Exploring “Smart and Green” Concepts: A New Synergy for Irish Hospitality

Abstract

The spotlight on “smart and green” has never been so bright and, within the hotel sector, emphasis on opportunities such as sustainability and digitisation are quickly shaping the agenda. This paper explores key components of the “smart and green” agenda among Irish hotels in the Republic of Ireland and how these concepts relate to their public customer image. While the multifaceted hybrid model of “smart and green” hotels is rapidly emerging as the new theme in the sustainable tourism industry, previous literature failed to address the issue in relation to a lack of uptake from Irish hoteliers. A post-positivistic paradigm was adopted for this study. Primary data indicates that most hoteliers were positively receptive towards “smart” and “green” despite many challenges. This research will interest policy makers, central government, tourism organisations and hotel practitioners.

Keywords

• smart hotels
• green hotels
• sustainable tourism
• smart hospitality
• artificial intelligence
• virtual reality