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Guests are reluctant to accept any loss of comfort when traveling sustainably.
Price discounts increase the acceptance of measures to increase sustainability.
Hotels themselves must work sustainably in order to motivate guests to do the same.
Fair offers increase the willingness of guests to save energy during their vacation.
Summary of the study
The study examines how hotels can motivate their guests to save energy - a topic that has become increasingly important due to the energy crisis and the growing pressure to reduce CO₂ emissions. Two experimental studies show which measures guests accept and under which conditions they are willing to contribute to saving energy themselves.
The results show that guests attach great importance to comfort: Lower room temperatures and shorter shower times are perceived as unattractive, but can be partially compensated for by price discounts. At the same time, guests prefer hotels that use renewable energy. Guests who are particularly sustainability-oriented are more willing to cooperate.
The perception of fairness is key here: guests are significantly more willing to voluntarily save energy if the hotel itself visibly invests in energy-saving measures and thus makes its contribution. If this "joint effort" is communicated, the attractiveness of the hotel as a whole also increases.
The study thus shows that successful energy-saving strategies should be based on shared responsibility, transparent communication and a balance between comfort and efficiency.
Key findings of the study
Comfort remains crucial.
Guests clearly rate measures such as lower room temperatures or shorter shower times negatively - loss of comfort significantly reduces the attractiveness of a hotel. Unpopular energy-saving measures can be partially offset by price reductions, especially for environmentally conscious guests.
Renewable energy increases attractiveness.
Guests prefer hotels that obtain their electricity from sustainable sources - family-run businesses in particular appear credible and benefit from this.
Guests are more likely to save energy if the hotel itself takes action.
Voluntary cooperation increases significantly when hotels make visible investments themselves (e.g. energy self-sufficient systems). Guests perceive this as fair. The more guests perceive the relationship between their own and the hotel's measures as "balanced", the more likely they are to support energy-saving measures.
Target groups differ clearly.
Environmentally conscious guests are more likely to accept minor losses in comfort, react sensitively to prices and particularly appreciate technical sustainability measures.