Corporate Social Responsibility practices within international hotel chains in Port-au-Prince (Haiti, Caribbean)

Hugues Seraphin, Vanessa Gowreesunkar, Chaarani Bacari

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

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Abstract

Developing nations comprise economically-weak societies, where a large portion of the population struggle to secure their daily basic needs. International hotel chains are often welcomed in such countries, with the expectation that their operations will contribute towards socio-economic development. However, experience has so far indicated that such investment has not contributed to the betterment of the residents’ lives. Hence, there is growing demand, by many advocate groups and society at large, for corporations to benefit the communities in which they operate. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is increasingly used as a way for international hotel chains to give back to society. Based on this premise, the aim of this chapter is to analyse CSR practices and the way they are implemented in the following five hotels parts of international hotel chains: a) The Royal Oasis; b) The Navarra Hotel Haiti - El Rancho; c) The Best Western Premier; d) Marriott International; and e) the Marriott Port-au-Prince. All are in Haiti, Caribbean, a post-colonial and post-disaster tourism destination. The study is based on a qualitative, exploratory, content analysis of secondary data, derived from the websites of the five hotel chains. The analysis indicates that the hotels exercise various CSR initiatives, which could also benefit the country as a whole if they were closely aligned with its broader economic, social, and environmental imperatives. The study concludes that the Haitian Government should have a paramount role in the design and implementation of CSR initiatives used by international hotel chains operating in Haiti. On the one hand, this might represent a barrier to entry for hospitality investments into the country. On the other hand, it could be an effective way for the government to predetermine and gauge the responsibility of hospitality investment in host communities.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCorporate Social Responsibility: Applications of Good Practices and Malpractices in Tourism and the Hospitality Industry in the Developing World
Publication statusPublished - 20 Jun 2017

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