Critical success factors of green hotel investment in Taiwan

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to address research gaps by constructing critical success factors (CSFs) in the context of green hotel investment in Taiwan. It contributes to the domain knowledge to cultivate Taiwan’s green hotel development in the future. Design/methodology/approach The authors secured 20 prominent green hotel management/owners/architects as crucial informants. The first stage used the Delphi method to collect expert opinions (i.e. CSFs) and the second stage applied the analytic hierarchy process to analyze the importance of CSFs. Findings The results show that the “financial investment benefits” is considered the most crucial success factor for the green hotel investment. However, to balance long-term economic development with environmental impact, green hotel investors should consider other aspects of the research to sustain future financial performance returns. Research limitations/implications Further studies should consider regional characteristics to accommodate geographic/social differences and hotel types to explore possible CSFs for the green hotel investment. The authors suggest including panel experts from government officials and prominent scholars to represent a broader but different view on subject matters. They also offer implications for investors’ governmental policies, hotelier cognition and customer-related aspects in green hotel investment. Originality/value This study built a hierarchical framework based on the CSF concept by evaluating priority differences between hotel management and hotel owners/architects. Such findings help investors’ effective decision-making through considering factors’ relative importance for green hotel investments.