Environmental performance assessment systems in the hotel industry

Abstract

The present paper, which is conceptually embedded in environmental management theory, focuses on the question of monitoring and reporting environmental performance in the hotel industry. Its principal aim is to analyse the functioning, characteristics, and advantages of the performance assessment systems that are currently used in facilities belonging to international hotel chains. Specifically, the study, drawing on the content analysis technique, substantiates its claims by referring to concrete examples from the hotel industry (Scandic, Marriott International, Inter- Continental Hotel Group, Hilton Worldwide). Crucially, emphasis is placed on the practical problems related to the operation of such tools. The paper concludes by providing a number of recommendations on how to implement and run environmental performance assessment systems in hotels. In this way, it expands a fast-growing research on the practical dimension of hotel operation, thereby being of special interest to hoteliers and hotel managers.