The Role of Green Innovations in Shaping Guest Preferences in the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

The hospitality industry is increasingly adopting green innovations to enhance environmental sustainability and meet evolving guest expectations and overall satisfaction. This study focuses on how green innovation factors and green practices including energy efficiency, waste management, sustainable building design, eco-friendly amenities, and green marketing influence guest preferences and overall satisfaction. Additionally, it explores the moderating effects of demographic factors, environmental awareness, cultural differences, and price sensitivity on these relationships. Structured well developed questionnaires were used to gather data from 100 hotel guests in Sweden and Sri Lanka as part of a quantitative, cross-sectional study design. Descriptive statistics, correlation, multiple regression, and ANOVA were used in the analysis to assess how green innovations factors affected guest behavior and satisfaction and the function of moderating variables. The results show that green innovations factors improve overall happiness while having a considerable impact on guest preferences, including booking decisions and willingness to spend more. Furthermore, these connections were found to be strongly moderated by price sensitivity, cultural context, environmental consciousness, and demographic traits. Significantly, visitors from Sweden exhibited more receptivity to eco-friendly and sustainable marketing strategies, indicating a greater awareness of environmental issues, whereas guests from Sri Lanka displayed growing participation impacted and dependent by regional socioeconomic and cultural characteristics. The study contributes to hospitality management theory and practice by highlighting the importance of tailored green innovation factors that account for guest heterogeneity and cultural contexts. It offers practical guidance for the hospitality industry aiming to leverage sustainability initiatives to improve guest satisfaction and competitive advantage, reinforcing the role of green innovations in promoting both environmental and business outcomes.