Acknowledgement
I would like to give my heartfelt appreciation to the lecturer of the course for the time and commitment that he provided towards making us all round in the hospitality sector. They assisted me throughout my course. In addition, I would like to thank Ms Susan, the assistant manager of Healthy Life Spa in Koh Wood for allowing me to carry out the research at their facility. She helped me with the correct information as well as the motivation to carry out the research.
Moreover, I would thank my family for supporting me throughout my research. Their commitment cannot be left for granted. In addition, my classmates played an important role in making the research a reality.
Introduction
The concept of “Going green” is now a trend and each industry considers integrating its elements in the development strategies. As a way of making it even better, the Spa and Resorts have crowned the whole aspect of “going green” under the concept of sustainability. This is because sustainability encompasses personal, cultural, economic, environmental and global well-being (Gibson, 2005, 34). The spa and resort now forms a significant part of the society given that most people consider it as a necessity by associating it “personal sustainability” because it takes care of an individual’s health and wellbeing (Gibson, 2005, 34). As the result, the need for Spa and Resort to integrate sustainability program come as an important part of growth. Sustainability program makes the business to stay relevant in both perspectives of people and the environment where it operates; consequently, it comes out that non-profitable spa is a non-sustainable.
Even though sustainability program proves much positive in spa and resort development, there are both short-term risk/loss and long-term benefits that needs to be explored. This exercise is essential to ensure that a spa and resort prepares itself adequately towards adapting to the arising impacts. From this debate, an individual gets to know whether the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term loss; and as the result, prove whether sustainability program is really needed for spa and resort development. This gives a better view about the future of sustainability program in the industry.
Findings and analysis
Most of the aspects associated with the adoption of program have short-term loss on the spas and restaurants given that they will spend more time on the sustainable environments at the expense of profit maximization. The following are some of the findings relating to the short and long term effects of a program.
One of the major long-term impacts of the program can be viewed from the perspective of the contribution of the industry to corporate responsibility (Walker, 2008, 12). Practicing ethics by the business will help the business in the long term to become relevant and have more people look for their service. Household are likely to go where they feel that the environment is quite sustainable and encompass friendliness to environmental aspects (Gibson, 2005, 102). The long-term impact of corporate responsibility is that it makes the spa business to be a secure industry with all the necessary regulations for protection.
In the hospitality, industry issues of security are weighty matters because visitors and tourists in particular will not come to have a good time when there are threats everywhere. The design of the spas favors the security of a place in that it makes one to get the necessary escape plan should there be any danger in the spas. From several researches, it is evident that the growth of the spa industry has been spearheaded by many factors that are individual factors. Such factors include availability of space for expansion and the required personnel to fill the positions that come up in the hospitality sector.
In today’s world where the environment gives people stress and the work environment where the people are, the spa and resort sustainability is seen as ideal in the long-term. A green environment that assures of less pollution to the environment is of great importance to the people. A person wants places where they can unwind, de-stress, and not place where there is dirty air filled with smell from waste originating from the environment. A place far away from the hustle and the bustle of the normal environment that people live in. The increasing necessity of spa and resort for people thereby comes out a triggering factor for the need to ensure low level of pollution in the environment around the spa (Walker, 2008, 113). In this way, the business of spa and resort will remain relevant in the environment for a longer period. In the end, the benefit of this is that the spa business will remain relevant because of their green actions to the environment. The increasing need for the detoxification programs comes with the need of ensuring availability of fresh air throughout the spa and resort. There is an increase in the number of lifestyle diseases including arthritis, diabetes, cancer and obesity; these are associated with having a non-sustainable environment (Lankford et al, 2012, 231). As the result, it comes out that without establishing proper strategies of protecting the environment, the spa business will risk losing their relevance in the industry.
Another long-term benefit can be attributed to the advantages attached to corporate social responsibility. Cooperate social responsibility requires the spa and resort to put the interest of the people at the center (Mossialos, 2002, 178). Corporate responsibility can be seen in the works of the Cavallo Point at the golden gate in San Francisco. In which case, this form of sustainability program focuses on the need for spa and resort to deliver to the community around them diligently. In the end, this will make the spa and resort to remain as a strong brand among a larger section of the population. This is because, with cooperate social responsibility, the population will see the industry as friendly and ready to protect their interest. This situation is much explained by the legitimacy theory. The theory asserts that organizations become more responsible socially so that they remain relevant to the local customers.
Practicing ethics by the business will help the business in the long term to become relevant and have more people go for their service (Lankford et al, 2012, 132). Households are likely to go where they feel that they have been catered for. The industry of pa and resorts depend on the number of the people for their expansion (Walker, 2008, 312). A business only expands when there is a ready market and the customers have a higher purchasing power. (Gibson, 2005, 40).The spas use the legitimacy theory so that they design programs that are beneficial to the society that they are in. besides, a good sustainability team helps an establishment in realizing the short and the long-term goals and profits in return (Mossialos, 2002, 7). A spa that follows the legitimacy theory makes products that are tailored to meet consumer needs so that they make long-term profits.
The long-term benefits can also be viewed from the stakeholder theory that applies to the formulation of the long term goals of a spa. When a person see an advert with a good decoration and ambience, they are likely to visit spas to get the experience that is in the advert (Lankford et al, 2012, 39). The ambience and the environmental setting of the spa should be in line with what and the profits. The Harmony Nosora in Costa Rica takes care of its shareholder value by giving priority to aspects that lead to long-term profits (D'angelo, 2010, 23). A spa business is driven by the urge to meet the needs of the customers. In the business, the artifacts and the overall architecture enhance the experience that a person will get when they leads to the achievement of shareholder value. A setting that satisfies customers’ needs will work in line with the shareholder theory so that they get the long-term goals that are required (Walker, 2008, 55).
In addition, the use of recycled materials and the environmental friendly practices have made the spas to come up because the practice is in alignment to business goal (Lankford et al, 2011, 10). Sustainability program within the spas and resort operates on a low waste framework involving reduce, reuse and recycle (Walker, 2008, 57). An example of such a spa is Bardessono in Napa. It is a platinum LEED-certified outlet (D'angelo, 2010, 83). This is a long-term benefit because it helps the business to reduce on the amount of money spent on production materials. The already used materials can be recycled back and integrate in a continuous loop that makes them to be usable in the end. For instance, plastics, glass and wood are taken to facility responsible recycling. Further, plant waste are also collected in a place and then converted to compost that is nutrient-rich to be used for existing plants. Even though it takes long to be realized, this strategy would be much profitable to the company (Roll, 2006, 114).
Energy efficiency, conservation and management is also another theory that can be used to explain the long-term benefits of sustainability (D'angelo, 2010, 71). Considering the occurrence of human activity at the center of the industry, the approach of sustainability program there is to ensure optimization of energy use (Lankford et al, 2012, 68). The program encompasses instituting strategies that would help in decreasing the usage of electricity within. This involves coming up with energy-saving technologies and customs that would help in optimizing energy efficiency. Further, the long-term benefit is that the company would be able to reduce its reliance on non-renewable form of fossil fuels. In light to meeting customer goals, the spa business invests in technology such as computers that needs much energy to power. A spa that is energy efficient and upholds environmental sustainability is Cavallo Point at the golden gate in San Francisco.
As the result, by adopting efficiency and conservation program the industry will have enough energy to protect their interest. Such advancements in technology help the people to get more quality services in the required time. A Green Spa Network has been devised to make the people more convinced that the new trend takes care of the dangers that the environment can be exposed to. At the global spa summit, most delegates pointed out that the spa business is booming because they take care of the needs of the households.
Even though the sustainability program seems to be more attractive in the long-run, its benefits can be negated by the associate short-term losses. These losses normally results in the course of fully integrating the program. The major short-term risk that the business will face is finance. The changes that will occur in the business will require money to maintain and to pay the personnel for carrying out the new spa projects (Lankford et al, 2012, 30). A restaurant that was in a financial crisis is Harmony Nosora in Costa Rica. It invested more in the infrastructure (Tezak et al, 2012, 220). Money will be spent in decorating the spa to the requirements of the customers and to overcome the competitors. The spa management will buy space that is necessary for expansion of the business in future (Lankford et al, 2012, 125). Although such things will make the business profit in the end, the management will be strained in the short term. Other aspects that will need money in the spa include the decoration and interior design.
Besides, paying the employees would require financial muscles. Expansion will mean that the spa gets more employees to meet the customer needs (Lotz, 2013, 167). The sustainability of the spa in this way will act in preparation of the long-term profits in several ways. For instance, the design of the spas favors the security of a place in that it makes one to get the necessary escape plan should there be any danger in the spas. Aspects of corporate social responsibility will make the spa to be more composed in making the needs of the community a priority and making its workforce comfortable at work. All aspects that relate to corporate social responsibility will require the spa business to part with a reasonable amount of money resulting to short-term losses.
On the other hand, the short-term risk that the spa will encounter is lack of enough time to carry out the research necessary for making the changes that would result into future profits. Time will be required in the designing of the spas and putting in place the necessary structures for the functioning of the spa (Lotz, 2013, 15). Time is a loss in this case because the business will be forced to go as far as flexing its muscles to accommodate the changes that are needed for the long-term goals. When a spa business is strained in its programs, it will need to find more money and time to accommodate the required changes. A hotel establishment that squeezed time to meet client needs is Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel in Peru. It was formed by an NGO to protect the regions biodiversity (Lotz, 2013, 15).
The theory of legitimacy explains this short-term loss in that the spa will try as much as they can to remain socially responsible to the households (Verghese et al, 2012, 90). Remaining relevant in the industry will make them strain as far as fixing their schedule to accommodate the required changes. The legitimacy theory is applicable here because every organization is ethically required to be responsible in the society. Further, the procedure taken to achieve sustainability may also act as short-term risk. The spa and resort industry can be sustainable if they use reporting aspect in the business (Lusch et al, 2014, 115). The process is more involving and requires the teams within the business to be linked so that they are in harmony with the goals. In a scenario where a proprietor has to pay for the resources to use for example the waterfalls, hot springs and caves, it becomes difficult and financially involving.
Another aspect that can be risky to the spa business is the fluctuation in price of commodities. Inflation can lead to the loss of investments because the spa will spend much in installing the necessary infrastructure so that people may come to their premises (Roll, 2006, 69). When inflation occurs, major components use in the spa will be highly priced. The corporate responsibility and legitimacy theory will force the business to make the purchase as required despite the amount of money that the purchase would require (Lankford et al, 2012, 27). Eventually the spas will not get many customers because they will increase their prices so that they get back the initial investment plus a profit on top. When customers do not visit the spas, they will make loss because service gets a loss when they are not used. A spa that was hit by the inflation reality is Naturopathica Healing Arts Centre and Spa with bamboo flooring and recycled counters.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the above discussion shows that sustainability program is an essential aspect of development in spa and resort. The project indicates that spa and resorts should go for a sustainable program because it holds many benefits in the long term as compared to short-term risks. By weighing between the short-term loss and long-term benefits, it comes out that it is essential for the industry to focus on integrating sustainability program as a core aspect. Even though there are short-term risks associated with the process of adoption, the long-term benefits come out as more weighty and significant for the sector. In the short run, the local design of the environment may cost the company too much money but it will be beneficial in the end because it makes the proprietors pay less for the services of design than designing and making a building from scratch.
Further, corporate responsibility is a mandate of a business that makes it responsible for making the aspects that it does. Another important aspect of sustainability in the end is the way it helps the industry to reduce reliance on fossil fuels that are always considered expensive. This means that the program of sustainability will make the industry to be more profitable in the long run and in this way, they can cover the arising short-term losses. Consequently, spas and restaurant are advised to take up sustainability program because the long-term benefits are far much outweighing the short-term risks. The future of sustainability program is much brighter because of the aspects that project it as part of Spa and Resort development.
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