Han Et Al 2011

International Journal of Hospitality Management 30 (2011) 345–355

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International Journal of Hospitality Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman

Are lodging customers ready to go green? An examination of attitudes, demographics, and eco-friendly intentions
Heesup Han a,∗ , Li-Tzang Jane Hsu b,1 , Jin-Soo Lee c,2 , Chwen Sheu d,3 a Department of Tourism Management, College of Business Administration at Dong-A University, Bumin-dong 2-ga, Seo-gu, Busan 602-760, Republic of Korea
College of Business Administration at Kansas State University, 2E Calvin Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506-1404, USA
School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong d College of Business Administration at Kansas State University, 19D Calvin Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506-1404, USA b c

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Keywords:
Green hotel
Eco-friendly attitudes
Personal characteristics
Eco-friendly intentions

a b s t r a c t
This study attempted to answer the following research questions: (1) Do eco-friendly attitudes affect hotel customers’ environmentally friendly intentions to visit a green hotel, to spread word-of-mouth about a green hotel, and to pay more for a green hotel?; (2) If so, which facet of attitudes has the greatest impact?;
(3) How do their expressed intentions differ across gender, age, education, and household income?; (4)
How do such expressed intentions differ based on the existence of previous experience staying at a green hotel? A total of 422 cases were used to answer the research questions. Findings indicate that customers’ green attitudes are, in general, significantly associated with their expressed intentions to visit a green hotel, to spread word-of-mouth about a green hotel, and to pay more for it. Gender differences in such intentions were found, and the intentions were affected by their previous experiences with a green hotel.
However, the eco-friendly

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