Kimpton Hotels: Balancing Strategy and Environmental Sustainability

Case Abstract

Michael Pace faced a dilemma. He was Kimpton Hotels’ West Coast Director of Operations and Environmental Programs, General Manager of its Villa Florence Hotel in San Francisco, and the main catalyst for implementing its “EarthCare” program nationally. He was determined to help the boutique hotel chain “walk the talk” regarding its commitment to environmental responsibility, but he also had agreed not to introduce any new products or processes that would be more expensive than those they replaced. Now that the first phase of the program had been implemented nationwide, he and the company’s team of “eco-champions” were facing some difficult challenges with the rollout of the second, more ambitious, phase.

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