Universally, hotels are adopting sustainability practices. It was claimed that the execution of sustainability can lead to increased guest satisfaction, improved company image and even financial gain.

Despite the prevalence, the crucial question is: areorganizational aspirations congruent with actual implementations?

This paper summarizes the outcome from a study in Singapore that used three research methods. It shows that there are gaps and contradicting phenomena that need to be addressed in sustainability programs.

Research Methodology and Outcome

There were three phases of fieldwork, namely:

  • An online questionnaire with hotel guests;
  • Interviews with hotels’ management staff; and
  • A mystery shopping exercise at a property.

Results from Questionnaire

Among the 141 respondents, 72.3% (n=102) of them were aware of the sustainability practices in hotels. The communication channels that raised their awareness consisted predominantly of in-room collaterals, hotel website and lobby signage. The communication channel that was the least frequently indicated was the sharing by hotel staff.

Though 102 respondents were aware of the sustainability effort, only 73 of them had taken part in the practices. Their participation was largely facilitated by displayed messages as well as the ease of performing the initiatives.

Findings from Interviews

Two management staff from five-star hotels were interviewed separately. Their properties’ green implementations are similar: having recycling bins, re-using coffee capsules and replacing plastic amenities with eco-friendly alternatives, etc.

However, both hotels have different approaches on how the effectiveness of their sustainability initiatives is being measured. One property delegates the monitoring to third-party organizations such as Nespresso to track the number of re-usable coffee capsules. The other property monitors the monthly key performance indicators towards the goal of obtaining a Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) certification.

Both hotels were unable to give exact figures for their guest participation in the on-site green initiatives. An additional common sentiment was that it is difficult to enforce guest participation.

Findings from Mystery Shopping

The mystery shopping was conducted during a two-day-one-night stay at a four-star property. The touch-points revealed that there were features that were non-consistent with the sustainability movement.

The chronology of encounters was as follows:

  • While there were real plants at the drop-off area, there were plastic plants in the lobby.
  • Natural light could shine in and light the lobby. But full-scale artificial lighting was still used.
  • Some lifts were powered down and the lobby toilet had half-flush option.
  • There were no posters about the hotel’s sustainability efforts at the lobby and inside the lifts.
  • While mobile check-in was utilized, the process remained complicated and lengthy with paper forms to complete.
  • Conversation with front office agent revealed that when guests opt out of changing their bed linens, they can be eligible for late check-out. This benefit was not indicated anywhere else.
  • In the room, there were the usual features in support of sustainability: call-to-action message to not change the bedding, a sign to encourage guests to consume the drinkable tap water, lower water pressure level for shower heads, etc.
  • However, the air-conditioning was set at 22 degree Celsius (71.6 Fahrenheit) and could be further reduced manually.
  • There was no recycling bin in the room.
  • Bedroom slippers were wrapped in plastic.
  • Bath amenities were presented in mini-sized plastic bottles.
  • Conversation with the housekeeper disclosed that the staff was equipped with adequate knowledge about the in-room sustainability efforts.
  • Upon check-out, the front office agent still asked if invoice was preferred in electronic or physical copy.

Suggestions

Based on the research outcome, there are three action steps that can help align operations with the strategic vision:

Employees with Ambassadorial Role

One communication channel that could be leveraged even more is the frontline staff, especially those in front office and housekeeping departments - they are the ones who have the first and most points of contact with guests. Since staff are already trained and equipped with the knowledge, they could be empowered properly to become sustainability ambassadors.

Human resource investment can be augmented through training programs or regular communication to raise staff’s awareness about green issues. The intention is to foster a green workplace culture where employees are inspired to practice sustainability and guide guests to do likewise.

Tracking and Monitoring

Hotels may want to re-evaluate their means of determining guests’ sustainability participation rates. A simple questionnaire item (that often takes less than 7.5 seconds) in the post-stay survey can easily help to collect data. It has been often reiterated by management experts that measurements are critical to getting things done and improved.

The analyzed data can also be strategically used to publicize the success rate of sustainability endeavor to hotels’ employees, guests and other external stakeholders.

Guests’ Service Journey Blueprint

The mystery shopping especially pinpointed the non-congruent practices. It can be very useful for management team to actually trace the guests’ service journey and really see the sustainability touch-points through the guests’ lenses.

Concluding Remark

There is optimism that the hotel industry can lessen environmental damages while strengthening its commercial competitiveness by implementing sustainability initiatives. Such positivity can be materialized, starting with a fundamental matching of actions with words.

Co-authors (research team): Jeanette Alexis Hng-Leng Quek, Wen-Qi Felicia Chioh, Qi-Yi Ooi, Nur Farah, Adilah Binte Rahmad, Yu-Xiang Jarran Tay, Singapore Institute of Technology