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A new study from the University of Surrey, Accor and Booking.com has assessed how to deliver effective and engaging sustainability communications to guests.

The —"Engaging travellers to embrace more sustainable behaviours"—sets out some of the challenges hospitality providers face when communicating with guests on sustainability and identifies four key ways to positively influence guest behavior.

Accor, a global leader in hospitality, Booking.com, one of the world's leading digital travel platforms, and the University of Surrey, a global leader in hospitality and tourism management education and research, have today published a report based on research aimed at understanding and addressing traveler motivations when it comes to making more sustainable decisions during their stay.

This initiative has been driven by an understanding that guests play a critical role in the efficacy and efficiency of various sustainability initiatives. However, there can be a high level of skepticism among travelers when it comes to their role in those efforts. The research made clear the meaningful contribution messaging plays in motivating more sustainable behaviors, a key component in the continued development of sustainability practices within the industry.

This white paper provides a useful reference point on guests; helping to address hospitality's shared challenges when it comes to bridging the intent to action gap of many travelers.

Traveling more sustainably is a priority for many travelers, with 83% saying that sustainable travel is important to them, and 67% saying they are inspired to adopt more sustainable behaviors after witnessing responsible practices (Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report 2024). The impetus for making positive change is therefore clear, and crucial to remaining aligned with our guests' values and expectations.

Drawing on lab research, and interviews with global travelers to identify common issues and misconceptions when it comes to sustainability communications, the paper provides four key recommendations to optimize guest messaging in order to promote more sustainable practices:

1. Highlight sustainability practices—including for less sustainable amenities—and show how guests can easily contribute

A key takeaway from the research was the importance of providing clear, specific information about sustainability practices and avoiding big claims such as "eco-friendly" or "green." An example from the study was that messaging that helped the guest understand their part in reducing food waste was found to reduce levels of skepticism from 46% to 21%, compared to more generic and vague messaging. This shows the importance for hotels to demonstrate they are playing their part to address sustainability issues, with specific and focused messages crucial to better engaging guests and avoiding perceptions of greenwashing.

2. Balance appeals to pleasure and comfort for optimal results

Interviews conducted with travelers highlighted the fact that it can feel difficult to have a pleasure-filled trip while making more sustainable decisions. Many travelers associate the notion of sustainability with more restricted and less enjoyable experiences. To overcome this, hotels should balance sustainability messages around both pleasure and comfort, highlighting options which are both enjoyable and sustainable, such as scenic train rides or local culinary experiences. Sustainability messages which focus on comfort or pleasure were found to increase feelings of satisfaction and joy by 145% and 475% respectively, over examples of existing messaging being used.

3. Empower guests, don't constrain or dictate to them

The research indicates that guests prefer an empowering approach to sustainability communications rather than feeling dictated to, with 55% reporting feeling skeptical toward assertive messages such as "limit your water use." As such, hotels should adopt a tone that encourages guests to make informed choices without pressure. By sharing knowledge about local sustainable options—like public transport schedules—hotels can position guests as active participants in sustainability efforts.

4. Help guests act as responsibly as they do at home

The final takeaway is that many travelers wish to maintain their sustainable habits while away from home, but hotel processes and operations can often make them feel constrained in doing so. Messaging that evokes familiarity, trust and heartfelt care is therefore important to ensuring sustainable actions remain intuitive, helping guests feel more connected to their surroundings and encouraging repeat visits. In particular, messages that seek to create a sense of home were perceived as twice as responsible than messaging currently in use, and reduced skepticism to more than half of current levels.

These insights were gathered following a two-phased research exercise which gathered quantitative and qualitative data from numerous surveys and lab-based behavioral experiments.

The first phase of this research involved 24 in-depth interviews with 100 guests from the US, Germany, France, and India, focusing on their expectations regarding sustainability and its influence on booking decisions. After these interviews, Booking.com's research team followed 22 guests from the same countries via a diary study covering the planning, booking, and traveling phases of their trips. This aimed to understand what role sustainability played at each stage and to capture the highs and lows of their stay through the lens of sustainability.

Benefitting from the University of Surrey's leading academic resources, the second research phase was then able to provide deeper insights based on rigorous behavioral research from Surrey's Human Insight Lab. This research looked at the emotional and physiological responses of nearly 70 customers presented with different sets of sustainability messages, utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as eye tracking, galvanic skin responses, and facial analysis software.

The researchers also conducted interviews with the same set of customers, employing advanced psychological approaches through projective techniques. These methods enabled them to gain deeper insights into customer experience by tapping into subconscious responses. Combined with sensor data from three key technologies, these techniques provided unparalleled insights for the industry.

These findings will support the industry in enhancing positive customer experiences and driving sustainable behavior change, ultimately leading to long-term customer loyalty and improved environmental outcomes.