A Case Study of LightStay (2010–2017)—Hilton’s Corporate Responsibility Management System

Abstract

This paper focuses on Hilton’s proprietary sustainability performance measurement system (SPMS) called LightStay (2010–2017). It draws on the case-study method and relies on three principal sources of information: in-house documents, a questionnaire completed by users of LightStay and interviews conducted with external experts. Specifically, the paper traces the system’s evolution and highlights its distinctive features, exploring the challenges and trade-offs related to the design and workings of an SPMS in a hotel multinational. The study shows, among other things, how LightStay, using an internationally approved methodology of data collection, calculation, metrics and benchmarking, compares a hotel’s predicted and actual environmental performance. It concludes by arguing that LightStay is a holistic platform that not only integrates precise measurement of the firm’s environmental effects with its business operations and strategic goals but also acts as a repository of sustainability knowledge and a facilitator of organisational learning. Its value and originality lie in providing unique insights into the workings of a proprietary SPMS at a nonanonymised hotel company.