Introduction

According to the food and agriculture organization (Fao), one-third of world total food is wastage every year (fao, 2015). There are numerous source of food waste from   households, consumers to suppliers and wholesales. One of the significant and most notable source of food waste is the hotel industry.  Gössling, Garrod, Aall, Hille, & Peeters, (2011), revealed that the hotel industry is one of the avenues where most of the world food is wasted. In their study Baig, Mourad & Scheinder (2019), found out that 25 percent of food prepared in hotels’ kitchen end up in dumpsite.  This study is interesting in investigating the causes of food waste in hotels and provides practical guideline or recommendation on how to solve the entire issue of food waste in the hotel industry

Overview of the industry partners

To achieve the objective of this study, the Great Jewel of India will be used as the case study.  The great jewel of India is a hotel that focuses mainly on serving traditional cuisine of India. The hotel which is located in Townsville, Australia provides both vegetarian and non-vegetarian high-quality dishes that are prepared by Rabir Singh owner and head chef of the hotel. The business operates in the hotel industry and offers several services apart from dishes such as venues for weddings, meetings, and other social gatherings. The hotel strives to serve fresh and tantalizing Indian food. They guarantee their customers satisfaction and have a fast and friendly customer service.  Just like other hotels, the Jewel of India is faced with the issue of food wastage which the hotel’s owners believes is hurting the hotel's profitability

The problem

 The food waste in the great jewel of India is a major problem for two reasons, first, it is obvious that food waste has some financial cost associated with it.  Baldwin & Shakman, (2012), highlights four financial costs associated with food waste in the hotels. These costs include raw materials costs, labor cost used during the production of the food, energy cost used in the kitchen in the process of preparing the foods, and food waste disposal costs.   Unfortunately, a study conducted by Clowes, Mitchell, and Hanson (2018), revealed that most hotels do not have an accurate picture of the economic costs associated with food waste in their operation. However, several studies have attempted to quantify the financial implication associated with food waste in the hotel industry.  In one quantitative study conducted by Papargyropoulou, Steinberger, Wright (2019), hotels were found to have lost between 23 percent of their investment in food purchase.  In other words, food waste is associated with some costs which end up reducing or negatively impacting the hotel's revenue and profitability. Already, the great jewel of India hotel is feeling such an impact as its profitability has been negatively affected by food waste in the hotel. If the problem is left unsolved the hotel profitability will continue to drop and it might be forced to close down 

 Environmental impact

 With the growing concern of climate change and global warming, attention is now shifting toward the role food waste play in the greenhouse gas emission. According to Gössling, et al (2011), the food industry, in general, is a significant cause of greenhouse gas emission and the majority of such gases originate from food waste. When disposed of, food waste ends up in landfills where they decompose and produce methane gas. Methane gas is considered 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxides (Abeliotis, Lasaridi, Chroni, & Costarelli, 2015). So, in other words, the food waste from hotels end up in landfill which later produces one of the most harmful gases to our environment.  According to bio intelligence services (2010), on average, one kilo of food waste from hotels produces almost two kilos of CO2 equivalent emission.  Also, to the greenhouse emission, food waste contributes to the depletion of natural resources such as water and land.  Bio intelligence services (2010) estimates that one kilo of food waste leads to depletion of 2.9 tons of natural resources such as loss of biodiversity and extinction of species.  In general, there is enough evidence to shows that food waste from hotels causes significant detrimental to the environment through greenhouse emission as well as through depletion of natural resources. The issue of food waste at the great jewel of India hotel is thus negatively affecting the sustainability of its business operation. It is contributing to global warming and hence increasing the risks associated with climate change such as wildfire which is not the only threat to the business but also the society at large

Literature review

 Terminology

The term food wastage as used in this paper differs in meaning with the term food loss as demonstrated by previous studies.   The term food loss is used to describe a decrease in food mass on in quality which makes it unsuitable for human consumption (Dora, Wesana, Seth and Dey, 2019).  Food loss has also be identified by Lipinski et al (2013) as consisting of food spills, spoils, and loss of quality before it reaches the consumers. On the other hand, food waste is used to describe food that is fit for human consumption but instead of being consumed, it ends being thrown away either before or after it perish (Tekin, & Ä°lyasov, 2017).  Unlike food loss which usually takes place at the production, storage, processing and distribution stages of the food chain, food waste takes place at the retail and consumption stage (Baldwin & Shakman, 2012).

 In the hotel industry, food waste is the most prevalent. It occurs when foods that are fit for human consumption which has been prepared by the hotels end up not being eaten and instead end-up being thrown away.   As noted by Baldwin & Shakman (2012), food waste in the hotel industry can be categorized into two i.e. pre-consumer food waste and post-consumer food waste. Pre-consumer food waste occurs in the hotels' kitchen before the food reaches the consumers.  It includes overproduction, spoilage, expiration, and trimming waste (Nguyen, 2018). Post-consumers food waste occurs when the consumers themselves throw food they were supposed to eat. It generally refers to the food leftover or discarded by customers in the hotels. Post-consumer food waste is also known as plate waste. Plate waste consists of three categories edible, inedible and possibly edible. Edible plate waste is the food that could have been eaten but was not. Inedible food refers to foods, inedible plate waste refers to the parts of food that cannot be consumed e.g. eggshells, bones, etc.  Possibly edible plate waste refers to the food parts that some people eat while other does not .e.g. potatoes skins, chicken feet, etc. (Nguyen, 2018, Stenmarck et al. 2016).

 Cause of food wastage in the hotel industry

As demonstrated so far by previous studies, food waste is common across all hotels.  Previous studies have identified the number of potential causes of food waste in hotels.   First, as demonstrated in the above section, food waste can be categorized into either pre-consumer food waste or post-consumer food waste.  Previous studies have identified differing causes of the two subcategories of food waste.  In their study Papargyropoulou, et al (2019), found out that pre-consumers food waste in the hotel industry was mainly caused by overproductions. Papargyropoulou, et al (2019) noted that hotels operate under an environment of uncertainty in that they do not know for sure the number of guests that will visit them and the type of food that will be ordered by each. As a result, they end up working with estimates and projection which in most cases are not accurate. In the end, they end up overproducing or under producing foods. Overproduction of food leads to food waste as the unsold foods are in most cases thrown away. Another cause of pre-consumers food waste as found out by Nguyen (2018) is overstocking of foods. In his study, Nguyen (2018), found out that since hotels don't want customers to order foods that have run out of stocks. As such they end up overstocking raw foods including vegetables, fruits, etc. which when left unused for some time spoils and are hence thrown away.  In their study Marchant and Cloy (2017) also identifying over purchasing/overstocking s one of the causes of pre-consumer food waste. Marchant and Cloy (2017)  noted that overstocking /over purchasing usually resulted from poor judgement in demand leading to situations where hotels were left  surplus stocks which they could not use  and hence leading to spoilage and increase in purchasing costs.

Baldwin & Shakman, (2012), also identified poor communication among the various hotel department as one cause of pre-consumers food waste.   The communication between front staffs and the kitchen staffs is essential in ensuring smooth flows of food order in the hotel. When there is poor communication between these departments, food waste is generated.  In their study by Baldwin & Shakman (2012), founds out that miscommunication between chefs and fronts staffs led to overproduction or a situation where customers are served with the wrong meal hence leading to food wastage.  Another cause of pre-consumer food wastage is staff attitude and behavior. In their study, Mabaso and Hewson (2018), found out that staffs' attitudes toward food waste directly influenced the level of food waste in the hotel. Staffs that are generally concerned about food waste engaged in behaviors that limited food wasted. For instance, they were more careful when preparing the food in the kitchen to minimize trimming waste, etc. on the other hand, staffs who cared less for food wastage were found to engage in behaviors that increased food waste in the hotels. For instance, they were found to be careless when handling food leading to more food spoilage than usual.  Lack of sufficient skills among kitchen staffs was also found to have contributed to the food waste in the hotel industry. In their study, Papargyropoulou, et al (2019) noted that employees who lacked appropriate skills especially in the kitchen were responsible for pre-consumer food waste including food spoilage, trimming waste, etc.

Several previous studies have also identified the causes of food waste at the post-consumers stage. One study conducted by Juvan, et al (2017), investigated the causes of food waste in a hotel breakfast buffet and found out most people served themselves foods that they couldn’t finish. In their study, Juvan, et al (2017), noted that since buffet breakfast provides hotel guests with a wide variety of food, most of the hotel's guests overloaded their plate due to the availability of variety and abundance of foods displayed which comes at no extra costs.  Another reason that was found to have contributed to the plate waste in the buffet breakfast hotel was the guests’ behaviors of experimenting with foods. Juvan, et al (2017), note that the variety of foods displayed at buffet restaurants allow guests to experiment with a different type of food they have never eaten before. Guests thus end-up trying new food which they end up throwing away if they do not like them.  This explains why the study conducted by Papargyropoulou, et al (2019) found out that food waste was higher in hotels offering buffet services as compared to those offering la carte menu. This does not, however, mean that hotels offering la carte menu do not experience plate waste as well. In their study of food waste in a hotel offering la carte menu, Freedman & Brochado (2010) found out one of the main causes of food waste in the hotel industry is serving customers with more foods than they can finish.  The size of the food portion served to most guests in hotels is way beyond what they can comfortably eat and finish and results, most guests tend to left uneaten food in their plates once they’re fully satisfied. In another study, Marchant and Cloy (2017) noted that most hotel usually serve clients large portion of food to ensure they’re fully satisfied but in the process they end up generating more food waste

   Another main cause of plate waste is customer’s menu acceptance.  Customers’ menu acceptance in case food waste in the sense that, when customers do not enjoy some condiments,   certain ingredients or the general quality of food, they end up not finishing the foods on their plate leading to food waste (Nguyen, 2018).  The behaviors of the hotel guests which is mainly beyond the control of hoteliers have also been associated with food waste (Juvan, et al 2017; Papargyropoulou, et al 2019; Tekin & Ä°lyasov 2017).  Tekin & Ä°lyasov (2017), noted that a significant number of hotel guests generally like to explore different foods and such they mainly order food in the menu that they have not eaten before.  In some cases, they might end –up not liking the taste of the foods hence leaving it on the plate and hence contributing to food waste. Other guest behaviors linked to food waste including ordering the meal in a hurry such that one does not have adequate time to finish their meal and serving oneself too much food especially in hotels offering buffets (Juvan, et al, 2017).

 Alternatives for addressing the food waste in the hotel industry

 Quite a number of previous studies have also been interesting in investigating the various alternatives and their effectiveness in addressing the issue of food waste within hospitality.  One such study was conducted by Clowes, et al (2018) where the investigation food waste reduction program in 42 hotels across fifteen countries. In their study, Clowes et al (2018), found out that various hotels employed various food reduction programs. some of the programs that were identified include food waste inventory where food waste was quantified to helps hotel identify how much and where food waste occurred;  engaging and empowering staffs through training and the use of guideline,  monitoring food consumption pattern and hence aligning production to such pattern, rethink the buffet services and finding alternative use of excess food. In their study Clowes et al (2018), also noted that these food waste reduction efforts were quite effective s they have a benefit-cost ratio of 7:1 over three years’ time frame.  They also found out that over 70 percent of the hotels that implemented some form of food waste reduction program, recouped their investment within the first year and ninety-five percent of them recouped their investment within two year period. Their study also found out that by reducing food waste, the hotels were able to save 4 cents for every dollar spend on the cost of goods sold.

   In another study, Sandaruwani and Gnanapala (2015) investigated the food waste minimization at Sri Lanka hotels and identified that although the majority of the hotels did not have food waste minimization strategies or programs in place, number of hoteliers had successfully implemented some food waste minimization strategies and initiative.  these include 1) setting target for the kitchen department- in their study, Sandaruwani and Gnanapala (2015) found out that some hotels regarded kitchen as their main source of food waste and such they set target for the kitchen department to keep are Sandaruwani and Gnanapala (2015) to keep the cost of raw material at certain percent of the total food cost. This was found to have forced the kitchen staffs to efficiently use the raw food and hence minimizing wastage.  The study also found out that some hoteliers used bio digester in an attempt to reduce the impacts their food waste had on the environment. The use of such bio digester was found to have saved the hotel's energy cost while at the same time properly handling the food waste from their operation hence causing minimal destruction to the environment. 

 Based on the literature reviews above, the current studies aim to answer the following questions

1.      What are the causes of pre-consumers food waste at The Great Jewel of India?

2.      What are the causes of post-consumer food waste at the great jewel of India Hotel?