Tackling food waste in all-inclusive resort hotels

Bendegul Okumus, Babak Taheri, Ibrahim Giritlioglu, Martin Joseph Gannon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

99 Citations (Scopus)
463 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Food waste remains a serious environmental and economic concern within the hospitality and tourism industry. This study therefore investigates how managers, chefs, and employees in all-inclusive hotels view the impact of food waste and extant waste reduction processes in their workplaces. It explores (1) why and how food waste occurs, (2) employees’ perceptions of the reasons behind food waste, and (3) how it can be reduced in all-inclusive hotels. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were undertaken with 33 individuals working in all-inclusive hotels in Turkey. The findings indicate that guest behaviors, preferences, and attitudes are perceived as the primary stimulants of food waste. The findings also suggest that guests’ cultural backgrounds influence their eating behaviors, further contributing to the volume of waste generated. As such, this study provides a nascent exploration of employee perceptions of the reasons behind food waste, and how best to reduce it, in the all-inclusive resort hotel context.
Original languageEnglish
Article number102543
JournalInternational Journal of Hospitality Management
Volume88
Early online date13 May 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2020

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