Sustainable Hotel Industry: Need and Challenges

DOI: 10.22161/ijeab.114.7

Abstract:
Hotels, as a part of the hospitality industry, are one of the highest energy and water consuming sectors of the global economy, with also high amounts of waste and carbon emissions. Sustainability has gone from being a peripheral issue to a strategic business requirement for hotel operators globally as a result of increasing environmental awareness, increasing regulation and changing guest requirements. This review paper is a compilation of the current academic literature on the necessity and problems of sustainability in the hotel industry. The paper analyses the environmental, economic, and social arguments for sustainable hotel operations, and explores the diversity of practices introduced by the hotels (energy conservation, water management, green certification, corporate social responsibility, etc.), as well as the recurring obstacles to the implementation (high cost of implementation, lack of technical skills, different stakeholders' interests, etc.), based on peer-reviewed publications issued since 2011 and until 2026. The review reveals that large international chains have made public statements about sustainability, but that often these statements are made for efficiency and regulatory concerns and not for a change in business model, and that smaller and medium-sized hotels are lagging due to limited resources. Finally, there are suggestions of practical steps to move towards sustainable transformation, and future research is identified and highlighted, such as the need for standardised sustainability measures and a long-term study of guest behaviour.

Keywords:
sustainable hospitality; sustainable hotel industry; green hotels; environmental sustainability; corporate social responsibility; sustainable tourism; hotel management challenges

Article Info:
Received: 15 Jun 2026; Received in revised form: 08 Jul 2026; Accepted: 12 Jul 2026; Available online: 18 Jul 2026

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