Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

EXPLORING SUSTAINABILITY EXCELLENCE: AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF SELECT HOTELS EMBRACING BEST PRACTICES

Shahnaz Akhtar

Abstract

Hotels, as key players in the global tourism value chain, have been associated with negative environmental, social and economic impacts. Many hoteliers express reluctance towards adopting sustainable measures due to perceived high costs and limited commercial benefits. Additionally, the belief that implementing sustainable practices is overly complex and yields insignificant results acts as a barrier to improving hotels’ sustainable credentials. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the best sustainability practices under three dimensions in the hospitality industry, as implemented by eight hotels in Jammu and Kashmir. The research approach is qualitative, based on the analysis of 08 hotels and in-depth interviews with the hotel managers of select hotels. Results suggest that sustainable practices are primarily adopted for environmental, social, and economic purposes. When examining sustainability within the hotel industry, the majority of research tends to concentrate on particular subjects and engage in specific discussions. There is a limited presence in the literature of a comprehensive perspective on sustainability, which aims to foster a more profound comprehension of sustainable business choices within the hotel sector. This research addresses the gap by exploring the strategic reasons that hotel corporations use to justify sustainability operations.