Green meets social media: young travelers’ perceptions of hotel environmental sustainability

Purpose A competitive hospitality environment requires attracting new target markets. The purpose of this research is to investigate how young travelers’ intention to stay and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) are impacted by a hotel’s environmental sustainability communications on social media. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 306 participants via online survey and analyzed in SPSS and AMOS. Structural equation modeling was utilized for hypotheses testing. Findings The results support the use of social media marketing (SMM) by hotels to communicate sustainability efforts, increasing intentions to stay and expanding eWOM. Hospitality marketers can use these findings to better understand young travelers’ priorities and their information-gathering process when planning travel. Practical implications The study revealed the positive relationship between travelers’ perceptions of hotel environmental sustainability and greater intention to stay and positive eWOM. This could lead to increased business and recommendations for hospitality companies from young consumers. Originality/value This study advances the understanding of how young customers respond to hotels’ efforts to promote environmental sustainability on social media. The findings add value to practitioners and academics in their understanding of how hospitality marketers can increase intention to stay and eWOM by marketing to young travelers about environmental sustainability on social media.