504483

research-article2013
CQXXXX10.1177/1938965513504483Cornell Hospitality QuarterlyBaker et al.

Sustainability and Marketing

Cornell Hospitality Quarterly

Eco-friendly Attitudes, Barriers to

2014, Vol. 55(1) 8999
The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/1938965513504483

Behavior at Green Hotels cqx.sagepub.com

Melissa A. Baker1, Eric A. Davis, and Pamela A. Weaver2

Abstract
A deeper understanding of customers desire for and participation in green activities can lead to organizations designing
more efficient and effective green programs. This research finds that the guests assessment of the importance of being
environmentally friendly has the greatest effect on their intention to stay in a green hotel. Second, the research identifies
the following customer barriers to participation: inconvenience, perceptions of cost cutting, and decreased luxuryall of
which significantly affect consumers intention to stay at a green hotel or pay more for a room in such a hotel. Third, the
results show that customers believe that hotels should have certain green practices, but did not consider it important
to stay in a hotel that actually maintains the thirteen green practices tested here. Fourth, the results find that customers
behave with greater environmental responsibility at home than they do in a hotel. Among the implications of these findings
is the idea that hotel managers communications and actions must be relevant to guests concerns by educating customers,
increasing convenience to participate in green programs, and decreasing perceptions of cost cutting.

Keywords
hotel guest preferences, green hotels, eco-friendly attitudes, barriers to participation

As the push for sustainability in the hospitality and tourism
industry grows, hospitality managers are confronted with
decisions regarding environmental actions, business ethics,
and social responsibility, while they still must ensure their
propertys sustainable economic success (Molina-Azorin
et al. 2009). Because of hospitalitys high global visibility,
the industry has the potential to save millions of dollars by
going green. A critical challenge for hotel marketers is to
gain a better understanding of customers desire for green
consumption alternatives (Han, Hsu, and Lee 2009). A
deeper understanding of green consumers can lead organi-
zations to design more efficient and effective green pro-
grams and initiatives (Han et al. 2011; Rundle-Thiele,
Paladino, and Apostol 2008).
Hotel managers can benefit strategically from increas-
ing their understanding of customers eco-friendly atti-
tudes (Han et al. 2011). Although the issues of hotel
guests concern for environmental issues and willingness
to pay for hotel green practices are of great industry con-
cern, we have seen little research on these matters (Kang
et al. 2012). Likewise, perceived barriers to guests par-
ticipation in green programs have received little attention
(Chan 2009). One salient example involves whether cus-
tomers view reusing towels as a sustainable initiative or
merely as a savings mechanism for the hotel. (Robinot
and Giannelloni 2010). To fill these gaps, this study first
examines the effects of customers eco-friendly attitudes
on the barriers to participation (including decreased com-
fort, decreased luxury, and perceptions of cost-cutting
measures) against their willingness to pay more for a
green hotel or to stay at all.
We see an inadequate understanding of the link between
customers eco-friendly attitudes and their behavior, partic-
ularly in terms of hotel purchases and green program par-
ticipation (Diamantopoulos et al. 2003). Consequently, this
research examines the difference between customers belief
regarding whether a hotel should have a green practice
(such as recycling bins in the hotel room) and how impor-
tant it is to stay in a hotel that offers such green practices.
Third, this research examines customer frequency of green
behaviors at home to similar behaviors at a hotel, because
few studies empirically examine whether individuals dis-
play more proenvironmental behavior in a household set-
ting than in a hotel setting (Miao and Wei 2013).
Fourth, hotel managers can benefit from research that exam-
ines proenvironmental behavior in a hospitality setting and
1
University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
2
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA
Corresponding Author:
Melissa A. Baker, Isenberg School of Management, University of
Massachusetts Amherst, Flint Lab, 90 Campus Center Way, Amherst,
MA 01003, USA.
Email: mbaker@isenberg.umass.edu
90 Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 55(1)
offers guidelines in encouraging active and meaningful cus-
tomer engagement, such as their willingness to reuse towels
and to use heat and air-conditioning controls conservatively.
Research on these issues is rare, and few studies empirically
examine barriers to customer participation in green prac-
ticeseven though consumer participation has been rela-
tively low and hotels have adopted numerous green
initiatives. Some hoteliers voice reluctance in adopting
green initiatives (Kang et al. 2012) because of a concern
that guests will view such programs as cost-cutting mea-
sures or a drop in standards. Such common environmental
practices as using recycled paper, installing soap dispens-
ers, and reusing towels and sheets can all be seen as detract-
ing from the pampering experience (Silano, Meredith,
and Jones 1997), especially given guests unwillingness to
put up with discomfort (Dolnicar, Crouch, and Long 2008).
Thus, while guests may be willing to participate in green
practices, they may not be willing to sacrifice convenience,
accept lower comfort and luxury levels, or pay a price pre-
mium (Manaktola and Jauhari 2007). This study addresses
those issues by examining whether comfort, luxury, and
cost-cutting measures serve as barriers to participation in
green practices while at a hotel.
To address these gaps in academic literature and provide
managerial implications to practitioners, this study exam-
ines customers green attitudes (Laroche, Bergeron, and
Barbaro-Forleo 2001) and actions, notably their intent to
stay in a hotel, willingness to pay more for a green hotel, and
willingness to participate in proenvironmental behaviors.
Based on findings of customer attitudes regarding the envi-
ronment, the importance of specific programs, and barriers
to participation, we offer suggestions to improve the market-
ing outcome of hotel green initiatives.
Literature Review
Customer Eco-friendly Attitudes
As individuals become more aware of the environmental
impact of various business activities, researchers suggest
that an environmentally aware consumer may be more
likely to demonstrate proenvironmental behavior than other
consumers (W. H. Lee and Moscardo 2005). So far, how-
ever, clear patterns have not emerged in this area with
respect to causal links between knowledge and attitude, nor
attitude and environmental behavior (Powell and Ham
2008). Research suggests an inconsistency between con-
sumers expressed environmental attitudes and their actual
behavior (Barber et al. 2012). Given that eco-friendly atti-
tudes involve multiple dimensions (Laroche, Bergeron, and
Barbaro-Forleo 2001), this disconnect may be because con-
sumers might feel more strongly in some areas of concern
than others.
Research identifies the following four dimensions of
eco-friendly attitudes: perceived severity of environmental
problems, inconvenience of being environmentally friendly,
importance of being environmentally friendly, and level of
corporate responsibility (Laroche, Bergeron, and Barbaro-
Forleo 2001). Perceived severity of environmental prob-
lems deals with such notions that water, energy, and trees
are limited. Inconvenience of being environmentally
friendly refers to additional effort or privation that might
occur due to green activities. Importance of being environ-
mentally friendly notes that certain green activities will
reduce pollution or improve the environment. Finally, cor-
porate responsibility deals with the idea that businesses are
(or should be) concerned about the environment.
Intent to Purchase
Environmental awareness involves having a positive atti-
tude toward the importance of eco-friendly activities
(Laroche, Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo 2001; Leonidou,
Leonidou, and Kvasova 2010). This is grounded in cogni-
tive consistency theory (Festinger 1957), whereby an indi-
vidual who is concerned about ecological issues is also
likely to be motivated to take actions to minimize those
issues (Leonidou, Leonidou, and Kvasova 2010).
Environmental concern and environmentally friendly atti-
tudes are positively related to consumers intention to pur-
chase green products (Han, Hsu, and Lee 2009; Laroche,
Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo 2001; Manaktola and Jauhari
2007; Mostafa 2006). Customers who are environmentally
friendly have greater intentions to visit a green hotel and
actually do so (Han, Hsu, and Lee 2009; Han et al. 2011).
Socially responsible policies are considered an essential
component of corporate reputation, and those policies affect
customer behavior (Dutta et al. 2008). The concern about
convenience is rooted in the perception that ecologically
favorable behavior may involve more effort, even if it is
good for society (Laroche, Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo
2001). Research finds that despite individuals awareness of
environmental issues, their purchases do not always reflect
that concern, as such purchases do not provide an immedi-
ate benefit (J. S. Lee et al. 2010). Based on these observa-
tions, we developed the first hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1a: Perceptions of the severity of the envi-
ronmental problem negatively affect intention to stay at
a green hotel.
Hypothesis 1b: Perceptions of the importance of being
environmentally friendly positively affect intention to
stay at a green hotel.
Hypothesis 1c: Perceptions of the level of responsibility
of corporations positively affect intention to stay at a
green hotel.
Baker et al. 91
Hypothesis 1d: Perceptions of the inconvenience of
being environmentally friendly negatively affect inten-
tion to stay at a green hotel.
Willingness to Pay More
Customers environmentally friendly attitudes are strongly
associated with positive intentions to pay more for a green
product (Han, Hsu, and Lee 2009; Laroche, Bergeron, and
Barbaro-Forleo 2001). Moreover, social identity theory
suggests that an individuals perception about the severity
of ecological problems or their perceptions of the impor-
tance of being environmentally friendly might influence his
or her willingness to pay more. This concept from social
identity theory suggests a positive relationship between
customers level of environmental concern and willingness
to pay for green initiatives. In addition, perceptions of cor-
porate responsibility are also likely to affect willingness to
pay. Working against the willingness to pay more is the per-
ception of inconvenience associated with green practices.
As such we propose the following hypotheses for eco-
friendly attitudes:
Hypothesis 2a: Perceptions of the severity of the envi-
ronmental problem negatively affect willingness to pay
more for a green hotel.
Hypothesis 2b: Perceptions of the importance of being
environmentally friendly positively affect willingness to
pay more for a green hotel.
Hypothesis 2c: Perceptions of the level of responsibility
of corporations positively affect willingness to pay more
for a green hotel.
Hypothesis 2d: Perceptions of the inconvenience of
being environmentally friendly negatively affect will-
ingness to pay more for a green hotel.
Barriers to Adoption
A critical challenge for hotel marketers is to gain a better
understanding of customers desire and intention for green
consumption (Han, Hsu, and Lee 2009). While the hotel
industry is responding to the perceived market demand for
green initiatives (Bohdanowicz 2005), further research is
needed to assess the actual level of consumer concern for
green hotel initiatives, as with the classic example of
guests uneven cooperation with towel reuse policies.
Confidence regarding consumer compliance has been
widely dented by the realization that customer interest has
been lower than expected (Tzschentke, Kirk, and Lynch
2008). This research investigates the following three barri-
ers to adoption of this and other green procedures: namely,
perceptions of comfort, perceptions of luxury, and percep-
tions of cost cutting.
Comfort. One factor associated with an aversion to environ-
ment-friendly behavior at hotels is guests unwillingness to
put up with discomfort (Dolnicar, Crouch, and Long 2008).
As an example, guests like to be pampered with fresh tow-
els and clean sheets daily (Tzschentke, Kirk, and Lynch
2008). Furthermore, visitors may be unwilling to participate
in green behaviors if it interferes with their enjoyment
(Fairweather, Maslin, and Simmons 2005) or comfort level
(Manaktola and Jauhari 2007), as summarized in the fol-
lowing hypotheses:
Hypothesis 3: Perceptions of comfort negatively affect
willingness to pay more for a green hotel.
Hypothesis 4: Perceptions of comfort negatively affect
intention to stay at a green hotel.
Luxury.Guests desire for luxury entails a parallel argu-
ment. That is, customers might refuse to give up their
right to luxury (Tzschentke, Kirk, and Lynch 2008), for
example, by declining to reuse their bed sheets or avoiding
soap dispensers in favor of amenity bottles. The resulting
element of commercial institutionalism could spoil the cus-
tomers experience (Tzschentke, Kirk, and Lynch 2008). In
short, some customers are unwilling to accept a decrease in
luxury or amenities, or pay a price premium for green prac-
tices (Manaktola and Jauhari 2007). We therefore
hypothesize:
Hypothesis 5: Perceptions of luxury negatively affect
willingness to pay more for a green hotel.
Hypothesis 6: Perceptions of luxury negatively affect
intention to stay at a green hotel.
Cost cutting. Although many green initiatives involve addi-
tional expense, some save money, which is famously the
case with linen reuse programs. In that situation, customers
may view efforts to reduce environmental impact as a way
for the hotel to reduce costs, effectively at the guests
expense (Robinot and Giannelloni 2010; Tzschentke, Kirk,
and Lynch 2008). The following hypotheses address this:
Hypothesis 7: Perceptions of green initiatives as cost-
cutting measures significantly affect willingness to pay
more for a green hotel.
Hypothesis 8: Perceptions of green initiatives as cost-
cutting measures significantly affect intention to stay at
a green hotel.
Attitude toward Practices versus Importance of
Staying in Hotel
Guest preferences for green attributes in hotel rooms remain
unclear and few studies focus on individual attributes
92 Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 55(1)
(Millar and Baloglu 2011) as opposed to green operations in
general. This research examines customer stated prefer-
ences for thirteen green attributes and compares those pref-
erences with customer frequency in using the attributes and
to the importance of staying in a hotel with each of those
practices. Even though individuals may claim to be con-
cerned about the environment, their attitudes may vary on
the issue of whether it is important for them to stay in a
hotel that has the corresponding initiatives (Wearing et al.
2002), as summarized in the following:
Hypothesis 9: Individuals display a greater level of
belief that hotels should have green practices than of
importance to stay in a hotel that has each practice.
Environmental Behaviors at Home versus at Hotel
Although it is reasonable to expect individuals who behave
environmentally consciously at home will also do so while
on vacation, few studies investigate this empirically
(Dolnicar and Leisch 2008). Observations of a discrepancy
between environmental behaviors at home versus at a hotel
are largely anecdotal, once again focusing on towel and
linen reuse and disinterest in recycling (Miao and Wei
2013). Dolnicar and Leisch (2008) found that 92 percent of
respondents felt morally obligated to behave in an environ-
mentally friendly way at home, while the average proenvi-
ronmental behavior while on vacation was only 25
percenta difference that the respondents cannot often
explain (Wearing et al. 2002). Research indicates that envi-
ronmental concern only plays a minor role in tourists deci-
sion making (Fairweather, Maslin, and Simmons 2005). In
explaining this difference, Carr (2002) suggests that peo-
ples behavior at home is driven by the residual culture
while actions on holiday are a function of tourist culture
(Nicolau 2011). We predict that individuals will display a
greater level of proenvironmental behavior at home com-
pared with at a hotel.
Hypothesis 10: Individuals display a greater level of
proenvironmental behavior at home than in a hotel.
Method
Based on empirically tested scales that have produced high
reliability and validity, we measured eco-friendly attitudes
using the four dimensions discussed above: perceived
severity of the environmental problem, inconvenience of
being environmentally friendly, importance of being envi-
ronmentally friendly, and perceived level of corporate
responsibility (Laroche, Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo
2001). All questions use a 7-point Likert-type scale, with
anchors of 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree. We
asked about each of thirteen items suggested by Millar and
Baloglu (2011) to determine potential differences between
whether individuals believe hotels should have these attri-
butes and whether it is important for guests to stay in a hotel
that has each attribute. We adopted another thirteen items
from Dolnicar and Leisch (2008) to measure behavior at
home versus behavior at a hotel, asking respondents how
frequently they engage in each behavior at home and while
at a hotel. Scales were sufficiently reliable, based on a
Cronbachs alpha exceeding .70 (Hair et al. 1998). The
range was .78 to .93. Intention to purchase was measured
using two items: I am likely to stay in a hotel implement-
ing environmental strategies and I am more likely to stay
in a green hotel over a nongreen hotel, while willingness to
pay was measured with a single item: I am willing to pay a
higher price to stay in a green hotel (see Exhibit 1).
This study utilized an online questionnaire that was dis-
tributed during one month in fall 2012 to three tourism data-
bases, targeting customers who are U.S. hotel patrons. After
excluding incomplete responses a total of 208 usable ques-
tionnaires are used for analysis.
Analysis and Results
Of the 208 responses, 142 (68.3%) were from women. The
respondents age ranged from 18 to 68 years old. Twenty-six
percent were 25 or younger, 43.8 percent were 26 to 35,
8.7 percent were 36 to 45, and 21.1 percent were 56 or older.
The majority of respondents (54.8%) were college graduates
and 26 percent possessed a graduate degree. Regarding the
key criterion, the sample comprises experienced travelers.
All respondents reported staying in a hotel at least once per
year. More than 80 percent stay in a hotel four or more nights
per year, and nearly 18 percent of respondents stay in a hotel
more than sixteen nights per year (see Exhibit 2).
Impact of Eco-friendly Attitudes and Barriers to
Participation
Multiple regression analyses are utilized to examine the
effects of eco-friendly attitudes and barriers to participation
on intention to stay in a green hotel and willingness to pay
more to stay at a green hotel. Standardized coefficients and
t-values are used to determine which component of eco-
friendly attitudes and barriers to participation has the great-
est impact (see Exhibit 3).
Respondents assessment of the importance of being envi-
ronmentally friendly had the largest effect on intention to stay
at a green hotel (p = .000), and inconvenience of being envi-
ronmentally friendly (p = .011) was also a significant variable
on intent to stay. Conversely, severity of environmental prob-
lems and level of corporate responsibility were not found to
be significant. This supports Hypotheses 1b and 1d, but not
1a and 1c. This provides support that eco-friendly attitudes
need to be measured using multiple dimensions, as customers
might feel more strongly in some areas than others (Barber
et al. 2012), and this affects their intention to purchase.
Baker et al. 93

Exhibit 1:
Measurement of Items.

Variable Measurement Item

Severity of environmental problem (Laroche,
Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo 2001)
Importance of being environmentally friendly
(Laroche, Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo 2001)
Level of responsibility of corporations (Laroche,
Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo 2001)
Inconvenience of being environmentally friendly
(Laroche, Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo 2001)
Comfort
Luxury
Cost cutting
Intent to purchase
In our country, we have so much electricity that we do not have to worry .871
about conservation
As we live in such a large country, any pollution that we create is easily
spread out and therefore is of no concern to me.
With so much water in this country, I dont see why people are worried
about leaky faucets and flushing toilets
Our country has so many trees that there is no need to recycle paper
The earth is a closed system where everything eventually returns to
normal, so I see no need to worry about its present state
Recycling will reduce pollution .811
Recycling is important to save natural resources
Recycling will save land that would be used as dumpsites
Companies are acting responsibly toward the environment .849
Companies are concerned about the environment
Keeping separate piles of garbage for recycling is too much trouble .842
Recycling is too much trouble
I hate to wash out bottles for recycling
Trying to control pollution is much more trouble than it is worth
As a guest in a hotel, I put more emphasis on being environmentally .806
responsible than I put on comfort (reverse)
When a guest in a hotel, I put comfort before being environmentally
conscious
I prefer to stay in a hotel that focuses more on guest comfort than
environmentally conscious actions
As a guest in a hotel, I put luxury before being environmentally conscious .752
I prefer to stay in a hotel that focuses on guest service instead of
environmentally conscious actions
Green practices take away from the luxury experience
I think hotel green initiatives are ways for the hotel to cut costs .934
Green programs are ways for hotels to save money
Green initiatives reduce costs for the hotels
I am likely to stay in a hotel implementing environmental strategies .803
I am more likely to stay in a Green hotel over a nongreen hotel

Only the inconvenience variable was significant in con-
nection with eco-friendly attitudes and willingness to pay
more (p = .000). Thus, only Hypothesis 2d was supported.
Other studies have likewise found that attitudes are not
related to willingness to pay more for eco-friendly products
(Laroche, Bergeron, and Barbaro-Forleo 2001). Moreover,
customers with high environmental concerns do not always
buy green products (Kim and Han 2010) and although cus-
tomers may be concerned with environmental issues, they
are not willing to pay more as the cost outweighs the per-
sonal benefits (J. S. Lee et al. 2010).
A desire for luxury and perceptions of hotels cost cut-
ting constitute barriers to green hotel purchases. For the bar-
riers to participation and intention to stay, luxury (p = .001)
and cost cutting (p = .003) were statistically significant.
This supports Hypotheses 6 and 8 but does not support
Hypothesis 4. Concerns about luxury were found to have
the largest effect on intention to stay at a green hotel. Two
of the barriers to participation were statistically significant:
comfort (p = .043) and cost cutting (p = .006). Thus, the
results support Hypotheses 3 and 7. Hypothesis 5, the
effects of luxury on willingness to pay for a green hotel,
was not statistically significant. The results indicate that
decreased comfort (or perceptions thereof) negatively
affects whether customers are willing to pay for a green
hotel. In addition, this research supports the idea that when
customers view green practices as cost-cutting measures for
a hotel, they are less likely to be willing to pay more for
their stay.
Difference between Belief and Importance of
Green Practices
As many hotel managers have noted anecdotally, there is a dis-
connect between guests attitude toward what green practices a
hotel should have in place and the guests assessment of
whether it is important for the guest actually to stay at a hotel
with those practices (see Exhibit 4). Overall, the respondents
94 Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 55(1)

Exhibit 2: With regard to respondents attitudes about what prac-

Sample Characteristics. tices hotels should maintain, using energy efficient light
bulbs (M = 6.40) was first, followed by recycling bins in the
Frequency %
guestroom and lobby (Ms = 6.18 and 6.17) and green
Age certification.
Twenty-five or younger 55 26.4
Twenty-six to thirty-five 91 43.8
Thirty-six to forty-five 18 8.7 Difference between Behavior at Home and at a
Forty-six to fifty-five 15 7.2 Hotel
Fifty-six or older 29 13.9
Similarly, the respondents admitted that they were signifi-
Gender
cantly less likely to engage in certain green practices at a
Male 66 31.7
Female 142 68.3
hotel than at home (p = .000). Hypothesis 10 is thus sup-
Race ported. The respondents said that as hotel guests they most
Asian 6 2.9 often turned the lights off when leaving a room followed by
African American 8 3.8 reusing sheets, reusing towels, and recycling cans, bottles,
Hispanic 10 4.8 and paper. While at home, respondents most often reused
White 178 85.6 sheets and towels, turned the lights off, recycled cans and
Other 6 2.9 bottles, and picked up litter (see Exhibit 5).
Education level
High school 6 2.9
Discussion
Some college 34 16.3
College graduate 114 54.8 Our finding regarding the importance of being environmen-
Graduate degree or higher 54 26.0 tally friendly in relation to intentions to stay in a green hotel
Household income suggests two management strategies. First, hotel managers
Less than $20,000 36 17.3 should seek out customers who believe it is important to
$20,001-$30,000 18 8.7 engage in green practices. This finding was reinforced in
$30,001-$40,000 39 18.8 open-ended responses such as the following:
$40,001-$50,000 35 16.8
$50,001-$60,000 16 7.7 I believe we should all try to help with conserving our water,
$60,001-$70,000 10 4.8 trees, and recycling;
More than $70,001 54 26.0
Relationship status It is good for the environment and over time is better for the
Single 88 42.3 earth; and
In a relationship 51 24.5
Married 69 33.2 It is important to protect our environment.
Nights in hotel per year
One to three nights 41 19.7 Second, hotel operators should actively educate individ-
Four to six nights 40 19.2 uals of the importance of being environmentally friendly
Seven to nine nights 34 16.2 through environmental campaigns and information tools
Ten to twelve nights 38 18.3 such as brochures and placards, as suggested by two
Thirteen to fifteen nights 18 8.7
respondents:
More than sixteen nights 37 17.8
I think more people would stay in a green hotel if they knew
more about it; and
belief that hotels should maintain green practices had a mean
of 4.94, while the mean importance to stay in such a hotel was Sometimes green hotels offer unique experiences that nongreen
3.75 (supporting Hypothesis 9). The difference between atti- hotels do not offer. We can be more informed about this.
tude and importance was significant for all thirteen practices
that we tested. Twelve of the items were significant at p = .000, Once the guest is in-house, the hotel might seek to edu-
and one was significant at p < .05. In Exhibit 4, we ranked the cate the guest on the hotels green programs to gain coop-
thirteen practices importance (for guests to stay at that hotel). eration in participating in those programs. Such an approach
Changing bed sheets for stays longer than three nights was would combine making guests aware of the green initiative,
found to be the most important green practice, followed by informing them of the rationale behind it, and explaining
green certification, energy efficient light bulbs, towel reuse ways they can contribute (Tzschentke, Kirk, and Lynch
policy, and recycling bins in the guestroom. 2008). Simply emphasizing the importance of
Baker et al. 95

Exhibit 3:
Eco-friendly Intentions.

Intention to Stay Willingness to Pay More

t-value Significance t-value Significance

Severity of environmental problem .05 0.74 .461 .08 1.17 .244
Importance of being environmentally .22 3.60 .000 .02 0.35 .727
friendly
Level of responsibility of corporations .02 0.30 .761 .00 0.06 .950
Inconvenience of being .17 2.55 .011 .31 4.44 .000
environmentally friendly
Comfort .12 1.53 .127 1.70 2.04 .043
Luxury .28 3.39 .001 .14 1.66 .099
Cost cutting .17 2.99 .003 .17 2.76 .006
R (adjusted) = .322 R (adjusted) = .251

Note. All beta values are standardized.

Exhibit 4:
Difference of Means for Attitude and Importance of Green Practices.

Should Have Standard

Practice Each Practicea Importanceb Deviation t-value Significance
Sheets changed on stays of three or more nights 5.56 4.34 1.77 9.92 .000
Hotels should be certified as green 5.66 4.33 1.43 13.38 .000
Energy efficient light bulbs 6.40 4.27 1.76 17.42 .000
Towel reuse policy 5.40 4.24 1.79 9.37 .000
Recycling bins in guestroom 6.18 4.03 1.61 19.32 .000
Recycling bins in lobby 6.17 3.91 1.56 20.81 .000
Key card to turn power to the room off and on 5.13 3.67 1.71 12.34 .000
Occupancy sensors 5.13 3.63 1.59 13.64 .000
Fresh towels daily 4.08 3.63 1.49 4.43 .000
Refillable amenity dispensers 4.96 3.49 1.91 11.07 .000
Individual bottles of amenities 4.27 3.30 1.63 8.59 .000
Sheets changed daily 3.52 3.29 1.35 2.42 .016
No energy efficient light bulbs 1.78 2.62 1.79 6.70 .000

Note. Adapted from Miller & Baloglu, 2011.

a.I believe that hotels should have this practice.
b.It is important for me to stay in a hotel that has this practice.

environmental practices before the guest books the room,
and then attempting to persuade hotel customers to engage
in green behaviors is not enough to attract customers.
Educational efforts that help to bolster hotel customers per-
ceptions regarding the level of responsibility of business
corporations may increase room sales and guest participa-
tion in green programs (Han et al. 2011). In short, as several
individuals wrote:
Green hotels need to advertise their greenness better; and
Hotels have poor advertising of green policies.
Researchers and hoteliers should also investigate that
different types of green participation messages may be
designed for different customer segments based on various
theories. For example, collectivist arguments could state
the importance of eco-friendly behavior for society as a
whole. Deontological-related claims could advertise that it
is ones moral responsibility to protect the environment
(Leonidou, Leonidou, and Kvasova 2010). Hoteliers can
test different messages for increased or decreased partici-
pation. Messages relating to linen and towel reuse are par-
ticularly of interest, given that guests are loath to participate
if they think the program is mostly aimed at cutting costs.
This analysis involves attribution theory (Kelley 1972), as
guests seek the embedded motivation within the initiative
(Kang et al. 2012).
Another challenge for hoteliers and researchers alike is
to address the major barrier to booking and paying more for
96 Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 55(1)

Exhibit 5:
Difference of Means for Participation at Home Compared with at a Hotel.

Practice Hotela Homeb SD t-value Significance

Switch the light off when leaving a room 5.83 6.16 1.44 3.36 .001
Reuse sheets 5.60 6.61 1.62 9.00 .000
Reuse towels 5.50 6.52 1.55 9.51 .000
Recycle cans and bottles 5.17 6.03 1.72 7.19 .000
Recycle paper 4.94 5.75 1.79 6.50 .000
Use refillable products 4.81 5.44 1.49 6.09 .000
Save water 4.74 5.56 1.52 7.72 .000
Use environmentally friendly products 4.59 5.06 1.32 5.21 .000
Use reusable bags 4.29 4.77 1.57 4.42 .000
Use biodegradable products 4.28 4.87 1.40 6.02 .000
Pick up litter 4.19 5.78 1.98 11.62 .000
Turn heat off in unoccupied rooms 3.91 4.91 2.02 7.11 .000
Turn AC off in unoccupied rooms 3.90 4.93 2.14 6.50 .000

Note. Adapted from Dolnicar & Leisch, 2008.

a.I participate while at a hotel.
b.I participate at home.

a green hotel, namely, the perception that it is inconvenient I am paying to stay at a hotel so I am going to take advantage of
to be environmentally friendly. In this regard, respondents the things I cannot do at home. Part of the reason hotels exist is
wrote: to make people feel like they are not at home and be pampered.

Other than towel and sheet reuse, there are not many green
initiatives to partake in. Hotels need to make it more user
friendly to be green;
It takes too much effort and time. I dont participate when it is
inconvenient; and
Being green is often not convenient in hotels.
These comments suggest that hotels need to make it
more user-friendly to be green, which includes having recy-
cling bins available in guest rooms and hotel common areas.
We make this suggestion because of our finding that lack of
infrastructure and amenities seem to be the greatest barrier
for guests to participate in green practices. Our respondents
made clear the importance of making it easy to be green to
increase guests participation.
Based on another of our findings, hoteliers must find a
way to offset the perception that engaging in green practices
diminishes the luxury associated with a hotel stay. We found
that the concern regarding luxury diminished the intention
to stay in a green hotel and furthermore that perceptions
regarding comfort interfered with guests willingness to pay
more for a green hotel. In this regard respondents stated:
The main reason for me going to a hotel is for the comfort and
hospitality aspect of my stay, not being green;
I dont participate in green practices because it is supposed to
be luxurious; and
Hospitality managers need to offset this perception by
finding ways to take special care of the guest while still being
environmentally responsible. One approach is to educate the
customer regarding different options available, such as fresh
towels daily, or offering individual amenities that provide the
customer with a locus of control over whether they want to
participate. Any promotional program must be handled care-
fully, as our respondents were sensitive to the idea that hotels
were greenwashing, or using the environment as a market-
ing tactic, as demonstrated in the following:
I think it that often green is used as a marketing ploy. I have
rarely seen recycling offered in hotels; and
For some hotels being green is just a marketing tooland not
actually practiced.
A classic example of the greenwashing issue occurs
when customers indicate that they will reuse their towels,
but housekeepers provide fresh towels anyway. Or there
may be separate bins for recycling, but employees combine
the recycling and trash bins.
Far from paying a premium for green rooms, some of our
respondents saw energy conservation as a cost savings for
the hotel, some of which should be passed onto them:
No discount in fees . . . if I save them money they should
reciprocate; and
No financial incentive to do so.
Baker et al. 97
In sum, we suggest that hotels educational effort must
be grounded in means-end theory (Gutman 1982), where a
customer decides to purchase a product or service (means)
to achieve the desired values (end). For example, communi-
cations of a hotels towel reuse policy should be designed to
discourage customers from changing towels daily to pre-
serve the environment by reducing the amount of detergent,
water, and pollution. Simply stating that towel reuse saves
water and detergent may be seen as a cost-cutting measure
for the hotel that has little benefit to the consumer. The chal-
lenge for hotel marketers is to determine customers envi-
ronmental involvement and to position advertising strategies
(Hu 2012).
Hotels educational effort also might address the discon-
nect between whether customers thought a hotel should
have a particular green practice, and whether it was impor-
tant for them to stay in a hotel that has such a practice.
Cognitive dissonance notwithstanding, hotels must learn
which initiatives are most important to encourage guests to
actually stay at a hotel. This research suggests that at a min-
imum it is important for hotels to continue with the sheet
and towel reuse policies, provide energy efficient lights,
and provide ways to conveniently recycle. Our findings
regarding barriers to participation may provide a road map
for hoteliers and employees to make it convenient for guests
to participate in green practices.
The disparity between guests practices at home and in
a hotel offers further potential for educational efforts and
for addressing any barriers to participation, namely, incon-
venience, concerns about loss of comfort and luxury, and
perceptions of cost cutting. In the open-ended responses,
customers most frequently noted that green resources
were not available, that it was inconvenient to participate,
or that it decreased their experience.
Future Research and Limitations
Future research could seek to clarify characteristics of dif-
ferent customer groups (business and leisure) and seek to
investigate similarities and differences in eco-friendly atti-
tudes and behaviors. Studies could also examine green hotel
customer behavior in an actual hotel setting to increase
validity. Little empirical research has looked at consumer
response to hotel environmental advertising (Hu 2012) and
researchers may investigate green practice claims described
in advertising and the emotional benefits as a result of the
advertising, or measure levels of participation. Environmental
education techniques, programs, and strategies may be used
and hospitality organizations could measure manager and
employee commitment as well as adherence to green prac-
tices. Although our tests did not find differences in demo-
graphic variables on willingness to pay and intention to stay,
future research could investigate any such differences. In
addition, future research should also seek to investigate the
different effects of eco-friendly attitudes. While this study
did not find that the level of corporate responsibility signifi-
cantly affected intention to stay or willingness to pay, strate-
gic marketing research could investigate how customer
perceptions affect other social responsibility initiatives.
Future scale refinement of the variables, particularly eco-
friendly attitudes and barriers to participation, may prove to
be beneficial for future research studies.
A substantial possible limitation for this study is social
desirability bias. Although this was an anonymous survey, it
is possible that respondents answered in a way they believed
that they should. So, they may have averred perceiving the
severity of environmental problems, the importance of
being environmentally friendly, and the need for corporate
responsibility without really believing some or all of this. A
second potential limitation involved the sample, which was
obtained through three tourism databases, as described
above. Although no statistical difference was found between
respondents of the different databases, this limitation should
be noted. Future research should seek to assess a larger
sample population to yield more generalizable findings. In
addition, this study examined only U.S. customer percep-
tions. Studies that incorporate additional locations and cul-
tures may be useful for international companies.
Conclusion
It is critical to gain a better understanding of customers
desire for and participation in green activities, which can
lead hotels to design more efficient and effective green pro-
grams. This study is one of the few that has examined
inconvenience, decreased luxury, and perceptions of cost
cutting as significantly affecting intention to stay and will-
ingness to pay more for a green hotel. The research also
delved into the disconnect between customers belief that
hotels should have certain practices, even though they
assigned relatively less importance to their staying in a
hotel with such green practices. Finally, the study found that
customers behave with greater environmental responsibility
at home than they do in a hotel. In sum, these findings open
channels for further research and for managerial practice to
address the conundrums of guests interaction with green
hotel operations.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
98 Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 55(1)
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Author Biographies
Melissa A. Baker, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department
of Hospitality and Tourism Management at University of
Massachusetts Amherst. Her research and teaching interests focus on
restaurant management, service failure, and customer complaining.
Eric A. Davis holds degrees in Hospitality and Tourism
Management and Business Management from Virginia Tech and
has published articles about consumer perception and purchase
intent. He currently works as a Financial Analyst in the entertain-
ment and advertising industry in Orlando, Florida.
Pamela A. Weaver, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus of Hospitality
and Tourism Management in the Pamplin College of Business at
Virginia Tech. Her teaching expertise is in the area of statistics and
research design at the undergraduate and graduate level.