Online CSR communication in the hotel industry: Evidence from small hotels

Abstract

This paper examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR)-certified hotels communicate CSR on their websites, how guests comment on hotels' CSR engagement in online reviews and how hotels respond to online reviews. The CSR communication strategies of stakeholder information, response and involvement of Morsing and Schultz (2006) were used as conceptual framework. Three studies were conducted. Based on a sample of 47 Austrian CSR-certified hotels, the first study explored the extent to which hotels communicate CSR activities to stakeholders via their webpage. The second study analyzed 1383 customer online reviews of the same hotels on TripAdvisor® with regard to CSR references. The third study analyzed hotels' responses to online reviews. Results show that environmental issues and supplier relations receive highest attention from hotels and customer reviews. Employee relations are less frequently communicated and addressed in reviews. The three studies uncover opportunities for intensified stakeholder integration in CSR engagement and communication strategies.