Going sustainable: Exploring the attribution of unusual tourist behavior in hotels

Abstract

Although the differences in human behavior while staying in a hotel room appear to have been established and are distinctive, little is known about the underlying factors that drive these changes, particularly in relation to environmental sustainability. Through in-depth interviews with 43 tourists, this study identified three degrees of unusual behavior in hotels: nearly completely unusual, transitional, and approximately usual. Using a grounded theory approach, we developed a "habitus-environment" model that explains how tourists change their behavior in response to unusual environmental stimuli and further elucidates the reasons why tourists "change for the better (or worse)" in terms of environmental sustainability. The model incorporates three types of tourist habits and five distinct features of hotel environments. These findings can inform hotel managers and policymakers about how to encourage sustainable behaviors among tourists, ultimately contributing to the long-term viability of the hotels.