Determinants of Water Consumption in Hotels: New Insights Obtained through a Case Study

Abstract

The literature on water use in hotels has identified numerous determinants of water consumption, but a consensus has yet to be reached on the influence of some of these factors. This article aims to enhance the current research framework on water use in the hotel sector by presenting a case study of one hotel in Tenerife, Canary Islands. The conceptual framework of water consumption in hotels is presented based on the previous literature. Starting from that, basic statistical analysis and bivariate correlations were performed on water consumption data from 2007 to 2019 to determine the significant factors affecting both total water consumption and consumption per guest night. Special attention was paid to water usage in gardens and the impact of weather conditions, as there is a lack of research focused on them. Additionally, the water management actions of the hotel were classified according to the business’ themes proposed for the Sustainable Development Goals, using an internationally recognized guide, thus addressing one of the gaps identified in the literature. The results generally support previous research findings, but some discrepancies were noted regarding the number of guest nights and the effectiveness of implementing water-saving measures. This raises new questions about the characteristics of various water-saving measures, such as room renovation, and their influence on customer behavior, which may alter the intended impact on water consumption. Therefore, the findings of this study can provide an insight into unclear aspects in this area. They could also benefit hotels in terms of sustainability communication by allowing them to position their actions with an internationally recognized framework.