The impact of sustainability certifications on performance and competitive action in hotels

Despite the growing research interest in the benefits of sustainability certificates to businesses, their impact on hotel firms’ financial performance at the competitive set (compset) level is not known. To fill this gap in the literature, this study uses data from 251 certified hotels located in Florida, United States, to analyze the effect of sustainability certificates on key performance indicators (KPIs) in hotels (e.g., Occupancy, ADR, RevPAR), compared to their compset. The findings show that certified hotels can increase their KPIs compared to competitors through a first-mover advantage. The study offers significant contributions to the literature on environmental management and competitive dynamics in the hospitality industry. We provide guidelines to managers regarding timing of response to other hotels in their competitive set when obtaining sustainability certification.