Sustainability Practices at Hotels
and BnB Establishments on the Island
of Gotland in Sweden
Anette Oxenswärdh
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 knowlA. Oxenswärdh (B)
Department of Engineering Sciences, Division of Quality Technology—Campus Gotland,
Uppsala University, Visby 621 67, Sweden
e-mail: anette.oxenswardh@angstrom.uu.se
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities and Sustainable Communities:
Meeting the Goals of the Agenda 2030, World Sustainability Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30306-8_20
333
and BnB Establishments on the Island
of Gotland in Sweden
Anette Oxenswärdh
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 knowlA. Oxenswärdh (B)
Department of Engineering Sciences, Division of Quality Technology—Campus Gotland,
Uppsala University, Visby 621 67, Sweden
e-mail: anette.oxenswardh@angstrom.uu.se
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities and Sustainable Communities:
Meeting the Goals of the Agenda 2030, World Sustainability Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30306-8_20
333