Corporate Social Responsibility and Analysis of Its Social Dimension in Hotels in Malaga

Introduction

-Henry Ford-

Entrepreneur Henry Ford, born at the end of the 19th century, already realized at that time that a company that only looks at numbers becomes a company without soul and value. More than 100 years have passed and it is still common to see companies that care about nothing but profit without regard to the affected community, employees, environment or other elements. The list is long and with the growth of technologies and more conscious customers, responsible companies towards society are required. In the quote from Henry Ford (Mansfield News Journal, 1965) this importance of the ethical approach in private organizations is highlighted. Of course the companies are not NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and they have to earn money. But the question is - how? (Sedes Garcia, 2012).

Focused on tourism, this is a sector that is growing rapidly as a result of increasingly fast, accessible and cheap transportation. Areas that decades ago were off-limits to tourists due to complicated transport links are now popular holiday destinations. This trend is unstoppable, as is its impact on the environment, local culture and the community.

Concerns and the resulting interest in the nature and culture of different parts of the Earth have increased environmental concerns and efforts to reduce the impact of tourism on the cultural diversity of countries. Socially responsible tourism has begun to form, focused on sustainable development. This represents the hope of preserving local culture, historical monuments, biodiversity and an uncontaminated environment for future generations.

Therefore, analyzing tourism and the hotel world, we observe that this is a sector in which there is a more complex framework of requirements for sustainability. And sustainability means not only environmental but also social and is developing as a key part of any successful hotel.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is, today, a very current and important issue. Specifically, in this research, we are going to focus on its use in tourism, especially in hotels. In recent years there has been more and more talk about its need, but mainly focused on the environment, although the social and economic impacts are also important parts of the CSR strategy that should not be left behind. For this reason, we are going to focus more on social well-being and its integration within the hotels.

The main objective of this research is study the current situation of CSR activities of hotels in Malaga capital and propose actions to improve it.

Being socially conscious also helps a business build a lasting relationship with its community. Furthermore, consumers no longer expect hotels to provide excellent services, but also to help the community in which they operate (Entrepreneur, 2017). In addition to the moral factor, socially conscious companies often create positive work environments and have dynamic ideologies that attract top talent. They, in particular, are likely to choose a company that takes an active role in their community and dedicates some of their resources to helping others.

Malaga has a very fast tourist growth speed in which the number of hotels is increasing every year. According to an analysis by the INE - National Institute of Statistics (EpData, 2022), the number of hotel establishments open in Málaga Municipality has grown from 95 in 2017 to 124 in 2022. It is true that the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down this trend, but it hasn't stopped it. As we can see in the following graph, growth is once again a reality.

Estimated open hotel establishments in Malaga (Municipality)

The data is from the months of September of each year.

Figure 1.

Malaga hotel establishments

Source: INE, www.epdata.es