Are consumers influenced by the use of green practices in five-star hotels: an assessment of guest's revisit intentions, inclusive ratings and hotel performance

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to find out the influence of green practices used by the five-star hotels on the guest’s online hotel assessment and their revisit intentions. It also evaluated how the use of green practices by the hotels influenced the guest’s willingness to pay a premium price. Apart from the conventional hotel service attributes, this study also identified some new and innovative services offered by the hotels which have an overall effect on the guest’s revisit intentions. Design/methodology/approach This study applied focus group interviews from 12 hotel managers and accessed the hotel’s internal database to identify the latest and innovative service attributes offered by the hotels. The information regarding the green practices offered by the hotels was collected through TripAdvisor and LEED-IGBC website. It identified 10 independent and four dependent variables based on previous literature. Guest’s revisit intentions were measured on a five-point Likert scale. Data was analysed using a multi-step hierarchical regression model. Findings The use of green practices by the hotels revealed a positive and significant influence on the guest’s revisit-intentions and their intention to pay a premium price. It was also found that the use of new and innovative green practices has a positive influence on the guest’s overall online evaluation of the hotel. Practical implications This study suggests that the amalgamation of green practices along with the conventional service attributes may help in the incremental revisit and online hotel assessment intentions, which might be of use for the managers and hotel policymakers. Originality/value Although previous studies have explored the conventional hotel service attributes in the context of Indian Hotel industry, this is one of the first studies which discussed the influence of recent and emerging hotel service attributes on the guest’s revisit and pay a premium price intention. Moreover, the influence of green practices on the guest’s overall online evaluation of the five-star hotels in Delhi was discussed in this study which was not performed before.