Page 103 - Sustaining Accommodation SMES

6.2 Quantitative Insights

providers with the requirements of the iso 21401 standard. Alignment
refers to the extent to which practices, procedures, and organisational ar-
rangements corresponding to iso 21401 requirements are already imple-
mented, independently of formal certification status.
The results indicate moderate levels of alignment across several iso
21401 requirements. Alignment is relatively stronger for requirements re-
lated to basic environmental management and operational practices, such
as waste management and measures aimed at improving resource effi-
ciency. These requirements build on operational practices that are already
familiar to many accommodation providers and therefore show higher
levels of reported alignment.
Lower levels of alignment are observed for requirements that de-
pend on formalised management systems and organisational processes.
These include documented sustainability policies, systematic planning
and monitoring, clearly defined roles and responsibilities for sustainabil-
ity management, and structured procedures for performance evaluation.
The reported alignment for these requirements suggests that while rele-
vant practicesmay exist,they are notconsistentlyformalisedormanaged
in accordance with the full expectations of the iso standard.
Requirements related to stakeholder engagement, communication,
and continuous improvement also show mixed alignment levels. This
indicates that sustainability related activities in Spanish accommodation
providers are often implemented in a practice-oriented manner, with
limited integration into a comprehensive and continuously managed sus-
tainability system.
Overall, Table 6.25 suggests that iso 21401 alignment in Spain reflects
an intermediate stage of readiness. Spanish accommodation providers
demonstrate a solid operational basis for alignment, particularly in en-
vironmental management, but show gaps in the formalisation, coordina-
tion, and systematic management of sustainability required to fully meet
iso 21401 requirements. This pattern indicates that further progress to-
wards alignment would primarily depend on strengthening management
structures, documentation, and continuous improvement mechanisms
rather than introducing entirely new sustainability practices.
Table 6.26 presents the level of alignment of Greek accommodation
providers with the requirements of the iso 21401 standard. Alignment
is understood as the extent to which practices, procedures, and organi-
sational arrangements corresponding to iso 21401 requirements are al-
ready in place, irrespective of whether formal certification has been ob-

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