Why and how hotel groups in luxury segments give back to their communities

The paper analyses why and how hotel groups become involved in their communities through philanthropic activities. The analysis focuses on hotel groups with brands in the luxury, upper upscale, and upscale segments. The qualitative information disclosed in reports and websites by 243 hotel brands was studied to answer questions about who is involved, how they participate, and who they target. The study then focused on the 130 hotel groups owning these brands, and a qualitative comparative analysis was used to explain the combination of causal conditions explaining why hotel groups participate in their communities. The causal conditions in the analysis included the participation of different stakeholders, the characteristics of the hotel groups, and the culture of the countries. Results indicate that there is a trade-off between customer and employee participation in philanthropy, that customer involvement requires the presence of luxury brands, and that the culture of the countries (religion and altruism) stimulates the philanthropic behaviour of hotel groups.