This study aims to investigate ten hotels on the island of Gotland and their daily, practical work towards sustainability. An exploratory study was conducted at ten hotel establishments on the island of Gotland in Sweden. Ten hotel managers were interviewed about their daily practice and work towards sustainable solutions at their hotels. The results show that there are big differences between these hotels regarding the way in which knowledge about sustainability issues are implemented and shared to the personnel as well to the guests. In addition, there is a clear difference in the way in which sustainability is expressed in practice: the accountability is largely attributable to most of the hotels, but a few convey responsibility. Some of the managers seem to take a more active role in mediation of sustainability issues than is the case with the majority of the hotel managers. Also, anonymity between hotel guests and staff, large number of seasonal workers and insufficiently trained staff can be seen as a hindrance for knowledge exchange over the sustainability issues. Working with sustainability issues can also be seen as a way to win market shares in the hotel business. The study makes contribution to the knowledge of processes of co-creation of sustainable values by exploring how some hotel managers are working towards sustainability on a daily basis. The study can help to share knowledge of possibilities and hindrances in daily work towards sustainable hotels.

Sustainability challenges in tourism are widely discussed. There is a huge need for education in the field of destination development. Students require appropriate problem-solving skills. This article examines the master’s course in destination development at Uppsala University, Campus Gotland, with the aim of increasing students’ skills in solving sustainability problems. The course took place in the spring semester of 2020 with the main goal of improving students’ skills in formulating and solving sustainable challenges in groups. This was achieved by activating the heterogeneity of the group, seeking relevant information and facts, and organising and carrying out the task with a design-thinking methodology. Students were provided with real problems or challenges by tourist companies, authorities and other interest groups on the island of Gotland. The purpose of this study is to describe the group of students as well as joint learning processes and knowledge needed in the work towards sustainable solutions. The major implication of the study is that the course gave the students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of both the barriers and benefits of working with heterogeneous groups. Furthermore, the study revealed a number of factors that all organisations would need to take into account in order to improve the effectiveness of their work towards sustainable solutions.

Purpose: This paper aims to study how a pair of hosts for one bed and breakfast establishment and their guests create value for the visit by communicating and interacting with each other on the island of Gotland. Methodology/Approach: A case study was conducted on one single Bed and Breakfast (BnB) accommodation. An interview and a Questionnaire study were performed. Findings:The study shows that there are several processes involved in the cocreation of values between visitors and hosts. Co-creation processes begin already when visitors are planning their visits to the island. Their expectations are created while choosing their accommodation type, often done online on different websites. Pre-information about the chosen BnB accommodation contributes to visitors' expectations and image of the object, which can be seen as a part of their identities. In the physical meeting with the accommodation and the hosts and other guests, the co-creation process is strengthened. There are processes of participation, communication, creation of meaning for the stay, processes of trust and responsibilities which all together create a common culture which in turn contributes to co-creation of values for both parties. These processes also take place between guests. The processes are furthermore dependent on meaning-making and sensemaking processes. This all together generate knowledge about the destination and the values that enhance the positive experience of the visits. It also creates knowledge for the hosts about how they can develop their service to achieve increased customer satisfaction. Finally, these skills can be valuable for the continued planning and development of the tourism industry.Research Limitation/implication: The study is limited to a one single BnB accommodation with its hosts on the island of Gotland in Sweden. QUALITY INNOVATION PROSPERITY / KVALITA INOVÁCIA PROSPERITA 22/3 -2018 ISSN 1335-1745 (print) ISSN 1338-984X (online)37 Originality/Value of paper: The study makes a contribution to the knowledge of processes of co-creation values by exploring how some visitors and their hosts experienced visits to the island. The study can help bridging the gap in the views and actions on co-creation of values among visitors and those who are visited. Category: Research Paper

The Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea is a well-known tourist destination, visited annually by almost 2 million tourists. Among the different types of accommodation available to visitors, Bed and Breakfast (B&B) on the Airbnb platform have become very popular. This exploratory study discusses how the human capital of some B&B lifestyle entrepreneurs affects their plans and practices of sustainability. Human capital theory (Becker, G. (1964). Human Capital. The University of Chicago Press.) is discussed by intersecting it with a sociological perspective represented by the two main Bordieuan forms of capital, namely cultural and social capital (1986 and 1992). The research is based on data collected between June 2017 and October 2020 through semi-structured interviews and field observation of fourteen rural B&B lifestyle entrepreneurs listed on Airbnb. Results show that participants' cultural capital is high and constantly developing through the acquisition of new knowledge on sustainable measures that can be applied to their businesses. Their current social capital in Gotland, on the other hand, is still quite underdeveloped.

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