Page 45 - Sustaining Accommodation SMES

5.1 Qualitative Study

focus on formal standards provided a complementary perspective to the
perceptual data gathered through interviews.
The semi-structured interview protocol was designed, with a detailed
guide ensuring comprehensive coverage of all aspects of sustainabil-
ity management systems environmental, socio-cultural, and economic
within the accommodation smes. The guide covered a critical sequence
of questioning areas, the details of which are provided below. The ini-
tial questions focused on establishing the interviewee’s perspective on
sustainability in tourism, the perceived importance of sustainability as a
guiding principle for their business, and a breakdown of which specific
aspects (social, environmental, economic) were considered most crucial,
along with the justifications for these priorities. This was followed by
a comprehensive account of the prevailing sustainability management
system within the organisation, encompassing environmental practices
(e.g., energy-efficient lighting, green roof, recycling), social initiatives
(e.g., guest satisfaction, returning guests), and economic strategies (e.g.,
energy savings). The discussion then moved to evaluating the success
of their current practices. The interviewees were asked to describe their
methods for planning and monitoring sustainable progress, with partic-
ular reference to the equipment, processes and metrics utilised across
the three dimensions of sustainability. It is imperative to note that the
participants were prompted to identify the primary impediments, issues,
challenges, and barriers hindering their success or progress toward sus-
tainable transition.
Regarding formalized standards, the protocol addressed the existence
of any sustainable labels or certificates. In instances where a certificate was
held (e.g., Green Key), the discussion encompassed its implementation
timeline, its specific impact on environmental, social, and economic per-
formance, and the key challenges encountered during implementation,
such as limitations related to staff, financial costs, and infrastructure. In
instances where no label was held, the manager was invited to elaborate
on the underlying rationales and the organisational or external condi-
tions that would need to be fulfilled to encourage the adoption of a label.
The final segment of the interview protocol involved an exposition of the
iso 21401 Standard, with particular emphasis on its objective of estab-
lishing environmental, social, and economic requirements for a sustain-
ability management system in tourism accommodation establishments.
The participants were firstly queried about their extant knowledge of the
standard. The participants were then invited to hypothesise about what

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