Sustainable technologies in tourist accommodation: a qualitative review

Abstract

Comprising all the aspects of the hotel sustainable technologies in a single 'state-of-the-art' paper is something missing from up-to-date tourist literature. Information on the subject is fragmented in various articles, web resources and the records of relevant tourism institutions and organisations. The concept of sustainability in this paper deals only with environmental (water, energy, waste, food and certification), social (local support and ethics) and technological (construction, smart applications and artificial intelligence) aspects. The sample of the study comprises Greek hotels with relevant published information on the internet. A corresponding quantitative review is topic of another paper. The reason we focus on Greek hotels is the importance of tourism for the Greek economy. Results demonstrate the vast variety of sustainability standards some hotels have accomplished. It is envisaged that this paper will serve as a blueprint first for hoteliers, providing them with a benchmark in their businesses and an ideal sustainable reference point and second it may also help policy makers to obtain a qualitative overview of hotel sustainability in Greece and thus equip them with knowledge in designing policy measures aiming at the promotion and further advancement of sustainability in Greek hotels.