Corporate social responsibility reporting by the global hotel industry: Commitment, initiatives and performance

Abstract

The current study evaluates corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practice among the largest hotel companies in the world. Based on the content analysis of websites and reports published online by the top 150 hotel companies in the world in summer 2010, it identifies the communication methods used by hotel companies as well as the scope of reported information. Specifically, it demonstrates that while a large number of companies report commitment to CSR goals, much smaller number of them provide details of specific initiatives undertaken to contribute to these goals and even less of them report actual performance achieved. The study also identifies a number of challenges which make it very difficult to meaningfully compare performance of the hotel groups that do report it, including issues such as different methodologies applied, different measures used and lack of clarity with respect to the scope of reporting.