Bueno, David C.

22nd Pattaya International Conference on Economics, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences (PEEHSS-19), Aug. 12-14, 2019

Green Hotel Initiative: Response of the Industry to Global Climate Change Prof. Dr. David Cababaro Bueno Dean of Graduate, and Colleges of Arts, Sciences and Education at Columban College, Inc., Olongapo City, Zambales, Philippines

Abstract- The study focused on the analysis of green initiatives of hotels in a city as contribution and response in mitigating climate change. The researcher used the descriptive cross-sectional design by employing a self-administrated and closed-ended questionnaire to survey the participants within a specified time frame of the study. The conveniently selected hotels in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ) were taken from the directories of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in the City. Thus, there were thirty hotel employees and thirty guests, who served as participants during the conduct of the study. The adopted checklist was subjected expert validity and reliability test. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 2.0 (SPSS 20.0). Consistently, turning off lights and appliances in unoccupied rooms, taking advantage of the natural lights, and replacing damaged doors/ windows were the common green initiatives among hotels. The hotel staffs encouraged the guests to report water leaks. Collecting rainwater for irrigating or other non-potable use, and presoaking utensils and dishes in ponded water instead of using a running water rinse were also practiced.

Solid waste and pest management initiatives were also observed by eliminating bird nests, making the rooms free from trash and checking for cooking odors, ensuring the ventilation system, and cleaning spills promptly. Preserving existing vegetative cover, pest management, grounds keeping and green food service management were regularly initiated among participants. There was no significant difference in the assessments made by the hotel staffs and guests on energy and water conservation, solid waste and pest management, indoor air quality maintenance, and grounds keeping. However, there was significant difference on building renovation and mold growth prevention initiatives. Such green initiatives surely made significant contribution in mitigating global climate change.

Keywords- Hospitality management, green initiatives, climate change, hotel industry, descriptive cross-sectional design, Olongapo City, Philippines

I. INTRODUCTION The impact of the growth of worldwide tourism growth on the environment has become a vital topic within the hospitality industry (Berezan, Raab, Yoo, & Love, 2013). A majority of American explorers and tourists now deliberate themselves “environmentally conscious” (U.S. Travel Association, 2009) and feel that hotel industry should involve in sustainability actions (Weissenberg, Redington, & Kutyla (2008). With increased customer awareness, sustainable and green practices became imperative to travelers in picking a hotel (Tzschentkea, 2008).

Climate change caused by global warming is a critical environmental challenge facing the world of the 21st century (Arcodia & Dickson, 2007). As a major sub-sector of the tourism industry, the hotel industry’s operations are

inseparably tied to, contingent upon and essentially derives from the varied environments and societies where it operates. In fact, the hotel industry often impacts the very social and cultural aspects of societies also the nearby natural environment and local resources. Thus, it is unsurprising that many hospitality industries worldwide have been exposed to growing calls from the responsible business movement to adopt a more environmental-friendly and to become socially responsible approach to their respective operations (Abaeian, Kyid, & Wei, 2014).

Thus, hospitality industry development is the central capacity in the tourism industry. The issues on sustainability and green are discussed when looking at the effort by the resorts operators at practicing green approaches (Jamaludin & Begam, 2013), and tourism is moving towards sustainable tourism because it poses negative impacts on the environment by consuming and producing many resources such as water, energy and waste (Begam & Jamaludin, 2013). Moreover, tourism is part of the fastest growing industries in the world, making it an important contributor to the world economy. On a global basis, tourism currently generates more or less 10% of the gross domestic product (Bueno, 2017).

Moreover, it should be noted that tourism industry becomes stable in terms of types of tourist attractions, trends of tourist arrivals, business linkages, and services offered, and the chances of the tourism attraction business operators to maintain their position in the industry is high due to their prudent use of eight marketing mix constructs such like place, product, price, promotion, programming, partnership among others, (Celis, Mendoza, & Baruc, 2013) and if they are responding to climate change through green practices in their respective operation. Furthermore, a study showed that green and sustainable, high-technology, thinking from customers’ side and Asian guests are the main trends in hotels, and the main challenges faced by hoteliers are branding and competition, operational space in hotels and human resource. This study described many innovation outputs which belong to product innovation, service innovation and administrative innovation, respectively. It also indicated that hotels utilized many interior and exterior methods to follow up new trends and innovation.

Furthermore, these innovations and innovative practices have improved customers’ satisfaction and business performance for the hotels (Hua & Hua, 2015), and such findings are contributory to green initiatives and sustainable development in the hospitality industry.

However, with any ambition to give voice to environmental and social ideals, there are problems. The

most significant difficulty lies in the sad truth that environmental change is not the primary interest of many growing Asian nations who would need to support and steer any systemic changes. Instead of the environmental and social problems in their regions, these entities focus on their national financial health. Another tricky lies in the lack of core competencies within many developing nations to implement and execute future oriented environmental and social ideals over the long term (Suess, 2009), including green practices towards climate change moderation.

In spite of a wide range of literature on environmental issues in the hospitality industry context, little research has been conducted to explore on green initiatives of the hotel industry in a city towards moderating climate change. Thus, this study examined the green initiatives as response of the hotels towards climate change.

II. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The study focused on the exploration of green initiatives responding to a global concern, the climate change, among hotels in Olongapo City, Philippines. It specifically aimed to: (1) determine the green initiatives of selected hotels from the viewpoints of hotel staff and guests; and (2) analyze the significant variations on the assessment of the green initiatives when grouped according to participants.

conservation (.81); water conservation (.79); solid waste management (.91); indoor air quality maintenance (.87); building renovation (.76); pest management (.84); grounds keeping maintenance (.81); food service management (.90); and mold growth prevention (.89). An alpha coefficient of 0.70 or higher indicates acceptable levels of internal reliability, which means that all the items in the same category measure the same attribute. Thus, the instrument validity and reliability were established. The surveyquestionnaire used a 5-point Likert scale (5; 4; 3; 2; 1) items based on a scale from “5 = strongly agree” to “1= strongly disagree”. Data were gathered between October and January 2018. Initially, a survey packet, a brief explanation as to the nature of the research, an informed consent form, and survey- questionnaire was sent to the hotel managers through the guest relations officers. The hotels were first contacted based on convenience of location. After obtaining permission from the hotels, the researchers visited the hotels to hand carry the survey-questionnaires to the hotel staff.

The researcher visited each department at the hotels and explain the nature of the study of the head of the department.

The survey collection boxes were set-up in a designated areas. The location of those boxes was given to the head of each department. Follow-up visitations were made to the guest relations officers. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 2.0 (SPSS 20.0).

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

III. METHODOLOGY The researcher used the descriptive cross-sectional design using a validated and reliable closed-ended questionnaire. The design aimed to describe the participants’ perceptions on green initiatives of hotels during the specified period of study. The cross-sectional design is an observational study using a validated instrument. This means that researcher recorded information about the participants without manipulating the study environment. In short, the researcher tried not to interfere while the participants were surveyed using a well-defined instrument and compared the different perceptions and various variables within the specified time frame (Bueno, 2017). The 15 conveniently selected hotels in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ) were taken from the directories of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in the City. Thus, there were 15 hotel staff and 15 guests, who served as participants during the conduct of the study. Bueno (2015) described convenience sampling as a sampling technique used to obtain units or respondents who are most conveniently available. The adopted checklist was subjected expert validity and reliability test. The adopted survey-checklist was tried-out to hotel industry practitioners, researchers, Science professors, selected students and parents for face and construct validity only. The instrument was subjected to a reliability test. Alpha coefficients were energy

The Green Hotel Initiatives Energy conservation initiatives include turning off the lights and appliances when not in unoccupied rooms and during non-use hours, as well as taking advantage of the natural lights, are the observable green initiatives among the hotels. Participants also observed replacing damaged doors or windows to reduce the need for cooling in the building.

They sometimes practiced cleaning lights and fixtures regularly to keep the light output high. The overall computed means are 4.42 (always) and 3.82 (oftentimes), for the staffs and guests, respectively.

Water conservation initiatives of hotels are encouraging guests to report water leaks to the hotel staff. Fixing leaks in faucets, toilets, and pipes right away are sometimes practiced. Other practices such as collecting rainwater for irrigating or other non-potable use, and presoaking utensils and dishes in ponded water instead of using a running water rinse are oftentimes practiced by the participants. The overall computed means are 3.92 (oftentimes) and 3.95 (oftentimes), for the hotel staff, and guests, respectively.

Some green initiatives of hotels in terms of solid waste management are encouraging guests to reduce waste, recycling items such as papers, aluminum cans and plastic bottles, and segregating dry solid wastes to wet solid waste.

Moreover, sharing of periodicals with associates, instead of receiving multiple copies is oftentimes practiced by all

participants; and saving of used papers, envelopes, but folders for in-house reuse is always observed. The overall computed means are 4.31 and 3.97, for the hotel staffs and guests, respectively.

Moreover, the initiatives in terms of indoor air quality maintenance such as eliminating bird nests or droppings near outdoor air intakes; ensuring that rooms are free from trash and chemical substances, and checking for cooking odors or smoke in areas adjacent to cooking preparation and eating areas, ensuring that ventilation system allows adequate amount of outdoor air to enter the room, and cleaning spills promptly are always practiced. The overall computed means are 4.42 (always), and 3.92 (oftentimes), for the staff, and hotel guests, respectively.

The green initiatives in terms of building renovation such as preserving existing vegetative cover and trees; ensuring that walls, floors, roofs and windows are as energy efficient as possible; maximizing the use of natural daylight in building interiors as a source of ambient light; and considering the on-site materials such as gravel and sand for construction are always practiced. Orienting the building to catch the breezes, minimize heat gain and make use of natural shading and light is oftentimes initiated. The computed means are 4.31 (always) and 3.79 (oftentimes), for the hotel employees, and guests, respectively.

While, pest management as an integral dimension of the green initiatives among hotels is practiced by spraying pesticides when children are out of reach; keeping lockers and the building clean and dry; and storing pesticides in leak-proof containers in a secure place. Moreover, practicing good sanitation and proper maintenance of structures and grounds is always observed, but fixing plumbing leaks and other moisture problems are sometimes observed. Thus, these eco-friendly initiatives are oftentimes observed by the respondents as evidenced by the computed means of 4.21 and 3.93, respectively. Cutting of grass on a regular basis; practicing spot application of fertilizer where a problem exists instead of the entire area; and using a minimal amount of fertilizers on grounds is oftentimes observed by the participants. Preserving local vegetation in place, especially mature trees; and keeping the grounds free from unwanted materials that can cause an accident is always observed. The overall computed means are 4.62 (always) and 3.91 (oftentimes), for the staff, and guests, respectively.

The food service aspect of the green initiatives among hotels are using of washable wiping cloths instead of disposables; keeping records for the demand for particular foods and use them in menu planning; printing of daily specials on a chalkboard rather printing daily specials on new sheets of paper; and using of refillable condiment bottles instead of single use packaging are oftentimes observed by all the respondents. Reusing of large containers for storage is always observed by the participants. The computed means are 3.84 and 3.92, for the hotel staffs and guests, respectively.

Lastly, mold growth preventions among hotels are keeping building materials like wood, paper and fabric dry; fixing the source of the water problem or leak to prevent mold growth; avoiding standing water in ventilation systems, air conditioning units or refrigerator drip pans; and preventing rainwater from entering air intakes are always observed by the participants. Inspecting comfort rooms for signs of standing water, water stains or molds is oftentimes observed. The computed means for these green initiatives are 4.47 and 3.82, for the hotel staff, and guests, respectively.

Growing detrimental effects on the bio-physical environment have been responsible for a large number of small firms to adopt a more strategic stance toward exploiting green-related opportunities (Leonidou, Christodoulides, & Kyrgidou, 2015). The findings of the current study responded to a study elucidating the essence of sustainability in green building design implementations.

In this regard, a study attracted attention to the sustainable energy performances of green buildings to identify the influential parameters based upon the contemporary successful accomplishments, and elaborated on the contemporary trends and applications of green building design and the respective impacts on sustainable developments (Ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2013). Accordingly, with view to the environ- mental assessment and energy performance of buildings, it is vital to develop an overview of current theoretical perspectives, trends, applications and constraints towards the development of green environmentally sustainable buildings. To confirm that, previous studies put forward a theory representing that the performance of green buildings is substantially related to the level of their environmental assessment, thus, versatile studies highlight the necessity of the identification and consideration of sustainable energy performance indicators in the environmental evaluation and any green implementations. In this regard, the building energy efficiency, the thermal performance of buildings and the material efficiency are considered as significant parameters of sustainable energy performance indicators to be fully taken into consideration during the performance evaluations (Mwasha, Williams, & Iwaro, 2011).To summarize, the study refers to Berardi (2013) with regards to the analysis of recent interpretations on sustainable buildings. Accordingly, the respective study states: “sustainable building is characterized by the demand for safe building, flexibility, market and economic value; neutralization of environmental impacts by including its context and its regeneration; human well-being, occupants’ satisfaction and stakeholders’ rights; social equity, aesthetics improvements, and preservation of cultural values.

The Variations on the Green Hotel Initiatives The null hypothesis was accepted for the variables such as energy conservation, water conservation, solid waste management, indoor air quality maintenance, pest

management, and grounds keeping. Thus, there was no significant difference in the assessment of green practices along these variables when grouped according to the participants. However, there was a significant difference in the assessment of eco-friendly initiatives along these variables.

The findings suggest that explicit and tacit environmental management account for a variety of organizational responses to the environmental demands of stakeholders, depending on the stakeholders’ viewpoints regarding environmental issues, the stakeholders’ awareness to protect the environment, and the perceived environmental and economic advantages of green activities (Burgos-jim & Jos, 2003). Such response is considered vital towards Total quality management (TQM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) that are relevant management philosophies in the hotel industry to be able to generate a sustainable competitive advantage (Benavides-velasco, Quintana-garcía, & Marchante-lara, 2014), and towards mitigating global climate change.

Over the years, the focus on environmentally responsible behavior (Ogbeide, 2012), has grown dramatically from hardly being talked about to being a major concern for the travel and tourism industry (Gustin & Weaver, 1996). According to Vora (2007), 43 million U.S. travelers have indicated their worries for the environment.

Practices such as saving water, saving energy, and reducing solid waste were three of the most common things green hotels were doing to help the environment. But, even more important than water usage and reducing paper waste were changes like eco-cuisine, energy efficient lighting, installing hinge activated lighting, and using electronics such as email and electronic check-in versus using paper (Wolff, 2008).

These efforts had been continuously growing over the past few decades. Since ‘green hotel’ is a relatively new concept, it is interesting to explore the perception and attitude of consumers toward green hotel/resort concepts in the twentyfirst century.

Clearly, there are a vast number of diverse considerations that may be addressed by hotel industry that choose to pursue a green initiative as response in mitigating the global climate issue. Among these are concerns such as: developing offerings that conserve energy and other natural resources in their production process (Porter, 1991); creating advertisements and other promotional messages that accurately reflect a company’s commitment to the environment (Kangun, Carlson, & Grove, 1991); setting prices for green products that balance consumers’ sensitivity to cost against their willingness to pay more for environmental safety (Chase, 1991; Jay 1990); reducing pollutants and conserving resources in the transportation of products to market (Bohlen, Diamantopolous, & Schlegelmilch, 1993); and a host of other marketing-related decisions. To align themselves with the green initiative, organizations often focus on one or more of the three broad activities: reusing, recycling and reducing. Sometimes

referred to as the “3 R’s formula for environmental management”, these practices are aimed at controlling the amount of natural resources waste that often accompanies organizations’ marketing pursuits. By reusing packaging (offering products in refillable containers), recycling materials (reclaiming elements from used products) and reducing resource usage (conserving energy in the production process), organizations can play a significant role in protecting the environment. For services, reducing would include reworking or “re-engineering” service processes to reduce their impact on the environment. Such practices may also help to position specific organizations as green oriented in the public’s mind and attract the increasingly large green consumer segment (Grove, Fisk, & Pickett, 2015).

V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS There was no significant difference in the green initiatives among hotels relative to energy conservation, water conservation, solid waste management, indoor air quality maintenance, pest management, and grounds keeping. However, a significant difference in the assessment relative to building renovation and mold growth prevention practices was found. The hotel industry needs to practice energy and water conservation at all times. They must always maintain the quality of indoor air, proper laboratory waste disposal, ground keeping, building renovation, pest and mold prevention; maintain proper food management services; regularly conduct orientation activities on proper laboratory waste disposal, mold growth prevention, and benefits of proper building renovations; regularly observe the best practices on energy and water conservation, solid waste and pest management, maintenance of indoor air quality and grounds keeping. The BUENO framework for hotel industry should be used as stepping strategy to actively and functionally implement the pro-environment initiatives and natural remedies as part to their corporate social responsibility towards mitigating the global climate change issue ( Bueno, 2017). The limitations of the present study relate to the sample size and the number of hotels included in the analysis. Thus, the findings must be interpreted with cautiousness.

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