Green Practices and Sustainable Operations in Rural Hotels: Evidence from Samburu County, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t3155Abstract
Sustainability has become a central focus in the global hospitality industry, yet rural hotels in ecologically fragile areas remain underexplored in terms of how they implement and benefit from green practices. This study investigates the impact of environmentally responsible practices on the sustainable operations of eco-rated hotels in Samburu County, Kenya—an arid and semi-arid region with growing eco-tourism activity. Specifically, the study evaluates four key green practices: waste management, energy conservation, water conservation, and eco-friendly purchasing. It also examines whether stakeholder participation moderates the relationship between these practices and hotel sustainability. An explanatory survey design was adopted, targeting managers and senior staff from all 21 eco-rated lodges operating in the county. A total of 54 responses were collected using structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression to test both direct and moderating effects. Findings revealed that waste management, energy conservation, and eco-friendly purchasing all had statistically significant positive effects on sustainable operations. Among these, eco-friendly purchasing was the strongest predictor (β = 0.824, p < 0.001). Water conservation, although widely practiced, did not have a statistically significant relationship with sustainability. The inclusion of stakeholder participation as a moderating variable significantly increased the model’s explanatory power (ΔR² = 0.055), with the interaction effect also being significant (β = 0.238, p < 0.001). The study provides empirical validation for Sustainability Theory, Stakeholder Theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior in a rural hospitality context. It emphasizes that stakeholder collaboration is not only beneficial but essential to maximizing the impact of green practices. Practical implications suggest that policy-makers, eco-certification bodies, and hotel managers should integrate stakeholder engagement into their sustainability frameworks, with particular focus on procurement, community partnerships, and regulatory support to enhance environmental, economic, and social performance in rural tourism enterprises.
Keywords: Green Practices, Sustainable Operations, Rural Hotels, Samburu County, Kenya
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