Analysing how environmental responsabile business is implemented by independent and chain superior hotels : a Malta case study

Abstract

Environmental Responsible Business is rapidly gaining recognition amongst organisations worldwide, and the hotel sector is not an exception. Due to its unique function, a hotel consumes a lot of resources and is constantly pressurised to act sensibly towards the environment. Green hotel development is becoming a necessity. Research shows that having an environmental policy in place, will not necessary affect revenue or win additional business but can be beneficial in portraying a positive image of the hotel. Through their actions hotels are taking the role of educators to employees, guests and society in general. The results of research imply that proper environment management (EM) can add to employees' job satisfaction. Environmental training programmes are fundamental to help employees understand the motive of new responsible operating procedures and to be more willing to fulfil them. Chain hotels are deemed to be in a better position to implement EM measures because they are part of a team network. They are challenged with targets to reach and are given the necessary support, training and expertise. On the other hand, independent hotels are more limited in such resources and they have to be more cost-effective so measures and investments have to be implemented gradually. Co-financing provided by the European Union and National funds enable hotels to invest in the latest 'green' technologies; in order to minimise the consumption of resources, to generate less waste, to dispose of waste responsibly, and to enable hotels to become more self-sufficient with regard to the use of water and electricity. The research emphasised that EM is not an effective marketing tool because customers are not highly influenced by the 'green' appeal of the hotel. The study shows that hoteliers adopt environmental responsible measures as a means to improve their financial performance by being more cost-effective and v consequently profits are boosted. The economic gain from eco-certification is minimal but the mainstream of the superior hotels that were investigated, are confident that they will be rewarded with the EU eco-label in the near future.