Sustainability in Canadian B&Bs: comparing the east versus west

Abstract

Although bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) represent a small part of the overall accommodation sector, they can contribute to both the positive and negative impacts of the industry. Through a questionnaire of Canada's east and west coastal B&Bs, fi ndings indicate that fi nancial reasons are the biggest barrier to implementing environmental practices and government incentives and tax rebates may help the uptake of environmental measures. Results from this study can be used to motivate improvements for environmental commitment in this form of accommodation such as cost savings and strengthened lines of communication.

Sustainability motivations and practices in small tourism enterprises in European protected areas

“…There clearly are "best practice" sustainable SME case studies; beyond these, we find low eco-literacy and inward-looking motivations [28] fuelled by the belief that, for them, sustainability is expensive and complex [9,[29][30][31]. These beliefs and motivations result in shallow eco-friendly behaviour, where sustainability actions are taken without really disturbing the status quo of current practices.…”

Greening the lodging industry: Current status, trends and perspectives for green value

“…Water conservation, towel and linen reuse programmes, the use of energy-efficient light bulbs and wastewater treatments are among the most popular green practices adopted in the lodging industry (Bohdanowicz, 2006;Chan, Wong, & Lo, 2009;Russell, Lafferty, & Loudoun, 2008). Certain research findings report that hotel managers and owners claim that cost reduction is the most influential driving force for adopting green practices (Bohdanowicz, 2005(Bohdanowicz, , 2006Dodds & Holmes, 2011;Warnken, Bradley, & Guilding, 2005), while the majority of studies report the factor of cost-effectiveness of green practices as an important aspect of green integration (Rahman, Reynolds, & Svaren, 2012;Russell et al, 2008;Sampaio, Thomas, & Font, 2012;Tari, Claver-Cortes, Pereira-Moliner, & Molina-Azorin, 2010;Teng, Horng, Hu, Chien, & Shen, 2012). Hotel owners further highlight that the potential negative effect of green practices on quality inhibits the adoption of green practices (Tzschentke, Kirk, & Lynch, 2008a).…”

Is there a Benefit from being Green? Assessing Benefits from Marketing Sustainability by North American Hotels

“…Another area of considers the benefits of sustainability practices such as increased environmental performance, cost savings, and financial performance [8,[26][27][28][29]. Rahman, et al [8] suggest that showcasing sustainability can increase hotels' long-term profitability by lowering average expenses and transferring the savings to their guests.…”

“…Through their analysis of waste audits at hotels in Pennsylvania, USA, the authors found substantial economic benefit could be derived from undertaking waste reduction efforts including the cost-benefit of recycling. Dodds, et al [29] in a quantitative examination of bed and breakfast accommodations across Canada, outline that cost savings is a considerable incentive to implement environmental initiatives. These authors do point out that smaller accommodations need assistance in achieving marketing benefits of such practices, illustrating that not all hospitality establishments are reaping all benefits.…”