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1. The Issue
Given the ecological challenges, luxury hotels environmental activities have no grounds for relaxation – luxury hotel companies have a leadership role to play in strategically environmental management. Reducing the environmental impact of tourism will not occur quickly but involves steady progress to achieve success.
For luxury hotels, a particular important part of this work is to link up and cooperate with environmental experts, government agencies, nature conservation associations, non-governmental organizations and other competent stakeholders involved in nature and environmental protection and ecologically sustainable tourism development. This multi-stakeholder dialogue between industry and civil society is very important. Among all these, certification programs are also showing their enormous importance.
The importance of the certification programs, however, will be lessened if only a few people or organizations know and implement the program. Some other certification programs, which are well known in the hotel industry, may not have included the environmental criteria. The case of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, a hotel group based in Hong Kong, shows that luxury hotels with renowned services and operations do not care as much about environmental management as middle range hotels. The issue is what effort should the certification programs take so that luxury hotels can place their operational emphasis also on environmental preservation, and what changes should the certification programs make themselves in order to become programs of common recognition among luxury hotels.
2. Description
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG)
is the operator of some of the world’s most prestigious hotels and resorts.
In total, the Group operates 18 luxury hotels in key business and leisure destinations,
with four additional hotels under development, including
In 1992, recognizing the environmental preservation issues raised at the Rio Earth Summit and the threat to the future of the hotel industry from over-consumption and resource depletion, the chief executives of ten of the world’s leading hotel groups convened a meeting. These hotels include Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Accor, Forte Plc, Hilton International, Holiday Inn Worldwide, Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts, ITT Sheraton, Marriott International, Omni Hotels Asia Pacific, Renaissance International Hotels. [1] Their collective view was that the medium and long-term future of the hotel industry relied on its ability to manage its impacts and to protect and conserve its assets and resources. Although Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group was one of the earliest initiators for the environmental issue of hotel industry, today’s MOHG is not very much involved in “green” operation. This hotel has won numerous awards within the hotel industry, such as “the greatest hotel in the world” listed in “Travel and leisure” [2] , however, it has won no award for environmental contribution.
The newly opened hotel Mandarin Oriental,
Washington D.C. is a 400-room luxury hotel developed as part of the Portals
project, a premier mixed-use development comprising significant upscale office,
retail and restaurant components. The hotel will enjoy an enviable location,
with close proximity to the city’s most celebrated monuments and museums, and
close to the
Mobil Travel Guide Rating Criteria by the stars, [3] for example, include generally the following:
(1) Hotel services detail: for example, for a Five-Star Hotel, the staff should be extremely well spoken, polite and clear, avoid slang and phrase-fragments. Overall service should be flawless from initial reservation call to departure service.
(2) Hotel facilities and public areas detail: for a Five-Star hotel, the pubic washrooms feature well-maintained cloth towels, fresh plants or flowers.
(3) Guest room detail: For a Five-Star hotel, each guest room should have three phones, including one in bathroom.
Thus the Mobil Travel Guide Rating Criteria has never mentioned some environmental preservation criteria in its rating, it is more about amenity and guest services.
At the same time, the other famous rating system by AAA is also limited to guest services. Their criteria are (1) Reservation services: when the guests calls to reserve a room, a pleasant tone is always expected. (2) Arrival: this includes services from bell man, door man and valet parking. This creates the first impression guests have when arriving at hotels. (3) Check in: A warm greeting, a flawless check in, a sincere smile from front desk agents all creates a good check in experience for guests. (4) Bell (check in) (5) Housekeeping: Among all the 363 points that are assigned for all the criteria of this rating system, housekeeping is assigned 49 points. (6) Wakeup Call (7) Room service order/delivery (54 points) (8) Check out (9) Departure (10) Concierge Miscellaneous (11) Miscellaneous Staff service. All these criteria are about service, without mentioning the environmental conservation efforts.
Therefore, in the hotel industry, luxury hotels strive to achieve 5-star and 5-diamonds so that the hotel’s competitive ability can be enhanced by the renowned ratings. However, the green certification programs provided by some organizations have not been pursued by many luxury hotels.
3. Related Cases
In both the
One of the most important step
of eco-labeling was taken by the International Standards Organization (ISO),
which formulated the generic standards for environmental management systems
(
In addition to ISO 14000, several individual countries and organizations have introduced similar standards as an integral part of their country’s environmental strategy. Here are some related cases of different certification programs.
For example, the ECOTEL Certification, which was created for the hotel industry by HVS International in 1993, recognizes hotels and resorts that specialize in the filed of environmental responsibility, and considers itself the premier environmental certification in the hotel industry. Since 1994, more than 1000 hotels from 24 countries have applied fro ECOTEL certification, but only 50 hotels have earned the award. Hotels can earn up to five globes in this program, one for each major aspect of environmental operation: environmental commitment, employee education, energy management, solid waste management, and water conservation.
Comparatively, an organization seeking to implement GREEN GLOBE 21 is required to define and document the scope of its GREEN GLOBE 21 environmental management system and its operations. Once the scope is defined, all the organization’s operations within that scope need to be included in its GREEN GLOBE 21 environmental management system. It signifies better environmental performance, improved community interactions, savings through using fewer resources, and greater yields from increased consumer demand. It provides recognition and promotional support to a global consumer market. [4]
Besides some environmental certification programs as mentioned above, some organizations such as The International Hotels Environment Initiative (IHEI), also aim to promote the long-term benefits of sustainable development as a natural part of successful business operations. The International Hotel Association (IHA), The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), UNEP Industry and Environment and IHEI collectively drafted the Environmental Action Pack for Hotel – practical steps to benefit your business and environment. Their Green Health Checklist includes the following areas: energy, solid waste, water, effluents & emissions, contractors & suppliers (the products the hotel buys have envriomental effects associated with their manufacture, distribution, use and disposal). [5]
The analysis above about the two certification programs shows that these programs and organizations share some common points in their framework, criteria, although their methodology and scope may be different. Another obvious observation about these programs is that they are solely for environment purpose, and no service standards are included in these certification programs. This gap is the subject of this case study.
4. Author and Date:
Author: Sophie Juan Du
Master's of Tourism Administration in International Hotel Management
Department of Tourism and
The George Washington University
sdu@mohg.com
Date:
II. Legal
Clusters
5. Discourse and Status/Policy Issue:
Certification can be thought of as a three-legged stool, with the first leg measuring health and safety standards (many of which are legally required). The second measures quality and service, which has been the focus of traditional certification programs like that of the Automobile Association of America (AAA). The third and newest leg measures "sustainability" which, when properly done, includes standards for assessing environmental and social impacts of hotels, resorts and travel programs. [6]
It is true that these programs are separated from each other, and hotels choose the programs they want to join in as a member and compete for the awards or certifications to market their hotels. Although this procedure also brings hotels’ attention to “sustainability”, problems such as bias rating can also occur. A hotel that is focusing on services and luxury experiences may achieve their certification in good services and quality at the expense of environmental management. On the other hand, the first leg, which measures health and safety standards, and many of which are legally required, is an inevitable part of the hotel rating system. A stool with only one or two legs cannot stand; this parallels hotel operation, which requires all these three legs simultaneously.
Today, programs including all these
three legs do not exist; however, there are other issues within the certification
programs. In the wake of the seminal 1992 Earth Summit in
6. Forum and Scope/Existing Policy Framework:
- International
International certification programs for rating hotels environmental practices include ISO 14001, Green Globe 21, HVS EcoServices’ ECOTEL, and International Hotels Environment Initiative.
- National
This
can include certification and eco-labeling programs in
- Regional
Regional efforts include Central America, the three NAFTA countries
(
- Local
Local
efforts include
These programs focus mainly on hotels and accommodations. Now participants of these programs reached consensus that new programs need not begin from scratch since there exists a great deal of overlap, but rather they could begin with a common framework based on the criteria, methodology, scope and lessons learned from existing programs. [7]
Common components of these certification programs include:
(1) Voluntary Enrollment: At present, all certification programs are strictly voluntary.
(2) Logo: All programs award use of a selective logo, seal, or brand designed to differentiate their product in the marketplace and to be recognizable to consumers. Most permit the logo use only after certification is achieved.
(3) Criteria that comply with regulations, or go beyond: All certification programs require, at a minimum, that members comply with local, national, regional and international regulations and many have criteria that require companies go beyond these baselines.
(4) Published Commitment to Sustainable Development: All tourism businesses that undertake certification make a broad statement about their commitment to sustainable development, although they can differ widely in what practices they say are necessary for sustainable development.
(5) Assessment and Auditing: They can be first, second or third party, that is, it can be done by the business itself, by an industry trade association or by an independent firm.
(6) Membership and Fees: Those businesses who apply for certification will pay for their membership. The raised money could be sued to run the program and support advertising and promotion of the logo and of the companies that are certified. [8]
7. Decision Breadth/Stakeholders/Policy Actors:
Stakeholders include:
(1) International voluntary initiatives, including scientific, conservation, and other non-government organizations (NGOs) that were increasingly alarmed by the loss of habitat.
(2) Hotel companies, which are aware of the environmental impact of their operations and try to market their hotels with awards in green practices.
(3) Tourists: Guests staying in a hotel recognize the certification program’s award and prefer to stay in hotels that are “green”. They play an very important role and are the motives for the hotel companies to join in the certification programs.
(4) Governmental organizations and World Tourism Organizations and United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and international financial institutions have adopted a wide variety of initiatives, designed to set standards and give awards for environmentally responsible practices.
8. Legal Standing/Legal Regulatory Framework/Suggested Policy Intervention:
For many luxury hotels, environmental management still remains as an option, not a market requirement. Hotels that achieved “five diamond” or “five star” may not necessarily have green practices, or their green practices are only limited to certain areas of hotel operation with an overemphasis on service quality. The economic complexity and regional diversity of the global hospitality industry make it impossible for certain hotels to introduce environmental management in the hotels.
One of the trends, however, that affects
the environmental management system of hotels is that increasingly more areas
are covered by legislation. For example, there are specific waste regulations
covering the disposal of different forms of waste. Some countries, for example
Legislation, in the sense of its coercion,
should be used to change people’s behavior and form environmental thinking habits.
For example, in
III. Policy Impacts
9. Social
The framework that shapes sustainability involves three levels of application, namely environmental, economic and social dimensions, often referred to as the “triple bottom line.” These arise from concerns for the environment, economic livelihoods and resources, and social issues including business ethics and human rights. Sustainable development requires processes to be established which, over time, provide a system for managing the three different but related dimensions on a genuinely sustainable basis.
The certification programs award serves as a marketing tool for hotels. It is clear that the participation in such programs both improves the organization’s reputation as well as having a real potential to improve business performance. On the other hand, advertising a hotel’s “green” practices also communicate the importance of environmental management to hotel guests, and thus shift people’s awareness and consciousness to a new level and impacts their decision in choosing hotels.
One of the most famous certification programs, for example, GREEN GLOBE 21, offers the tourism industry an opportunity to improve its environmental and social performance through this unique benchmarking system. The key performance areas of energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, potable water, solid waste reduction, social commitment, resource conservation, water quality, biodiversity conservation, land-use planning and the existence of an environmental and social sustainability policy are the measures upon which tourism businesses need to perform. [9] The main impact of Green Globe 21 is that it assists hotels in reducing costs and improving economic liability in tandem with environmental sustainability.
10. Environmental
Environmental management implementation depends on a clear communication process within the organization from top management down which enables the complex issues to be translated into understandable actions. This is the basic function of a management system. Management processes which enable an organization to improve in terms of sustainable development are neither easy to understand nor to put into practice. This process thus involves participation of all employees in a hotel company.
As rating systems, such as AAA or Mobil Travel Guide, are widely understood by employees and practiced in everyday service, a certification program which combines both hotel quality standard and service standard with environmental criteria can have all the employees play their part in moving the organization towards sustainable development. The production and dissemination of clear environmental policy and mission statements will be essential for communicating to the employees.
A combined certification program can also give the hotel’s operation no other choice. While luxury hotels now focus their operation on service standards and stress less on environmental issues, they lose track of sustainable development of the hotel industry as a whole. A combined rating system will also generate the need for an environmental strategy in large companies, with a specific environmental manager or coordinator, just as the largest German hotel group TUI AG does.
The environmental management of hotels can influence other tourism sectors and stakeholders through its upstream impact on its suppliers, other parallel tourism sectors such as cruise, airline companies, and its downstream impact on destinations, tour operators, guests, and vendors.
Key processes in hotel environmental management includes: water management, control of water consumption, reducing water wastage, energy management, materials and waste management, (invisible waste, solid waste, recycling) management of indoor environment (air quality, noise, light, non-ionizing radiation).
11. Economic
While hoteliers are realizing that environmental sensitivity not only generates good will and publicity, but it also generates other economic benefits. Recycling helps save dollars on waste-removal costs and turns waste into treasures, while conservation helps keep energy, water, and fuel expenses lower.
In luxury hotels, amenities cost and the cost for training employees might be higher than other hotels. The hospitality industry is very competitive, and as owners or operators of a hotel, they would look for ways to save money while maintaining quality services. Many owners who practice “green housekeeping” have found they can remain competitive and save at the same time, by reducing waste, energy consumption and water use throughout their businesses. “Green“practices can be executed in three main areas of the hotels: facilities management, guest activity areas and office areas.
As an example, in guest rooms, we can substitute refillable liquid soap dispensers for individually-wrapped bar soaps in bathrooms. Though the initial expense for these dispensers may seem high, a quick return on this investment can occur later. Refills and items purchased in bulk are usually less expensive and generate less waste than individual containers.
In offices, we can minimize paper use by copying on both sides of the paper, or use the blank back sides as scratch paper.
Recycling saves
From the above analysis, we can that the green practices plus the good service standards will generate the profitability of the hotel in the long run. Second, as people’s perception of luxury hotel turns more “green”, then the hotel’s operation which focuses on both service and environmental management can achieve optimum satisfaction of guest requirements. Third, all these efforts mentioned above can also contribute to the well-being of locals. These efforts can not only help build up the environmental protection awareness of the local people, they also contribute to the local environment.
12. Other
N/A
13. Suggested Interventions
To meet the global environmental challenges, there will need to be a meeting of minds, a consensus world view on the integration of economics and the environment. This issue, however, involves a “cost-effective” consideration of compliance, since for some regions it is simply not technologically or economically viable to introduce such practice. There is no encouragement either to go beyond strict compliance, or to attempt to influence future legislation.
Suggested interventions then might have to focus on the government sector. Regional or local education and technology development has a great impact on the introduction of policy. Policy, on the other hand, influences the realization of the enhancement in local education and development of technology.
A single luxury hotel may not be able to lead the trend of environmental management because of the strong competition and the complexity of luxury hotel guests’ preferences. Policy plays a great roll in shaping hotels’ operation and local people’s habits, if executed appropriately. Therefore, policy need to be exerted with more power, and if possible, with legislation.
The alternatives include policies implemented through voluntary compliance, which to date, has been the most effective with regards to environmental management impetus and policies in the hotel sector.
IV. Trade Clusters
12. Type of Measure:
The hotel industry is one of the links in the supply chain of the tourism industry. The supply chain consists of those industries that provide accommodations, offer transportation means, make arrangements for travelers, and supply equipment. It also includes the tourists themselves. Actors all along the supply chain have a stake in the environmental impact of tourism.
The following graph illustrates the trading relationship among the different sectors and indicates where upstream and downstream leverage is possible within and outside of a hotel. The direction of the arrows shows the direction of impacts. Some sectors have both upstream impacts and downstream impacts, such as the hotel itself. It can have a downstream impact by giving guests the option not to have their linens washed daily; it can also exert its great upstream impact to suppliers by demanding environmental friendly products.
The extent to which
a hotel can leverage its suppliers depends upon several factors, including
the type of hotels (e.g., large chain or small independent) and the type of
supplies. A large hotel brand with many hotels in the world has a greater
power than other hotels. Any suppliers will not give up this big market to
sell their products. Also its downstream impact on tourists can be strengthened
because of its attraction generated by good service and diversified regional
distribution. 13. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental/Tourism Impact a. Directly Related to Product: “Green” luxury hotels
can realize its “green” operation by ordering organic food for its restaurants,
decorating rooms with more natural plants rather than artificial artifacts,
or providing guests water saving toilets in the bathroom among many other
practices. This practice will have a great impact on the suppliers for the
hotel, directing their production line to be more environmentally friendly.
The International
Hotels Environment Initiative (IHEI), a nonprofit organization, influences
suppliers’ relations with hotels through its supplier program created in 1998.
This program facilitates hotels’ leverage on suppliers in three ways: b. Indirectly Related to Product: Hotels inner design
and building should also be environmentally friendly. Its architecture should
be able to integrate into the local community’s building style, local history
and culture. Hotels services are
also indirectly related to product. For example, to serve linen towels in
the lobby bathroom instead of paper towels can help paper products; another
example is the green housekeeping practice. Hotels can provide guests the
rack hanger for guests to hang reusable towels. This service reflects the
hotel’s detail attention to their guest services, and at the same time, contributes
to environment preservation. These practices can
be included in the certification program’s criteria to an appropriate extent.
c. Not Related to Product: Well-trained employees
and managers, as well as the good relationship with hotel’s customers are
one of the most important factors for hotels’ sustainable operation practice.
Employees must be willing to and able to act in favor of the environment.
Without them, the impact can even be negative. Hotels’ training programs place
a priority on integrated energy saving and environmental protection techniques.
It is also a main factor in enhancing its quality of services, which in turn
influences customers’ willingness to act environmentally. A “green” organizational
culture can motive employees to act accordingly and absorb it as daily practice.
Therefore, to establish an organizational culture with clear mission in environmental
conservation can be an effective way of achieving sustainability. d. Related to Process: N/A 14. Trade Product Identification/Trade and Services: In hotels,
trade product not only includes hotel facilities and amenities, hotel rooms,
it also includes services. Now certification programs help guests identify
the hotels that have environmental management. For example, the European eco-label
agency for tourist accommodation service
was created to reward accommodation services and tourists that respect the
environment. It signals environmental good performance as it is an added quality
value when consumers are choosing a resort. Hotel
companies bearing the Flower Logo
will have officially been distinguished
as being amongst the most environmentally friendly in their area.
Not only
hotel operations should be identified as having environmental management,
such as using energy saving technology, but also the hotel services, as discussed
above, should be one of the most important criteria when evaluating the hotel’s
“green” practice. Others may also include criteria that detail food and beverage
products, such as organic food, or the practice of using linen towels instead
of disposable paper towels in public toilet areas. Hotels
that only have good services but not “green” operations, can probably achieve
“5 star” or “5 diamond”, but hotel guests may have no way to identify their
environmental policy or strategy, since the “star” or “diamond” rating does
not specify any environmental management aspect. 15. Economic Data When looking the whole world as an international
community, we see a global economic imbalance. Problems that exist in the
world cannot be solved in just one region or one country, nor
in one hotel. This is not to diminish the contribution that can be made by
individual companies, but it should also not be overvalued. People staying in luxury hotels are
the most affluent people, and their consumption of the energy composes a major
part of the total. One fifth of the world’s population generates four fifths
of the world’s wealth. Their gross national product is 82.7%, while the poorest
fifth’s gross national product is 1.4%. [11] From these data we can see that the
richest five percent of the people in the world is spending four fifth of
the world’s wealth, or energy and resources. Sustainable development thus
should also be aimed at the fair distribution of wealth – environmental and
social objectives are only achievable hand in hand with economic development.
While this development is not even in
the world, and it takes time to achieve this goal, environmental management
would help save our world, and thus the hotel industry. Environmental management helps hotels,
if properly administrated through corporate environmental policies, save money
by reducing cost and improve the hotel bottom line. The following case shows
how much the hotel can benefit from such a practice. The Hotel
Inter-Continental in •
installation of a flash steam heat exchange unit using the condenser from
a discarded liquid chiller system; the boiler now operates at only 50% capacity
and uses less energy •
installation of twin speed motors in the air conditioning cooling towers;
so that when cooling demand falls and the water temperature is low, the motor
operates at a lower speed. •
Installation of a capacitor bank to prevent voltage loss when receiving power
from the national grid, bringing major savings on electricity costs. All three
of these innovations have not only saved energy, thus helping to protect the
environment, but they have also saved the hotel money: •
by saving on the cost of a new heat exchanger and using recovered heat from
the waste chillers, US$ 40,000 was saved; fuel consumption has also been reduced
by over 90,000 liters per year, saving US$ 34,000 per annum. •
Energy savings from running the air conditioning system motor at its lower
speed amount to around US$ 8,400 in energy costs per annum; there has also
been a reduction of 60 per cent in the noise produced by the cooling towers. •
While the capacitor bank cost US$ 28,500, energy savings total US$ 20,400
per year, implying a payback period of less than 18 months. [12] 16. Impact of Trade Restriction:
Refer to No. 13 17. Industry Sector: Tourism
sectors interact with other industry sectors, especially through contacting
with their vendors and suppliers. Thus, the “green” practice and certification
involve multiple decision makers and influences. All certification
standards should be developed with input from multiple stakeholders including
consumers, industry, environmentalists and social representatives in a way
that does not compromise the independence of the certifier. For example, industry
representatives can play an important advisory role without having direct
financial, decision making or management ties to the certifier. 18. Exporters and Importers:
The accommodations sector is tied to the export of international,
regional and local travel to tourism destinations. For example, exports (inbound
visitors) to 19. Environmental Problem Type/ Environmental Aspects: Hotel industry is a resource-intensive
business. The environmental problems that we face, such
as excessive and wasteful use of resources and pollution (water, solid waste,
air, noise), are in many ways related and result from poor environmental management.
These environmental issues are complex and range from the global issues discussed
in the press and conferences, to many local catastrophes and disasters. These
pressures are resulting in increased legislative and regulative pressure on
hotel businesses to manage their impact on the environment. In addition to international and governmental
pressures for change, we see the growth of many voluntary organizations and
certification programs, and a new generation of consumers, who emphasize “green”
choices. Although certification programs only have a small impact at this
moment, hotel businesses need to monitor these changes and adapt to it accordingly.
Hotel businesses are subject both to the “push” of governmental pressure,
and the “pull” of market, as increasing numbers of consumers express a preference
for green products, and certification programs act as a marketing tool. Some
hotels may even have seen environmental management as a means of differentiating
themselves, such as TUI AG in 20. Resource Impact and Effect: Effective environmental management systems
in hotels can save renewable resources such as water, electricity, waste,
and sewage disposal etc. For example, as a result of the implementation
of environmental management systems at five Jamaican hotels, they reduced
energy use per guest night by 12%. Reduced water consumption resulting from
water conservation measures totaled 50,000,000 gal. Total savings at the five
hotels resulting from the energy efficiency improvements included 1,665,000
kWh of electricity and 160,000 L of liquid propane gas. The dollar value of
the efficacy gains for the five hotels was US $616,555, or about US $330,000
on an annual basis. [14] 21. Urgency and Lifetime/Urgency and Policy Review: There are mainly five drivers for change
toward sustainable development in a hotel: The need for compliance with legislative
and fiscal requirements (Current business mangers have been thinking of the
environment as part of government regulations, or as an issue of compliance
with laws and codes of practice); opportunities for financial savings (recycling,
energy saving, waste control); consumer attitudes and pressure, public opinion;
strategic management In terms of this policy, technological
solutions must be multidisciplinary, since there is a complex system of interrelated
tasks. Thus on the policy side, the certification programs would be a complex
system designed down to the last detail management. Shareholders, consumers and investors
will exert increasing pressure on hospitality companies to improve their environmental
performance. Meanwhile, green pressure groups will continue to exert their
influence. Conference and meeting planners will direct their groups to leaders
in hospitality environmental best practices. 22. Substitutes/Alternative Policies:
Alternative policies could be to enhance
education level, and improve people’s awareness of environmental protection.
These can be complementary to strengthen the effect of certification programs.
23. Culture: Organizational culture has a great impact
on the realization of hotel green practice. Thus a hotel’s Human Resources
management and employee training and development program may have to integrate
the environmental management issue to have all the employees involved in the
hotel’s “green” operation. 24. Trans-Boundary Issues: Hospitality business can optimize their
contribution to global sustainability through local and regional co-operation.
This can take many forms. Among the about hundred certification programs for
ecotourism, seven of them are global. They promote the development of environmental
networks, including multi-sector networks, among all small businesses, voluntary
organizations and the public sector. However, we also see that there are numerous
regional and local programs, which cater to the local market situation. They
could be a complement to the global certification programs and could help
the hotel companies transition to practice of global
level. In the long run, after the local companies have the ability to comply
with the international standards, only a small number of the certification
programs will remain recognized resulting in a rationality of standards can
be viably uniform. 25. Rights: The rights and expectations of shareholders,
businesses in the 21st century will increasingly have to meet the
demands of other stake holders, such as customers, employees and the local
community. For this reason, the certification programs, which combine both
quality standards and environmental standards, can better meet the expectations
of all stakeholders. For all the stakeholders, it is necessary to make public
at least part of the results of environmental audit for evaluation purpose.
26. Relevant Literature Ball, Stephen and Jones, Peter, Hospitality Operations – A system
approach.
2003, P. 85-102 American Hotel & Motel Association, Green Rooms in the Lodging
Industry, 1995. Kirk, David, Environmental management
for hotels: a student's handbook, 1996. Hotels Care, Community Action & Responsibility for the Environment,
2002. Honey, Matha and Haddon, Matt. “Making Green Labels Stick”
New Scientist (June 20, 1992) P. 23-24. Honey, Martha, Strong certification programs separate
genuine ecotourism from greenwashing fast-buck artists. (Who Owns 27. Policy Implications With many certification programs in
the world overlapping each other and some regions having their own situation
and needing their own certification programs catering to local practice, we
need to unify some programs that can apply to the same region and make a differentiation
between each program yet applies to the complexity of different regions or
areas. The importance of both quality service and environmental protection
may be better emphasized at the same time in one program, so that hotels will
not “walk” with only one “leg”. 28. Recommendations The comparison between Mobil/AAA rating
system and the other certification systems shows that when rating a hotel,
the service standards are typically separated from the environmental standards,
which may cause the hotels either to place emphasis on service or on environmental
conservation, but not on both together. Thus they do not necessarily need
to provide good service and at the same time ensure they contribute to environmental
protection. Thus, to combine both standards into one rating will motivate
the luxury hotels, which already have good service quality to pay attention
to their environmental responsibility. The rationale behind this conclusion
is that a single luxury hotel will not wish to comply with the environmental
preservation by itself when facing the competition of other hotels. However,
when competing to get a five-diamond or five-star, which includes environmental
management, they have to comply with the standards set up by Mobil/AAA and
take a leadership role in doing so. 
Example: Hotel Inter-Continental
V. Macro/Environment Clusters/Tourism
Policy Clusters VII Conclusion