Barriers in Sustainable Management Practices of Hotel’s Event … · 2020-08-01 · sustainable...

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วารสารการบริการและการท่องเที่ยวไทย 105 ปีท่ 15 ฉบับที่ 2 (กรกฎาคม – ธันวาคม 2563) Barriers in Sustainable Management Practices of Hotel’s Event Venue in Bangkok, Thailand อุปสรรคในการจัดการอย่างยั่งยืนในทางปฎิบัติของสถานที่จัดกิจกรรมประเภท โรงแรมในเขตกรุงเทพมหานคร Sarinya Sungkatavat* ศริญญา สังขะตะวรรธน์ Nadežda Sorokina นาเดซดา ซอรอคินา Mahidol University มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล *[email protected] Abstract The purpose of the research was to explore the barriers to the implementation of sustainable event management (SEM) practices faced by 5–star hotel venues in Bangkok. Five semi–structured interviews were conducted to collect data from four hotels located in the business district in Bangkok, Thailand. The results indicated that two different types of barriers between hotels that adopted sustainability as their core value and those that did not have much sustainable experience. The findings suggested that these barriers could be alleviated through education and stakeholder involvement. Keywords : barriers, sustainability, sustainable event management, MICE venue, hotel venues, venue management, Bangkok Recieved : July 12, 2017 Revised : August 5, 2017 Accepted : August 25, 2017

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Barriers in Sustainable Management Practices of Hotel’s Event Venue in Bangkok, Thailand

อุปสรรคในการจัดการอย่างยั่งยืนในทางปฎิบัติของสถานที่จัดกิจกรรมประเภทโรงแรมในเขตกรุงเทพมหานคร

SarinyaSungkatavat*ศริญญาสังขะตะวรรธน์NadeždaSorokinaนาเดซดาซอรอคินา

Mahidol Universityมหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล

*[email protected]

Abstract Thepurposeoftheresearchwastoexplorethebarrierstotheimplementationof sustainableeventmanagement(SEM)practicesfacedby5–starhotelvenuesinBangkok.Fivesemi–structuredinterviewswereconductedtocollectdatafromfourhotelslocatedinthebusinessdistrictinBangkok,Thailand.Theresultsindicatedthattwodifferenttypesofbarriersbetweenhotelsthatadoptedsustainabilityastheircorevalueandthosethatdidnothavemuchsustainableexperience.Thefindings suggested that thesebarriers couldbealleviatedthrougheducationandstakeholderinvolvement.

Keywords:barriers, sustainability, sustainableeventmanagement,MICEvenue,hotel venues,venuemanagement,Bangkok

Recieved:July12,2017 Revised:August5,2017 Accepted:August25,2017

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บทคัดย่อ งานวิจัยนี้ มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาอุปสรรคในการด�าเนินงานด้านการบริหารจัดการของสถานที่ จัดกิจกรรมประเภทโรงแรมอย่างยั่งยืน (SEM)ของโรงแรมระดับ5ดาวที่กรุงเทพมหานครก�าลังเผชิญอยู่ โดยมีการจัดท�าการสัมภาษณ์แบบกึ่งมีโครงสร้างเพื่อรวบรวมข้อมูลจาก4 โรงแรมท่ีตั้งอยู่ในย่านธุรกิจ ของกรุงเทพมหานครผลการวิจัยชี้ให้เห็นถึงอุปสรรคสองประเภทที่แตกต่างกันระหว่างโรงแรมที่ค�านึงถึงความยั่งยืนเป็นคุณค่าหลักและกลุ่มที่ไม่มีประสบการณ์ในเรื่องของความยั่งยืนมากนักทั้งนี้มีข้อเสนอแนะว่าอุปสรรคเหล่านี้อาจได้รับการบรรเทาโดยการเสริมด้านการศึกษาและการมีส่วนร่วมของผู้มีส่วนได้ส่วนเสียในการบริหารจัดการของสถานที่จัดกิจกรรมประเภทโรงแรม

ค�าส�าคัญ:อุปสรรคความยั่งยืนการบริหารจัดการอย่างยั่งยืนสถานที่จัดงานไมซ์สถานที่จัดกิจกรรม ประเภทโรงแรมการจัดการสถานที่กรุงเทพมหานคร

Introduction Thailand is knownasoneof theworld’spopulardestinations,notonlyamong leisure travelersbutalsobusiness travelers.TheyvisitThailand fordifferentpurposes, includingMICEtravel.ThailandConventionandExhibitionBureau[TCEB],thegovernment leading–edgeagency,hasbeentrying topromoteThailandasAsia’s leadingdestination for business events since 2004 (TCEB, 2017a). In 2016, International Congress and ConventionAssociation [ICCA] rankedThailandas24thmeetingdestinationworldwide, whileBangkok’sglobal rankingwas12thplaceamongcitiesduring thesameyear (ICCA,2017).Additionally, themeetings, incentives,conventionandexhibition (MICE)activitieshave increased in importanceasarevenuesourceforThailandoverthepastfewyears;withMICE’soveralleconomic impactonThailand’seconomy totallingapproximately 113.5billionBaht in2015and154.5billionBaht in2016 (TCEB,2017b).TCEB (2017b) further indicates thatamongall cities inThailand,BangkokandMetropolitanarea is themostpopularMICEdestinationwith62.4millionBahtofeconomiccontribution to thecountry.Over60%oftheeventsplannedforthesecondhalfof2017willalsotakeplaceinBangkok(TCEB,2017a). AlthoughMICEindustryhasbroughtsubstantialamountsofrevenuetothecountry, it consumes largeamountsof resources, generatespollution,waste,and leaveshigh ecological footprint (UnitedNations Environment Programme [UNEP], 2012). As a consequence,severalsustainabilitystandardshavebeencreatedandadopted inorder tohelpeventorganizationsachievetheirsustainabilityambitions.In2015,TCEBlaunched“Thailand Sustainable Events Guide” to expand the understanding of innovative GreenMeetingsGuidelineontomorepracticalapproach.Later in2017,TCEBannounced

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‘SMARTMICE’strategy, tobe in linewith thegovernment’sThailand4.0Policy (TCEB,2017c).TheSMARTMICEcomprisesoffivekeyelements,oneofwhich issustainability(TCEB,2017c).Thiselementfocusesonsocietal,communityandenvironmentalimpacts,aswellascommunityengagement (TCEB,2017c).Oneof the sustainability standardsthatTCEBstronglyencouragesorganizersandvenuestoadopt is ISO20121 (SGS,2014). In2013,ThePlazaAthénéeBangkokbecame theworld’s first ISO20121accredited hotel,certifiedforsustainabilityeventmanagementsystemforplanninganddeliveryof sustainablemeetings(SGS,2014). Even though thenon–traditional event venuesbecamealternatives for event organizers,hotelvenues remainoneof themostpopularchoices forhostingbusinesseventsduetolocation,capabilityandavailabilityforaccommodation.Abouthalfofvenueslisted in“VenueCollection2016Thailand”,byTCEB,across19typesofvenueswere inhotel’sorresort’s(TCEB,2016). Similar tootherbusinesses, followingthesustainabledevelopmentpracticescanbringbenefitstothehotels.AccordingtoUNEP(2012),adoptingsustainablepractices invenuemanagementleadstofinancialadvantagesandpositivebrand image.ConsideringBangkokisoneoftheworld’stopMICEcities,andbusinesseventsareoftenhostedinhotelvenues,itisimportantforhotelvenuemanagerstopursuethesustainablemanagementpracticeswhile recognizing thebarriers totheir implementation.Therefore, this researchaims toexplore thebarriers to the implementationof sustainableeventmanagement (SEM)practicesby5–starhotelvenuesinBangkok.

Literature Review Theconceptsofsustainabledevelopmentandsustainabilityarenotnewtothe21st

century.UNEP’s timelineof“sustainabledevelopment”historystartswith1950s. Itwasthedecadewhenthefirstconcernsovertherelationshipbetweentheenvironmentandmankindwerecommunicatedinternationally(IISD,2012).Thoseconcernswereexpressedadecadelaterintwo“paradigm–breaking”works,i.e.“SilentSpring”byCarson(1962)and“TheTragedyoftheCommons”byHardin(1968).Theepochaleventsin1970s,i.e.FounexSeminaronDevelopment,EnvironmentandUnitedNationsConference in theHuman EnvironmentandCocoyocsymposium,all furthercontributed to thedevelopmentoftheconcept. Itshouldbenotedthatthecontributorstotheconcept introductionwerenotrestrictedtopoliticians.Intellectuals,e.g.SchumacherorClubofRome,continuedtoboostthediscussionbyintroducingnewstrandsofthoughts.“Sustainabledevelopment”

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becameacatchphrase in1980s in thedisciplinesofenvironmentalmanagementand internationaldevelopment.However, theconceptwas still largely ignoredby social scientistsandpractitioners,whotendedtoexcludeenvironmentaldimensionfromtheirdecisions. However, asboth terms“sustainabledevelopment”and“sustainability”wereused, in thediscussion, therewasadifference inmeaningbetweenthem.“Sustainable development”was seenas aprocess,while“sustainability”was anaim, abilityor characteristic of a system. Itwas stressed repeatedly that “sustainability”wasnot amiddlegroundbetweenprofitandpreservation,but ratheradeparture in thenew direction,rootedinbothprofitandpreservation,whilerecognizingtheirrespectivelimits. It should increase thedependenceon renewable resources, reducecontamination, providehabitats forwildlife,conserve the resources foragriculture,and, indevelopingcountries,includelivelihoodcomponent(Redclift,1992). “Ourcommonfuture”wasareportthatbrought“sustainabledevelopment”totheattentionofthewideraudience,althoughnotofthegeneralpopulation.“Ourcommonfuture”defines“sustainabledevelopment”asfollows: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.(WCED,1987,p.16)

Thedefinitionof“sustainabledevelopment”,suggestedinthereport,isstillwidelyusedtodayasabasicdescription for theconcept.Therefore, its impactwas immense, with themajor attributesof the concept and its contradictionsbeing consolidated. “Ourcommonfuture” transformedthenotionof“sustainabledevelopment” fromtheobscureterm inenvironmentalsciencesand internationaldevelopment intoaconceptthatwouldgrow in its importance. Introducing“sustainabledevelopment”totheworldofbusinessandeconomicsisthemainmeritoftheBrundtlandCommission.Basedonthereport,threemajorprinciplesareevidentascentraltothediscussionontheconcept,i.e.intra–andinter–generationalequity,holistic,long–termplanning,protectionoftheheritageandbiodiversity,economicgrowth. MICEby itsnature isahighly resource-intensive industrywithpotential forbothnegativeandpositiveenvironmental, socialandeconomic impacts, forhostdestinationinparticular(Black,2016;Liangetal,2016).Greenhousegasemissions,noise,airandlight pollution,overcrowdingandcongestion,energyandwaterconsumption, transport, fuel usage,procurementoffoodandbeverage,andwastearesomeofthemainenvironmentalissuesaccompanyingMICE (Dickson&Arcodia,2010;STB,2013).Properlymanagingand

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incorporatingsustainabilityintoMICEorganisers’strategicmanagementwouldbringpositiveeffectsoncosteffectivenessandbrandreputation(Dickson&Arcodia,2010;STB,2013).IncreasinglyeventsandMICEvenueshavetoundergoenvironmental impactassessment aspartoftheirplanning(Dickson&Arcodia,2010;Lee&Slocum,2015).Asforthesocial dimensionoftheevents,thoseaspectsofMICEincludecommunications,humanresources, suppliers, communities,wellbeingandqualityof life, legacy, labourpractices,humanrights,trainingandeducation(Dickson&Arcodia,2010;Yolaletal,2016).Reachingoutto stakeholders,engaging local communityandeventattendees, aswell asemploying localsandpartneringwithlocalsuppliersallowsMICEindustrytoleaveapositiveimprint onthehost locations (STB,2013).As for theeconomy,MICEshouldnotonlyprovide income for theorganisersbutalsocreatefinancialandeducationalbenefits forhost destinationsandlocalstakeholders(Dickson&Arcodia,2010;STB,2013). Singapore touristboard identifies sevenMICE industry categories: audio–visual companies, event and activity organisers, exhibitions, conference and convention organisers, foodandbeveragecompanies, transport, venuesandhotels (STB,2013). Mostof thediscussiononsustainableeventmanagement inMICE in the industryand academic literature is concernedwith theevents themselves, fromsmall fundraising functions at local community centres tomega–events suchasOlympics (Dickson& Arcodia, 2010;Laing&Frost, 2010).However, there is adistinct lackofanacademic discussiononsustainableevents,juxtaposedagainsttheincreasedinterestinsustainableeventmanagement(SEM)oftheMICEindustry(Laing&Frost,2010;Lee&Slocum,2015).Whereeventsarediscussed,theauthorsconcentrateonthesocialandeconomicimpacts,inparticularsocialanddestinationsustainability,withenvironmentalonesbeing largelyignored (Dickson&Arcodia,2010).Dickson&Arcodia (2010)suggest thatCSR isusedasaperspectiveto includesustainability intoeventsand insists that themanagers in the industryneedtoadoptanaccreditationprogrammetobetter incorporatesustainability intoeventmanagement. Event industryhasdevelopeda rangeofpoliciesandstandards to incorporate sustainabledevelopment into itsmanagement, e.g. ISO20121by the International Organization forStandardization, theAPEX–ASTMEnvironmentallySustainableMeetingStandards,andtheGlobalReporting Initiative (GRI)EventOrganizerSectorSupplement(EOSS).ISO20121hasbeenappliedsuccessfullytoanumberofmega–events,from2012OlympicGames inLondontoEurovision2013 inMalmo(BSI,2017).However, theother elementsofMICE, i.e. incentives,meetingsandconferencesseemto lagbehindwhen itcomestosustainabledevelopment implementation. Inparticular,notmuchliterature hasbeenproducedonthesustainableeventmanagementspecificallyinhotelvenues.

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UNEP(2012)referredtosustainableeventmanagement(SEM)asaprocessinwhichanevent isdeliveredinsuchawaythatminimizes itsnegative impacts,whileenhances itspositiveimpactsforthehost/localcommunityandstakeholders.However,theconcept wasoftenperceived tobedifficult tounderstand,which leads to theobstacles in implementing sustainablepractices (Sloanetal., 2013).Thebarriers to staginggreeneventsthatJaing&Frost(2010)statearemostlyoperational:accessibilitytoreliablepublic transport,wastemanagement, availabilityofpoweroptions, logistical issues, audits,andworkingwithstakeholders.Theynotice that there isa tendency fordisconnection betweengreenintentionandoperationalimplementation(Jaing&Frost,2010). Tinnish (2012) identified severalbarriers toadopting sustainabledevelopment practicesinevents.Thoseincludeprevailingtraditionaleconomicmodels(e.g.traditionalmanagementandvalue),systemcomplexity (e.g.complexityofsustainability),challengeof stakeholderengagement (e.g.business structureandperceptionsof stakeholders), transitorynatureofevent (e.g. localcapabilities, trainingandknowledgeof temporarystaff),anddatacollectionchallenges (e.g.acquiringparticulardata forparticularevent). Sloanetal.(2013)addedthatinvestinginsustainablehospitalitywasoftenperceivedasahighercostforinvestmentcomparingtounsustainablesolutions.Thesefindingswerebasedonlarge–scalevenues,neverthelesstheresearchonthehoteleventvenuesisstillscarce.

Research Methodology Thisstudywasdesignedtoexplorethebarrierstotheimplementationofsustainable eventmanagement(SEM)practicesfacedby5–starhotelvenuesinBangkok.Theresearchers usedapurposivesamplingstrategyandapproachedtenhotelsinBangkokthathaveeventvenues.Thosehotelssharedthecommoncharacteristicsofbeingfive–starhotelsofferingfive–starservices.Theselectionofhotelswasbasedontheirreputation,theirexperience ineventvenuemanagementand their locations.The target samplesof this researchwerelocatedinabusinessdistrictandacommongeographicalarea inBangkok,namelySilomandSathorn.However,thesizeofthepropertydifferedfromonehoteltoanother. Fourhotelsoutof tenagreedtobe interviewed for this research;five interviewswereconducted.Fiveparticipantsof this research interviews includedthosewhoworked in the followingpositions (1)Coachingcoordinator, (2) Salesandcateringcoordinator, (3)Qualityandcontinuousmanager, (4)Assistantdirectorofeventmanagement,and (5)Directorofmeetingsandevents,astheyhadkeyresponsiblerolesinthehoteleventmanagementintheirrespectiveproperties.

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Thisresearchadoptedthesemi-structuredinterviewapproach.Theinterviewformat included open–ended standardized questions,with follow–up probing questions. Thepre–designedsetofmain interviewquestionshelpedtheconsistencyof theareas coveredbytheinterviewerwithalltheparticipants.Interviewquestionsweredevelopedbasedontheliteraturereviewandlinkedtotheresearchquestion,aimingtoexplorethebarriers inpracticingsustainabledevelopment.Prior tothe interview,apilotstudywas conductedtoensuretheconstruct reliability.The interviewquestionsandprobeswere revisedbasedon responsesof thepilot test. Five semi–structured interviewswere conducted inThaibyphoneand inperson.Each interview lastedabout30minutes. Theinterviewswereaudio–recorded,transcribedverbatimandbacktranslatedtoEnglishforanalysis. ThedataanalysisforthisresearchusedinductiveapproachandopencodingtofindthemesandpatternsassociatedwiththebarrierstotheimplementationofSEMpractices.Themesweregeneratedbasedonresponsesfromdifferentparticipantsandpatternswerefoundbylookingatresponsesacrossinterviewquestions.Investigatortriangulationstrategywasusedtoincreasereliabilitybyusingmultipleresearcherstoanalyzethedataandlatertocomparethefindings.

Results Allfourrespondenthotelshadthefollowingcharacteristicswhenitcametoeventmanagementcapacityandfacilities:

Respondent Hotel

Function/Meeting &EventVenue

ApproximateTotalSpace(sq.m.)

Maximum Capacity

Guestrooms

1 11 2,500 800 684

2 12 1,200 420 327

3 12 1,300 400 403

4 12 1,500 400 243

Themaintargetmarketofthehotelvenueswerecorporateandgovernmentsectors. Thefindings indicated that the fourhotelscouldbecategorized into twogroups,onewhichadoptedsustainabilityastheircorevalue,andtheotherwhichdidnot.Bothgroups experienceddifferentsetsofbarrierstoimplementationofSEM. Thefirst groupcomprisedof twohotels thatadoptedsustainabledevelopment asoneof their corevalues.Thefindings indicated that this group faced thebarriers stemmingpredominantlyfromtheexternalfactors.Thoseincludedthefollowing:

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1. Thesustainabilitypracticesofthehotelwerenotsupportedbythegovernment’smunicipalityacts.Forinstance,wasteseparatedbythehotelswaslumpedtogetheragainduringthewastecollection; 2. Ineffectivecommunicationbythegovernmentonthemattersofrefundandtaxdeductionthatmadethehotel losebenefitsoncapital investment.Thebenefits from taxdeductioncouldhavebeenusedto re–invest innewequipmentandmachineryto enhancesustainableperformance; 3. Stakeholderengagementwasacomplexissue,e.g.customerdemand.Aesthetics,notsustainability,ofthesolutionswereoftenofprimaryimportancetoclients,e.g.foambackdropwerepreferredtopaperbackdrop; 4. Systemcomplexitywasalso foundtobeoneof thebarrierswhenthehotels weretryingtoimplementthehigherlevelofsustainablemanagementstandards. Thesecondgroupof thehotels thatdidnothavesustainabilityasacorevalue facedthebarriersmostlypresentedbyinternalfactors,andbyexternalfactorstoalesserdegree.Thoseincluded: 1. Thefirm’sobjectiveofprofitmaximisationmakingsustainabilitynotapriorityfor theorganization,as therewasnounderstandinghowSEMcouldcontribute to the company’sfinancialobjectives; 2. LimitedknowledgeonSEMandsustainabledevelopment,as theemployees werenoteducatedaboutthetopic.

Discussion Thefindingswereconsistentwith thebarriersmentioned in the literature reviewfoundbyTinnish(2012);Sloanetal.(2013)aswellasLaing&Frost(2010).Thefirstgroup of the hotels facedbarriers from the initial investment cost, system complexity, stakeholderengagementanddatacollectionchallenge. Installing innovativemachinery andequipment resulted inahighcostof the initial investment.Rulesand regulations couldhelpstimulatesustainabledevelopment.As thehotels triedtoachieveahigher levelofSEMstandards, theyalso facedcomplexity in thesystemashigher standardsrequiredhigher results.Stakeholderswerealsodifficult to influence,with respect to inefficient government facilities.Consequently, lackof rulesand regulation inwaste management in Thailand is one cause of the problem. For instance, recycling in responsibilityoftheThailocalgovernment,whileinIreland,50%ofthewasteisrecycledatthehouseholdlevel(Indaver,2014).

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Barriers that the secondgroup facedwere theprevailingeconomicmodeland thechallengeof stakeholderengagement.Traditionalhotelbusinessmodelsaims to maximizefinancialprofit;hence,sustainablemanagementpracticesareoftenneglected(Sloanetal.,2013).The lackofknowledgeandunderstandingofsustainabilityconceptmeansitisdifficultforthecompanytoimplementSEMfully.Forinstance,inthisresearch,theterm“sustainability”wasoftenassociatedwiththeactofpreservingtheenvironmentor theso–called‘greenactions’,whereas, the importanceof,socialandeconomic,wasoftenneglected.Beingafive–starhotelofferingfullservices,itisdifficulttocompromise betweenthesustainableefficiencyandhighestcustomersatisfaction(Sloanetal.,2013).Thehotelscouldnot reducetheconsumptionof the resourcesofoffermoreefficient options,ascustomersexpectedfullservicesinreturnfortheirpayment. However,transitoryofnatureoftheeventanddatacollectionbarriersasmentioned byTinnish (2012)werenot found in this research.As thehotelvenueshaddifferent characteristics fromTinnish’s research,with full–timestaffand immovablevenues, they didnot requirespecificdatacollection,ordidnotperceivethattherequiredtocollect thedata.

Limitations of the Study Thelimitationsofthisstudywerethetimeconstraints,samplesizeandaccessibility. Limitedtimeframeledtoasmallersamplesize;additionally, theroleresponsibleper-sonwasoftenundefinedwhichcauseddifficultiestoobtainprecise informationfor the research.Futureresearchmayconsidertocomparebarriers forvenuesamongdifferenttypesand/orscalesinadoptingsustainablepractices.

Conclusion Toconclude,thefindingsindicatedthatthegroupwithexperiencefacedthebarriers mainlycomingfromexternalfactors,i.e.supportsfromgovernmentsectorandcustomer’s expectations,whilethosewhodidnothaveexperiencefacemorebarrierscoming frominternalfactors,i.e.employee’sknowledge.

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