Introduction

Among the service sector, the Indian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of
the important drivers of development. It is a sunrise industry, an employment generator, a
source of foreign exchange for the country and economic activity that helps nations to grow.
Tourism in India is a potential game changer. India has excelled in its beauty, uniqueness,
rich culture & heritage. India’s wide history has been vigorously promoting tourism both
internationally as well as in the domestic market. India is a tourism product and has a
significant potential to become a most wanted and preferred tourist destination globally.
Hotels are the most important part of the tourism industry which contributes to the sector by
offering services and facilities of an extremely high standard. “ICRA Limited rating agency
expected the rise in revenue of Indian hotel industry from 9-11 percent in 2015-16.” With the
fast degradation of the environment, hotels are taking various initiatives to save the
environment. One of the major strategies adopted by the hotel industry is to use eco-friendly
products and services. This growing concern towards the environment, the hotel industry is
making green efforts to attract their customers. The concept of Green hotel includes broader
categories like the equipment’s or the infrastructure of the hotels should be green, the hotels
policies and procedure should be linked with the environmental policies and the management
of hotels should also include all kind of information towards green policies of the hotels. The
Green Hotel Association, green hotels, provides a more resource-oriented definition: Green
hotels are environmentally sustainable properties whose managers are eager to institute
programmes that save water, save energy, and reduce solid waste while saving money to help
protect our one and only earth.
The concept of sustainability has been growing across all industries since the 1970s due to
industrialization. Although the hotel industry is not positioned at the center of serious
environmental issues, some hotel operations such as laundry, housekeeping, and disposal
negatively impact the environment. Many hotel companies today are implementing simple
and cost-effective green practices such as recycling, reusing linen, and reducing waste. Hotel
managers and operators are not the only ones concerned about environmental issues. Over the
years, hotel guests have also become increasingly aware of these issues and hotels’ green
practices. According to the 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Survey, 68% of
hotel guests are aware of hotels’ environmental conservation efforts, and 73% say they have
participated in hotels’ green practices. Due to the increased awareness and advanced green
technologies such as nontoxic pest control, stormwater systems, and energy-saving systems
for properties, hotels are able to diversify their green practices. While previous research
clearly indicates that green practices influence guests’ perceptions both positively and
negatively, there are some contradictory results. For example, some studies indicate that the
majority of respondents have a positive perception of green practices. For example, Kang
reveals that 66% of the respondents willing to pay extra on a certain level. However,
Manaktola and Jauhari showed that customers are not willing to support green practice
because most green projects are governmental in India. Furthermore, in Millar and Baloglu’s
study, 86% of respondents agree that guest should pay the same or less in green hotels.
Therefore, becoming a green hotel is a challenging marketing strategy for hotels. Many
previous studies have focused on hotel guests’ attitude and behavioral intention to adopt
green practices, but few studies have examined the perception of guests. Moreover, although
researchers conducted exploratory studies about guest’s preference, the actual voice of green
hotel guests has been rarely analyzed. The purpose of this study is to examine how guests
perceive green practices implemented by hotels. The results of this study will help hotel
managers or operators better understand guests’ perceptions of green practices and integrate
sustainability into their marketing strategies.

Green practices in the hotel industry

A green hotel is an environmentally friendly lodging property which implements various
policies to reduce the negative impact on the environment and to protect nature (Green Hotel
Association, 2015). Green hotels mainly focus on three areas: energy conservation programs,
waste reduction programs, and water conservation programs. For example, the
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is implementing the IHG Green Engage System, which
is a group-wide online sustainability program that enables hotels to track, measure, and report
on their carbon footprint and utility consumption such as waste and water. This system helps
hotels achieve energy savings of up to 25% for an average hotel. From 2013 to 2014, the
Green Engage System cut 4.2% of water waste and 3% of carbon footprint. Starwood and
Marriott are also major leading hotel companies that have green hotel initiatives. They focus
on minimizing the use of water and energy, as well as enhancing indoor environmental
quality. Between 2009 and 2012, Starwood conserved 153 million gallons of water,
662,000kWof electricity, 871,000 terms of natural gas, and 190,000 gallons of cleaning
supplies.

Guests’ attitude toward green practices

Green practices have become part of hotel services within the past decade. Many hotels
nowadays are putting a lot of effort into green practices, which means that the trend of going
green in the hospitality industry has drawn researchers’ attention. A few studies have focused
on guests’ attitudes toward green hotels and their eco-friendly practices. However, the
findings of these studies are inconclusive. In addition, many studies have revealed the
research gap between guests’ attitudes and actual decisions to adopt green practices. Indeed,
most of the responses about green practices are positive, but the relationship between the
perception and actual acceptance of green hotel practices is complicated. On one hand, show
that a green hotel image positively affects customers’ perceptions, increasing guests’ revisit
intention for a future stay. Similarly, Kasim reveals that the majority of tourists are willing to
accept hotels’ green initiatives, such as water conservation, recycling, and energy
conservation system. Furthermore, if hotel guests who have greater concern about
environmental issues, they are more willing to pay a premium to green practices in general.
On the other hand, Manaktola and Jauhari found contradictory results that guests wanted to
participate in green practices but were not prepared to sacrifice the convenience or comfort
during their stay. Forty percent of their respondents agree that hotels, rather than guests,
should pay 50–100% of the cost of green practices. Moreover, even though many respondents
were willing to conserve water, they did not accept a low-pressure showerhead in the rooms
because they did not feel they are directly responsible for the cost of the water. Moreover, it
is found that although tourists are aware of the green practices of hotels, these practices are
not an important consideration in their hotel selection. In other words, when selecting hotels,
tourists do not consider green practices as critical as other hotel attributes, such as price,
location, cleanness, etc
Impact of online reviews
There are various communication channels where travelers can get information on where to
visit, where to stay, what to see, and what to eat while traveling. Seventy-five percent of
travelers consider online reviews when looking for travel information. Today, easy access to
the Internet enables more people to write online reviews. Moreover, personal electronic
devices accelerate the distribution of online reviews. Compared with the traditional word of
mouth, online reviews are considered as electronic word of mouth and have a more powerful
distribution influence. Besides, consumers agree that the most valuable feedback comes from
real customers on social media, and thus, online reviews are more useful and trustworthy than
information on commercial websites. Online reviews have a significant effect on customers’
hotel selection. Undoubtedly, people are relying more and more on online sources such as
personal blogs, forums, and review sites during their decision-making process. It is widely
accepted that both positive and negative online reviews have a significant effect on
customers’ preferences. In addition, people are more likely to post an online review for the
purpose of retaliation when they are disappointed by service quality. It has been shown that
negative reviews have more influence than positive reviews, and they directly affect
consumers’ preferences. Spark and Browning also indicate that consumers are more likely to
weigh negative reviews.

Literature Review
Gerston (2002) found several effective cost-saving practices: (1) $200 solenoid valve on a
400 LB ice machine can save 1.9 million gallons of water per year. (2) Laundry saving
practices can save about 30 gallons of water per room per day. (3) Ultralow flush toilets can
save 180,000 gallons of water per year.
Kasim (2004) Tourists were knowledgeable and cared about the environment. The study
concluded that tourists approved those room attributes that were environmentally friendly and
were willing to accept rooms with water saving features, recycling bins, fire-safety features,
energy saving features, and information on local ecotourism attractions but did not consider
as a sole reason of staying in a hotel.
(Brodsky, 2005) The main purposes of going green are not only to support an eco-friendly
business environment but also to reduce possible operating costs from overuse of business
materials. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, 209 gallons of water
can be saved by implementing water-saving green practices.
W.Young et al. (2009) The results concluded that 30% of consumers were concerned about
environmental issues but they were not able to translate this into purchases.  The consumers
who were interviewed have shown that they were ready to buy the green products which are
eco-friendly like product made up of recycled material, energy efficiency, durability, etc.
(Szuchnicki, 2009) suggest that extrinsic rewards and intrinsic rewards tailor guests’
willingness and preference for green practices. Extrinsic rewards, such as monetary rewards
and hotel gifts, are found to be especially influential compared to intrinsic rewards such as
self-satisfaction. In addition, demographics have an impact on guests’ attitude and perception
of green practices.
Vermeulen and Seegers (2009) found that online reviews increased hotel awareness and
positively affected hotel selection preference. The impact is more powerful for lesser known
hotels. In addition, previous studies show that online reviews can improve the probability of
hotels by increasing bookings. For example, Sparks and Browning (2011) indicated that
positive reviews increased the booking intention of consumers.
Schubert et al. (2010) concluded that younger peoples are more conscious about the
environmental impact than older people. On the other hand, older people have more
environmentally friendly behavior and showed a higher intention to patronize green
restaurant services.
Datta (2011) The results concluded that 98% of the respondents were aware of the eco-
friendly products and 95% were aware of the fact that the eco-friendly products will
contribute to saving the environment.
Ogbeide (2012) The study revealed that there was a positive perception of consumers
towards green hotels as 88% of respondents felt that the green practices which were being
used by the hotels were very important.  In regard to the cost, 46% of the consumers
believed that hotels should pay the initial cost of going green and about 75% of the
consumers were willing to pay the lessor same amount as compared to conventional hotels.
(Tuppen, 2014) Green practices have been recognized and supported by many hospitality
and tourism organizations. For instance, the American Hotel and Lodging Association
certifies four different kinds of green initiatives: (1) Green Guidelines (1200 properties
participating), (2) Green Key Gold program (2100 properties participating), (3) Energy Star
(18,000 private and public organizations), and (4) Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) program (54 properties participating). Today, the most widely used program
for hotel green initiatives is TripAdvisor’s Green Leaders Program, which was first
established in the United States in April of 2013.
Punitha et al. (2015) The study found out that both local and international tourists have
different perspectives towards green marketing as Malaysian consumers were getting
themselves more involved seriously with the recycling campaigns which had been carried out
extensively in the country, whereas international tourists felt that objective of green
marketing was to achieve minimal detrimental impact on the environment.
Kasliwal and Agarwal (2015) The results found out that the majority of the consumers were
aware of the term “green”. The green attributes like training employees, use sensors to saving
electricity; establishing recycling program and saving light bulbs were perceived as very
important attributes for the consumers. It was also seen that using key cards used for saving
energy were the most preferred green attributes for the consumers.

Problem Statements
1. What does a green building mean?
2. Why green buildings are important?
3. What consumers’ attitudes towards green hotels are?
Objective Of The Current Study
The objectives of the research are as follows:
1. To identify the perception of Indian consumers about the green attributes of hotels.
2. To identify the willingness to pay of Indian consumers for green attributes of hotels.
3. To identify the difference between the family income and willingness to pay of Indian
consumers towards green attributes of hotels.
4. To identify the relationship between the perception and willingness to pay of Indian
consumers towards green attributes of hotels.
The objective of the study is to know about the Indian consumer’s perception and their
willingness to pay towards green attributes of the hotel. Also, to identify the relationship
between the family income and willingness to pay of Indian consumers towards green
attributes of hotels. Pricing is the major factor which restricts Indian consumers to spend
more on green products and services. “Singh and Pandey (2012) said that pricing was a
critical factor in green marketing as compared to conventional marketing.” Therefore, the
current study has focused more towards the Indian consumers‟ perception and willingness to
pay for green attributes followed by hotels where a researcher can get to know about the
mindset of Indian consumers towards consumption pattern of green products and services.

Hypothesis
Hypothesis H01: There is no relationship between consumer perception and willingness to
pay towards green attributes of the hotel.
H02: There is no significant difference between family income and willingness to pay more
towards green attributes of hotels.

Sample Design
The primary purpose of the study was to identify the customers‘ awareness of green or eco-
friendly hotels. Awareness of customers about the various practices followed in the hotels
were analyzed. This study used a self-administered, close-ended questionnaire with order
choices to survey a random sample. This study selected environmentally friendly action
programs based on an environmental checklist previously developed for the lodging industry
(De Franco & Weather spoon, 1996) and Accor hotels environment charter (Accor, 2006).
The sampling population consisted of students, an online questionnaire was prepared and
circulated amongst travelers who used the communities on Facebook and Google plus. The
questionnaires were also emailed to a set of contacts at random.
Analytical Tools
The Objective of the study was to find out
Identify customer awareness of environmentally friendly practices implemented by hotels.
 To study the awareness about eco-friendly Hotels.
 Awareness towards various practices followed by an Eco-Friendly Hotels

The questionnaire included questions regarding the lifestyle of the subject being interviewed
their visits to hotels and their spending capacity. Also, things of the environment
conservation were kept in mind in questions asked to them so that the awareness of Go Green
was told. The statistical tools used in this study were percentages. The analysis of the survey
results combined with the statistical applications (SPSS) allowed the researcher to draw
conclusions regarding the objectives of the study is produced.

Questionnaire Designing

Questionnaire:

0 = no, 1 = partially applies, 2 = yes

1. Does the hotel communicate about its dedication to sustainability with the public and its
stakeholders?

2. Does the hotel involve the public in its effort to operate in a green way?

3. Does the hotel inform its staff with regard to environmental policy, and the role of staff in
the implementation of this policy?

4. Does the hotel use energy from renewable sources? Are there on-site facilities or
partnerships with local producers for the production of renewable energy?

5. Does the hotel have an energy-efficient heating system?

6. Does the hotel use energy-saving bulbs?

7. Does the hotel use efficient shading systems, such as blackout curtains, shutters, and
blinds?

8. Does the hotel use timers and motion detectors to optimize energy use?

9. Does the hotel use energy-saving appliances, such as efficient modern refrigerators and
LED-TV´s?

10. Does the hotel use a key card plug-in system to cut power in case of absence?
11. Does the hotel regularly collect data on energy consumption, and take action to reduce it?

12. Is the total water consumption being registered on a monthly basis?

13. Do toilets flush less than 6 liters per flush, and are they equipped with a dual flush
system?

14. Are showers and taps being checked for dripping on a regular basis? Are all the pipes
being checked and repaired on a regular basis?

15. Does the hotel use a filter system for efficient water usage? Are all guests informed about
efficient water usage?

16. Is rainwater being used where appropriate, e.g. for flushing toilets?

17. Are hazardous chemicals being stored in a secure place, at a safe distance from water
sources?

18. Are there signs in bathrooms and restrooms to inform guests that sheets and towels will
only be changed upon request? Do you change bed linen twice a week per guest, unless
otherwise requested?

19. Is waste being separated into the categories outlined by local and national authorities?

20. Is hazardous waste (chemicals, fluorescent lamps, batteries, etc.) being stored in separate
containers, and brought to an appropriate site for the processing of hazardous waste?

21. Is there a possibility to separate waste in rooms? Is there a possibility to separate garbage
in cleaning carts (e.g. plastic and paper)?

22. Have measures been taken to reduce the use of disposable products to a minimum, e.g.
cups, plates and cutlery?

23. Does the hotel use paper towels and toilet paper that is made of non-chlorine bleached
paper, or paper with an eco-label? Does the hotel buy an eco-friendly paper?

24. Does the hotel prefer local products (200 km. radius), whenever these have less impact on
the environment than non-local products?

25. Are you operating with an efficient and effective procurement system (FIFO,
merchandise control, seasonal purchase, etc.)? Do you have specialized hygiene standards?
(e.g. fish, meat, etc.)

26. Does the hotel, in general, prefer recyclable products in recyclable packaging?

27. Does the hotel avoid fossil-fuel as much as possible?

28. Is the ventilation system is inspected at least once a year?

29. Is there a majority of non-smoking rooms? At least 80 percent! Is there a large non-
smoking section in restaurants and bars?

30. Are there adequate procedures to ensure high air quality?

Variables Identified
Dependent Variable
This paper’s dependent variable is the intention to visit a green hotel. Dependent variable
changes due to other variables (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2012).

Independent variables
An independent variable is a variable that causes changes in the relationship between
variables (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2012). This research has the following independent
variables subjective norm, perceived behavior control, perceived moral obligation, and
environmental awareness.

Future Scope
The study of expectations of hotel consumers towards service quality and green services can
give new insight into this untapped market to the hotel managers. The survey on different
demographic variables of the guest would be an interesting area of study that can be included
for the extensive survey. Such an attempt would give more clarity in knowing the views
towards eco-friendly attitudes and behavior of the consumers. Further studies can also be
included that how new changing role of females and youths can affect green behavior. The
hoteliers should examine the best strategies to transform consumers‟ environmental
knowledge into a more positive attitude toward the environment so that consumers can
convert their concern into buying decisions.

Conclusion
There are evidence in various researches to suggest that consumers are increasingly choosing
or avoiding products based on their environmental impact. A study established that 69
percent of the general public believes that pollution and other environmental damage are
impacting their everyday life. Hence, the impact of environmental problems now more
clearly visible to one and is resulting in a desire to do something in one form or the other. The
current study concludes that the increasing Eco literacy of consumers have led to favorable
perception, but they are not willing to pay for green products and services. On the other hand,
it is also analyzed that 72.6% of Indian consumers are willing to pay extra amount for green
practices followed in a hotel and 53.8% of the respondents are paying less than 5% more
price for green services. This means that despite higher willingness to pay for green services,
consumers still have doubt towards hotel management for execution of green services.
Because comforts and convenience are the prominent factors for Indian consumers, also they
have the misconception that hotels do not provide quality green services even after charging a
higher amount. Also, there is no difference between family income and willingness to pay
towards green attributes of hotels. The increased income of consumers, increased awareness
among consumers towards environmental issues, attractive offers for consumers by the
hotels, increased programs by the government have led consumers to perceive, prefer, behave
and willing to pay in the same manner.

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