Consumer Attitudes Towards Hotels
AN INVESTIGATION OF CONSUMER ATTITUDES TOWARDS HOTELS BECOMING SUSTAINABLE
Laura Smith BSc (Honours) Student Hotel and Tourism Management Institute Switzerland
ABSTRACT Climate change and the environment continue to be growing concerns for humankind. It is claimed that consumers are now demanding that products and services produced should be more sustainable and green in nature. Arguably, the question arises of whether or not the consumer actually considers a hotels’ transition to sustainability and/or the green practices during their decision-making process and whether this influences the final outcome. There is little research combining both the consumers behaviours and attitudes and their concern for the environment. From the secondary research conducted for this paper, it was discovered that green consumer behaviour is very complex. The demographics of a consumer have been seen to affect the decision due to different values, beliefs and concerns. Additionally, hotels that employ greener methods can be seen to improve their overall image – linking this to consumer satisfaction and positive word of mouth thus affecting the decision-making process. It is concluded that it is essential for hotels to take their overall image seriously, and nowadays being green is a part of that. Consumers’ needs are continually changing and it is crucial that research is updated regularly in order for the marketing of a hotel to be effective. Many factors can affect a consumer’s decision-making process, and the greening of hotels can be seen as a major factor, so it is vital that more research and information is conducted.
INTRODUCTION Over the years tourism has continued to grow at a remarkable rate (Sharpley, 2009) and it can be confidently foreseen that this trend will continue in the future (Harris et al, 2003). However, not everyone sees this prophecy as moral because despite becoming a booming industry, tourism has also begun to build itself a damaging
Laura Smith BSc (Honours) Student Hotel and Tourism Management Institute Switzerland
ABSTRACT Climate change and the environment continue to be growing concerns for humankind. It is claimed that consumers are now demanding that products and services produced should be more sustainable and green in nature. Arguably, the question arises of whether or not the consumer actually considers a hotels’ transition to sustainability and/or the green practices during their decision-making process and whether this influences the final outcome. There is little research combining both the consumers behaviours and attitudes and their concern for the environment. From the secondary research conducted for this paper, it was discovered that green consumer behaviour is very complex. The demographics of a consumer have been seen to affect the decision due to different values, beliefs and concerns. Additionally, hotels that employ greener methods can be seen to improve their overall image – linking this to consumer satisfaction and positive word of mouth thus affecting the decision-making process. It is concluded that it is essential for hotels to take their overall image seriously, and nowadays being green is a part of that. Consumers’ needs are continually changing and it is crucial that research is updated regularly in order for the marketing of a hotel to be effective. Many factors can affect a consumer’s decision-making process, and the greening of hotels can be seen as a major factor, so it is vital that more research and information is conducted.
INTRODUCTION Over the years tourism has continued to grow at a remarkable rate (Sharpley, 2009) and it can be confidently foreseen that this trend will continue in the future (Harris et al, 2003). However, not everyone sees this prophecy as moral because despite becoming a booming industry, tourism has also begun to build itself a damaging
References: Cater, E. and Lowman, G. (1994). Ecotourism: A Sustainable Option? West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons. Chen, J.S. Legrand, W. and Sloan, P. (2009). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry.