This paper aims to explore customers’ pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) adopted at hotels that implement green practices. A method to examine the gap between self-reported and actual PEBs is presented.
The empirical study is divided in two parts. The first one comprised a survey questionnaire administered to 136 customers who stayed in Portuguese hotels (Sample 1). The second one consisted of 495 in-room consumer PEBs observations (Sample 2). A method was developed to compare self-reported and actual PEBs, combining the answers given to the questionnaire and the observed PEBs implemented by customers during their stay. The aggregate observations of in-room consumer’s PEBs enabled the development of an index to assess the actual PEBs (ACTUALPEBI). This index was then compared with the self-reported PEB index (REPORTEDPEBI).
The majority of guests indicated adopting environmentally friendly practices while at the hotel, and 50% of REPORTEDPEBI rank similarly to ACTUALPEBI.
Understanding and measuring both actual and reported PEBs of guests offers valuable insights for hotel managers and marketers. This information can be used to target specific consumer segments with green marketing campaigns and develop educational programs that effectively encourage guest participation in hotel sustainability efforts. While the survey participants were international, the research itself was limited to hotels in Portugal. Therefore, future research should involve more participants and be conducted across different countries.
Understanding and measuring both actual and reported PEBs of guests offers valuable insights for hotel managers and marketers. This information can be used to target specific consumer segments with green marketing campaigns and develop educational programs that effectively encourage guest participation in hotel sustainability efforts.
This study proposes an alternative method for analyzing customers’ PEBs by observing actual PEBs during their stay and comparing them to self-reported PEBs, thereby reducing answer biases.
