The integration of environmental management standards in contemporary hotel classification systems

Abstract

This study investigates how hotel classification systems integrate environmental management practices in hotels. There is a growing awareness that hotel classification should be based on an integrated approach to quality, including environmental management practices. A content analysis of eight recently updated hotel classification systems was conducted using keywords that were filtered from the Green Key Certification System. The findings indicate that hotel classification systems include environmental management standards but use different structures, which lead to different impacts on the actual hotel rating and thus present varying levels of control. It is recommended that hotel classification bodies review the desired outcomes of the integration of environmental management standards and structure these so that the outcomes are more likely to be achieved by the hotel classification system.