Sustainable practices in Ukrainian hotel industry

Abstract

In the contemporary world where population is constantly growing and resources consumption continuously increasing, concept of sustainable development is becoming urgent for humans to survive. An issue of sustainability has emerged after industrial revolution, when people started intensively exploit planet’s resources. Despite its incoherence to the actual production, tourism industry is considered as one with heightened resource consumption. Accommodation establishments as a main part of tourism industry are characterized as intensive resource consumers. The main focus of this dissertation is to advance an understanding of sustainable development concept’s implementation by the accommodation establishments. It provides insights about importance of sustainable development in relation to accommodation establishments, investigates barriers and motives for concept’s implementation in Ukrainian hotel industry and examines customer’s role in this process. It also offers practical recommendations for sustainable development of Ukrainian hotels. Such study is important in order to clarify relation of the concept to the hotel industry and shed a light on Ukrainian hotel industry in relation to sustainability. The research methods consisted of an explicit literature review on sustainability concept, augmented with analysis of collected empirical data. The latter is based on survey of 42 Ukrainian hotels and 156 hotels’ customers, using questionnaires. The research findings show that the term "sustainable development" is often misunderstood and both hoteliers and customers lack of awareness about concept’s complexity; that sustainability concept is customer-driven; that Ukrainian hoteliers lack of government’s support and sufficient infrastructure; and that customers’ requirements and reducing operational costs remain the most important motives for hoteliers. Based on research findings, this dissertation proffers specific approach and recommends tackling the issue with a tool’s triangle: clear communication of the issue and need, cutting-edge technology for guests’ engagement and legal requirements from the government’s side.