Greening Hotel Operations: A Framework for Sustainable Resource Management and Cost Efficiency in Bukhara Region

Abstract

This study develops a framework for sustainable resource management in hotel operations and evaluates its impact on
cost efficiency and environmental outcomes in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. The proposed framework provides a systematic approach
to hotels implementing green energy, water conservation, and waste management practices in their operations. The methodology
involves a thorough review of literature and econometric modeling, e.g., regression analysis to measure cost impacts and Data
Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate relative efficiency of hotels, based on primary data collected using questionnaires
of the local hotels. The findings show that adoption of such environmentally friendly practices enhances significantly both the
cost-effectiveness of operations and resource use while, at the same time, creating significant environmental gains. The greenmeasured
hotels also reported significantly lower operating costs compared to hotels with conventional practices. Further, the
green-measured hotels had substantial energy and water conservation and improved waste management performance, which
are indicators of significant environmental benefits. Overall, the achieved efficiency and environmental gain provide a convincing
business argument for embracing green operations for hotel businesses. Implementable recommendations for utilizing
environmentally sound approaches to hotel businesses are provided as implications to hotel managers from this research,
which further suggests the promotion of sustainable practices for tourism businesses within a green economy framework for
sustainable development to policy makers.