An Investigation of the Associated
Benefits from Prioritizing the People
through the Fair Hotels Scheme in
Ireland
Dr. Karla Boluk
Senior Lecturer
Dalarna University, Borlänge, Sweden
Introduction
• Tourism: significant industry for Ireland
(Deegan 2010).
• Current economy: stimulated discussions on
smart economy.
• Innovation: central focus should be simple
instead of ‘big light bulb ideas’ (Pender
2009).
Hospitality Sector in Ireland
• Hospitality working environments heavily criticized.
• Stressful working environment due to:
• an expectation to work long and unsociable
hours,
• an expectation for compliance,
• constant and close contact with employees and
customers.
• Innovation: general well-being of hospitality staff.
Fair Hotels Ireland
• Implementation of CSR through the Fair
Hotels Ireland scheme.
• Hotel Industry significantly affected with the
onset of the recession.
• Fair Hotels implemented in 2010 by Irish
Union SIPTU.
CSR
• The CSR firm should strive to make a profit, obey
the law, be ethical and be a good corporate citizen
(Carroll 1991:43).
• ‘Triple P Bottom Line concept’ (profit, people,
planet).
• Evidence suggests that CSR can lead to profit (e.g.,
Moore & Robson 2002).
• Distinction between the ‘said’ and ‘saying’.
Empowerment: Dual Intentions
• Several reasons to support a mechanism which
caters to the improved well-being of hospitality
staff.
• Empowerment: a way for management to share the
decision making power.
• “Empowerment is bounded by the bottom line”
(Lashley & McGoldrick, 1994:26).
Research Aim
• Aim: Investigate the Fair Hotels scheme & explore
its potential in creating social cohesion which may
then influence the economic and social progress in
both theory and praxis.
• Qualitative approach used content analysis used to
explore the meanings.
• 10 semi-structured interviews carried out with
managers of Fair Hotels.
Results: Targeting Business
• Most managers shared an expectation that the
scheme would be supported by other union
members not only within the hotel sector.
• Manager 1: ‘we were delighted when we confirmed
three large union conferences for 2011 and 2012.
• Manager 4: ‘this is an excellent new initiative and
our hotel has gotten on board with the hope of
securing more business for the hotel’.
Results: Value Creation
• Other organizations in Ireland have endorsed the
scheme and demonstrated their support.
• Manager 8: ‘we have received quite a number of
leads and enquiries and we received a conference
from Fairtrade late last year’.
• Manager 9: ‘we have made it on the map on the
Fair Hotels website and our hotel is also advertised
in their brochures’.
• Not reaching mainstream clients yet.
Results: Benefits for Employees
• Manager 10: ‘although I haven’t noticed any
changes to our employees attitudes I think that
when the first large union conference is underway
here in July 2011 more employees might take
more notice of what it is all about and look into it’.
• Manager 4: ‘all the information in relation to Fair
Hotels is displayed on the canteen notice board’.
Conclusion
• McIntosh et al. (1998) states that being socially
responsible is a concern connected to the rationale
that businesses are more likely to do well in a
flourishing society than one that is falling apart.
• Fair Hotels: a proposition for Hotels to reconsider
ways of selling their product and/or services.
• Unclear if the scheme has created any direct
improvements to the well-being of staff.