Natural Capital and Natural Asset Management in the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

There has been some recent interest in the role that natural capital can play in the transition to a more sustainable hospitality industry. However, little work has been published in the academic literature on the role of natural capital in the hospitality industry and how it can be assessed, and this represents a gap in that literature. With this in mind, this short exploratory paper outlines the origins and definition of natural capital, looks at some of the ways in which the hospitality industry benefits from natural capital, explores the relationship between natural capital and natural asset management, and provides an illustrative cameo case study of how one of the leading companies in the hospitality industry, namely Marriott international, has addressed natural capital in their most recent environmental, social and governance report. The paper concludes that there is, as yet, very limited universal recognition of natural capital as an element of sustainability strategy in the hospitality industry. Indeed, even where it is in evidence, natural capital is still viewed within the idiom of economic growth and the continuing expansion of the hospitality industry. The paper suggests, however, that the adoption and adaptation of asset management practices may provide a more realistic way of assessing and measuring the current and evolving value and condition of natural capital. Keywords: hospitality industry, tourism, natural capital, natural asset management, Marriott International