Small and medium-sized accommodation managers and opportunities for water conservation

Abstract

To improve the environmental performance of small and medium-sized accommodation enterprises, it is important to understand the factors and motivations that move managers to adopt more efficient technologies and ecologically responsible practices. A sample of 18 independent family-run hotels and campsites were contacted in the mature tourist resort area of the Costa Brava (Spain). The research worked with a combination of surveys and semi-structured interviews directed at top managers. Saving water is revealed as a matter figuring low on the list of priorities of most managers, while competitive advantages and stakeholder pressures appear as less relevant drivers than is posited in most of the scientific literature. We conclude that addressing organizational factors holds more promise in terms of transformative power supporting water conservation than structural or technological changes.

Keywords

• Corporate Environmental Responsibility
• Environmental Management
• Perception
• Sustainable tourism
• Water saving