Green Hospitality: Exploring Service Personnel Implementation Practices, Perceptions, and Strategies in Eco-Friendly Hotel Operations

This study examined the implementation and perceptions of sustainability practices among service personnel in selected eco-friendly hotels in Cebu, Philippines, C.Y. 2025–2026. A qualitative descriptive research design was employed, with data collected through semi-structured interviews involving ten (10) purposively selected hotel personnel engaged in sustainability-related operations. Thematic analysis, following the Braun and Clarke framework, yielded three core themes: implementation of sustainability practices, perceptions and attitudes of service personnel, and strategies to enhance eco-friendly practices. Findings indicated that sustainability practices were systematically embedded in routine operations through energy and resource conservation, waste management and recycling, and adherence to established hotel guidelines and standard operating procedures. Service personnel demonstrated a developed sense of responsibility and awareness of sustainability outcomes, while variations in implementation were associated with operational constraints, resource limitations, and differences in engagement levels. The analysis further identified enabling mechanisms, including training and capacity-building, recognition and reward systems, and structured guest engagement strategies, that supported the continuity and reinforcement of eco-friendly practices. Based on these findings, the study developed the Sustainable Hospitality Engagement Framework, which integrates operational processes, employee-related factors, and organizational mechanisms into a continuous system supporting the implementation and sustainability of eco-friendly practices in hotel operations.