operations, leading to environmental sustainability.
Energy Conservation and Efficiency
Green hotels have pioneered some practical, low-impact strategies to minimize their environmental footprint, including reducing energy waste and managing transportation-related emissions. Utilizing energy-efficient lightings, such as compact fluorescent tubes or LEDs rather than incandescent bulbs, and energy management systems (EMS) to monitor energy use is important. EMS can be used to measure the impact of energy-efficient practices and equipment, monitor, and recommend energy-efficient practices. Ancillary systems such as automating temperature control settings in meeting rooms and monitoring spas and fitness centers outside operational hours should also be used (Barakagira and Paapa, 2023). Green hotels apply retro-commissioning to existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) optimal performance and efficiency. Successfully implementing HVAC retro-commissioning lowers operational costs and equipment maintenance overhead and prolongs the useful life of HVAC equipment.
Investments in passive energy-saving design and construction practices, such as continuing shading, green roofs, high R-value insulation, natural ventilation, and building orientation in concert with prevailing winds and sun angles, will lower overall energy costs. The hospitality sector generally has implemented energy efficiency procedures on voluntary bases, such as applying hot water storage tanks and insulation and installing heat recovery systems to preheat water for heating and kitchen operations, as well as ensuing there is an equal balance/fish-out between air conditioning energy outputs and inputs (Mungai and Irungu, 2013). Waste management practices include managing industrial wastes, solid wastes, and sewage waters. Waste management practices to hotels should focus on waste separation management, recycling of solid waste as compost, and installing biological treatment plants for sewage. The implementation of waste management practices has led to economic and environmental benefits, such as saving of costs. Green hotels have paved the way for environmentally friendly practices that minimize negative impacts on the natural environment.
Water Management and Conservation
In the operations of green hotels, water management and conservation is closely related to sustainable practices involving the water resource. These include actions performed to reduce wastage, increase re-use, increase condense water usage, and re-cycle, (Barakagira and Paapa, 2023). Environmentally responsible practices that can lessen consumption involve the installation of low flow faucets, low volume toilets, low flow showerheads, switching to longer times in doing laundry, and educating and encouraging hotel guest(s) toward reusing towels and bed linen instead of doing it daily (Mungai and Irungu, 2013). Reuse and recycle practices usually attached to water management include using a water recycling facility for the swimming pool, reusing water from the swimming pool for irrigation, reusing hot water from the boiler, and using water from air conditioning for irrigation of landscaping.
Sustainable tourism, as a form of tourism that enhances the integrity and quality of environmental resources, which are essential to tourism, minimizes total social costs and optimizes the long-term economic benefits to all legitimate stakeholders, and maintains an effectively equitable distribution of these benefits. The challenge is how to travel or enjoy tourism and at the same time protecting the environment; without green hospitality, sustainability will not happen. Green hotel products, of course, cannot totally replace luxury hotels. However, it can tap different markets. Green hotel suppliers should provide a value pack for the green products so that the travel agent will offer a market benefit for choosing a green hotel to their clients. At the same time, cooperate with travel agencies to build a green travel network.
Social and Economic Impacts of Green Hotels
Greater economic empowerment for the local community can occur through the generation of job opportunities and the development of various economic activities associated with hotels. Green hotels play a pivotal role in sustainable tourism by contributing to the development of a local economic area of influence, promoting investment opportunities, and generating employment. The local government and tourism development agencies may initiate activities such as local handicraft demonstrations, cultural performances, and photo-op sites, relying on their unique culture and lifestyle to attract hotel patronage (George, 2019). Tourists often prefer hotel chains that act as a central agency in local economic development, providing various handicraft products to small rural producers and organizing hotel visits, which can be viewed as a growth strategy for the small product base and a shift in rural lifestyles.
The local effects of hotels are evident in employment generation and individual level economic empowerment. If the ownership of the hotels is with the locals, the financial gains may reach the local upper or middle class, empowering them to enter the global market. This leads to the spreading of the ripple effects of development through upward investment and enhanced infrastructure, stimulating the local economy (R. Sucheran and V. Moodley, 2019). The emergence of greater economic disparities in wealth differentials, educated versus illiterate sections, and accessibility to information are some negative effects of tourism fostered by globalization and liberalization. Despite this, the movement of local blessings nurtured by hotels appears to be pro-poor in this case study.
Community Engagement and Empowerment
Community engagement and empowerment involves understanding local community needs and establishing relationships based on partnership with respect and trust. Green hotels can minimize the negative social and cultural impacts of tourism and its accompanying development through providing economic and employment benefits, ensuring local community ownership of viable businesses, respecting local culture, and ensuring local participation in policy making and governance. Community empowerment involves giving the community a ‘voice’ in decision-cycle for better influence on policies affecting their lives and generating stakeholder participation at all levels in tourism decision making, planning, implementation and monitoring. Opportunities for community empowerment include forging stronger equitable partnerships and ethical alliances with tourism stakeholders, integrating community problems with tourism solutions like providing basic services, community capability building through education and training, generating local employment, and ensuring community benefits reinvested in the community (Eshun and Odame Appiah, 2018). There is an immediate need for a policy framework that mandates the assessment of social and cultural impacts of tourism projects. Without systematic assessments of the socio-cultural impacts of tourism projects, community involvement and benefits cannot be effectively articulated and the extent of tourism impacts may remain unexamined. Socio-cultural impacts of tourism development indicates change in the values, beliefs, and behavior patterns of a local culture. The social and cultural images of tourism regions are constructed from often idealized, stereotyped, sanitized and romanticized representations. The same destinations may be marketed to different visitor segments at the same time but in very different ways. For instance, the marketing of the Bay of Naples in Italy as both a family resort and sordid mafia underworld. However, this mechanism of destination branding and promotion has ceased to be effective. Many images of tourist places are manipulated media destoried thereby heightening the peoples’ awareness but also allowing the projection of fictional images on a destination (George, 2019).
Job Creation and Economic Development
Positive social and economic impacts, such as job creation and economic development, are generally considered important parameters to assess the overall impacts of the hospitality and tourism sector in any destination. Each employee in a hotel will generally support another 0.5–0.7 jobs in the destination if indirect and induced employment are taken into account. For the 321 green hotels, a total of nearly 71,076 employment opportunities are estimated, including direct (37,090), indirect (15,160), and induced (18,826) employment opportunities, which means one job in green hotels creates another 1.92 jobs in other sectors (George, 2019). This impact is however more pronounced in Kerala, because of the industry in the state being labour intensive as opposed to capital intensive in other states. In order to minimize the negative economic impact of the leakage of tourism revenues, effective measures must be taken to promote the employment of local people in green hotels and to advocate buying the local produce. The successful tourism product in a destination must be developed as a collective effort in involving all stakeholders in tourism development. Therefore, the participation of the local community is important in all stages of tourism development, especially in awareness building at the planning stage.
Apart from job creation, green hotels generate a major role in the economic development of the destination through spending multiplier impacts. The total spending impact of green hotels in a destination is the sum of spending in direct as well as indirect and induced jobs. Each rupee spent in green hotels in a destination is expected to support another 1.5 rupees in the economy as indirect and induced impact. For the 321 green hotels, the spending impact is estimated at ₹ 668.79 crores, including direct (₹ 291.78 crores), indirect (₹ 190.41 crores), and induced (₹ 186.6 crores) spending impact. This means that each rupee spent in green hotels will generate another ₹ 1.65 additional spending in the economy. Overall, these calculations indicate that the green hotels have far-reaching impacts beyond environmental considerations (R. Sucheran and V. Moodley, 2019).
Challenges and Opportunities for Green Hotels in Sustainable Tourism
Although the various states of the hotel industry, green hotels have prospects of addressing sustainability challenges and hindering tourism from collapsing due to environmental degradation and climate change. Addressing the various challenges and knowledge gaps of green hotels, the study provides their opportunity and outlooks for promoting sustainable tourism. Some of the challenges inhibiting the advancement of green hotels in developing countries and countries heavily affected with climate change include sensitization of the hotels about tourism environmental destruction, lack of initial funds, lack of knowledge regarding proper sustainability practices by the tourism industry, and finding the suitable MSME as a green hotel (Barakagira and Paapa, 2023). Investment costs were cited by most hotels’ upper managements as a big barrier to developing investments in energy-efficient facilities, and high investment costs increase the payback period prompting many hotel establishments to shy away from going green. Moreover, the shallow punishment of green hotels or green hotel initiatives advocates post-installation is another big hurdle for the advancements of green hotels.
Limited promotion and consumer awareness of green hotels by the tourism office is also a challenge. Research found that when green hotel options are available, hotel demand by the tourists increases significantly and is also a strong motivator for hotel establishments to facilitate investments in environmentally friendly hotel renovations and improvements (R. Sucheran and V. Moodley, 2019). The absence of firm environmental guidelines is also a challenge for hotels since there are different green hotel concepts across nations leading to confusion on what makes the hotel green or sustainable. Community awareness and participation towards environmental management are very limited leading to tourism sector fears from environmental degradation. Nevertheless, notwithstanding these various challenges of green hotels, there are opportunities for promoting sustainable tourism.
Financial Barriers and Investment Costs
Barriers and constraints on finances emerged from both the interviews and the open-ended survey questions regarding financial support for hotels and its importance. Of the 2,344 open-ended survey responses, over 600 responses pertained to the financial barriers in developing sustainability initiatives. The financial barriers topic area was the highest count of mentions in the open-ended responses. Responses ranged from mentioning unmet financial needs to more thoughts on short-term budgets and financial planning. Some responses articulated other barriers to answering these questions, including restructuring and returns from green hotels (Barakagira and Paapa, 2023). A more global lens to understanding sustainability practices in hotels is to look at the competitive context in which hotels implement sustainability initiatives. In the lodging sector, financial and budgetary concerns regarding competitive or corporate policy profiles were recurring barriers to the development of further sustainability initiatives. The number of budgetary concerns impacting operational budgets highlights how financial context is broadly perceived as a central barrier to hotels’ capabilities in developing sustainability initiatives, thereby inhibiting longer-term initiatives. In working with hotels to develop their sustainability initiatives, an exploration of how hotel general managers perceive and respond to barriers, particularly financial considerations, is necessary. A greater understanding of the complexities of fiscal barriers can highlight potential assistive interventions and mechanisms to work with hotels in this regard. Of the 2,344 open-ended responses, over 800 responses pertained to the importance of developing sustainability initiatives in the hotel context. The importance of developing sustainability initiatives was mentioned more than any other topic in this dataset. In the hotel industry, financial support emerged as pivotal to the development of sustainability initiatives. There were considerable counts of open-ended responses detailing the importance of either greater loans or financial support (Rowe, 2018).
Consumer Awareness and Demand
In addition to the issue of market understanding and guests’ responses to green hotels, the aspect of consumer awareness and demand is addressed as a challenge to hotels involved in sustainable tourism practices. However, this is viewed as an area of opportunity for green hotels, as the issue requires a change in consumer behavior rather than in the hotel industry. The lack of consumer awareness, lenient consumer attitudes toward environmental issues, and absence of socioeconomic incentive for consumers to actively seek what is green are cited as hurdles that supply-side market players need to overcome (Njerekai, 2019). Conversely, educational campaigns targeting the public and creating a general consumer demand for green hotels could benefit all market players in the hospitality industry. Most importantly, with the few hotels currently pursuing environmental practices, there is first-mover opportunity for benefits above competition from green hotel marketing (R. Sucheran and V. Moodley, 2019).
As mentioned above, consumer behavior is a significant factor for green hotels. There is a dearth of research on how consumer behavior influences sustainable tourism practices, as most attention has historically focused on generation and supply. However, with the dawning of a new, eco-conscious millennium came increased public awareness towards sustainability and a change in consumer behavior. Accommodation choice is integral to the tourism experience, and therefore more hotels engaged in sustainable tourism is imperative for an increase in the industry’s green footprint. Therefore, it is required to comprehend what attracts tourists to green hotels as well as their attitudes and willingness to pay. There is also a need to ascertain if accommodation choices and their corresponding impacts are being taken into account during the trip planning.
Case Studies and Best Practices
It is one thing to be “green” and quite another to have systems in place to verify green initiatives. The shining green window with eco-friendly tips in the lobby is nice, and a brochure about programs offered is good, but it is really only marketing material without an assessment method or third-party endorsement. The path to sustainability and green hotel certification can take a number of different routes, and each independently owned or chain hotel must decide for itself on its own path to eco-lead innovation and green hotel certification. Nonetheless, there are strong case studies and ideas for environmental best practice programs (Rowe, 2018). To assist hotels on the decision-making journey, some have opted for case studies with environmental best practices that work based on years of developments. The ease by which decisions for environmental initiatives can be made is phenomenal when steps taken by others have been chronicled and truthfully reported. This allows hotels to follow along and join an effort with expedited results and years of knowledge. Although hotels may not possess the entrepreneurial spirit to develop something unique themselves, they may be convinced if the positive actions and idea of other hotels are presented. A growing eco-friendly marketing push among hotels indicates that, although the motivation may not be altruistic, hoteliers are taking a significant step in the right direction most hotels seek to take (Barakagira and Paapa, 2023). The watershed moment for the green hotel movement known as Eco-Leaf Certification took place in 1990 when a ten-room motel property became the first hotel in the United States to receive a tour and inspection from the California Eco-Leaf Program. Eco-Leaf certification’s second window of hope opened when entrepreneur important hotels coupled together via outdoor experience to become the West Coast’s first hotel chain to be awarded Eco-Leaf certification by the California Eco-Leaf Program. Hereafter, desert hotels with green attributes began to sprout. For example, these properties installed composting toilets with running water systems powered by solar energy, created covered recycling areas, planted drought-tolerant plants, and used reclaimed water for landscape irrigation.
Successful Implementation of Green Initiatives in Hotels
This section highlights successful real-world examples of green initiatives that hotels have undertaken as well as some resources for hotels looking to develop their own effective and sustainable strategies. With tourism’s rapid expansion, hotels of all types and sizes are investigating how to enhance their sustainability practices. However, given the multitude of sustainable business practices presented by researchers, organizations, and regulators, many hotels are unsure how to successfully adopt such initiatives (Rowe, 2018). The National Restaurant Association offers an overview of principles to grow and maintain a successful green initiative. Highlighting its service sector-specific strategies and best practices, it also describes how some hotels have realized their green potential. This section will outline the activities of five hotels that successfully implemented sustainable initiatives after outlining important steps for hotels to take in establishing or expanding sustainable practices.
The hotel must first understand where it stands in terms of current sustainability practices and which areas to target to maximize improvement yield. A comprehensive audit of current practices, community needs, and relevant issues is essential here. For instance, by understanding a property’s current energy bill, an astute hotel manager could ascertain if that property is a good candidate for an energy-efficiency program. Similarly, operational characteristics—such as whether a hotel grows its produce—may make an environmentally sustainable initiative less relevant (Barakagira and Paapa, 2023). Baseline measurements of an initiative’s relevant environmental impact and performance metrics (e.g., changes in energy or water consumption) must be collected to track progress. Conducting a comprehensive stakeholder analysis may help identify how best to implement and monitor initiatives in compliance with local laws and policies and at what expense. Knowing each stakeholder’s level of commitment, power, and interests is central to success.
Measuring and Reporting Sustainability Performance
A key element of responsible hospitality is measuring and reporting sustainability performance. Transparent reporting and accountability provide strong incentives for better corporate environmental performance as they generate competitive advantages and enhance an organization’s reputation. In tourism, a diverse group of organizations and alliances has developed benchmarks, performance indicators, and reporting standards. Some hotel chains, such as InterContinental Hotel Group, Marriott International, and Hilton Worldwide, have deployed sophisticated environmental reporting systems to monitor and publicly disclose hotels’ environmental performance (Bohdanowicz-Godfrey and Zientara, 2015). Although measures have been complemented with public environmental audits and certifications following ISO 14000, most efforts remain internal and primarily measure one type of environmental impact—energy use. Further, while major hotel chains are developing and employing more comprehensive systems, small accommodation suppliers are usually left behind. With regard to hotel sustainability performance in developing countries, the use of international hotels’ benchmarks may not be suitable given the similar political structures across developing nations. Thus, it is critical to explore accommodation requesting certification of its green commitment and compliance with specific sustainability criteria, particularly its environmental management systems, energy and water conservation practices, waste reduction, management, and recycling.