Adopting Sustainable and Recycling Practices in the Hotel Industry and Its Factors Influencing Guest Satisfaction

1. Introduction

The tourism industry's hospitality sector has a significant degree of negative environmental effects including increased demand on energy supplies, higher burdens on solid waste management, and pollution of water bodies, soil, and air (Kasim, 2006). One of the significant segments of the hospitality industry is lodging (hotels and other lodging companies). The hotel industry, which plays a major role in the lodging industry, is distinguished by its extensive range of operations, all of which have a substantial effect on the world's resources (Mbasera et al., 2016). The concerns for environmental issues have grown throughout changing trend toward sustainability both businesses and consumers are realizing how environmental degradation is and what it means. Customers' attitudes and purchase habits about environmentally friendly commercial premises have drastically changed as a result of this environmental concern. Hotels are increasingly focused on preserving the equilibrium between environmental concerns, resource usage, ethical and societal considerations, and financial concerns. A significant amount of environmental research has concentrated on green hotel qualities, green customer behavior, purchase intent, visitation intention, and willingness to pay for green hotel goods and services (Verma & Chandra, 2008). Green practices are initiatives that incentivize hoteliers to conserve electricity, water, and solid waste in order to lower operating expenses and safeguard the environment. The association further defined a “green hotel” as one that is eco-friendly and whose managers are committed to establishing initiatives that explicitly aim to protect the environment. For instance, a lot of hotels now provide their customers the option to forego daily towel and bed sheet changes, which helps to cut down on the amount of water and power used as well as the quantity of leftover laundry soap that is dumped into the sewer system (Malaysia Deraman et al., 2017). Green hotels are those that make an effort to use less energy, water, and materials while still delivering high-quality services in an effort to be more environmentally friendly. The Hoteliers have already recognized a number of advantages that come with implementing green practices. For instance, raise brand value, improve visitor perception, lower expenses, liabilities, and boost profits. The hotel industry is currently discussing the potential effects of global tourism growth on the environment. Government laws and regulations have put the hotel sector under pressure to adopt sustainable practices and lessen its carbon footprint for over ten years. A company's ability to satisfy and inspire its customers is critical to its success. Several studies in the marketing literature have found a strong correlation between purchase intentions and guest pleasure, which is predicted to lead to repeat business (Berezan et al., 2014a). Green practices are the policies and procedures that the management has implemented so that the hotels' entire range of operations is focused on minimizing their negative environmental effects. Moreover, a lot of hotels allow their customers the choice to have their towels, sheets, and other linens cleaned daily. Washing clothes on a daily basis uses more energy and chemicals, which will indirectly increase pollution. Therefore, making this decision will automatically lower the cost of conserving energy and water. Furthermore, utilizing fluorescent lighting in guest rooms is a more energy-efficient option than incandescent lighting (Deraman et al., 2017). The majority of human activities produce garbage, and how this waste is managed, kept, gathered, and disposed of can have negative effects on the environment and general public health. Recycling has been a key component of effectively handling the waste issue. Along with reduction and reuse, it is one of the procedures used in integrated solid waste management (ISWM). Degradation of the environment is caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from trash disposal in landfills. Anaerobic decomposition of unmanaged garbage deposited in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Additionally, it causes air pollution from the release of hazardous gases into the atmosphere, surface water contamination from runoff, and groundwater contamination from leachate. Better management of solid waste is aided by waste reduction, often known as waste avoidance and recycling (Berezan et al., 2014b). Repurchase behavior is an essential component of customer loyalty, which is linked to satisfaction as a positive loyalty indicator by many researchers. Customer loyalty is critical to corporate success, especially in the hospitality sector (Berezan et al., 2013). The hospitality sector is a massive one that is made up of numerous smaller sectors. There are many more services that the hospitality sector offers than just giving guests a place to stay when they arrive. Naturally, a lot of these services have an adverse effect on the environment and natural resources. For the hospitality sector, sustainability is not a novel idea. Many global hotel chains, as well as those in India, have adopted and integrated sustainable business practices into their establishments. Several distinguished green awards from the top organizations were also given to these hotels. They have a lot of return business and are green-certified lodging establishments. Thus, investigating current sustainable environmental practices is the primary goal of this research. In today's economic environment, industries are urged to adopt sustainable management techniques, which the hospitality sector has done so well (Akhtar & Najar, 2020). One of the activities that is most reliant on the environment is tourism. Tourism is boosted, among other things, by gorgeous beaches, pleasant weather, pure air, and striking scenery. But if not properly controlled, it also has the potential to harm the same environment that it depends on—a classic example of “killing the goose that lays the golden egg”(Mensah, 2006). By adopting certain steps to lower energy usage which will in turn minimize contamination and resource exhaustion, the hotel industry might significantly improve the environment. Because the hotel industry uses a larger amount of electricity than other tourism-related industries, hotel operators nevertheless have the opportunity to implement environmental management systems and energy-saving campaigns. Water is used extensively and in a variety of ways in hotels, including circulation for air-taming hot water in guest restrooms, flow for space heating, and cold water for drinking, cooking, and laundry. Consequently, there has been a change in the concept of “green hotels.” It has been deemed very important to implement such green measures. Green management has helped several hotels by improving their reputation and drawing in higher-class guests. The business classification benefits from lower advertising costs and a clear hospitality orientation that projects a positive image that may boost employee recognition of the company. Green marketing is effective in parallel. Customers can get enthralled with the green hotel concept and take personal responsibility for environmental protection when they have a positive perception, concept, and recognition of green hotels (Fukey & Issac, 2014).