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This paper analyzes the implementation of corporate sustainability strategies (CSS) in hotels, identifying key factors and practices as perceived by middle-managers. Using qualitative methods, we conducted initial and in-depth interviews with owners, top-managers, and 37 middle-managers from various departments of a hotel chain in the Canary Islands. An existing literature-informed CSS implementation framework guided our analysis, revealing nine key factors that act as drivers, barriers, or both to CSS implementation. We identified crucial practices including paper-use reduction, employee well-being, plastic-use reduction, energy efficiency, recycling, water management, air quality, social contribution, food waste management, and green chemicals, noting varying relevancies across departments. Particularly, work-wellbeing, plastic-use reduction, and energy efficiency showed the highest alignment with CSS. Our findings offer insights into the practical application of CSS, underscoring the importance of tailoring department-specific practices to overarching sustainability goals to bolster organizational sustainability strategies. • Corporate sustainability strategy (CSS) drivers and practices are strongly related to Human Resource Management. • Key drivers for CSS implementation include communication and training, work environment, and corporate commitment and support. • Key barriers of CSS implementation include guest behavior and external issues such as the pandemic crisis. • Relevance and alignment of key practices vary among departments, which need tailored strategies based on their attributes. • Paper-use reduction emerges as the main key practice of CSS, followed by work wellbeing and plastic-use reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]