Green Housekeeping Practices in the Hotel Industry: A Study

DOI: 10.22161/ijeab.114.16

Abstract:
The hotel sector has undergone a turnaround and transition to becoming more sustainable in recent years, driven by growing awareness of consumers, climate change, environmental issues and dwindling resources. Housekeeping is one of the key departments in a hotel that is directly linked to daily cleaning tasks, water, energy, chemicals, waste, linen, guests' comfort and more, and therefore is essential in ensuring environmentally responsible practices are being implemented throughout the hotel. Green housekeeping has become a strategic solution that combines sustainability principles with service quality and efficiency, ensuring guest satisfaction and satisfaction for the environment. This involves using eco-friendly cleaning products, microfiber technologies, water saving measures, linen/towel re-use systems, waste segregation and recycling, energy efficient equipment, digital inventory control, sustainable procurement and training staff on environmental issues. This review paper critically reviews the previous studies from the last two decades in the field of green housekeeping practices in the hotel industry by synthesising findings from international and Indian studies with a specific focus on the recent initiatives undertaken for the hotel industry in the context of sustainability. The review highlights the major motivators for the hospitality industry to pursue sustainable housekeeping operations, such as regulatory requirements, sustainable costs, corporate social responsibility, the push for green certification, technological innovation, and growing customer expectations for sustainable hotels. The study also explores the advantages of green housekeeping practices in the environmental, economic, operational, and social aspects, and addresses some of the barriers faced in implementing the practices including initial investment costs, resistance to change by employees, lack of environmental education, inconsistent involvement of guests, supply chain issues and a lack of standardised measurement systems to gauge sustainability.

Keywords:
Green housekeeping, Sustainable hospitality, Hotel industry, Environmental sustainability, Eco-friendly cleaning, Waste management.

Article Info:
Received: 20 Jun 2026; Received in revised form: 14 Jul 2026; Accepted: 17 Jul 2026; Available online: 25 Jul 2026

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