Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97

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Tourism Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman

What influences water conservation and towel reuse practices of hotel

guests?
Heesup Han a, Sunghyup Sean Hyun b, *
a
College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwanjin-Gu, Seoul, 143-747, South Korea
b
School of Tourism, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-dong, Seongdonggu, Seoul, 133-791, Republic of Korea

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

We successfully identified the factors

that trigger hotel guests' water con-
servation and towel reuse behaviors.

Eco-friendly behaviors in everyday
life were significantly linked to
guests' pro-environmental
intentions.

Increasing moral norm was particu-
larly critical to promote water con-
servation behavior.

Enhancing descriptive norm was of
importance in encouraging towel
reuse behavior.

Anticipated pride and guilt contrib-
uted to inducing pro-environmental
decisions.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Understanding guests' water conservation and towel reuse behaviors is essential as sustainability is
Received 22 December 2016 recently a vital issue in the hotel industry. Yet, guests' decision formation for such pro-environmental
Received in revised form behaviors has not been sufficiently explored. This research filled such a void in the extant literature.
4 August 2017
Our empirical findings showed that guests' water conservation intention was a significant function of
Accepted 5 August 2017
moral norm, anticipated feelings, and water saving behavior in everyday life. Our results also indicated
that guests' towel reuse intention was significantly affected by moral norm, social norms, anticipated
feelings, and towel reuse behavior in everyday life. Moreover, moral norm and descriptive norm were
Keywords:
Water conservation
found to be the most influential factors determining water conservation and towel reuse intentions,
Towel reuse respectively. This research adds to the extant literature in hospitality/tourism by providing valuable
Hotel guests insights into how normative, affective, and habitual processes relate to guests’ pro-environmental de-
Eco-friendly behavior in everyday life cisions during their stay at a hotel.
Normative process © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Affective process

1. Introduction

The use of energy efficient light bulbs, towel reuse, waste/grey

water treatment, and water conservation are regarded to be the
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: heesup.han@gmail.com (H. Han), sshyun@hanyang.ac.kr
popular and well-known eco-friendly practices adopted in the
(S.S. Hyun). hotel industry (Bohdanowicz, 2006; Bruns-Smith, Choy, Chong, &

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.08.005
0261-5177/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
88 H. Han, S.S. Hyun / Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97
Verma, 2015; Chan, Wong, & Lo, 2009; Dimara, Manganari, &
Skuras, 2017). Among these practices, towel reuse and water con-
servation are directly related to hotel guests' environmentally
responsible behaviors. Hotels can save energy and reduce detergent
use when customers reuse towels in the guest room (Bohner &
Schlüter, 2014; Goldstein, Cialdini, & Griskevicius, 2008), and ho-
tels can also lower grey water generation and save costs when
patrons avoid the excessive use of water in the guest room (Untaru,
Ispas, Candrea, Luca, & Epuran, 2016). Although hotel practitioners'
primary aims to induce guests’ conservation behaviors are reducing
costs (Bohner & Schlüter, 2014) and fulfilling governmental regu-
lations/rules designed to preserve the environment (Han, 2015),
these eco-friendly behaviors by hotel guests undoubtedly reduce
the environmental impact of the hotel industry, contributing to a
cleaner environment.
There are many studies devoted to the examination of the
possible effect of individuals' traveling behaviors on the environ-
ment (Bruns-Smith et al., 2015; Chan, 2014; Chou & Chen, 2014;
Goldstein et al., 2008; Han, 2014; Han, Hsu, & Sheu, 2010; Van
Riper & Kyle, 2014; Schultz, Khazian, & Zaleski, 2008; Untaru
et al., 2016). Researchers in these studies made a general
consensus that normative process comprising moral and social
norms, emotional process encompassing anticipated pride and
guilt, and habitual process comprising frequency of eco-friendly
behaviors in daily life are central concepts in explicating trav-
elers' environmentally responsible decision formation and behav-
iors. In particular, studies in various domains have shown that
social norms (descriptive and injunctive) effectively facilitate pro-
environmental behaviors (Goldstein et al., 2008; Schultz et al.,
2008). Social norm refers to “rules and standards that are under-
stood by members of a group, and that guide and/or constrain
human behavior without the force of laws” (Cialdini & Trost, 1998,
p. 152). Social norm is not a solitary concept that promotes con-
servation. A significant impact of moral norm on eco-friendly
intention/behavior has been also identified in relevant literature
(Klo€ckner, 2013; Stern, Dietz, Abel, Guagnano, & Kalof, 1999; Van
Riper & Kyle, 2014). This moral norm refers to one's internal
moral obligation to perform/refrain from particular actions
(Schwartz & Howard, 1981). In addition, the considerable impact of
anticipated emotions has been reported on extended norm acti-
vation process (Han, 2014; Onwezen, Antonides, & Bartels, 2013),
and a positive influence of daily eco-friendly activities has been
clearly reported on pro-environmental intention/behavior (Han
et al., 2010; Untaru et al., 2016).
Despite the criticality of these above-mentioned concepts, it
remains uncertain how anticipated feelings of pride and guilt affect
guests' water conservation and towel reuse behaviors while staying
at a hotel, and how these guests' daily activities of saving water and
reusing towels influence such pro-environmental behaviors at a
hotel. In addition, many studies in consumer behavior indicated
that the internal aspect of normative processes (e.g., moral norm)
should not be ignored not only in explicating hotel guests' envi-
ronmentally friendly behaviors (Han, 2015) but also in explaining
customers' general eco-friendly consumption activities (Bamberg,
Hunecke, & Blobaum, 2007; Klo € ckner & Matthies, 2004). Never-
theless, existing studies are mostly centered on the external/social
dimension of normative processes (e.g., descriptive norm) for
explicating lodging guests' pro-environmental behaviors (e.g.,
towel/linen reuse) (e.g., Bohner & Schlüter, 2014; Goldstein et al.,
2008). In general, studies about hotel customers' water conserva-
tion and towel reuse behaviors in the extant literature somewhat
underscored the importance of anticipated feelings, moral norm,
and eco-friendly activities in everyday life. Moreover, a simulta-
neous approach comprising these variables along with descriptive
and injunctive social norms for the explication of guests’ pro-
environmental decision formation within one theoretical frame-
work has been hardly made.
Given these voids, this research was designed (1) to explore if
moral norm, social norms (descriptive and injunctive), anticipated
feelings (pride and guilt), and daily eco-friendly activities (saving
water and reusing towels in everyday life) are effective factors in
promoting water conservation intention among hotel guests and to
elicit towel reuse intention among hotel guests, (2) to develop a
theoretical framework encompassing such determinants and test
its predictive ability for guests’ pro-environmental decisions, and
(3) to unearth the relative impact of moral (internal normative)
process, social (external normative) process, affective process, and
behavioral/habitual process on water conservation and towel reuse
intentions at a hotel.
2. Literature review
2.1. Two main guest conservation behaviors at a hotel
Lodging operations in the past few decades have increasingly
been expected to uphold green programs as a common feature of
their hotel businesses (Bruns-Smith et al., 2015). Although hotels'
environmental commitment is an important requisite in order to
introduce green initiatives/practices (Dimara et al., 2017; Teng,
Horng, Hu, Chien, & Shen, 2012), guests' engagement is essential
in implementing such green initiatives/practices. Towel reuse and
water conservation programs mainly needing guests’ engagement
therefore have long been of great interest to hotel practitioners and
researchers (e.g., Bohdanowicz, 2006; Chan et al., 2009; Dimara
et al., 2017; Goldstein et al., 2008). Among the general eco-
friendly practices in a hotel, these two programs are regarded
nearly universal in the global lodging industry (Bruns-Smith et al.,
2015).
2.1.1. Water reduction
Water is an essential natural resource in the hospitality industry.
In a hotel, conserving water is one of the most effectual and
extensively used environmentally responsible practices since, like
many hospitality businesses, water is a fundamental resource for
operating a hotel (Untaru et al., 2016). Greywater along with solid
wastes and energy-induced carbon emissions are believed to be the
most serious environmental threats derived from the lodging in-
dustry (Chan et al., 2009). For the past few decades, environmental
costs of water resource consumption, together with operational
costs, have been rapidly increasing in the hotel industry (Chan et al.,
2009). Water consumption is therefore of great interest for hotel
operations. Comprehensive efforts for sewage reduction can bring
considerable benefits to hotels (e.g., environmental and operational
cost savings) (Chan & Lam, 2001; Untaru et al., 2016). The popular
way for waste water reduction in a hotel is the replacement of
current appliances to be water-efficient (e.g., aerated faucets, low-
flow shower heads, low-flush or dual flush toilets, and eco-
friendly laundry facilities) (Bruns-Smith et al., 2015). Another way
is related to reusing waste water through a greywater recycling
system. According to Bruns-Smith et al. (2015), hotels can reduce
nearly 23% of their total water use using the above methods.
Nevertheless, the most effective way is undoubtedly regarded as
reducing guests’ water consumption (Page, Essex, & Causevic, 2014;
Untaru et al., 2016).
In most cases, guests' water use occurs in the bathroom of hotel
rooms, which normally includes activities (e.g., taking a shower,
flushing the toilet, brushing teeth, washing, and changing towels)
entirely under the control of individual guest (Page et al., 2014;
Untaru et al., 2016). Untaru et al. (2016) indicated that the major
reason for such high water consumption in the guest rooms is due
 H. Han, S.S. Hyun / Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97
to guests’ behavioral tendencies. That is, lodging customers,
particularly those staying at a highly-rated hotel (upscale/luxury),
are likely to have pleasure-seeking behavioral tendencies (e.g.,
taking long relaxing baths daily) that increase water use, and thus
they consume more water than they normally do at home. Given
this tendency, Jorgensen, Graymore, and O’Toole (2009) asserted
that dealing with outdoor water use behavior, comprising of water
use in a hotel rather than household water consumption, is the
initial and essential step when making changes in water con-
sumption behavior.
2.1.2. Towel reuse
Reusing towels is another efficient eco-friendly practice in ho-
tels (Bohner & Schlüter, 2014; Dimara et al., 2017; Goldstein, 2009;
Schultz et al., 2008). Empirical assessment regarding the environ-
mental benefits and monetary advantages for hotel operations
leads to the prevalence of towel reuse programs, endorsing its
popularity (Dimara et al., 2017). According to Goldstein (2009), the
daily cost associated with providing fresh towels is estimated to be
about $1.50 per hotel room. Hotels can conserve water and save
energy with guests' towel reuse activities while decreasing their
detergent consumption and labor costs (Bohner & Schlüter, 2014;
Clean; Dimara et al., 2017; Energy, 2016; Goldstein, 2009). From
both environmental and financial aspects, hotel practitioners’
motivation to employ a towel reuse program thus becomes
apparent.
Keeping face with this phenomenon in the marketplace, there is
also a growing segment of patrons who reward companies that
address ecological concerns adequately through their eco-friendly
business practices (Carlson, Grove, & Kangun, 1993; Goldstein
et al., 2008 Han et al., 2010; Menon & Menon, 1997). In many
cases, the appeal for towel reuse exhibits in the form of a card
strategically placed in the washroom of each hotel guest room
(Goldstein et al., 2008). The card often includes descriptive norm
messages (e.g., “Most guests reuse their towels” (Goldstein et al.,
2008, p. 472), “Almost 75% of hotel guests reuse their towels”
(Schultz et al., 2008, p. 8)) or injunctive norm messages (e.g., “Most
guests have expressed to us their approval of our towel reuse
program” (Schultz et al., 2008, p. 8)). The effectiveness of such
messages has been previously identified.
2.2. Internal normative influence
2.2.1. Moral norm
While moral norm is believed to be a constituent of normative
driver of pro-environmental decision/behavior along with
descriptive and injunctive norms, this variable basically differs
from these social norm factors as it reflects personal internal
standards concerning a specific action rather than comprising of
external standards (or externally imposed rules) (Doran & Larsen,
2016; Kallgren, Reno, & Cialdini, 2000). That is, one's regulation
concerning a certain behavior is derived by his/her internal (per-
sonal) process rather than external (social) processes. In this regard,
Stern (2000) and Stern et al. (1999) described moral norm as sense
of personal obligation to take a pro-environmental action. The
interchangeable use of the terms “moral norm” and “personal
norm” are therefore frequent (Han, 2015; Onwezen et al., 2013).
2.2.2. Influence of moral norm
Many studies in environmental behavior have investigated the
relationship between moral norm and pro-environmental behav-
iors (Onwezen et al., 2013; Schwartz, 1977; Stern, 2000; Zhang,
Wang, & Zhou, 2013). These studies all supported the notion that
making moral norms salient enhances the likelihood of individuals
taking preservation actions by reducing environmentally harmful
89
behaviors (e.g., public transportation use, decrease of personal car
use, local/organic food consumption, energy conservation, travel
mode choice). Consistently, in a tourism context, studies have
shown that eliciting travelers' moral norm triggers pro-
environmental intentions and behaviors on vacation (Dolnicar,
2010; Doran & Larsen, 2016; Han, 2014; Van Riper & Kyle, 2014).
A pro-environmental act is defined as “behavior that consciously
seeks to minimize the negative impact of one's actions on the
natural and built world” (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002, p. 240). These
studies all indicated that moral norm is a suitable construct to study
pro-environmental behaviors, emphasizing the criticality of it in
triggering decisions for such environmentally responsible actions.
Therefore, we developed the following hypotheses:
H1. Moral norm exerts a significant influence on guest water
conservation intention at a hotel.
H2. Moral norm exerts a significant influence on guest towel
reuse intention at a hotel.
2.3. External normative influence
2.3.1. Descriptive and injunctive norms (social norms)
Social norms can be an external aspect of normative influence
(Cialdini & Trost, 1998). Social psychology literature has separated
social norms into descriptive and injunctive social norms, as the
meaning of these two dimensions of social norms differ. For
instance, Cialdini, Reno, and Kallgren (1990), 1991), in their exam-
ination of recycling and litter reduction behaviors using the theory
of normative conduct, stressed the criticality of discriminating
descriptive and injunctive meanings of one's social norms as each
social norm dimension indicates a distinct source of human moti-
vations. Schultz et al. (2008) defined descriptive norm as “beliefs
about the actual behavior of others” (p. 6), and described injunctive
norm as “beliefs about the level of approval or disapproval of others
for a specific course of action” (p. 6). An individual simultaneously
experiences these two factors of social norms when conducting one
particular behavior. For instance, it is possible for an individual to
believe that other people will approve of them turning off the lights
when they leave a classroom (injunctive norm), but meanwhile to
believe that most students do not switch off the lights when they
leave the classroom (descriptive norm).
2.3.2. Influence of descriptive and injunctive norms
Both descriptive and injunctive forms of social norms lead to
changes of one's behavior (Cialdini et al., 1990; Doran & Larsen,
2016; Han & Hwang, 2017). Han and Hwang (2017) developed a
theoretical framework by mainly focusing on the normative influ-
ence. Within their framework, both descriptive and injunctive
norms were vital contributors of increasing delegates' environ-
mentally responsible intentions while attending a conference.
Their finding was in line with Doran and Larsen’s (2016) empirical
research showing that increasing descriptive and injunctive social
norms is an efficient strategy for the enhancement of individuals'
intentions to choose environmentally friendly travel options. The
provision of descriptive and injunctive norms can be a useful way to
decrease solid waste in everyday life (Reese et al., 2014), to induce
energy conservation (Schultz, Nolan, Cialdini, Goldstein, &
Griskevicius, 2007), to increase willingness to act pro-
environmentally at tourist sites (Ong & Musa, 2011), and to make
an eco-friendly hotel choice (Han et al., 2010). Given these, we
posited that descriptive and injunctive social norms contribute to
inducing guests' willingness to conserve water and reuse towels
while staying at a hotel. Hence, the following hypotheses were
developed:
90 H. Han, S.S. Hyun / Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97
H3. Descriptive norm exerts a significant influence on guest water
conservation intention at a hotel.
H4. Descriptive norm exerts a significant influence on guest towel
reuse intention at a hotel.
H5. Injunctive norm exerts a significant influence on guest water
conservation intention at a hotel.
H6. Injunctive norm exerts a significant influence on guest towel
reuse intention at a hotel.
2.4. Affective influence
2.4.1. Anticipated pride and guilt
An individual experiences positive or negative affect/emotion
when performing a certain behavior (or consuming a product/ser-
vice) (Oliver, 1997). Likewise, the individual also expects favorable
or unfavorable feelings they will experience by engaging in a
certain behavior in the future (Onwezen et al., 2013). Perugini and
Bagozzi (2001) described such expected forms of feelings as
anticipated affect. The prevailing view looks at anticipated affect as
including two dimensions (i.e., positive and negative) (Perugini &
Bagozzi, 2001; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). Thus, anticipated
affect comprises the positive and negative anticipated forms of
individuals’ emotional experiences. In environmental behavior, the
scope of positive and negative affect is more narrow and specific.
Particularly, the dominant view in the domain of environmental
behavior or psychology is that anticipated affect encompasses
anticipated feeling of guilt and pride (Harth, Leach, & Kessler, 2013;
Lerner & Keltner, 2000; Lewis, 1993; Onwezen et al., 2013). Antic-
ipated guilt concerns the extent to which one describes themselves
as anticipating feelings such as guilt, feeling sorry, and feeling bad
(Han, 2014; Kugler & Jones, 1992; Onwezen et al., 2013), while
anticipated pride comprises of expected feelings of pride, accom-
plishment, confidence, and of things feeling worthwhile (Han,
2014; Onwezen et al., 2013; Tracy & Robins, 2007).
2.4.2. Influence of anticipated pride and guilt
Many empirical studies in the extant literature have shown that
eliciting anticipated feelings of pride and guilt can have powerful
influence on individuals' willingness/decision to conduct pro-
environmental behavior (Bamberg & Mo € ser, 2007; Bamberg et al.,
2007; Han, 2014; Harth et al., 2013; Lewis, 1993; Onwezen et al.,
2013). Amongst many self-conscious affective factors, Harth et al.
(2013) and Lewis (1993) claimed that one's anticipated pride and
guilt are regarded to be primarily associated with pro-
environmental behavior. This research finding is in line with
Bamberg and Mo € ser’s (2007) study showing that increasing antic-
ipated feelings is an important strategy to induce pro-
environmental intention and behavior.
Compelling evidence exists regarding the direct and indirect
role of anticipated guilt and pride in determining eco-friendly
intention. Specifically, while several studies identified the indirect
role of anticipated emotions in inducing eco-friendly decisions
through moral norms (Bamberg & Mo € ser, 2007; Han, 2014), the
direct impact of anticipated guilt and pride related to pro-
environmental behaviors on decisions is more generally sup-
ported (Bamberg et al., 2007; Onwezen et al., 2013). In their
investigation of museum visitor behaviors, Han and Hyun (2016)
also demonstrated that diverse pro-environmental behaviors at a
museum (e.g., conserving water, reducing waste, recycling, and
consuming local food) were the significant and direct function of
visitors’ anticipated pride and guilt. We therefore assumed that the
degree to which travelers feel anticipated pride and guilt is
significantly related to their intentions to practice conservation
activities while staying at a hotel. Accordingly, the following hy-
potheses were developed:
H7. Anticipated pride exerts a significant influence on guest water
conservation intention at a hotel.
H8. Anticipated guilt exerts a significant influence on guest water
conservation intention at a hotel.
H9. Anticipated pride exerts a significant influence on guest towel
reuse intention at a hotel.
H10. Anticipated guilt exerts a significant influence on guest
towel reuse intention at a hotel.
2.5. Habitual influence
2.5.1. Eco-friendly behaviors in everyday life
A review of the literature in environmental behavior indicates
that when conservation behaviors are conducted in a frequent
manner, it becomes habitual (Gregory & Di Leo, 2003; Untaru et al.,
2016). These pro-environmental habitual behaviors can be
considered to be one of the important constituents for the pre-
diction of individuals' eco-friendly purchasing/consumption deci-
sion and behavior (Han et al., 2010; Laroche, Bergeron, & Barbaro-
Forleo, 2001). Within the past few decades, there has been a sub-
stantial increase in public awareness of the severity of environ-
mental problems (Laroche et al., 2001; Paco & Rapose, 2009;
Takacs-Santa, 2007). The public's responses often tend to be dis-
played in their behaviors in their everyday lives (e.g., recycling,
reduced use of disposable products, and water/energy saving) and
in their consumption behaviors such as preferring to purchase
ecologically compatible products/services (green purchase) (Ellen,
Wiener, & Cobb-Walgren, 1991; Kim & Han, 2010; Paco & Rapose,
2009; Prud'homme & Raymond, 2013).
2.5.2. Influence of eco-friendly behaviors in everyday life
In the hospitality and tourism sector, some prior studies focused
on individuals' levels of environmentalism or frequency of
responsible behaviors in everyday life and their consumption be-
haviors while staying at a hotel (Dimara et al., 2017; Han et al.,
2010; Prud'homme & Raymond, 2013). Han et al. (2010) demon-
strated that hotel guests' environmentally friendly activities at
home (e.g., use of blue/green box for recycling, limited use of
disposable products [e.g., plastic forks, knives, and spoons and
paper/styrofoam cups]) play an essential role in generating pro-
environmental purchasing decisions. In addition, Dimara et al.
(2017) also claimed that patrons' high environmentalism in
everyday life increases their engagement rates in a hotel's towel
reuse program. Consistently, Untaru et al. (2016) demonstrated that
travelers pro-environmental behaviors at home (i.e., water saving
behavior) directly enhances their intention to engage in water
conservation activities at a hotel. Overall, these researchers made a
general consensus that eco-friendly behaviors or environmen-
talism in daily life stimulate individuals' selection of eco-friendly
hotels and their participation in environmentally responsible pro-
grams while staying at a hotel. Elaborating on this prior evidence
regarding the vital role of conservation activities in everyday life,
guests who actively engage in water saving and towel reuse prac-
tices at home are likely to decrease water use and reduce the
request of towel replacement while staying at a hotel, respectively.
Hence, the following hypotheses were developed:
H11. Water conservation behavior in everyday life exerts a sig-
nificant influence on guest water conservation intention at a hotel.
H12. Towel reuse behavior in everyday life exerts a significant
 H. Han, S.S. Hyun / Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97
influence on guest towel reuse intention at a hotel.
2.6. Research model
Fig. 1 represents the proposed conceptual model for this
research. Our theoretical framework is comprised of internal
(moral norm) and external (descriptive and injunctive norms)
normative dimensions, positive and negative affective dimensions
(anticipated pride and guilt), and habitual dimensions comprising
eco-friendly behaviors in everyday life (water save and towel reuse
behaviors in daily life) as triggers of individuals’ intentions to
conserve water and reuse towels at a hotel. The model comprises a
total of 12 research hypotheses concerning these normative, af-
fective, and habitual influences.
3. Methods
3.1. Measurement development
In order to evaluate the research variables, we employed the
validated measures from the previous studies in the extant litera-
ture (i.e., Ajzen, 1991; Bamberg et al., 2007; Han, 2014; Han &
Hwang, 2017; Hwang & Hyun, 2017; Lyu & Hwang, 2017;
Onwezen et al., 2013; Perugini & Bagozzi, 2001; Smith et al.,
2012; Untaru et al., 2016). Multiple items were utilized for the
evaluation of all study constructs. Specifically, three measurement
items were used for moral norm (e.g., “Regardless of what other
people do, because of my own values/principles I feel that I should
behave in an environmentally friendly way while staying at a ho-
tel”). Three items were used to evaluate descriptive norm (e.g.,
“Would you say that most guests practice eco-friendly activities
while staying at a hotel [e.g., water conservation and towel
reuse]?”). Injunctive norm was evaluated with three items (e.g.,
“Would you say that people whose opinions you value approve of
those who do not engage in eco-friendly behaviors while staying at
a hotel?” [reverse coded]). Four items ranging from “Not at all” (1)
to “Very much” (7) were utilized to measure anticipate pride (e.g.,
“Imagine that you are practicing eco-friendly activities [e.g., water
Fig. 1. Proposed theoretical model.
91
conservation and towel reuse] while staying at a hotel. How would
you feel? e Proud”). Three items ranging from “Not at all” (1) to
“Very much” (7) were used to evaluate anticipate guilt (e.g., “Ima-
gine that you are not practicing eco-friendly activities [e.g., exces-
sive use of water and towels] while staying at a hotel. How would
you feel? e Guilty”).
In addition, water conservation behavior in everyday life (e.g.,
“At home, I turn off the shower water while I am soaping”) and
towel reuse behavior in everyday life (e.g., “At home, I reuse bath
towels”) were measured with three items, respectively. Lastly,
water conservation intention at a hotel was evaluated with three
items (e.g., “The next time I stay at a hotel, I am willing to conserve
water”), and towel reuse intention at a hotel was assessed with
three items (e.g., “The next time I stay at a hotel, I am willing to
reuse towels”). All items except for anticipated feelings were
measured with a seven-point scale ranging from “Strongly
disagree” (1) to “Strongly agree” (7). The above-mentioned mea-
sures were all included in the survey questionnaire. This ques-
tionnaire, which also comprised of research descriptions of and
queries for personal demographic information, was pre-tested with
graduate students in the hospitality department and hotel industry
professionals. A slight amendment was made based on their thor-
ough feedback. In addition, the survey questionnaire was perfected
through academic experts’ review. Measures utilized in the present
research are exhibited in Table 1.
3.2. Data collection and sample characteristics
In this research, we used an online survey method to efficiently
reach general US hotel customers. Specifically, an e-mail survey
invitation with an introductory letter was sent to general hotel
guests through an internet market research company's survey
system. As a screening question, only those guests whose most
recent hotel stay was within the last six months and whose fre-
quency of hotel stays per year is more than once were requested to
participate in the survey by clicking the link leading to the survey
provided in the e-mail invitation. On average, the participants
spent approximately 7 min to complete the survey. After the
92 H. Han, S.S. Hyun / Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97

Table 1
Measures and loadings.

Measures Loading Mean SD Skewness Std. error of Kurtosis Std. error

skewness of kurtosis

Moral norm*
I feel an obligation to practice eco-friendly activities (e.g., water conservation 0.763 3.757 1.288 0.121 0.136 0.234 0.271
and towel reuse) while staying at a hotel.
Regardless of what other people do, because of my own values/principles I feel 0.863 4.003 1.246 -0.045 0.136 0.226 0.271
that I should behave in an environmentally friendly way while staying at a
hotel.
I feel that it is important to engage in eco-friendly activities while staying at a 0.582 4.741 1.229 -0.370 0.136 0.368 0.271
hotel, reducing the harm to the environment.

Descriptive norm*
Would you say that most guests practice eco-friendly activities while staying at 0.776 5.128 1.214 0.226 0.136 0.368 0.271
a hotel (e.g., water conservation and towel reuse)?
Would you say that people who are important to you (e.g., family and friends) 0.897 5.159 1.198 0.123 0.136 -0.396 0.271
engage in environmentally responsible behaviors while staying at a hotel?
Would you say that people whose opinions you value engage in eco-friendly 0.829 4.978 1.216 0.042 0.136 0.133 0.271
behaviors while staying at a hotel?

Injunctive norm*
Would you say that typical hotel guests approve of those who do not practice 0.900 4.439 1.179 0.032 0.136 0.463 0.271
eco-friendly activities while staying at a hotel (e.g., water conservation and
towel reuse)? (reverse coded)
Would you say that people who are important to you (e.g., family and friends) 0.953 4.439 1.231 0.014 0.136 0.463 0.271
approve of those who do not engage in environmentally responsible
behaviors while staying at a hotel? (reverse coded)
Would you say that people whose opinions you value approve of those who do 0.924 4.201 1.217 0.054 0.136 0.066 0.271
not engage in eco-friendly behaviors while staying at a hotel? (reverse coded)

Anticipated pride**
Proud 0.841 5.548 1.057 0.375 0.136 0.107 0.271
Accomplished 0.869 5.380 1.137 0.259 0.136 0.507 0.271
Confident 0.791 5.268 1.136 0.309 0.136 0.315 0.271
Worthwhile 0.848 5.564 1.100 0.504 0.136 0.217 0.271

Anticipated guilt**
Guilty 0.888 4.059 1.355 0.115 0.136 0.151 0.271
Sorry 0.855 4.477 1.390 0.159 0.136 0.155 0.271
Bad 0.828 4.224 1.341 0.022 0.136 0.105 0.271

Water conservation behavior in everyday life*

At home, I turn off the shower water while I am soaping. 0.960 5.115 1.147 0.102 0.136 0.498 0.271
At home, I turn off the tap water while I brush my teeth. 0.926 5.134 1.136 0.253 0.136 0.213 0.271
At home, I turn off the tap water while I am soaping. 0.625 4.875 1.259 0.567 0.136 0.667 0.271

Towel reuse behavior in everyday life*

At home, I reuse bath towels. 0.930 5.355 1.148 0.203 0.136 0.451 0.271
At home, I reuse hand towels. 0.956 5.383 1.188 0.473 0.136 0.097 0.271
At home, I reuse any towel. 0.926 5.371 1.163 0.349 0.136 0.127 0.271

Water conservation intention at a hotel*

The next time I stay at a hotel, I am willing to conserve water. 0.866 4.773 1.157 0.181 0.136 0.280 0.271
The next time I stay at a hotel, I plan to engage in water conservation activities. 0.864 4.626 1.187 0.371 0.136 0.676 0.271
The next time I stay at a hotel, I will expend effort on conserving water. 0.871 4.729 1.196 0.248 0.136 0.150 0.271

Towel reuse intention at a hotel*

The next time I stay at a hotel, I am willing to reuse towels. 0.899 5.006 1.162 0.108 0.136 0.347 0.271
The next time I stay at a hotel, I plan to engage in towel reuse activities. 0.871 4.807 1.230 0.154 0.136 0.185 0.271
The next time I stay at a hotel, I will expend effort on reusing towels. 0.771 4.732 1.236 0.178 0.136 0.301 0.271

Note. All loadings are significant at p < 0.01.

* Questions for these study variables were evaluated from “Strongly disagree” (1) to “Strongly agree” (7).
** Questions for these study variables were evaluated from “Not at all” (1) to “Very much” (7).

elimination of unusable responses and extreme outliers, a total of
321 cases remained. In order to achieve our research objectives, the
data analysis was performed using these responses. Our samples
using the online survey methodology did not perfectly represent
the entire population of interest (general lodging customers). Yet,
such a Web-based survey used in this study allowed us to effec-
tively reach a broader range of samples compared to the field sur-
vey methodology.
Among the 321 cases, female respondents formed the majority
(57.0%), with male respondents totaling 43.0%. The participants' age
ranged from 18 years old to 64 years old. The average age of all
respondents was 38.6 years old. The survey participants were
requested to report their household income. The majority of the
respondents indicated their income as between $40,000 e $54,999
(24.3%), followed by $25,000 e $39,999 (19.9%), $55,000 e $69,999
(18.4%), $70,000 e $84,999 (12.5%), $85,000 e $99,999 (11.2%),
$100,000 or more (7.2%), and $24,999 or less (6.5%). The re-
spondents' level of education was also asked; a majority of the
 H. Han, S.S. Hyun / Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97 93

participants reported that they have a university degree (59.8%).
About 19.3% indicated that they are 2-year (or some college)
graduates. In addition, about 11.2% of the participants have a
graduate degree, and 9.7% reported that they have a high school
diploma or less. Moreover, a majority of the participants reported
that they are Caucasians/Whites (52.0%), followed by Asians
(19.3%), Hispanics (15.6%), African Americans/Blacks (10.9%), and
others (2.2%). These participants were from diverse geographical
areas of the US. The survey participants’ average frequency of hotel
stay per year was 3.8 times. The respondents have about 6.3 room-
nights per year on average.
Using an online survey, it is common to have a greater number
of female participants, highly educated participants, young adults,
and Caucasians/Whites (Curtin, Presser, & Singer, 2000; Han, 2015;
Han, Lee, & Hwang, 2016; Lee, Hsu, Han, & Kim, 2010; Moore &
Tarnai, 2002; Untaru et al., 2016). Thus, the imbalance in the
gender ratio and education level in the present research is not
unusual. In other words, it is not uncommon to have a respondent
base skewed to females and highly educated respondents when
using a Web-based survey (Curtin et al., 2000; Han, 2015; Han et al.,
2016; Lee et al., 2010; Moore & Tarnai, 2002; Untaru et al., 2016).
Indeed, most empirical studies employed an online survey in Gao
et al.’s (2016) quantitative meta-analysis showed the consistent
phenomenon that the samples included strong skewing in female
participants and highly educated participants.
3.3. Data analysis procedure
To analyze the collected data, SPSS and AMOS were utilized. A
measurement model was first estimated using a confirmatory fac-
tor analysis (CFA). A measurement quality testing was performed to
evaluate the reliability and validity of study constructs with mul-
tiple item measures. Subsequently, a structural equation modeling
(SEM) was conducted to evaluate the proposed model and test the
hypothesized relationships among study constructs. These two-
step processes were taken in accordance with the suggestion of
Anderson and Gerbing (1988).
4. Results
4.1. Reliability and validity testing
A measurement model was created. Results of the CFA indicated
the acceptable fit of the model to the data (Goodness-of-fit statis-
tics: c2 ¼ 882.907, df ¼ 314, c2/df ¼ 2.812, p < 0.001,
RMSEA ¼ 0.075, CFI ¼ 0.927, IFI ¼ 0.927, TLI ¼ 0.912) (See Table 2).
All items were loaded to their associated latent variables signifi-
cantly at 0.01 level. Calculation of composite reliability revealed
that the values were all greater than the minimum threshold of
0.60. As presented in Table 2, the values fell between 0.785 and
0.956. Therefore, the internal validity of the measures for each
latent construct was established. Next, the average variance
extracted (AVE) value was calculated. Our calculation revealed that
all AVEs were greater than Fornell and Larcker’s (1981) recom-
mended value of 0.50. The values feel between 0.555 and 0.879.
Thus, convergent validity for each variable was evident. These
values were then compared to the squared between-construct
correlations. As reported in Table 2, the AVEs were greater than
the related squared between-construct correlations. These results
supported the discriminant validity of our research variables.
Overall, the assessment of the measurement model revealed evi-
dence for reliability and convergent validity.
4.2. The proposed model assessment and hypotheses testing
A structural model was generated. A maximum likelihood esti-
mation approach was utilized to generate the model. Results of the
SEM revealed the suitable fit of the model to the data (Goodness-of-
fit statistics: c2 ¼ 923.676, df ¼ 317, c2/df ¼ 2.914, p < 0.001,
RMSEA ¼ 0.077, CFI ¼ 0.922, IFI ¼ 0.922, TLI ¼ 0.907). Table 3 and
Fig. 2 contain the details pertinent to the results of the structural
model assessment. The seven independent variables explained
about 58.3% of the variance in guest water conservation intention at
a hotel, and explained approximately 70.5% of the variance in guest
towel reuse intention at a hotel. That is, the model satisfactorily and
sufficiently accounted for the total variance in water conservation
and towel reuse intentions.
The hypothesized associations among research variables were
evaluated. First, the proposed normative influence was tested. As
reported in Table 3 and Fig. 2, the results of the SEM indicated that
moral norm exerted a significant influence on water conservation
(b ¼ 0.331, p < 0.01) and on towel reuse intention (b ¼ 0.219,
p < 0.01) and that descriptive and injunctive norms had a signifi-
cant and positive influence on water conservation (b ¼ 0.331,
p < 0.01) and on towel reuse intention (b ¼ 0.119, p < 0.05). These
results supported hypotheses 1, 2, 4, and 6. However, the hypoth-
esized impact of descriptive and injunctive norms on water con-
servation (b ¼ 0.098, p > 0.05) and on towel reuse intention
(b ¼ 0.052, p > 0.05) was found to not be significant. Therefore,
hypotheses 3 and 5 were not supported. These results implied that

Table 2
Measurement model assessment.

Moral Descriptive Injunctive Anticipated Anticipated Water Towel reuse Water Towel reuse Composite
norm norm norm pride guilt conservation behavior conservation intention reliability
behavior intention

Moral norm e 0.067b 0.223 0.175 0.033 0.153 0.089 0.265 0.231 0.785
Descriptive norm 0.259a e 0.016 0.217 0.082 0.339 0.452 0.172 0.370 0.874
Injunctive norm 0.472 0.400 e 0.127 0.064 0.176 0.097 0.207 0.250 0.947
Anticipated pride 0.418 0.466 0.356 e 0.111 0.370 0.341 0.293 0.320 0.904
Anticipated guilt 0.182 0.287 0.252 0.333 e 0.115 0.084 0.115 0.131 0.893
Water conservation 0.391 0.582 0.420 0.608 0.339 e 0.448 0.401 0.368 0.884
behavior
Towel reuse behavior 0.298 0.672 0.311 0.584 0.289 0.669 e 0.166 0.384 0.956
Water conservation 0.515 0.415 0.455 0.541 0.339 0.633 0.408 e 0.417 0.901
intention
Towel reuse intention 0.481 0.608 0.500 0.566 0.362 0.607 0.620 0.646 e 0.885
Average variance 0.555 0.698 0.857 0.702 0.735 0.723 0.879 0.752 0.720 e
extracted

Note. Goodness-of-fit statistics: c2 ¼ 882.907, df ¼ 314, c2/df ¼ 2.812, p < 0.001, RMSEA ¼ 0.075, CFI ¼ 0.927, IFI ¼ 0.927, TLI ¼ 0.912.
a
Correlations between constructs are below the diagonal.
b
Squared correlations between constructs are above the diagonal.
94 H. Han, S.S. Hyun / Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97

Table 3
Structural model assessment.

Linkages Coefficients t-values

H1 Moral norm / Water conservation intent. 0.331 4.935**

H2 Moral norm / Towel reuse intent. 0.219 3.708**
H3 Descriptive norm / Water conservation intent. 0.098 1.574
H4 Descriptive norm / Towel reuse intent. 0.331 4.764**
H5 Injunctive norm / Water conservation intent. 0.052 0.895
H6 Injunctive norm / Towel reuse intent. 0.119 2.266*
H7 Anticipated pride / Water conservation intent. 0.160 2.327*
H8 Anticipated pride / Towel reuse intent. 0.139 2.259*
H9 Anticipated guilt / Water conservation intent. 0.140 2.795**
H10 Anticipated guilt / Towel reuse intent. 0.111 2.496*
H11 Water conservation behav. / Water conservation intent. 0.271 4.032**
H12 Towel reuse behav. / Towel reuse intent. 0.237 3.481**
Goodness-of-fit statistics: Variance explained:
c ¼ 923.676, df ¼ 317, c /df ¼ 2.914, p < 0.001, RMSEA ¼ 0.077, CFI ¼ 0.922, IFI ¼ 0.922, TLI ¼ 0.907
2 2 2
R (Water conservation intention) ¼ 0.583
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 R2 (Towel reuse intention) ¼ 0.705

guests' internal moral process is vital in generating both water
conservation and towel reuse intentions, but their external social
process are only crucial in triggering guests’ intention to reuse
towels.
The proposed effect of anticipated pride and guilt on pro-
environmental intentions was evaluated. As expected, our find-
ings showed that anticipated pride (b ¼ 0.160, p < 0.05) and
anticipated guilt (b ¼ 0.139, p < 0.05) exerted a significant influence
on water conservation intention and that towel reuse intention was
a significant function of both anticipated pride (b ¼ 0.140, p < 0.05)
and anticipated guilt (b ¼ 0.111, p < 0.05). These results supported
hypotheses 7, 8, 9, and 10. These findings implied that affective
process is essential in inducing guests’ environmentally responsible
intentions.
The hypothesized impact of eco-friendly behaviors in everyday
life on pro-environmental intentions at a hotel was assessed. As
shown in Table 3 and Fig. 2, our results showed that water con-
servation behavior in everyday life significantly and positively
influenced on water conservation intention at a hotel (b ¼ 0.271,
p < 0.01) and that towel reuse behavior in everyday life had a
significant and positive impact on towel reuse intention at a hotel
(b ¼ 0.237, p < 0.01). These results supported hypotheses 11 and 12.
Our findings implied that guests’ habitual eco-friendly behaviors in
their daily life are essential constituents in increasing their in-
tentions to practice environmentally responsible actions during
their hotel stay.
5. Discussion
Within our theoretical framework, the criticality of moral norm in
generating water conservation intention signified that a moral norm
message in guest rooms can be a useful tool in inducing water saving
behavior. In addition, the significance of descriptive norm in
increasing towel reuse intention denoted that a descriptive norm
message in guest rooms can be an effectual way to persuade guests'
participation in a hotel's towel reuse program. Moreover, in our
research, individuals' water conservation behaviors in everyday life,
though less powerful than moral norm, significantly increased their
willingness to conserve water at a hotel, and their towel reuse
behavior at home, though less strong than descriptive norm, signif-
icantly enhanced their willingness to reuse towels at a hotel. The
importance of anticipated affect demonstrated in this study also

Fig. 2. Structural model evaluation.

 H. Han, S.S. Hyun / Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97
informed that eliciting anticipated pride and affect is an essential
process to fortify guests' intentions to conserve water and reuse
towels. Considering that very little empirical research in the hospi-
tality and tourism literature has been done on the socio-
psychological factors that minimize guests' water resource use and
demand for towel replacement at a hotel together, the present study
successfully addressed this research gap in the extant literature.
Our findings demonstrated that guests' intention to save water
at a hotel becomes stronger with an increase of guests' sense of
moral obligation to take a pro-environmental action. Unlike the
prevailing indication in the extant literature regarding the promi-
nent role of normative social norm messages in guest rooms (e.g.,
descriptive alone or both descriptive and injunctive) in inducing
pro-environmental behaviors (Bohner & Schlüter, 2014; Doran &
Larsen, 2016; Goldstein et al., 2008; Schultz et al., 2008; Untaru
et al., 2016), this research uncovered the salient role of moral
norm in triggering guests' water saving activity. The role of social
norm factors was surprisingly trivial and insignificant. This implied
that moral norm messages in guest rooms should be the tools to
encourage guests to join in with a hotel's water conservation pro-
gram. For researchers, the use of this moral concept can be an
essential process when theorizing travelers' environmentally
responsible intentions and behaviors in the hotel industry.
From the practical aspect, hotel operators should develop water
conservation messages that activate personal norm and dissemi-
nate it through their websites, in-room cards/signs, and their social
networks. For instance, initially making cards including moral
norm messages (e.g., “Turning off the water while brushing your
teeth is a good behavior because it saves more water than you
think” and “Conserving water is everyone's responsibility for saving
our one and only planet”) is necessary. Then, after testing the
effectiveness and cultural interpretations of these messages,
placing one of these cards (randomly assigned or regularly rotated)
in guest rooms rather than placing conventional signs with limited
effectiveness (e.g., “Help save the planet”) could better encourage
guests to engage in water conservation.
In the present study, both descriptive and social norms were
identified to be important drivers of guests' intentions to reuse
towels while staying at hotels. This result is coherent with other
extant studies that emphasized the salience of social norms in
guests’ pro-social/pro-environmental behavior at a hotel (Doran &
Larsen, 2016; Goldstein et al., 2008; Mair & Bergin-Seers, 2010). Our
findings implied that guests are likely to practice reusing towels
rather than using fresh towels every time while staying at a hotel
due to their social norms, even though such action may lead to
some inconvenience. Theoretically, our results confirmed the
conceptualization, which is pertinent to normative influence, that
individuals are likely to plan on engaging in an eco-friendly
behavior when they perceive that other people behave in a
similar manner (external descriptive social), when they believe that
others expect them to do (external injunctive social), and when
they feel that they are morally obliged to do so (internal moral).
Both anticipated pride and guilt were found to act as significant
variables in triggering pro-environmental intentions within our
theoretical framework. These anticipated forms of affect added a
vital aspect, which is missing in the existing studies about water
conservation and towel reuse behaviors at hotels. In line with
Bamberg and Mo € ser’s (2007), Han’s (2014), and Onwezen et al.’s
(2013) assertions, it was evident that one's environmentally
responsible decisions are not sufficiently explained without
considering the influence of anticipated feelings. Theoretically, it is
meaningful as many studies in the extant literature have proposed
various links through which anticipated pride and guilt are asso-
ciated with the models for environmental behaviors but have never
investigated the function of such anticipated affect within the
95
framework explicating water conservation and towel reuse be-
haviors. Our empirical findings verified the theorization that guests
who anticipate feelings of pride when engaging in eco-friendly
actions and anticipate feelings of guilt when not engaging in
green behaviors while staying at a hotel are likely to have a strong
willingness to engage in water conservation and towel reuse pro-
grams. That is, these affective factors together with normative
factors and habitual variables encourage guests to willingly accept
some inconveniences that possibly occur while practicing eco-
friendly actions during their hotel stay. The theorization verified
in our empirical research offer valuable insights into understanding
lodging guests' environmentally responsible decision-making
process or behaviors during their stay at a hotel.
While water conservation behavior and towel reuse behavior in
everyday life were not the foremost factors, these two variables
were found to be the second most influential factors in triggering
hotel guests' intention of conserving water (b ¼ 0.271, p < 0.01) and
reusing towels (b ¼ 0.237, p < 0.01), respectively. This result, which
is consistent with some previous studies stressing the criticality of
daily eco-friendly activities in a purchasing decision-making pro-
cess (e.g., Bergin-Seers & Mair, 2009; Han et al., 2010; Untaru et al.,
2016), implied that it is ultimately necessary to boost individuals’
eco-friendly behaviors in their daily life in order to maximize their
water conservation and towel reuse actions at a hotel. Our finding
provides researchers and practitioners with valuable information
that helping people habitually practice conservation activities in
their daily life eventually leads to their environmentally respon-
sible consumption behaviors. Hotel management thus needs to
actively find the effective ways to encourage their current and
potential guests to engage in pro-environmental behaviors in their
everyday life. For instance, informing them that the likely benefits
of such daily conservation activities for themselves and society
(e.g., monetary save, cleaner environment for their kids and family)
are greater than they thought can be one useful way.
By far the most widely utilized approach for promoting hotel
guests' conservation intention/behavior was disseminating infor-
mation (Schultz et al., 2008). This strategy was based on the sup-
position that individuals do not engage in conservation behaviors
as they do not know how to practice them and do not recognize
that they should (Schultz, 2002). Indeed, according to the
knowledge-deficit model regarding behavior change, enhancing
knowledge about environmental conservation changes individuals'
behaviors to be more eco-friendly (Schultz et al., 2008). However, in
many studies, this knowledge-deficit theory of behavior change is
found to be effective in promoting conservation behaviors
(McKenzie-Mohr & Smith, 1999; Nolan, Schultz, Cialdini, Goldstein,
& Griskevicius, 2008; Schultz, 2002) as information campaigns
(e.g., disseminating excessive information) ignore one's normative
social influence (Cialdini, 2003), motives (Costanzo, Archer,
Aronson, & Pettigrew, 1986; Schultz et al., 2008), affective process
(Harth et al., 2013; Onwezen et al., 2013), normative personal/moral
influence (Cialdini et al., 1990; Stern, 2000), and habitual behavior
(Han et al., 2010; Prud'homme & Raymond, 2013).
This study is not free from limitations. These limitations in turn
provide a good opportunity for future research. First, in this research,
the sample population comprised of a greater proportion of women
(57.0%) than men (43.0%). According to Curtin et al. (2000) and
Moore and Tarnai (2002), females tend to more actively participate
in online surveys than males. Nonetheless, making a gender ratio
equivalent in the sample population would be necessary for future
research to minimize the gender influence. Second, hotel guests
often exhibit their willingness to participate in green programs, and
their actual eco-friendly practices in a hotel are increasing (Han,
2015). Nevertheless, the association between such green program
participation and guests' pleasurable hotel stay is somewhat weak
96 H. Han, S.S. Hyun / Tourism Management 64 (2018) 87e97
(Bruns-Smith et al., 2015). Future research should explore the
possible and effective ways that sustainability programs enhance
guests' satisfactory hotel stays. Third, guests' participation in green
programs may differ based on the type of hotel by levels of service
(i.e., luxury, upscale, midscale, and economy). Examining such eco-
friendly behavior and investigating its drivers can be an interesting
extension of the present research. Lastly, the effect of demographic
characteristics on consumer behaviors for eco-friendly practices has
been well-documented (e.g., Chan, 2013; Dimara et al., 2017;
Prud'homme & Raymond, 2013). To deepen our theoretical frame-
work, future research should consider such impact on guests' water
conservation and towel reuse decision formation.
6. Conclusion
The normality of the data was assessed by estimating the
skewness and kurtosis of each measurement item. As shown in
Table 1, the values of skewness ranged from 0.567 to 0.108, and
the kurtosis values ranged from 0.507 to 0.676. As values for
skewness and kurtosis between 2.00 and þ 2.00 are regarded to
be acceptable in order to prove normal distribution (George &
Mallery, 2010), our data set included no serious skewness and
kurtosis problem. While travelers' tendencies or willingness to
practice environmentally responsible behaviors at a hotel is a
previously researched topic, the underlying variables that urge
travelers to adopt such eco-friendly behaviors as water conserva-
tion and towel reuse programs while staying at a hotel are insuf-
ficiently documented. In this study, we successfully developed a
framework encompassing nine theoretical constructs for travelers'
pro-environmental intentions to decrease water use and requests
for towel replacement at a hotel. Our findings inform that travelers'
conservation intentions during their hotel stay are built through
normative social, normative personal/moral, affective, and habitual
processes. Specifically, our proposed research model successfully
explained why guests are willing to participate in water conserva-
tion and towel reuse programs, which implies that our theoretical
framework sufficiently accounted for lodging guests' pro-
environmental decision formation. To conclude, the present study
goes beyond existing empirical studies by uncovering and testing
the particular role of the factors that elicit travelers’ willingness to
engage in such pro-environmental actions during their stay at a
hotel, which has not been explored previously. This study accord-
ingly delivers meaningful and essential implications to researchers
and practitioners, enriching hospitality and tourism literature.
Funding
This work was supported by the research fund of Hanyang
University (HY-2018).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.08.005.
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Heesup Han is a Professor in the College of Hospitality
and Tourism Management at Sejong University, Korea.
His research interests include cultural tourism, heri-
tage tourism, airline, medical tourism, green market-
ing. His papers have been selected as the most
downloaded and read articles in many top-tier hospi-
tality and tourism journals. Additional short note:
As the first author, Heesup Han contributed to the
research idea development, data collection, and the
completion of the introduction, discussion, and conclu-
sion sections of this study.
Sunghyup Sean Hyun is an Associate Professor in
the School of Tourism at Hanyang University.
He received his MA in hospitality and tourism
management in 2005 from the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst and earned his Ph.D. in hos-
pitality and tourism in 2009 from Virginia Poly-
t e c h n i c I n s t i t u t e a n d S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y. H e
has published many papers in the area of hospitality
and tourism marketing, focusing on brand
equity, customer equity, advertising, emotions,
and communication. Additional short note: As the
second (corresponding) author, Sunghyup Sean
Hyun contributed to the completion of the literature
review, methodology, and result sections of this
study.