Exploring the relationship between green hotel attributes, guest satisfaction and loyalty

Sustainability in tourism emerged as a critical issue for a long-term strategy of industry’s growth. The accommodation sectoris responsible for roughly one-quarter of tourism GHG emission and, since decades, eco-friendly practices have been appliedon a voluntary basis. The implementation of these practices is partly a consequence of consumers’ growing awareness towardenvironmental sustainability. Examining the results of a survey addressed to guests of an Italian hotel awarded withLegambiente Turismo Eco-label, the paper investigates the relationship between guest’s perceptions of hotel green attributesand their satisfaction and loyalty. Variance-based Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) has been employed to test hypothesis.Findings suggest that the environmental practices implemented by the hotel have a positive impact on guest overall satisfactionand loyalty. Moreover, results indicate that the staying at green hotels lead guests to develop a specific loyalty toward thewhole range of hotels implementing green practices.