Abstract
Tourist accommodation accounts for a significant share of the tourism industry's total greenhouse gas emissions. To address and adapt to climate change, hotels need to urgently reduce their consumption of critical resources, especially energy and water. Yet, despite having awareness of the financial gains and environmental benefits stemming from resource-saving practices, many hotel businesses fail to make noticeable progress in improving resource efficiency. In other words, there is an inconsistency between people's attitudes and intentions and their observable behaviour in terms of energy and water savings. While previous studies have examined this discrepancy on the demand side (i.e., tourists and the general consumers) investigations on supply side behavior, and in hotel managers in particular, are rare.
Drawing on insights from behavioural economics and psychology, this interdisciplinary study aims to experiment on the application of the nudge theory in fostering energy and water saving practices in hotel managers in Viet Nam. Conducted in the unique context of Vietnam's rapidly growing tourism sector, and amidst the operational upheavals brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, this research adopts a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data from field experiments assess the effectiveness of behavioural interventions on increasing uptake of energy and water saving measures in hotels, while qualitative insights from in-depth interviews complement it by providing insights in the mechanisms behind observed changes.
Findings indicate the feedback and social comparison nudges significantly reduced electricity consumption among participants in the treatment group compared to the control group, with a reduction of at least 27.6 percent during the experiment period. In contrast, water consumption did not differ significantly between the two groups. Interview data reveal several factors influencing such outcomes such as a sense of competition triggered by the social comparison nudge, feedback on energy and water use addressing the lack of monitoring of resource consumption and the perception of water as an inexpensive cost item instead of a finite resource.
The research makes significant contributions sustainable tourism knowledge and practice by demonstrating the effectiveness of green nudges in reducing hotels’ energy and water consumption through a field experiment which is an impactful but underutilised method in the field. It highlights the importance of changing hotel managers’ behaviour for environmental sustainability, challenging the focus on guest behaviour alone. The study’s findings are relevant to the global Sustainable Development Goals, showcasing practical measures that can be implemented to support responsible consumption and production patterns and the fight against climate change. It further expands the applications of behavioural economics interventions to hospitality business subjects in non-Western contexts.