The sustainability of services: Considerations on the materiality of accommodation services from the concept of life cycle thinking

Abstract

Abstract While service activities in the tourism sector are collectively recognized as a cause of potential adverse effects on the environment, intangibility remains a widely-accepted feature within the understanding of the nature of services in general. Debating service materiality and encouraging a good environmental performance from accommodation businesses is important when seeking to promote sustainable tourism. This paper aims to discuss the materiality of accommodation services, by adopting the theoretical framework of the nature of services and the concept of life cycle thinking. The research is based on a) the application of the concept of life cycle thinking in order to analyze the data collected in the literature review on the environmental performance of accommodation services, and to describe the inputs and outputs associated with the environmental aspects of the product provided by accommodation businesses; b) the use of an analytical structure for the service triangle in order to address the sources of service materiality. The results show the main sources of accommodation service materiality that manifests in the material support required for the provision of services: goods used and/or processed to meet the demands of guests; physical facilities (hotel units [bedrooms, bathrooms, suites], restaurants, swimming pools, laundry rooms etc.); and other Material Systems (equipment, heating systems, cooling systems, food cooking systems etc.). The interaction between services and the environment originates from sources of materiality and manifests itself through environmental aspects in the product life cycle stages.