Environmental Initiatives in Bed and Breakfast Establishments in Canada: Scope and Major Challenges with Implementation

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to investigate the implementation of environmental practices in small firms in the hospitality industry, namely bed and breakfast establishments. The issues addressed include motivations, scope of environmental initiatives and challenges faced during their implementation. The study is based on interviews with eight bed and breakfast owners in the Niagara Region in Canada. The research indicated a limited scope of environmental initiatives at bed and breakfast establishments. The majority of the initiatives had a cost savings nature and include different actions aimed at energy conservation, water conservation and waste management. Further analysis indicated three major types of barriers to adoption of environmental practices by tourism micro businesses: budgetary constraints, lack of knowledge and conflict with customer attitudes and expectations. The study specifically highlights significant lack of understanding of the sustainability terminology and very low awareness of the impacts of the business activity on the environment by the owners of bed and breakfast establishments and calls for additional education and training on sustainability for small business owners.