Intention to Book a Sustainable Hotel —how marketing strategies influence tourists’ decisions

The project «Intention to Book a Sustainable Hotel», funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), examined the communication of sustainability in tourism. The goal was to analyze how sustainable consumption can be promoted using the example of hotel bookings. We investigated how marketing messages influence customers’ behavior in the mass tourism market. In this investigation, we especially focused on those customers who have little or no affinity for sustainable consumerism.

Since this research field has great relevance for both communication science and tourism science, the Department of Media Psychology and Media Effect (Prof. Dr. Werner Wirth & Friederike Vinzenz) developed the project in collaboration with the Chair of Tourism and Sustainable Development (Prof Dr. Julianna Priskin, Prof. Dr. Timo Ohnmacht, & Sindhuri Ponnapureddy).

We applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine communication strategies and consumer behaviors in Switzerland, Germany and the USA. We conducted qualitative interviews with experts in sustainable tourism and hotel guests. In addition, we conducted quantitative online experiments and online surveys to analyze the communication effects. We also used eye-tracking techniques to investigate consumers’ gazing behavior.

The project started in September 2014 and ended in December 2017. The data is published in both tourism and communication journals and provide the basis for two dissertations.

Project Lead:

Prof. Dr. Werner Wirth^a

Project Assistants:
Friederike Vinzenz^a, Prof. Dr. Julianna Priskin^b, Prof. Dr. Timo Ohnmacht^b, Sindhuri Ponnapureddy^b

Contact:
Friederike Vinzenz, f.vinzenz@ikmz.uzh.ch, +41 (0)44 635 20 74

Partners:
^a Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

^b Institute of Tourism, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lucerne, Switzerland

Publications: 

Vinzenz, F., Wirth, W., Priskin, J., Ponnapureddy, S., & Ohnmacht, T. (under review). Marketing Sustainable Tourism: The Role of Value Orientation, Well-Being, and Credibility. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing.

Vinzenz, F., Wirth, W., Priskin, J., Ponnapureddy, S., & Ohnmacht, T. (in press). Perceived Social–Environmental and Emotional Well-Being as a Benefit of Sustainable Tourism Products and Services. In T. Ohnmacht, J. Priskin, and J. Stettler (Eds.), Contemporary Challenges of Climate Change, Sustainable Tourism Consumption, and Destination Competitiveness (n.a.). GB: Emerald Group Publishing

Ponnapureddy, S., Priskin, J., Ohnmacht, T., Vinzenz, F., & Wirth, W. (in press). The influence of trust perceptions on German tourists’ intention to book a sustainable hotel: a new approach to analysing marketing information. In X. Font, & S. McCabe (Eds.), Marketing for Sustainable Tourism (n.a.). London: Taylor & Francis

Ponnapureddy, S., Priskin, J., Ohnmacht, T., Vinzenz, F., & Wirth, W. (2017).The Effect of Consumer Scepticism on the Perceived Value of a Sustainable Hotel Booking. Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, 6, 312–319. doi: 10.4172/2167-0269.1000312

Ponnapureddy, S., Priskin, J., Ohnmacht, T., Vinzenz, F., & Wirth, W. (2017). The influence of trust perceptions on German tourists’ intention to book a sustainable hotel: a new approach to analysing marketing information. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25, 970–988. doi:10.1080/09669582.2016.1270953

Vinzenz, F. (2018). Abschlussbericht zum SNF-Projekt [Final report on the SNF-project] “Intention to book a sustainable hotel – application and extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour”. Final academic report, SNF project number: 100018_149646.

Priskin, J., Ponnapureddy S., Ohnmacht, T., Vinzenz, F., & Wirth, W. (2015). Identification of common sustainable hotel attributes and corresponding guest perceived personal benefits. Qualitative Research Results for the project “Intention to book a sustainable hotel – application and extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour”. ITW Working Paper Series Tourism 001/2015, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Lucerne.