Abstract
PurposeThe hospitality industry is responsible for significant amounts of waste, more than one-third of which is food waste. Through the comparison between an Italian and a Romanian hotel, this paper aims to provide a better understanding of food waste management trends in the hotel industry as well as to highlight hotel kitchens and hotel food services weaknesses and opportunities to minimize food waste.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews, personal communication and observations were conducted to investigate food service planning, food procurement and food waste management, as well as to better comprehend current individuals’ understanding and attitudes, infrastructures, legislative culture and opportunities either from the managerial and the employees’ perspective. Data were analyzed according to a content analysis approach.FindingsThree critical hot spots emerged from the analysis: prediction and check of guests’ attendance, communication and transparency with local suppliers and among departments within the unit and purchasing frequency and perishable food provisioning. The accurate forecasting of the number of guests and their nationality is fundamental in avoiding food waste at food service, as well as implementing transparency and communication with local suppliers.Originality/valueAlthough academia and authorities have recognized the crucial importance of food waste management, food waste research in the hotel industry remains under-researched. The present exploratory research contributes to the scarce empirical studies about hotels’ food waste, giving theoretical and managerial recommendations for supporting further studies, highlighting the need for formal deals between hotels and local suppliers (food procurement), as well as the importance of food-networks that holds together companies, retailers and charities (food donation).
Highlights
In the European Union (EU), more than 88 million tons (Mt) of food waste is generated each year, representing approximately 20% of the food produced in the member states and accounting for over e143bn in terms of associated financial costs (European Commission, 2019)
Food preparation, food service and unconsumed food management are intended as a single process, but this is not true: It is important to understand where food is bought, the purchasing frequency, the way food is prepared and consumed and the techniques adopted to dispose and/or reuse what has become waste
The paradigm of transparent and clear communication must be implemented between chefs, waiters and managers, considering that managers, who personally take care of the kitchen and are aware of food waste issue, who coordinate more than one department and know exactly how to prepare and to dispose food, are more likely to control and correct food waste attitudes, converging toward more sustainable procedures in a shorter time
Summary
In the European Union (EU), more than 88 million tons (Mt) of food waste is generated each year, representing approximately 20% of the food produced in the member states and accounting for over e143bn in terms of associated financial costs (European Commission, 2019). To mitigate this phenomenon with highly social, economic and environmental impacts, the EU strengthened the role of sustainable consumption and production patterns in the food and beverage industry, focusing on the role of food waste and on food services (Beretta and Hellweg, 2019; Filimonau et al, 2019). The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/ legalcode
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