Are hotel stay characteristics influencing guests’ environmental behaviour? Predicting water conservation habits

Abstract

Managing water consumption is of vital importance in the sustainable development of the tourism industry. In the hotel sector, guests’ good water consumption habits result in greater conservation, leading to more efficient sustainable management of the resource. Sociodemographic profile has been identified as a key factor in explaining the frequency of guests’ displaying good water consumption habits in hotels. However, variables related to guest stay could also be fundamental in predicting guests’ environmental behaviour. Data were collected from 648 surveys administered to guests at a hotel that excels with its good practices in water consumption and management. A generalized linear model with common sociodemographic variables and two stay characteristics variables (length of stay and loyalty) were applied to predict guests’ water conservation habits. Unlike loyalty, the results show that length of stay significantly and positively influenced water conservation habits. In this sense, guests who stay longer at the hotel tend to display greater water conservation habits. In accordance with this, hotel sector strategies aimed at promoting longer stays may prove useful in achieving maximum efficiency in water conservation management.