This study analyzed the so-called “green,” or environmentally friendly, practices of American hotels. As such, it examined how green hotels in the United States are regarding no-cost or low-cost practices. Respondents included 166 hotels, which were identified through a random sample of hotels from the American Hotel & Lodging Association and included chain and independent properties as well as properties of various sizes (based on the number of rooms). The study findings show that chain hotels were at the time of the study stronger adopters of green practices than independent hotels were, likely due to leveraging economies of scale through uniform corporate practices. In addition, hotels in the Midwest were found to be the most environmentally friendly in terms of their use of no-cost or low-cost green practices. Additional results indicated that size (classified by number of rooms) had little effect on the extent to which hotels were trying to manage energy consumption.
Almost every industry today embraces sustainable business practices to some extent, at least in principle. This is not surprising given that “the worldwide economy burns,” every day, “an amount of energy the planet required 10,000 days to create. In other words, 27 years’ worth of stored solar energy is burned and released by utilities, cars, houses, factories, and farms every 24 h” (Hawken, 2005). Human beings consume 40% of the net primary productivity or green material produced on Earth each year, 35% of the productivity of the oceanic shelf, and 60% of freshwater run-off. It is claimed that if every human being were to consume as much as the average US inhabitant does, four Earths would be required to support that level of consumption (Sanderson et al., 2002).
Companies and industries also consume at prodigious rates. The focus of this study, the hospitality industry, does not over-pollute the environment compared with many other industries, nor does it consume immense amounts of nonrenewable resources. This does not mean, however, that the industry has no effect on global resources (Chan and Wong, 2006). The lodging industry is the most environmentally harmful hospitality sector, and can attribute 75% of its environmental impact to disproportionate consumption of “non-durable goods, energy and water, followed by emissions released to air, water, and soil” (Bohdanowicz and Martinac, 2003).
Waste, the most visible source of the impact of human activity, rightfully occupies center stage in the effort to improve the environment. Since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at which 172 nations met to craft an environmentally sound framework for economic development, corporations across the globe have accelerated their efforts to minimize waste (Post and Altma, 1994). Another major concern is water use, as indicated in a study of European hotels by Bohdanowicz and Martinac (2003), in which it is estimated that guests typically use anywhere between 24 and 40 gallons of water a night (including water used for related housekeeping functions). In that study, one chain reported an average of 116 gallons per guest-night, with another reporting an average of 59 gallons. Consider, too, that along with water usage come the costs, both financially and environmentally, of heating the water. For example, the gas used for heating rooms and hot water in hotels in the United Kingdom alone costs US $228.9 million and creates 5 million tons of CO2 emissions yearly (Kirk, 1995). Multiply those numbers by the number of guest-nights that occur across the globe on a daily basis and you begin to understand that the lodging segment of the hospitality industry racks up formidable consumption statistics that suggest considerable potential for positive impact.
The purpose of this study, then, is to examine the extent to which hotels in the United States have embraced eco-friendly, or “green,” operational approaches. In particular, we are interested in examining the adoption of no-cost or low-cost practices that have been shown to mitigate or reverse environmental damage. Although little stands in the way of adopting no-cost or low-cost green practices, some operators may not understand the value or ease associated with adopting such practices. To enhance the utility of the study, we analyze differences among properties based on hotel size, chain affiliation, and geographic location, and identify which segments lead the way in following green practices.
