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Top1. Introduction
Krishnan et al.’s (2020) statement that “what’s certain is that the next normal will be marked by structural shifts, especially around customer expectations for hygiene and flexibility” has proven true. While research from the past decade indicates that guests prefer to stay in a hotel that demonstrates sustainable practices over one with superior facilities (Bradley, 2020), the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has changed priorities.
Due to the complications caused by COVID-19, hotel guests have become more fastidious about the details of their accommodation compare to pre-pandemic (Yang, Zhang & Chen, 2020). As Fox (2020) reported, a company has surveyed guests in the United States who have stayed at a hotel in the past two years. In this survey participants answered questions about their perception of the pandemic-related protocols and concerns about hotel accommodations. The results of this survey revealed that COVID-19 has increased guests’ desire for a contactless experience as well as the added convenience that did not exist in the past. Experiences such as mobile check-in, mobile concierge services, and keyless entry are among the highly demanded services that accelerated due to the pandemic (Fox, 2020). These findings suggest a need for substantial research to understand guests’ intentions when it comes to hotel services, particularly to the sustainability practices, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has undesirable impacts on the service industry (Benedek, Gemayel, Senhadji, & Tieman, 2021). The United States hotel industry, for instance, declined remarkably in 2020 and the occupancy rate dropped to 44 percent, which was 33 percent less occupied than the year before (Lock, 2021).
To understand guests’ intentions with respect to prioritizing hotels’ sustainable practices, this study attempts to deliver a critical investigation of the hotel guests’ preferred features during the pandemic.
The current study is designed within the framework of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, which Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis (2003) designed to clarify user intentions in using structured information and the consequence of their behavior. It adopts the perceived credibility (PC) construct from the model Palau-Saumell, Forgas-Coll, Sánchez-García, and Robres (2019) used in their research.
The model is a modified version of eight different models: the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1977), the technology acceptance model (TAM; Davis, 1985), the motivational model (Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1992), the theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991), the combined TAM and TPB model (Taylor &Todd, 1995), the model of PC utilization (Thompson, Higgins, & Howell, 1991), the innovation defusion theory (Moore and Benbasat, 1991), and social cognitive theory (Compeau and Higgins, 1995).
Findings reveal the impact of five key dimensions: performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), perceived credibility (PC), social influence (SI), and task-tech fit (TTF; or facilitating conditions) on guests’ intention to utilize the hotel’s sustainable practices (Figure 1). These dimensions are articulated through the developed hypotheses, which are explained under the hypothesis’s development section.
The current study not only contributes to the theoretical discussions but also will be an implication for hoteliers and managers seeking to tailor sustainable practices according to guests’ preference-triggers, which have been reformed due to the pandemic. The variables and methods used in the current study can be changed to fit the situation in future studies to expand the understanding of the subject.