“Please Reuse Your Towels” - Guest Insights of Green Practices in the Hotel Industry

In recent years, tourism has experienced continued expansion and diversification to become one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, occupying a prominent role in the European economy. However, the growth of the tourism sector goes hand in hand with its increasing environmental impact. It is, therefore, necessary to find a balance between the tourism sector and its environmental dimension, to increase both the profitability of tourism and the quality of the ecosystem. Over the years, more and more hotels are integrating sustainability practices in the management of their operations. Academic literature shows that hotels go green for many reasons: financial savings, access to public funding, employee commitment, facing public scrutiny, investor relations, and general social good. However, one of the main reasons for hotels to go green is to respond to consumers’ growing green consciousness. Indeed, consumers are increasingly looking for environment-friendly lodging options, but they are also feeling uninformed about whether hotels are truly eco-friendly. Because of consumers’ concern toward environmental sustainability, the hospitality industry is also developing voluntary-based tools to reduce its environmental impacts and to satisfy the increasing market segment of green customers. In this context, third-party certified ecolabels ensure hotel compliance with specific environmental performance criteria and offer reliable communication to their guests. So, understanding how consumers perceive and evaluate the environmental quality and eco-friendly practices in hotels helps to plan and define win-win strategies for tourism sustainable management. Starting with the analysis of literature, we propose a conceptual framework to investigate whether green practices implemented by the Italian “Legambiente Turismo” certified hotels contribute significantly to the formation of guest positive behavioral intention toward green hotels. Even if little research has been conducted on this topic, understanding the role of hotels' environmental practices is pivotal in the hotel decision-making process and strategy. To clarify this point, a survey was conducted with guests of two Italian hotels awarded with the ecolabel, and 335 questionnaires were usable and employed in the analysis, adopting Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses. Research findings are valuable for both hotel managers and decision-makers, clarifying the role of environmental communication and guest environmental concern in the guest recognition of hotels' environmental efforts. The study also confirms the relationship between the implementation of green practices and the rise of market awareness and loyalty towards green hotels.