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Sustainability Practices at Hotels and BnB Establishments on the Island of Gotland in Sweden

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Universities and Sustainable Communities: Meeting the Goals of the Agenda 2030

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Abstract

Tourism, one of the major industries in the world, has seen a constant increase in the past decades in Sweden and in particular on the island of Gotland. Among the different types of accommodation for visitors, Bed and breakfast, (BnB) facilities in Gotland are becoming more popular, in particular among independent guests. These facilities are often family owned, holding a few rooms, and have strong seasonal dependence. Research shows that there is a genuine willingness among BnB organizers to offer sustainable accommodations within the BnB industry. Many of the hosts can be defined as part-time lifestylers, that is, small entrepreneurs who often have a clear orientation towards non-economic motives. Their services, solutions, products, and world views can be seen as a venue for the creation of values of sustainability. However, this informal sector of housing recruitment is growing, which means that a large proportion of providers are outside municipal supervision but also support. Hotel’s sustainability work, on the other side, is controlled by authorities and owners. Laws and directives regulate the work towards sustainability at the hotels. It is, though, hotel managers who has to push forward the questions of sustainability in their accommodations. But how do the hotels and BnB accommodations work and manage to implement sustainability issues in practice? This study aims to investigate both BnB establishments and hotels and their daily, practical work towards sustainability. The theoretical background consists of processes of co-creation, assignment and responsibility understanding as well as leadership towards sustainability. The results show that there is a difference between these types of housing as regards the way in which knowledge is shared. In addition, there is a clear difference in the way in which sustainability is expressed in practice: the accountability is largely attributable to the hotels, but BnB entrepreneurs convey responsibility. Hosts at BnBs seem to play a more active role in the mediation of sustainability issues than is the case with the hotel managers. It seems, moreover, that anonymity between hotel guests and staff does not encourage dialogue that in turn seems to be a prerequisite for knowledge exchange. Skills of dialogue can be considered as important tools in creating both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations for all parties in the work for sustainability.

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  1. Department of Engineering Sciences, Division of Quality Technology—Campus Gotland, Uppsala University, Visby, 621 67, Sweden

    Anette Oxenswärdh

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  1. European School of Sustainability Science and Research, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Business School, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR), Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

    Ubiratã Tortato

  3. Business School, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR), Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

    Fernanda Frankenberger

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Oxenswärdh, A. (2020). Sustainability Practices at Hotels and BnB Establishments on the Island of Gotland in Sweden. In: Leal Filho, W., Tortato, U., Frankenberger, F. (eds) Universities and Sustainable Communities: Meeting the Goals of the Agenda 2030. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30306-8_20

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