Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 22 (2015) 261265

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jretconser

From sustainability to customer loyalty: A case of full service

hotels guests
Rachel J.C. Chen 1
Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management, The University of Tennessee, 246 Jessie Harris Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-1911, USA

art ic l e i nf o

a b s t r a c t

Available online 2 September 2014

More hotels adopt ecofriendly practices and implement innovative technologies to reduce carbon
footprints and increase a viable green image. Many hotel guests value hotels that offer up-to-date
technology and demonstrate sustainability efforts through various sustainable programs. Previous
studies investigated how ecofriendly practices would induce higher customer loyalty and increase the
image of a hotel brand in the past decade and reported the benets of implementing green efforts in
hotels. This study, which included distributing surveys to over 1200 existing hotel guests in 20132014
in the southeastern United States, examined how technologies, innovations, and sustainable-effortrelated factors have an impact on customer perceptions, selection decisions, experience, and postexperience.
Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords:
Ecofriendly practices
Innovation
Customer experiences

1. Introduction
The importance of sustaining a healthy environment has drawn
signicant attention over the past decades (Anderson and
Cunningham, 1972; Gustin and Weaver, 1996; McCarty and
Shrum, 1994), while consumers are in favor of companies that
practice environmental sustainability and seeking ecofriendly
services and products (Mendleson and Polonsky, 1995). In the
lodging industry, International Hotels Environmental Initiatives
(IHEI) featured one of earliest ecological efforts and green movements, which included reducing environmental harm (such as
reducing energy and utilizing water consumption and emission
controls, etc.) (Back, 2005; Baker et al., 2007; Bohdanowicz, 2005;
Bulter, 2008).
Those environmental efforts and green movements have
enhanced the images of many hotels and reduced certain degrees
of their operational costs (Chan, 2005; Dief and Font, 2010). The
denition of green is interchangeable with ecofriendly, environmentally responsible, or environment friendly (e.g., Easterling
et al., 1996).
Previous studies reported that an overall image of a company
might have an impact on consumer buying behaviors (Homburg and
Giering, 2001; Han and Back, 2008; Hillery et al., 2001). More hotels
have paid attention to their own green image and are interested in
investigating how the overall image of a green hotel may form a hotel
guest's behavioral intentions, while more hotels utilize environment

friendly practices as an effective strategy to obtain greater competitiveness in the lodging industry (Hotelier, 2005).
Additionally, it is vital to learn how consumer demographic
characteristics (e.g., gender, age, and education) have an impact on
perceptions and experiences toward a green hotel image and
settings (Han et al., 2009; Hotel Online, 2002). This study aimed
to investigate how gender and age would have an impact on visit
intention and recognition of green images of hotel brands.

2. Literature reviews
2.1. Behavioral intentions
Factors that increase customer retention rate and behavioral
intention have been well recognized in the hospitality and service
business (Lam and Hsu, 2006; Lee and Back, 2007). Previous
studies in academics and practitioners have noted correlations
between customer behavioral intentions and predictors of actual
behaviors (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Behavioral intentions have been
referred to as a customer's willingness to pay certain ranges of
prices for the services/products, leave positive remarks (engaging
positive word of mouth) about the company/products/services,
and repurchase/revisit the products/services (Han et al., 2009;
Zeithaml et al., 1996).
2.2. Overall image

E-mail address: rchen@utk.edu

Tel.: 1865 974 0505; fax: 1865 974 5236.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2014.08.007
0969-6989/Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Many studies across disciplines have documented how the

overall image of a company, products, or services could have an

262

R.J.C. Chen / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 22 (2015) 261265

impact on customer buying behaviors (e.g., Easterling et al., 1996;

Han and Back, 2008). The denition of an overall image has been
listed as a combination of impressions, thoughts, and beliefs,
which sum up consumer perceptions toward company/product/
service attributes (Han et al., 2009).
In their study, hotel guest perceptions and experiences toward
a green hotel's image are based on how they processed information and the existing hotel's attributes and amenities. Several
researchers also have reported how psychological and/or representation of companies products/services formed an image in the
customers mind regardless the reality (Zeithaml et al., 1996).
Overall, studies concluded there is a positive relationship between
an overall image and customers behavioral intentions. Moreover,
an overall image of service industries such as retail stores (Chen,
2013), hospitality, and/or tourism (Chen et al., 2003) affect the
customer's decision-making process.
2.3. Attitude toward green behaviors
Because of increasing awareness of protecting the environment
and the seriousness of ecological issues (Chen, 2011), many
individuals and communities have paid attention to the importance of changing lifestyles and engagement of ecofriendly behaviors (Laroche et al., 2001). Researchers studied the relationship
between perceived importance of the environment and individual
attitudes toward environmentally compatible behaviors (Mandese,
1991).
Previous studies reported that when consumers are conscious
toward the importance of environmental issues, the level of
responsibility of corporations and purchasing ecofriendly products
is higher (Laroche et al., 2001). Manaktola and Jauhari (2007)
conrmed that, in the lodging industry, customers with higher
ecological concerns intend to make more ecofriendly purchasing
decisions. On the other hand, when companies realized how their
environmental efforts would attract more customer purchases
toward green products or services, customer favorable behaviors
would increase the intention of a company's desires to enhance its
total green images.
2.4. Gender
Based on the social role theory, females and males play
different roles in society and are socialized in different ways,
while evolutionary psychology elucidates the gender dissimilar
issues due to different tness interests (Han et al., 2009). Many
previous studies have concluded the differences between female
and male consumption behaviors (Homburg and Giering, 2001;
Laroche et al., 2001). Previous ndings concluded that females
seemed to be affected by personal interaction and interpersonal
relationships, while males were more likely affected by the design
of the shopping facilities and effectiveness of the purchasing
process (Chen, 2013).
Additionally, previous studies reported that females and males
were different in attitudes (Han et al., 2009), concerns about the
welfare of others (Mendleson and Polonsky, 1995), willingness to
lean toward purchasing green products (Laroche et al., 2001), and
purchase decisions toward environment friendly products
(Laroche et al., 2001; Lam and Hsu, 2006; Radwan et al., 2010).
2.5. Age
Studies regarding how age, as a vital determinant of purchase
decision-making behaviors, has attracted considerable attention.
Mixed ndings reported younger generations are likely to adopt
innovative products and use technology for faster communications, while older individuals are more likely to be conservative

and skeptical when processing new information or interacting

with a new provider (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Numerous studies
have identied, while making an ecofriendly purchasing decision,
that age exhibits an important role, and many studies reported
older and younger individuals demonstrate different tendencies
(Han et al., 2009).
2.6. Trends in lodging
According to the AH&LA History (2014), nearly 94% of hotels in
the United States offer high-speed wireless Internet access, while
44% of hotels in the United States have become and are becoming
LEED certied. Forty percent of customers considered ecofriendliness as an important element while making a travel plans. Because
of the increasing percentage of recognizing ecofriendliness while
making a reservation decision, more lodging industry are nding a
balance between effective operations, green initiatives, and
exceeding customer satisfaction (Zellman, 2011).
Hotel customers recognized the added value of technological
innovations, while the lodging industry is debating whether more
technologically advanced amenities, such as automated self-checkin and check-out, would decrease face-to-face interaction with
customers (ONeill, 2012). While wireless Internet and mobile apps
have an impact on an individual's daily routines, hotel companies
utilize advanced IT employees to keep up with a customer's
increasing technological demands. During the process of reserving
a hotel room prior to a trip, many customers value the importance
of loyalty programs, customer service, and location convenience.
In North America, there are more than 120 LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environment Design) certied hotels in operation.
Those LEED certied hotels are recognized because of their efforts
in conserving energy and water, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, and lowering operation costs (RUES Hotel Selection, 2014).
The rst LEED certied hotel was awarded to the University of
Maryland College Inn and Conference Center in 2005. Marriott
hotels reduced energy consumption by 5% per available room
(Marriott, 2014).
Recently, more hotels adopt ecofriendly practices and implement innovative technologies to reduce carbon footprints and
increase a viable green image. Many hotel guests value hotels that
offer up-to-date technology and demonstrate sustainability efforts
through various sustainable programs. Previous studies investigated how ecofriendly practices would induce higher customer
loyalty and increase the image of a hotel brand in the past decade
and reported the benets of implementing green efforts in hotels.
This study, which included distributing surveys to over 1200
existing hotel guests in 20132014 in the southeastern United
States, examined how technologies, innovations, and sustainableeffort-related factors have an impact on customer perceptions,
selection decisions, experience, and post-experience.

3. Method
3.1. Data collection and sample prole
This study investigates how eco-innovations, technology, and
quality of services have an impact on hotel guest lodging preferences and loyalty. Over 1200 hotel guests of full service and
budget hotels were randomly invited to participate in this project
during the years of 20132014. The survey instrument features
four major sections: (1) hotel attributes that impact customer
loyalty, (2) hotel guests experiences toward technology innovation, (3) hotel guest perceptions toward the types and importance
of technology, and (4) how ecofriendly amenities have an impact
on a guest's experience.

R.J.C. Chen / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 22 (2015) 261265

Selected full-service hotels in the southeastern United States

participated in this project. Over 1200 surveys were distributed to
participating hotels, resulting in 488 completed surveys with the
response rate of 40.6%. Hotel guest feedback was analyzed by
utilizing Chi-square, ANOVA, and t-test to examine differences
among participants across age segments to nd out which hotel
attributes have an impact on hotel guest preferences and experiences. The survey instrument was designed to investigate how
technology, guest experiences, and perceptions toward innovation
and guest experiences toward ecofriendly amenities would have
an impact on their own lodging preferences and importance
ratings toward listed lodging attributes. The rst section of the
survey asked study participants if s/he has utilized any social
media for her/his lodging selection.
For instance, lodging guests were asked what would be their
most preferred third-party websites and if they used telephone
reservations, hotel websites, or a travel agency. A seven-point
Likert scale was used to evaluate the level of importance of each
listed attribute, including Wi-Fi, mobile apps, self-help kiosks, selfreservation systems, touch-climate control, lobby computer access,
touch lighting, and text-message checkout. Guests also rated the
importance of touch-screen devices (smart pad controlled) such as
touch lighting, eco-room temperature control, television, and web
TV/video systems, music sync to TV, drapes, smart room phones,
remote controls, hair dryers, irons, and in-room safes.
The participated lodging guests were asked how many hotel
s/he has visited per year and which hotel brand/name s/he is most
loyal to. Respondents were also asked to rate the importance of
listed lodging attributes, including factors that have an impact on
customer loyalty, preferred types of hotel loyalty program (more
specically rewards program), consistency in room design, consistency in customer service experience, pet-friendly, and how
technology enhances her/his customer service experience.
The third section consisted of questions that survey participants' experience toward her/his stays in the hotel during her/his
most recent trip. The listed innovation factors include mattress
innovation (e.g., layered comfort, memory foam, designer comfort,
adjustable, and ecofriendly), guest security level for hotel room
keys, magnetic stripe key, traditional room key, radio frequency
identication (RFID), passcode, and IC smart card.
The fourth section of the survey consisted of hotel guest
experiences toward the important levels of ecofriendly amenities
such as energy-efcient lighting, ecofriendly window panels,
water-saving plumbing xtures, ecofriendly irrigations systems
or landscaping, electric car charging station, recycle program,
recycled materials, locally grown food options, ecofriendly cleaning supplies, and water-efcient toilets.

4. Results
This study surveyed randomly selected general hotel customers in
the southeastern United States who were 18 years of age and older. An
onsite data collection method was utilized to effectively invite a
general lodging population sample. The questionnaire was distributed
to 1200 lodging customers in the southeastern United States. In the
opening instruction of this survey, a detailed and straightforward
explanation of a green hotel, including its green practices (e.g., waste
and water recycling, energy conservation, avoidance of disposable
goods, donation of usable items to charity, pollution remediation, and
organic foods), was given. Survey participants were asked to thoroughly read the description before completing the survey questionnaire. After removing incomplete and unusable responses, a total of
488 usable surveys were kept, resulting in a usable response rate of
40.6%. In the usable sample of 488, approximately 46.5% respondents
were male and 53.5% were female. Their ages ranged from 18 to 75

263

years with an average age of 38.4 years. Approximately 29.3% of the

study participants were between the ages of 1824, followed by 17.6%
between the ages of 2534. More than 53% of the participants were
ages 35 and above. Generation Y is the majority of participants in this
study. The majority had a relatively high education level (82% had at
least a college degree). About 69.5% of respondents said they stay in a
hotel at least three to six times a year, and 18% indicated they stay in a
hotel seven to nine times a year. Approximately 64.4% of the
respondents reported $79,999 or less in household income, and
35.6% indicated an income of $80,000 or greater. Among the survey
participants, 75.3% indicated they have stayed at a green hotel; 11.6%
described they have never stayed at a green hotel; and 13.1% reported
they are not sure whether they ever stayed at a green hotel.
The results of the study showed that respondents valued the
overall importance of technology (mean 5.06; n487), customer
loyalty (mean5.82; n484), ecofriendly (mean4.7; n 484)
innovation (mean 4.95; n481), hotel loyalty program
(mean5.28; n482), consistency in room design (mean4.71;
n476), amenities (mean5.06; n477), technology advancements
that allow for a higher level of convenience (mean5.11; n481),
consistency in customer service experience (mean6.06; n 478),
pet-friendly (mean 3.69; n461). Specically, respondents valued
the technology importance of eco-room temperature control,
advanced television/video systems (mean4.96; n 480), an easyto-use phone (mean5.13; n 486); an easy-to-use remote for the
television (mean5.82; n485), Wi-Fi availability in the hotel room
(mean5.96; n 481), hair dryer (mean5.26; n478), iron
(mean5.09; n 466), and mobile apps (mean4.17; n 476).
Respondents also value the importance of environment-friendly
aspects in a hotel such as energy efcient lighting (mean4.8;
n472), energy efcient window panels (mean 4.67; n472),
water-saving plumbing xtures (mean4.63; n 469), watersaving irrigation systems (mean 4.58; n469), electric car charging station (mean3.96; n469), recycle program (mean5.21;
n478), recycled materials (mean 5.09; n478), locally-grown
food options (mean4.82; n478), ecofriendly cleaning supplies
(mean4.8; n465), water efcient toilets (mean4.65; n469),
and a hotel band with an ecofriendly image (mean5.83; n482).
The following is a summary of the key ndings related to the
hotel reservation systems, hotel selection behaviors, attitudes
toward sustainability and technology, and repurchase for the next
trip at the same brand hotels. Among 488 project participants,
males (n 253; yes 83%) and females (n 217; yes 76%) indicated that a green hotel that utilizes sustainable efforts would be
important toward a positive image of hotel brands (p o0.061). The
males ranked choosing hotel lodging accommodations because of
customer loyalty (mean 5.73), while females rated the same
attribute (mean5.9). Males reported, selecting the hotel
because of its ecofriendliness (mean 4.45), while females
reported selecting the hotel because of its ecofriendliness
(mean4.92). Differences in the choosing hotel accommodations
because of innovation (male mean 5.05; female mean 4.86)
are not statistically signicant (Table 1). Statistically signicant
differences were found in the categories of consistency in
customer service experience (p o0.005; male mean 5.89 and
female mean 6.21) and pet friendly (po 0.067; male
mean 3.58 and female mean 3.78) (Table 2).
Differences in the importance of an environmentally sustainable hotel (p o0.061) category for males and females were
statistically signicant (Table 3). Differences in the lobby computer access (p o0.004; male mean 4.79 and female mean 4.57),
self-reservation systems (p o.036; male mean 4.66 and female
mean 4.5), self-help kiosks (p o0.086; male mean 4.37 and
female mean 4.04), dimmable lighting (p o0.081; male
mean 4.35 and female mean 4.09), hair dryer (p o0.0001;
male mean 4.71 and female mean 5.75), and available WiFi in

264

R.J.C. Chen / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 22 (2015) 261265

the room (p o0.013; male mean 5.89 and female mean 6.02)
categories for males and females were statistically signicant
(Table 4).

5. Conclusions
This study was an attempt to discover how the factors of hotel
facilities and sustainability efforts have an impact on consumer
purchasing behaviors, experiences, and revisit intention. This
study employed on-site surveys to gather data from hotel guests
Table 1
Hotel booking reactions and decisions.
Characteristic

Male

Female

Signif. (MW)

Technology

N 226
5.21
N 224
5.73
N 224
4.45
N 224
5.05

N 261
4.93
N 260
5.9
N 260
4.92
N 257
4.86

0.535

Customer Loyalty
Eco-Friendly
Innovation

0.120

of the southeastern United States, including six states. One

thousand two hundred hotel guests were randomly selected to
participate in this study. Six hundred guests were interviewed onsite, while the remaining 600 guests received a self-administrated
survey. The name list was provided by studied hotels that provided
the customer list for survey purpose. Hotel guests were asked
questions regarding their experiences and perceptions toward
their uses of different hotel facilities/amenities, a variety of hotel
attributes that affect their hotel stay satisfactions, and reasons why
they will consider reserving the same brand hotels for their next
trip. Hotel marketing divisions may consider using the results of
this project for further strategic planning, advertising, sustaining
customers, and program development.
The outcomes of this study show that technology-related factors
(such as high speed Wi-Fi, an easy-to-use remote, eco-self-climate
Table 4
Attitudes toward hotel room technology attributes.

0.181

Characteristic

Male

Female

Signif. (MW)

Mobile apps

N 223
4.43
N 221
4.37
N 223
4.66
N 224
5.88
N 221
4.79
N 223
5.32
N 221
4.35
N 223
5.07
N 226
5.13
N 224
5.83
N 224
5.89
N 224
4.71
N 453
4.7

N 256
4.14
N 253
4.04
N 255
4.5
N 258
5.79
N 252
4.57
N 257
5.06
N 255
4.09
N 257
4.86
N 260
5.13
N 261
5.82
N 257
6.02
N 254
5.75
N 779
5.4

0.26

0.769
Self help Kiosks

1 No change, 7 major change (reported with average grade). nnn Signicant at

the 0.01 level. nn Signicant at the 0.05 level. n Signicant at the 0.1 level.
Signf. Signicant level. MW Mann Whitney test.

Self reservation systems

Self climate control
Lobby computer access

Table 2
Importance of hotel attributes.

Self lighting

Characteristic

Male

Female

Signif. (MW)

Dimmable lighting

Hotel loyalty program

N 223
5.27
N 222
4.76
N 223
5.09
N 225
5.24
N 224
5.89
N 214
4.58

N 259
5.29
N 254
4.68
N 254
5.04
N 256
5.0
N 254
6.21
N 247
3.78

0.272

Advanced television/video systems

0.523

An easy-to-use phone

0.842

An easy-to-use remote

0.462

Available WiFi in the room

0.005nn

Hair dryer

0.067n

Iron

Consistency in room design

Amenities
Technology advancements
Consistency in customer service experience
Pet friendly

1 No change, 7 major change (reported with average grade).

the 0.01 level.
n

Signicant at the 0.1 level.

Whitney test.
nn
Signicant at the 0.05 level.

Signf. Signicant

nnn

Signicant at

level.

MW Mann

0.086n
0.036nn
0.687
0.004nnn
0.872
0.081n
0.722
0.318
0.788
0.013nn
0.0001nnn
0.81

1not at all important, 7the most important (reported with average grade).
n
Signicant at the 0.1 level.
Whitney test.
nn
Signicant at the 0.05 level.
nnn
Signicant at the 0.01 level.

Signf. Signicant

level.

MW Mann

Table 3
Nominal factors that inuence hotel experiences and purchasing decisions.
Characteristic

Male

Female

Nominal factors that inuence their experiences and decisions

Use social media for the trip

N (%)
N 243
Yes 59.3%
No40.7%
N 259
Yes 17.8%
No82.2%
N 257
Yes 68.1%
No31.9%
N 253
Yes 83%
No17%

N (%)
N 203
Yes62.1%
No 37.9%
N 225
Yes14.7%
No 85.3%
N 225
Yes66.7%
No 33.3%
N 217
Yes76%
No 24%

The use of advanced technology takes away my hotel customer service experience

The use of more advanced technology enhances my hotel customer service experience

An environmentally sustainable hotel is important

nnn

Signicant at the 0.01 level.

n

nn

Signicant at the 0.05 level.

Signicant at the 0.1 level. Signf. Signicant level. C Chi-square test.

Signif.

0.545C

0.358C

0.739C
0.061nC

R.J.C. Chen / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 22 (2015) 261265

control, and mobile devices) have an impact on a guest0 s lodging

selections. The ndings of this study conclude that the most
signicant attributes in the selection of ecofriendly lodging are the
levels of implementation of a recycle program, locally grown food
options, ecofriendly cleaning supplies, energy-efcient lighting,
water-saving plumbing xtures, and the use of recycled materials.
This study concludes how those studied attributes of lodging relevant
to sustainability efforts have an impact on a guests lodging
preferences.
Various third-party corporations have provided sources for lodging guests to shop for a better deal, such as Orbitz or Travelocity,
while smartphones offered effective tools to assist customers to
search and book hotels. Previous studies reported how the changes
of gas prices have had an impact on the lodging industry. For
instance, a 1% increase in gas prices resulted in a drop of room
reservations of 1.74%, while midscale properties with full services
would decrease demand of 4.12%, and a limited service midscale
lodging would decrease the demand of 2.89% (Cover, 2012).
Several previous studies have reported various consumer
behavior related theories and have developed models across
continents. While many of them concluded that most behavioral
theories are bound by cultural values and rooted in psychology,
this study added value to the literature of consumer behavior by
investigating the impact of green practices, innovative technology,
and attitudinal factors on purchase behaviors among gender,
education, and age segments.
Understanding the differences in lodging guests perceptions
and experiences is important for the tourism and hospitality
industry. The knowledge of how customer attitudes vary by
demographic group toward their lodging experiences permits
lodging providers and marketers to further nurture customer
loyalty and develop effective strategies that appeal to hotel guests
emotions and rationality. For example, lodging facilities with a
green image are signicantly more attractive to environmentally
concerned guests than less eco-friendly facilities would be.
Well-known lodging companies have initiated sustainability
efforts to reduce waste and increase the energy efciency of their
properties. Green buildings equipped with environment friendly
products (e.g., LED light bulbs, reusable bags, recycled bottles, etc.)
have established a very visible green image. Hotel employees as
well as guests have been encouraged to reduce carbon footages by
modifying their behavior, such as not changing sheets and towels
daily during their stay. Hotels have created green advertisements,
green promotions, green communications, innovative technology,
and many other guest services related offers to preserve the
natural environment and still provide an excellent quality of
service across all operational divisions within the lodging sector.
Future research may consider investigating how other demographic and travel preferences related factors may impact individuals lodging selections. A longitudinal approach could be
adopted to observe more changes over time in hotel guests
behaviors. Researchers in the eld of retail, hospitality and tourism
may utilize other approaches on a larger scale to identify various
differences in customers behaviors and intentions before, during,
and post specic factors, or explore more in-depth cross-cultural
related studies.
References
AH&LA History, 2014. American Hotel & Lodging AssociationAH&LA. Retrieved
from http://www.ahla.com/content.aspx?id=26519 on November 17, 2013.

265

Anderson, W.T., Cunningham, W.H., 1972. The socially conscious consumer.

J. Marketing 36, 2331.
Back, K., 2005. The effects of image congruence on customers brand loyalty in the
upper middle-class hotel industry. J. Hospitality Tourism Res. 29 (4), 448467.
Baker, E.W., Al-Gahtani, S.S., Hubona, G.S., 2007. The effects of gender and age on
new technology implementation in a developing country: testing the theory of
planned behavior (TPB). Inf. Technol. People 20 (4), 352375.
Bohdanowicz, P., 2005. Environmental awareness and initiatives in the Swedish
and Polish hotel industriessurvey results. Int. J. Hospitality Manage.
25, 662682.
Bulter, J., 2008. The compelling hard case for green hotel development. Cornell
Hotel Restaurant Admin. Q. 49, 234244.
Chan, W.W., 2005. Predicting and saving the consumption of electricity in
subtropical hotels. Int. J. Contemp. Hospitality Manage. 17 (3), 228237.
Chen, R.J.C., 2013. How can stores sustain their Businesses? From shopping
behaviors and motivations to environment preferences. Sustainability 5 (2),
617628. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su5020617.
Chen, R.J.C., 2011. The facts of the weather extreme events in the United States: is
there a trend? J. Sustainable Dev. 4 (4), 1421.
Chen, R.J.C., Bloomeld, P., Fu, J., 2003. An Evaluation of alternative forecasting
methods to recreation site use. J. Leisure Res. 35 (4), 441454.
Cover, M., 2012. Gasoline Prices More than Double Under Obama: $1.84 to $3.85|
CNS News. (n.d.). CNS News. Retrieved from http://cnsnews.com/news/article/
gasoline-prices-more-double-under-obama-184-385 on November 28, 2013.
Dief, M.E., Font, X., 2010. The determinants of hotels marketing managers green
marketing behavior. J. Sustainable Tourism 18 (2), 157174.
Easterling, D., Kenworthy, A., Nemzoff, R., 1996. The greening of advertising: a
25-year look at environmental advertising. J. MarketingTheory Pract. 4 (1),
2034.
Hotelier, G.., 2005. July 9, Hilton International. International Hotels Environmental
Initiative, London.
Gustin, M.E., Weaver, P.A., 1996. Are hotels prepared for the environmental
consumer? J. Hospitality Tourism Res. 20 (2), 114.
Han, H., Back, K., 2008. Relationships among image congruence, consumption
emotions, and customer loyalty in the lodging industry. J. Hospitality Tourism
Res. 32 (4), 467490.
Han, H., Hsu, L., Lee, J., 2009. Empirical investigation of the roles of attitudes toward
green behaviors, overall image, gender, and age in hotel customers eco-friendly
decision-making process. Int. J. Hospitality Manage. 28 (4), 519528.
Hillery, M., Nancarrow, B., Grifn, G., Syme, G., 2001. Tourist perception of
environmental impact. Ann. Tourism Res. 28 (4), 853867.
Homburg, C., Giering, A., 2001. Personal characteristics as moderators of the
relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty: an empirical analysis.
Psychol. Marketing 18 (1), 4366.
Hotel Online, 2002. Consumer Attitudes towards the Role of Hotels in Environmental Sustainability, Retrieved from http://www.hotel-online.com/News/
PR20023rd/Jul02 IHEI.html on April 18, 2014.
Lam, T., Hsu, C.H.C., 2006. Predicting behavioral intention of choosing a travel
destination. Tourism Manage. 27, 589599.
Laroche, M., Bergeron, J., Barbaro-Forleo, G., 2001. Targeting consumers who are
willing to pay more for environment friendly products. J. Consum. Marketing
18 (6), 503520.
Lee, M.J., Back, K., 2007. Association members meeting participation behaviors:
development of meeting participation model. J. Travel Tourism Marketing
22 (2), 1533.
Manaktola, K., Jauhari, V., 2007. Exploring consumer attitude and behavior towards
green practices in the lodging industry in India. Int. J. Contemp. Hospitality
Manage. 19 (5), 364377.
Mandese, J., 1991. New study nds green confusion. Advertising Age 21, 156.
Marriott, 2014. Reducing Your Footprints. Retrieved from http://www.marriott.
com/corporate-social-responsibility/green-hotels.mi on January, 30, 2014.
McCarty, J.A., Shrum, L.J., 1994. The recycling of solid wastes: personal values, value
orientations, and attitudes about recycling as antecedents of recycling behavior.
J. Bus. Res. 30 (1), 5362.
Mendleson, N., Polonsky, M.J., 1995. Using strategic alliances to develop credible
green marketing. J. Consum. Marketing 12 (2), 418.
ONeill, J., 2012. Face time in the hotel industry. J. Hospitality Tourism Res. 36 (4),
478494.
Radwan, H.R.I., Jones, E., Minoli, D., 2010. Managing solid waste in small hotels.
J. Sustainable Tourism 18 (2), 175190.
RUES Hotel Selection, 2014. Firm History: Ecofriendly Hotels Worldwide. Retrieved
from http://www.ecofriendlyhotelsrhs.com/AboutRHSFirmHistory.htm on
February, 15, 2014.
Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L., Parasuraman, A., 1996. The behavioral consequences of
service quality. J. Marketing 60, 3146.
Zellman, J., 2011. Green Hotels: Ecofriendly Hotels must Strike a Balance. Retrieved
from
http://www.hufngtonpost.com/joanna-zelman/green-hotels-ecofrien
dly-_b_826805.html on January 5, 2014.