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Perception of environmental strategies in hotels and the influence
M.F.S. Bakhtiar, A.A. Azdel, M.S.Y. Kamaruddin & N.A. Ahmad
Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia
ABSTRACT: An ongoing concern for environmental protection among society is much apparent today;
the same is evident in the hotel industry. Despite continuing pressure to sustain with such demand, hoteliers
need to balance between creating unobtrusive environmental strategies to guests while keeping it visible to
satisfy environmentally-conscious clientele. Hence, it is noteworthy to evaluate guests' perception about
environmental strategies applied in hotels and how such implementation may influence one's future behav-
ior intention. Through self-reported questionnaire, 288 valid responds were gathered using convenience
sampling method to unravel both matters. From the analysis, respondents were inclined to refuse strategies
that compromise personal privacy, preferences and hygiene. Strategies with much inconveniences, cutback
and discrimination in service delivery as well as cost saving approach toward the organization solely are
advised to be avoided. Interestingly, respondents were unaffected by eco-friendly guestroom design. They
were willing to tolerate reuse, recycle and environmental campaigns together with green gadgets implemen-
tation. Overall, there is a strong association between environmental strategies applied in hotels and guests'
future behavioral intention. It was found that respondents were willing to spread positive Word Of Mouth
(WOM) about hotels with environmental initiatives and recommend the establishment to others. Contra-
rily, few respondents were willing to spend extra to support environmental initiatives in hotels.
Keywords
:
Environmental strategies, future behavior intention, hotel, perception
1 INTRODUCTION
privacy, preferences and hygiene as well as other
fundamental individual needs.
According to the conceptual model of service
quality, return intention will not occur if poor
service is experienced by customers (Parasuraman,
Zeithaml & Berry, 1985). Interestingly, similar
evidence is seen in various studies within service
and hospitality field (Abdul Aziz, Saiful Bakhtiar,
Che Ahmat, Kamaruddin & Ahmad, 2012; Saiful
Bakhtiar, Mohd Zahari, Azhar & Kamaruddin,
2012).
Based on the aforementioned contemplation,
it is crucial for hoteliers to understand how each
environmental strategy applied within their estab-
lishments is perceived by current or potential
guests. Albeit the fact many that researchers have
addressed this issue in the U.S., Europe and several
Asian countries, minimal is established in Malaysia
and countries with similar geographical, climate
and cultural characteristics. Findings from a recent
study by Saiful Bakhtiar, Mohd Zahari, Azhar, dan
Kamaruddin (2014) have revealed potential guests'
perception with several environmental strategies
in hotel. In addition, this study extends the earlier
research by evaluating the influence of such strate-
gies towards one's future behavior intention.
The ongoing global concern for environmental
protection has led to inevitable changes in the way
people live. Demand for environmental products
and services are becoming more noticeable with
no exception in hotel industry. There were studies
attempting to capture hotel guests' changing atti-
tude towards protection of environment. Swanger,
Benson and Paxson (2009) study conducted in the
US emphasized that majority of hotel guests pre-
fer to stay in an environmental strategies practiced
hotel. Hence, it is essential for hoteliers to under-
stand the role environmental issues play to encour-
age guests' purchasing decision.
Creating a balance environmental atmosphere in
hotels is crucial; hoteliers must be able to simulta-
neously keep environmental strategies unobtrusive
so that guests do not feel inconvenienced, but make
them visible enough to satisfy environmentally-
conscious clientele (White, 2010). Past research
has proven that unwarranted environmental strat-
egies have caused guests to respond negatively
when such policies impacted their experiences (El
Dief & Font, 2012). Thus, environmental strate-
gies should not at any time compromise personal
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