The social, economic, and environmental dimensions of hotel sustainability: role of consumers

Hotel sustainability has become a focal point for companies all around the world with a dual focus on attracting customers to their business and capitalizing from sustainability measures and practices. Such sustainability initiatives allow for increasing economic efficiency and reducing energetic and environmental impacts. Based on the triple bottom line, social sustainability is also key to promote and implement efficient corporate social responsibility practices. This study reports on a survey carried out to address the customers perceptions regarding the influence of sustainability on their choice of hotel. This survey was conducted in Oporto city (Portugal) to domestic and foreign tourists in 2018/2019 with a valid sample size of more than 370 respondents. This research concludes that, even though customers show to be sensitive to social, environmental, and economic aspects, these issues do not exhibit a significant influence on their hotel selection based only on sustainability claims.