An Exploratory Study on Women s Perception and Choice of Preference towards the Green Attributes of Hotel Industry

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1 An Exploratory Study on Women s Perception and Choice of Preference towards the Green Attributes of Hotel Industry Dr.Neeti Kasliwal Associate Professor Banasthali University Jaipur, Rajasthan Ms. Srishti Agarwal Research Scholar Banasthali University Jaipur, Rajasthan ABSTRACT The green services in the Hospitality industry has emerged as an important movement throughout the world in the 21st century, which is creating new business opportunities for the hospitality sector. Hotel industry is the major part of the tourism sectors where consumer s buying decision towards green services influences the hoteliers. Today, various researches have been done to explore the consumer buying behaviour towards the green products and services. The present study examines the women s perception and their choice of preference towards the green attributes while choosing a hotel by using structured questionnaire. Data was collected from structured questionnaires in Jaipur city where 61% of the women were responded. The results obtained by using tests like t test, mean percentage method and correlation which showed that there is a difference in the perception and choice of preference among the women consumers towards the green attributes of the hotel industry, Also the favourable perception of women consumers affects their preference of green attributes while choosing a hotel. The detailed findings and implications are discussed in this paper. Keywords: Green attributes, Perception, Choice of Preference, Hotel industry, Women Consumers INTRODUCTION Environment is the important part of the tourism industry where environmental awareness has increased among not only the tourists but also among the general people. The tourism industry is one of the most prominent sectors which contribute the major portion of income to the society. With the growing concern and awareness towards the environment, hotel industries are recognising the need of consumers and adapting the green practices such as green hotel certification, using recycling bins, energy efficient bulbs, water saving devices etc. Attention towards the usage of green products and services has been gaining momentum within both hotel industry and consumers. The term green refers to actions that reduce the impact on the environment, such as eco- purchasing or recycling (Wolfe & Shanklin, 2001). In a similar manner, a green hotel is defined as an eco-friendly hotel operation that performs environmentally friendly practices such as saving water/energy, using ecofriendly purchasing policies, and reducing emission/waste disposals to protect the natural environment and reduce operational costs (Green Hotels Association, 2010). Green products and services are those which are eco friendly and saves environment from the degradation. Today consumers are getting aware towards the environment and they are ready to 304

2 accept products and services which are eco friendly. Hotel industry is the sector where service quality plays an important role. So hoteliers need to identify the needs and demands of consumers to attract and retain their consumers without any compromise in service quality and comforts. Because in a service industry every consumers are ready to pay higher amount but they will never sacrifice their comforts and convenience in the service of hotels. In today s changing world, the buying behaviour and pattern has been shifted from the male to females. The travel decisions are made by the consumers, where women have been playing a major role in taking decisions. Various research concluded that women travellers have their different expectations and attitudes in terms of travelling, and play an active role in making decision compared to men (Baraban, 1986; DeLuca, 1986; Hawes, 1988). Similarly Waters (1988) has also identified from the study in the United States, that women have been increasingly taking many holidays than men in the leisure market whereas men still dominate the business traveller market. With the changing time, women have been seen working in almost all the sectors where they have lot of opportunities to make their buying decisions in their workplace as well as in their personal life. So with the changing lifestyle, the tastes and preferences of men and women are changing and due to this, women consumers are increasing and their decision making influences the hoteliers to make good decisions while incorporating any green services. However, the competition among the tourism industry are increasing, hotel sectors have to initiate adapting green services and introduce strategies that focused on niche market segmentations, i.e., women travellers in order to attract their potential customers. Nevertheless, hoteliers need to have an insight as well as an understanding of the desire of women travellers for the success of their commercial endeavours. In view of that, the present study examined perception of women consumers and choice of preference towards the green attributes while choosing a hotel. Need and purpose of study Going Green has been becoming a new trend for the people who compel them to buy eco friendly products and services. With the changing lifestyle of the consumers and with changing scenario, the consumer wants to adapt the green practices followed by the hotel industry. Women have become more active in terms of saving environment where they are trying to move forward to accept green products and services. The purpose of the present study is to examine the women s view regarding the perception towards the green attributes and choice of preference towards the green attributes while choosing a hotel. Hence it is important for the hoteliers to identify the need and demands of growing women consumers to achieve competitive advantage. The present study is the first attempt to explore the women s point of view towards the green attributes of the hotel industry and also their choice of preference while choosing a hotel. Literature review According to Watkins s (1994), Kasim (2004) study the eco friendly attributes of hotels that includes recycling bins, energy-efficient lighting, changing sheets only when requested, and turning off lights in unoccupied guest rooms that may influence consumers decision making and also showed that they are ready to accept these green attributes in a hotel. Women market segment are showing a growth rate over three times faster than that for men (Tunstall, 1989, p. 29; Nelson, 1994, p. 233; Peters, 1997, p. 132). 305

3 Straughan and Roberts (1999) found that younger generations were more concerned to environment. However, Haanpää (2007) found exactly the opposite, concluding that commitment towards the green initiatives and saving environment decreased with younger age groups. Today, women are no longer representing a fringe market or a least important market for hospitality sector; they represent a fast growing percentage of travellers (Kotler et. al., 2006, p.177). The simple fact is that women are now educated and working as a high profile in the workplace which leads them to earn good amount of money. The increasing number of business women and entrepreneur helped them in raising standard of living. Certainly, it was not a coincidence that the 1990s has been termed female run decade. Susskind & Verma (2011) conducted a study to investigate consumers perceptions of energy-saving manipulations in green hotel rooms and results showed that consumers were very supportive of these practices. Whereas selected attributes like refillable soap and shampoo dispensers, and low flow shower heads were not perceived favourably (Kasim, 2004; Millar & Baloglu, 2008). Consumers perceived these practices as being unhygienic and less comfortable (Millar & Baloglu 2008). The putting of efforts by the hotel industry in initiating the green services, consumers appreciate the contribution of hotels in incorporating the green practices to improve the environment but it is also true that consumers do not want to compromise on service quality and living comforts. Various studies have been done towards demographic profile of the population and found the several results. Demographic profile such as Gender variable has been explored in many areas of sustainable issues. It has been found that women are more likely to present pro-environmental behavior (Laroche, Bergeron, & Barbaro-Forleo, 2001; Mainieri, Barnett, Valdero, Unipan, & Oskamp, 1997; Mostafa, 2007). In the hospitality literature, Millar and Baloglu (2008) showed that environmentally friendly attributes that the male and the female respondents preferred were significantly different. For instance, females were less likely to approve energy saving Light Bulbs in the sleeping area of the guest room and the bathroom, and Low Flow Toilets than were males. According to the study done in Malaysia by Marzuki et.al (2012), has identified five major practices of hotel that are considered by women travellers during hotel selection, namely these are Coreservices, Convenience, Additional services, Comfort, Price and reputation and other suggested factors are In-room amenities, Complimentary facilities, Security that influences the women travellers the most while choosing a hotel. These general practices by the hotels should be followed to retain their women travellers which showed that women travellers prefer these general services but without compromising the comforts and convenience. The present study aims to add to the scarce research on women perception and their preferences in the hospitality industry and explores different dimensions which are important to female guests. This paper tries to focus on the She power in the hospitality organisations and tries to investigate women s perception and their preferences towards the green attributes while choosing a hotel. Objectives and Hypothesis of study Objectives: To explore the women consumers perception towards the green attributes of the hotel industry 306

4 To explore the women consumers choice of preference towards the green attributes while choosing a hotel. To explore the relation between the perception and choice of preference of women consumers towards the green attributes of the hotel industry. Hypothesis: H 01 : There is no significant difference in the perception of women consumers towards the green attributes of the hotel industry. H 02 : There is no significant difference in the women consumers choice of preference towards green attributes while choosing a hotel. H 03 : There is no correlation between the perception and choice of preference among women consumers towards the green attributes of the hotel industry. Research Methodology To answer the questions of current research, this study is correlational in nature where data was gathered. The study was conducted with the intention to obtain women consumer s perception and choice of preference towards green attributes of hotel industry. A survey method was used for this study because it is strongly believe that survey research is best adopted method to obtain personal and social facts of the consumers. The respondents for this analysis were women consumers of Jaipur city, Rajasthan where subsequent questionnaires were distributed to 150 women consumers by using random sampling to overcome the constraints of time and budgets where 61% of them responded. For the purpose to measure women consumers perception and choice of preference while choosing hotel, a scale adopted from Manaktola & Jauhari (2007) to explore perception of the consumers with minor modification. The question is composed of 12 green variables focussing on the importance level of green attributes in the eyes of women consumers. Choice of preference was measured using the study of Millar et al (2012), where questions were composed of 9 green attributes. The scale taken for measurement was five point Likert scale (5 as extremely important and 1 as unimportant). Table 1 summarizes the reliability test of the measures. As shown, the Cronbach Alphas of the measures were above the lower limit of acceptability that is α >0.60. Here, it can be seen that Cronbach's alpha is 0.814, which indicates a high level of internal consistency for scale with the specific sample. Hence all the measure was highly reliable. Table. 1 Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha Based on N Cronbach's Alpha Standardized Items Items of Table.2 summarizes normality test of the variables which find out the correlation between the perception and choice of preference towards the green attributes. 307

5 Table. 2 Tests of Normality Kolmogorov-Smirnov a Statistic Df Sig. Perception Choice of Preference From the Table.2 it can be seen that the sig. value of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov is more than 0.05, hence the data significantly formed a normal distribution. Data Analysis and Results The current study has identified that there are various green attributes which played an important role while selecting a hotel. The mean method for several green practices are to be identified which showed that which green practices and attributes are important for the women consumers. In Table.3, the mean value has been identified of different green practices and importance level has been found out among the various green practices. The mean value ranges between 4-5 treated as very important (VI) variable and 3-4 as important (I). Perception Table. 3 Green Practices Mean Importance Train employees for better environmental performance 4.2 VI Inform you about environmental practices followed by 3.7 I hotel Participate in environmental partnership or certification 3.7 I Use sensors or timers to save electricity 4.3 VI Establish active recycling program for materials 4.1 VI Establish system for prompt disposal of packaging 3.8 I materials Utilise environmentally responsible cleaners throughout 4.0 I the property Having energy saving light bulbs in all rooms 4.3 VI Offer a linen reuse option to multiple night guests 3.1 I Have an active system to detect and repair water leakage in toilets,faucets and shower heads Provide environmentally friendly products(i.e. low toxicity, organic or locally grown/made) 4.3 VI 4.3 VI 308 Encourage business with environmentally friendly service providers 3.9 I

6 From the above Table.3, it can be seen that women consumers perceive these green attributes i.e. train employees for better environmental performance, use sensors or timers to save electricity, having energy saving light bulbs in all rooms, have an active system to detect and repair water leakage in toilets etc as the very important green attributes while choosing a hotel and rest of the green practices are important to them but not very important. Similarly, the following green attributes in Table.4 are treated to be important from women consumer s view while choosing a hotel. The mean value has been identified of the green attributes and its important level which showed that which green attributes are more preferable to the women consumers while choosing hotel. The importance level varies between 4-5 considered as very important (VI) and 3-4 as important (I). Choice of Preference Table.4 Green attributes Mean Importance Energy efficient light bulbs in the 4 I guest room Refillable shampoo dispensers 3.4 I Recycling bins in the hotel lobby 3.9 I Towel reuse program 3.18 I 309 Sheets changed upon request only 3.37 I for stays upto 3 nights Recycling bins in the guests room 3.76 I Hotel is certified as a green hotel 3.84 I Occupancy sensors used to control 3.9 I lighting in the room Key cards used to turn power to the room on and off 4.2 VI The above Table.4 showed that the women consumers prefer attribute key cards used to turn power on and off as very important green attribute while choosing a hotel which means that this green attribute should be there in a hotel and rest of them are important but not very important. Hypothesis Testing H1: There is no significant difference in the perception of women consumers towards the green attributes of the hotel industry. From the above table.3 and by using t-test it has been analysed that out of 12 variables only in one variable null hypothesis is accepted and in rest of the variables alternative hypothesis is accepted. In other word, it means that in case of green practice as offer a linen reuse option to multiple night guests where sig. value is more than 0.05 i.e..724 indicates that there is no significant difference in

7 the perception of women consumers towards the green attributes of the hotel industry. In case of rest of the green practices sig. value is.000 which is less than 0.05 indicates that there is significant difference in the perception of women consumers. H2: There is no significant difference in the women consumers choice of preference towards green attributes while choosing a hotel. From the above table.4 and by using t-test it has been identified that out of 9 green attributes only in one green attribute i.e. towel reuse program where null hypothesis is accepted and in rest of the green attributes alternative hypothesis is accepted. In other word, towel reuse programs where sig. value is more than 0.05 i.e..484 indicates that there is no significant difference in the women consumers choice of preference towards green attributes while choosing a hotel and in rest of the case sig. value is less than 0.05 which indicates that there is difference in women consumers choice of preference towards green attributes H3: There is no relation between the perception and choice of preference among women consumers towards the green attributes of the hotel industry. Table.5 Correlations Perception Pearson Correlation ChoiceofPreference.581 ** Sig. (2-tailed).000 N 100 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). From the third hypothesis it has been examined that there is strong relation between the perception and choice of preference towards the green attributes of a hotel industry. Which means the favourable perception of women will have high preference of green attributes while choosing a hotel and vice versa. From the above table.5 it can be seen that Pearson s correlation value is.581 and sig. value is.000 which indicates that women s perception have a positive correlation with the choice of preference. It concludes that the favourable perception of women will have higher preference towards the green attributes while choosing hotel. Discussion and Conclusion This exploratory study conducted a survey to investigate the women perception and choice of preference towards the green attributes of the hotel industry. It has been seen that women consumers are more concern towards the environment as compared to men (Finisterra Do Pago, et al., 2009). 310

8 From the above results it can be seen that women consumers have their different perception towards the green attributes of the hotel industry. It means that some women consumers perceive Train employees for better environmental performance, use sensors or timers to save electricity were to be important factor while choosing hotel whereas some women consumers perceive using sensors or timers to save electricity, have an active system to detect and repair water leakage in toilets,faucets and shower heads,encourage business with environmentally friendly service providers etc were to be imortant to them while choosing a hotel but in case of offering a linen reuse option to multiple night guests was perceived as important variable by all the women consumers because no women would like to compromise with the hygiene factors. Similarly in case of towel reuse program, all women consumers have same preference whle choosing a hotel. which means that all the women consumers have same choice that towel reuse program are major factor where they do not want to include in their hotels. It concludes that the women consumers have their different preferences while choosing a hotel. some of them prefer energy efficient light bulbs in the guest room, refillable shampoo dispensers, recycling bins in the hotel lobby as important attributes whereas some of them prefer green hotel certification as imortant attributes. But women consumers have same preference regarding towel reuse program which were considered to be least important in the eyes of women as they will not compromise with comforts and hygiene factors while choosing a hotel. Also, it has also been seen that if there is favourable peception of the women consumers then there will be high preference of green attributes while choosing a hotel.it has been seen that the perception of women consumers have the effect on the preference of green attributes while choosing a hotel and vice versa. Managerial Implication and Future Research Based on the current study, there are various recommendations to the hoteliers. This study is important from the hotelier s perspective to gain more information about the women market segment within the hospitality industry. Accordingly, the results of this study would help hoteliers to know how women consumers perceive the green attributes incorporated in the hotels and also help them in initiating appropriate marketing strategies to attract these women travellers and retaining the existing women travellers. Due to the fast degradation of the environment, the current research is widely applicable in all the areas of hospitality industry. The emerging trend of green products and services, this research will help hoteliers to identify various factors that can influence the large segments of the consumers. At the same time, by understanding the women s preferences towards the green services, hoteliers would be able to achieve a competitive advantage and stand out among the competitors, which will lead to excel them in the commercial performance. There are many areas where further research can be done which have wider scope further. The future study can explore the employee s perception and their behaviour towards the green hotels. Area like green restaurants and the service quality can be explored in the hospitality sectors. 311

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