Impact of hotels’ sustainability practices on guest attitudinal loyalty: application of loyalty chain stages theory

Considering the significance of the term “green” in the hotel industry, relatively little is known about hotels’ performances of conservation management and its impact on guest eco-friendly decision formation. This research was conducted to explicate guests’ attitudinal loyalty formation, by developing a sturdy theoretical framework encompassing their perceived hotel performances of green management (recycling and waste reduction, water saving, and energy conservation) and loyalty chain stages theory (cognitive, affective, and conative stages). A total of twelve attributes of hotel performances were identified through a qualitative approach. Our results from the structural analysis revealed that guests’ perceived hotel performances of water saving and energy conservation significantly influenced their attitudinal loyalty formation for green hotels. In addition, the significant mediating role of cognitive and affective stages was uncovered. Moreover, the effectiveness of loyalty chain stages theory was demonstrated. Our theoretical framework sufficiently accounted for the variance in conative loyalty.