Green Stays: Understanding Consumer Attitudes Towards Sustainable Hotels

Abstract

The hospitality industry is experiencing a profound transformation amid rising environmental consciousness and the global push for sustainable practices. Understanding consumers' perceptions of eco-friendly accommodations, particularly in emerging markets like India, is critical in this evolving landscape. This study addresses this need by exploring the motivations, perceived risks, and attitudinal dynamics influencing consumers' willingness to book luxury green hotels. This research offers a culturally grounded analysis, set in the context of Delhi NCR (Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida), where sustainability adoption behaviors may differ significantly from those in Western markets. Luxury and sustainability are often seen as contradictory domains: luxury is traditionally associated with indulgence and excess, while sustainability emphasizes restraint and responsibility. This tension makes it essential to investigate how consumers reconcile these values when choosing green accommodations.  Unlike previous studies, this research uniquely examines the mediating role of consumer attitude between perceived risks and booking intentions in the context of luxury green hotels. A structured questionnaire using a seven-point Likert scale was administered to a random sample of 396 respondents, following the removal of incomplete responses. The survey included 30 items addressing various risk perceptions, environmental and luxury beliefs, consumer attitudes, and booking willingness. SmartPLS 4.0 was employed for both measurement and structural model assessment. Bootstrapping with 5000 subsamples and a 95% confidence interval was conducted, adhering to the guidelines of Hair et al. (2013), Chin (2010), and Ramayah et al. (2018). The findings reveal that consumers are willing to bear multiple perceived risks to maintain a positive self-image and align with their environmental values, thereby fostering a favourable attitude toward luxury green hotels.