Search Results (14)

As sustainability becomes an essential approach in the USA hospitality sector, green certifications like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) are increasingly adopted by hotel developers. However, the extent to which different LEED certification levels influence guest satisfaction remains unclear. This study investigates how the LEED certification level interacts with the relationship between a hotel’s sustainability performance and guest satisfaction in the United States. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining Random Forest Regression and the Process macro on a dataset of LEED-certified USA hotels with normalized guest satisfaction scores. The Random Forest model identified Energy and Atmosphere (EA) and Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) as the most influential LEED categories in predicting satisfaction. Additionally, the results reveal that the positive effect of sustainability on satisfaction is strongest at the lower LEED levels (Certified and Silver), but shows diminishing returns at higher levels (Gold and Platinum), suggesting that an increased sustainability performance does not uniformly improve guest experience. These findings support all three hypotheses and offer practical insights for hotel developers, operators, and certification bodies seeking to align sustainability strategies with guest expectations. Full article

Hotel certifications have become increasingly vital in promoting sustainability within the hospitality industry, providing frameworks that guide hotels toward reducing their environmental footprint, enhancing operational efficiency, and gaining a competitive edge in the marketplace. This review explores the development, types, and impact of hotel certifications, with a focus on prominent schemes, such as LEED, Green Key, and EarthCheck. Through an analysis of case studies from globally recognized hotels, we highlight how certifications contribute to significant reductions in energy and water use, improved waste management, and enhanced biodiversity protection, while also delivering economic benefits through cost savings and increased guest loyalty. Our paper also examines consumer perceptions of certifications and their willingness to pay (WTP) for certified hotels. The findings suggest that eco-conscious travelers, particularly younger generations, are willing to pay a premium for hotels that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability; however, consumer awareness of certification schemes remains limited. The barriers to adopting certifications, such as high initial costs, resource limitations, and management resistance, are also discussed, along with the challenges posed by greenwashing and the proliferation of certification schemes. Looking to the future, this review identifies key trends that will shape the evolution of hotel certifications, including increased transparency, the integration of smart technologies, the expanding role of social responsibility, and their alignment with global sustainability goals, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hotel certifications are not only crucial for environmental sustainability, but also serve as a powerful tool for enhancing the economic viability of hotels in an increasingly competitive and sustainability-driven market. Full article

Ecotourism represents a modern form of tourism that accepts the principles of sustainable development and the adequacy of the conditions of tourist destinations. The environmental awareness of all parties participating in tourism, objects, and subjects of tourism determines the development of ecotourism. Ecohotels, or “green hotels”, as an integral part of ecotourism, represent tourist accommodation facilities that have the “The Flower” certificate, their business activities minimize the impact on environmental quality. The management of ecohotels therefore implements programs and measures determining sustainable competitiveness at the local, regional, and supra-regional levels in the business in interaction with reducing the carbon footprint, water consumption, energy consumption, and waste production. They also support the use of recyclable materials and bio-products and the introduction of environmental management respecting the principles of green management in all areas of the tourism business. The competitiveness of ecohotels is in interaction with the willingness of tourists to use their pro-environmental services. The presented study is focused on the willingness of tourists to use the services of ecohotels, with an emphasis on identifying an effective strategy for supporting the development of ecotourism in the Slovak Republic. The study concentrates on the willingness of tourists to use ecohotels as part of their tourist activities based on a questionnaire survey. The study identifies the factors of strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats of the use of ecohotels by tourists in supporting the development of ecotourism. Through the exact quantification of the weights of individual factors in terms of Saaty’s matrix and a SWOT analysis, an effective strategy for the use of ecohotels in supporting the development of ecotourism is defined. In recent years, the stimulation and use of tourists’ interest in environmental quality, with an emphasis on reducing negative impacts on the environment, has resonated; thus, a model of effective marketing strategy is presented. Full article

Target groups within an organization adopt its culture, reflecting it in all internal and external business processes. Adopting a green organizational culture in hotels with sustainability certificates plays an important role in reshaping business processes by developing sustainability awareness among employees. Digital transformation, which facilitates corporate culture and business processes, plays a role in employee job satisfaction while also supporting environmental, social, and economic sustainability. This research aims to determine the relationship between green organizational culture, job satisfaction, and competitive advantage variables and to examine the moderating role of digital transformation on these relationships. The data-collecting techniques of choice were surveys and semi-structured interviews. While Amos software (Version 24) was used to test the hypothetical model in the analysis of survey data, a Hayes Process macro was used to determine the moderating effect. The interview forms’ data was analyzed using a bag-of-words model. According to the research results, there is a positive relationship between the participation, consistency, and adaptability sub-dimensions of green organizational culture and job satisfaction, while there is no significant relationship between the mission sub-dimension and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the study reveals the moderating role of digital transformation in the effect of job satisfaction on competitive advantage. Full article

The aim of this study was mainly to analyze the operating efficiency of Green Hotels during the epidemic, and to explore whether hotels that pay more attention to green energy and saving energy would be more economically efficient. The object of this study is the top 20 Green Hotels voted on the European Union Internet Forum from 2018 to 2022. According to the empirical results, all Green Hotels were affected by COVID-19, and their operating efficiency became worse. This study further used Tobit regression to find out the factors that affect the operating efficiency, and performs regression analysis on the efficiency values of the green energy environment variables. The findings showed that the green energy equipment of EU-certified Green Hotels had a negative effect on the operating efficiency, with a coefficient value of −0.362, indicating that the investment in green energy equipment cannot be achieved in a short period of time. In addition, the education level of managers and hotel green energy licenses have positive effects on the operating efficiency of Green Hotels. In particular, when the Green Hotel licenses are the most important, they have the highest coefficient value of the efficiency of Green Hotels at 0.484. This means that the higher the education level of Green Hotel managers and the higher the level of the Green Hotel license, the higher the operating efficiency. These findings suggest that Green Hotel management should pay attention to its green certificate level and the education knowledge of managers, so as to achieve sustainable energy saving and to improve operating efficiency. Full article

Customers are becoming more concerned about the use of green practices in the hotel industry. Managers are therefore starting to recognise the significance of green practices for clients’ purchasing decisions and levels of satisfaction. This study aims to investigate how customers’ decisions to book green hotels online and make purchases are impacted by green certificates. Two variables, namely the intentions to return and to pay a premium price, are used to measure customer satisfaction and purchasing behaviour towards green hotels. SmartPLS has been employed to analyse data gathered from 161 individuals from two hotels in Saudi Arabia. The results suggest that green certifications, environmental considerations, and green brand perception have a significant impact on online customers’ satisfaction and purchase choices in the hotel sector. This paper provides a comprehensive framework that illustrates the connection between hotels’ aspirations towards environmental concerns and customers’ willingness to revisit and pay a premium price. Full article

The goal of this study is to investigate the influence relationship between AMO applied green HRM and employees’ green OCB. This study also attempted to verify the relationship between employees’ green OCB and green performance management. Specifically, we tried to define the effects of green awareness and green psychological climate on green HRM and green OCB. Moreover, we examined the mediating effect of green CSR perception on the relationship between green OCB and green performance management. To do so, we surveyed Rooms and F&B employees from nine global chain hotels in South Korea that actively contribute to a green package. An “actively contributing hotel” is one that has leadership in energy and environmental design certification. Further, employees of such hotels consider them proenvironmental hotels. For data analysis, we carried out SEM and factor analysis using SPSS 18.0 and Amos 20.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). All hypotheses were adopted as having significantly positive (+) effects. Hypotheses 4, 7, and 11 predicted partial mediating effects. The findings of the study have significant theoretical and practical ramifications for corporate environmental strategic performance management. Specifically, this study identified the relationship between the mediation variables on green OCB and green PM, as demonstrated in previous studies. Additionally, these results provide an effective employee management strategy for the green HRM of green hotels by providing concrete data. First, green hotels need to raise employees’ green awareness and green psychological climate to increase their green OCB. Second, employees themselves ultimately have to enhance the green CSR perception to raise green PM. Full article

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was approved in 2015 by the United Nations. It is a call of action to protect our planet, end poverty and improve the lives and prospects of all. Sustainable development has been fundamental in the tourism and construction sectors in the past few decades. Nowadays, developing countries are leaders in green engineering procedures, and progressively, hotels are including sustainable standards in their designs, architecture and management. In places where tourism is the main contributor to the Gross Domestic Product, the incorporation of energy certifications is crucial. In this context, this article explores the positive implications of the application of the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) on hotels in relation to the achievement of SDGs. The study analyses the influence of BREEAM on hotel design using six case studies and examines the sustainable modifications incorporated. Qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews and by the analysis of the documentation provided. The results revealed that a BREEAM approach in the initial stage of a project will optimize the sustainability of the hotel and can help with the achievement of several of the SDGs. Full article

Sustainable development is in many ways the fundamental basis of tourism. The importance and role of sustainable tourism development in the 21st century is at the center of this paper on eco-certificates and green procurement in the hotel industry, within the field of the responsible or green economy. The green hotel economy implies the selection of accommodation in environmentally responsible hotels and other facilities, which are directing their business operations towards green procurement, eco-labeling, and the responsible economy. This paper includes quantitative research of the attitudes of 506 international tourists, who expressed their views on their needs regarding eco-hotels and the green economy in the hotel industry. This research also included the collection of data on green (responsible) businesses by surveying 100 hotels situated in the capitals of southern Europe. Comparing results from hotels with the needs of tourists in terms of the green economy in the hotel industry, significant results were obtained that contribute to sustainable tourism development. Full article

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that discouraged Taiwan hoteliers from applying for green hotel certification. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to perform a weighted analysis that comprehensively identified important hindering factors based on information from hotel industry, government, academic, and consumer representatives. Overall, in order of importance, the five dimensions of hindering factors identified by these experts and scholars were hotel internal environment, consumers’ environmental protection awareness, environmental protection incentive policy, hotel laws and regulations policy, and hotel external environment. Among the 26 examined hindering factor indices, the three highest-weighted indices overall for hoteliers applying for green hotel certification were as follows: environmental protection is not the main consideration of consumers seeking accommodations, lack of support by investment owners (shareholders), and lack of relevant subsidy incentives. The major contribution of this study is that hoteliers can understand important hindering factors associated with applying for green hotel certification; therefore, strategies that can encourage or enhance the green certification of hotels can be proposed to improve corporate image in the hotel industry, implement social responsibility in this industry, and obtain consumers’ approval of and accommodation-willingness for green hotels. Full article

Sustainability has long been a buzzword and is also currently one of the major priorities of tourism all over the world. In many places, hotels function as a driving force for socio-economic development, serving as employers for the local population, but also providing space for meetings, conferences, private/family events, and ceremonies. Unfortunately, the hotel industry is also considered an industry characterized by the consumption of considerable amounts of resources. These include mainly energy and water consumption, but also waste production. Emphasis is placed on the role of the communication between the various players involved in the operation of hotels. The article deals with applying elements of green management in a selected hotel in Czechia. It analyses the implementation of green management elements and principles of sustainable development in accommodation services. The primary data were conducted from April 2017 to March 2018 and we used structured and semi-structured interviews with the TOP management of the hotel and by author observation. We used the methods of scientific work, i.e., the analysis, mathematical, and statistical methods. As part of economic and social activities, cooperation with suppliers in the close surroundings of the hotel and the selection of local employees work well. Room for improvement has been observed, e.g., in supporting local infrastructure or promoting environmentally friendly types of transport. Full article

A growing hotel sector makes a significant environmental footprint. Due to a contemporary focus on climate change and high competition within tourism, enhancing sustainability through energy savings is a priority for many hotels. Through technological innovations, Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology provides the opportunity to integrate more systems (e.g., heating, air-conditioning, window-openings) on a platform (also known as smart management), making it easy for a hotel guest to operate room conditions through a single device while also optimizing hotel operations. A research gap on the likelihood of adopting IoT technology to pursue sustainability in the hotel sector exists. Based on explorative case studies of five high-end hotels, this paper offers propositions on drivers for hotels’ use of IoT to deliver on their sustainability goals. This study suggests that a hotel is more inclined to implement IoT if (1) the hotel is focused on energy savings, e.g., due to green certificates; (2) it belongs to an international hotel group; (3) decision makers perceive sustainability to be important for their customers; (4) the target group is more B2B (business) than B2C (leisure); (5) the hotel a five star one; and (6) the hotel guests come from Northern Europe or North America. Full article

The purpose of this work is to develop a sustainable hotel building model (SHBM) that will allow for the measurement of sustainability in determining what conditions are most ideal for hotels in Northern Cyprus. This research method is based on the synthesis of international sustainable building assessment criteria from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and the localization of these criteria in Northern Cyprus. Thus, this article proposes an SHBM, which is especially localized for Northern Cyprus that can be used for new hotel buildings’ design and construction and renovations of existing buildings as well as to measure their sustainability regarding environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects. To serve this purpose, various methods of measurement of sustainability and green certificates (both qualitative and quantitative), global in scale were studied, which provided the basis for the development of the SHBM and local conditions of Northern Cyprus. Six hotels of differing sizes were studied in order to understand localized situation, conditions and priorities. The results of this study suggest that to have a more sustainable hotel in the aimed context, hotels of different scales (based on bed capacity and classification) must be evaluated adopting the SHBM model to achieve a better result for the sustainability of large-scale as well as small-scale hotels. In addition, this model helps the tourism industry and the hotel sector of Northern Cyprus benefit from sustainability in terms of environmental, economic and sociocultural aspects, which consequently help the local community in several ways. Full article

This paper examines small hotels that have some type of environmental certification. A survey of 210 small (less than 50 employees) Catalonian hotels was conducted to investigate whether there are significant differences in the results of the implementation practices between hotels that adopt these certifications due to environmental pressure (from the government, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders) and hotels that voluntarily commit to green policies. Significant differences were identified in the results on the hotels when structural equation modelling (SEM) was undertaken. This investigation suggests that hotels that voluntarily commit to green policies obtain better results than other hotels. The conclusion is that governments must not only regulate, but also promote awareness actions in small and medium-sized (SME) tourism companies to improve the environment. SME tourism companies must understand that both the environment and they themselves will benefit. Full article