Rooms with a Viewpoint: Hospitality through the Lens of Shared Value

The concept of shared value, coined by Harvard professors Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer in 2011, is being discussed among businesses, governments and development practitioners alike as a way for businesses to increase financial returns while simultaneously delivering social and climate impact in the community. In other words, it is the new way of doing business responsibly.

Unfortunately, many companies in Latin America and the Caribbean do not have the capacity, time or resources to put shared value into practice. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has created Shared Value Appraisals to assist clients in designing a business strategy to enhance competitiveness and social value in the community. This case study discusses how the IDB partnered with developers of a hotel  in Kingston to maximize the project's value for the community. The IDB worked together with Caribe Hospitality, Pan-Jamaican Investment, Marriot International and Prime Development to target opportunities.