Perspectives of Urban Hotel Managers and Guests on Environmental, Social, and Economic Sustainability Practices

The hospitality industry exerts significant environmental impact through water consumption, energy use, and waste generation. Urban hotels, particularly those branding as “lifestyle†establishments, increasingly adopt sustainable practices to mitigate their footprint. However, there’s often a mismatch between how hotel managers perceive their sustainability efforts and guests’ perceptions. This study assessed sustainability practices’ adequacy from guests’ and managers’ perspectives in urban hotels. Employing an Explanatory Sequential Mixed Method Design, quantitative data from 205 guests and qualitative insights from 19 hotel managers were collected and analysed using descriptive statistics and reflexive thematic analysis respectively. The results showed that guests generally rated environmental and economic sustainability practices highly but perceived social sustainability practices less favorably. Managers acknowledged the impact of environmental and social sustainability practices but downplayed economic initiatives, despite their underlying motivations for adopting the other sustainability practices. Both guests and managers concurred on the effectiveness of waste, water, and energy management practices. However, discordance was noted regarding the adequacy of social sustainability practices, with managers emphasizing human resources and community initiatives less visible to guests. The study recommends enhancing communication on sustainability efforts to bridge perception gaps and involve guests more in initiatives, fostering competitiveness. Future research should conduct comparative studies across regions to explore variations in sustainability practices and their effectiveness.