Literature Review
Pro-Environmental Behavior Promotion at Hotels
Fostering environmentally friendly practices among urban tourists in hotel settings is becoming increasingly crucial in changing environments. Researchers have worked for at least two decades to determine which factors influence people’s eco-friendly behavior in traveling destinations worldwide (Lin et al., 2022; Loureiro et al., 2022). Much of the research focuses on rural and park tourism, requiring more profound and detailed studies on urban hotel settings (Qin & Hsu, 2022). Nevertheless, hotel management can adopt many existing findings to help promote pro-environmental behavior (PEB) among urban guests.
Modern hotel businesses require careful evaluation of tourist behavior predictors for managers to develop and implement environmentally friendly hotel practices adequately. Today, there is little conclusive evidence of the connections between tourists’ green mindfulness and their past behavior (e.g., energy-saving, recycling), specifically in the hotel context (Hevar & Aslihan, 2022; Kim et al., 2021; Palani & Karatas, 2021). The existing studies mostly agree that prior green attitudes, practices, and experiences at home and work influence primarily habitual behavior rather than PEB in hotel settings (Kim et al., 2021; Wang, Wang et al., 2023). Such findings indicate that different variables in different contexts mediate past PEB and green habits (Budovska et al., 2020). Linking these variables to specific attitudes and behaviors often requires complex multidimensional mixed-method analysis models.
Pro-Environmental Behavior at Home vs. on Vacation
A significant amount of research suggests that people’s behavior in travel destinations is different from home environments. This is often attributed mainly to suspending responsibility and mindfulness, especially among leisure travelers (Miao & Wei, 2013). There is strong empirical evidence that people’s PEB at home is not a reliable predicting factor in evaluating their actual hotel PEB (Miao & Wei, 2013; Georgescu & Herman, 2020). For example, water-saving behavior predicting factors are unclear since different studies show conflicting results, suggesting the influence of external factors, such as cost-benefit relation (Bilynets & Cvelbar, 2022). This data indicates that there is not necessarily a clear, direct link between home and hotel pro-environmental attitudes.
However, there is also clear empirical evidence that some PEB occurs more often at home than in hotels. Those behaviors include, for example, recycling plastic bottles, reusing towels, saving electricity, and avoiding buying bottled water (Bilynets & Cvelbar, 2022). A study by Miller et al. (2015) revealed a noticeable drop in urban tourists’ PEDs in hotels compared to home settings. The difference was most significant in attitudes toward saving electricity (9% drop), water (5% drop), and paper and plastic recycling (16% drop) (Miller et al., 2015, p. 12).
Other research also emphasizes the influence of past behavior on urban guests’ actual PEB in hotels (Wang et al., 2021). This data contradicts similarly credible evidence, hinting at the possibility of context dependence. This inconclusiveness has been hindering pro-environmental progress in urban hotels and other tourism settings for a long time, requiring further research and analysis in different contexts.
Debate of Attitude-Behavior Gap
This apparent inconsistency aligns with the known issue of the Attitude-Behavior Gap. The gap, meaning inconsistency between tourists’ PEB attitudes, has been challenging in predicting tourists’ actual PEB in hotel settings for a long time (Liu et al., 2020). Evidence suggests that cost-benefit is often the most influential factor in triggering this inconsistent behavior (Yamoah & Acquaye, 2019).
However, there is evidence that people with high levels of consistent daily domestic green behavior are less prone to experiencing the Attitude-Behavior Gap, suggesting a strong connection between green attitudes in the home and hotel contexts (Liu et al., 2020; Xu et al., 2020). Therefore, more research is needed to establish specific relations between home and hotel pro-environmental attitudes.
This issue is further complicated by a significant body of evidence suggesting the opposite. Many prior studies repeatedly demonstrate a direct influence of home green habits on choosing green destinations and environmental proactiveness in hotels (Dharmesti et al., 2020). Many studies indicate a correlation between urban tourists’ behavior at home, such as water saving and towel reuse, and their respective green attitudes in hotels, regardless of other external factors (Han & Hyun, 2018; Li et al., 2022).
Influence of Moral Norms and Mindfullness on Guests’ Green Attitudes
Moreover, many researchers argue that at least some of the guests’ green attitudes are influenced primarily by subjective moral norm factors and individual mindfulness rather than any social norms or hotel attributes (Agag, 2019; Han & Hyun, 2018; Wang et al., 2023; Xu et al., 2021). Some evidence suggests the decisive role of tourists’ green mindfulness, or willingness to sacrifice for the environment, in their choices of environmentally friendly hotels and exercising environmental proactiveness (Rahman & Reynolds, 2016; Errmann et al., 2021). The evidence generally confirms the predictive role of environmental mindfulness in hotel PEB.
However, there is some evidence suggesting the opposite. Mainly, aware/not proactive and not aware/proactive combinations were detected, indicating that awareness and responsibility are not always correlated (Gabarda-Mallorquí & al., 2018). Moreover, empirical evidence specifically for urban hotel contexts suggests that affective triggers, such as moral obligations, have a much stronger influence on guests’ green attitudes than cognitive factors (Kim & Kim, 2018; Wang et al., 2020; Saleem, 2021).
More recent studies suggest that active green mindfulness, mainly environmental concern, and environmental value, are much stronger predictors of tourists’ high-effort PEB than environmental awareness (Li & Wu, 2020). However, some authors argue that this evidence is inconclusive (Li & Wu, 2020). Altogether, these results emphasize the need for further research, including assessing the influence of internal and external factors, such as individual moral norms, induced norms, and environmental awareness, on actual hotel PEB.
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is proposed to survey the visitors of the chosen urban hotel. The questionnaire was adapted from Dharmesti et al. (2020). Each item requires an answer using a 5-point Likert scale, with numbers 1 to 5 corresponding to “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (5). A “not applicable” option is also included in the questionnaire.
Home Green Habit
Recycling:
- I recycle paper products.
- I recycle plastic and glass.
Energy:
- I use energy-efficient lighting.
- I switch off the lights which are not being used.
- I use air conditioners moderately rather than to extreme temperatures.
Water:
- I save water when showering.
- I use water wisely in my house.
Actual PEB in a Hotel
Recycling:
- Where possible, I carefully sort my waste into either recycling or rubbish in the hotel.
- I support recycling behavior during my stay in the hotel.
Energy:
- At the hotel, I switch off the lights that are not in use.
- I use air conditioners in my hotel room moderately rather than at extreme temperatures.
Water:
- I use water wisely during my stay at the hotel.
- I save water when showering in the hotel.
- I follow the signs about reusing bed linen and towels in the hotel.
Mindfulness
General Mindfulness:
- When staying at a hotel, I like to feel involved in what is happening around me.
- When staying at a hotel, I like to feel in control of what is happening around me.
Green Mindfulness:
- For getting my linen changed, I reflect on the environment.
- For getting my towels changed, I reflect on the environment.
- When showering in the hotel, I carefully consider the environment.
- When leaving the hotel room, I avoid turning off the power.
- When throwing out my rubbish, I know where to put it.
Environmental Concern:
- I am concerned about the amount of ecological destruction.
- I am worried about environmental pollution.
References
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Bilynets, I., and Cvelbar, L. K. (2022) ‘Tourist pro-environmental behaviour: The role of environmental image of destination and daily behaviour’, Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 3(2). Web.
Budovska, V., Torres Delgado, A., & Øgaard, T. (2020). Pro-environmental behaviour of hotel guests: Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and social norms to towel reuse, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 20(1), 105-116. Web.
Dharmesti, M., Merrilees, B., & Winata, L. (2020). “I’m mindfully green”: Examining the determinants of guest pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) in hotels, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 29(7), 830-847. Web.
Errmann, A., Kim, J., Lee, D. C., Seo, Y., Lee, J., & Kim, S. S. (2021). Mindfulness and pro-environmental hotel preference. Annals of Tourism Research, 90, 1-14. Web.
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