SUSTAINABLE HOTEL PRACTICES: A COMPARISON BETWEEN HIGHER AND LOWER RANKING HOTELS

Abstract

The hospitality sector is increasingly recognising the importance of sustainability due to the growing demand for an environmentally and socially conscious tourism market. This article analyses sustainable hotel practices in Slovakia and identifies differences between higher- and lower-ranking hotels. In the summer of 2021, 108 hospitality managers were surveyed to rate the importance of sustainable practices and their company’s performance in implementing them. Factor analysis was used to identify relationships among sustainable hotel practices, based on their importance ratings. Based on the importance and performance ratings, a Mann-Whitney U test has been used to compare the differences in the implementation of sustainability practices between higher- and lower-ranking hotels. The study highlights issues that stakeholders should address to support the sustainable development of the hospitality sector. It suggests that higher-ranking hotels have a greater interest in sustainable practices than lower-ranking ones. Furthermore, Slovak hotels only considered sustainable practices as part of their survival strategy during the pandemic. These findings have relevance beyond Slovakia and can inform tourism policy agendas that better justify the importance and benefits of sustainable practices for the hospitality sector.