A DEA–TOPSIS Framework for Assessing Hotel Efficiency and Sustainable Performance

The present study evaluates the performance of hotel companies in Romania using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) integrated with a hybrid weighted TOPSIS model (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution). This approach captures both technical efficiency and multidimensional competitiveness. The DEA included an output-oriented Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) model (with four inputs and one output). It was followed by TOPSIS aggregation with hybrid entropy weights to obtain a composite performance index. The research used cross-sectional financial data for 2023, specific to hotels in Romania, and allowed interpretation across five territorial categories based on predominant relief. The results show that the 852 analyzed hotels have a relatively homogeneous structure and moderate variations in performance scores. At the same time, top-performing units are strongly concentrated in economically or touristically dynamic counties. The integrated DEA–TOPSIS results indicate that high-performing hotels tend to cluster spatially, with plain counties hosting the largest number of hotels at the national level and also a substantial share of high-performance hotels relative to major urban centers; thus, their performance structure is not uniform but strongly polarized. In contrast, the other geographical areas show pronounced clustering, with top hotels concentrated around consolidated leisure destinations, such as Brașov, Sibiu, Constanța, and Prahova. Overall, research using the DEA–TOPSIS method highlights significant spatial disparities that influence both managerial decision-making and regional development policies, affecting the long-term sustainable performance and competitiveness of the Romanian hotel sector.