Environmentally Green Hospitality for Valued Customer Retention

This research analysis investigates the relationship between environmentally friendly practices and customer retention within the hospitality industry, focusing on Merlyn Spike, a luxury hotel in Sydney. The study employs a qualitative methodology, utilizing an exploratory research design and interviews with four respondents to understand customer awareness and preferences regarding green initiatives. Key themes explored include customer awareness of environmental footprints, building customer awareness of green initiatives, and addressing gender disparities in green purchasing behavior. The findings highlight the importance of green services in attracting and retaining customers, with recommendations provided to enhance Merlyn Spike's competitive advantage. The research suggests that green initiatives are viewed positively by customers, particularly female respondents, and are a significant factor in their hotel selection and loyalty. This research provides valuable insights into the strategic benefits of incorporating green practices in the hospitality sector, contributing to sustainable business operations and customer satisfaction. The report concludes with a call to action, emphasizing the need for hotels to prioritize green initiatives to enhance customer retention and market competitiveness. This research is a valuable resource available on Desklib, a platform dedicated to providing AI-based study tools for students.

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1RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Executive summary
Green service in the hospitality industry is growing rapidly due to both the sustainability issues
and the market demand. However, it is a subject of research that the impact of green services in
hospitality industry on the valued customers retention and scope of different dimensions of green
accommodation. Based on this theme this research is going to illustrate the scenario of Merlyn
Spike, a Sydney based luxury hotel. The methodology of the research follows a qualitative
analysis on the basis of exploratory research design. The purpose of this research is to understand
the existing scenario and therefore, a small sample size of 4 respondents has been taken. The
research finds out some issues regarding the awareness of the customers and the difference in
opinion on gender variation. Therefore, some recommendations are also chalked out that will
bring strategic advantage for Merlyn Spike in the competitive Australian hospitality industry.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Methodology....................................................................................................................................4
Research philosophy....................................................................................................................4
Research design...........................................................................................................................5
Data collection methods..............................................................................................................6
Sampling......................................................................................................................................6
Identification of major themes.........................................................................................................7
Awareness of environmental footprints in hotels........................................................................7
Building up customer awareness about green initiatives.............................................................8
Resolving gender disparity in green purchasing..........................................................................9
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................10
Conclusions....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12
Appendix........................................................................................................................................14
Interview questionnaire.............................................................................................................14

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Topic: Environmentally green hospitality service providers retain valued customers through
quality measurement and new dimensions for green accommodation.
Introduction
The advent of globalisation and the adverse impact of anti-environmental practices usher
the importance of healthy environment in the context of business also. Most of the business
organisations are trying to maximise their customers through the use of different and unique
marketing and business strategies (Lee and Cheng 2018). The high competition in market creates
the need of unique identity and business practices for the private companies in order to foster
sustainable business practice. In this regard, the green initiatives are considered to be one of the
major aspects that the hospitality industries are following in recent times in order to not only set
concern measures towards the environment but also ensures the customer retention effectively
(Gupta, Dash and Mishra 2019). As a result of that the green initiatives are highly useful and
strategic enough for the business organisations to facilitate better organisational practice in the
context of increase the valued customers by attaining benevolent measures. The practice of
developing a better exposure into the market paves the way for a corporate initiative to ensure
the safety and sustainability of the environment to a large scale. However, a pertinent question
arises in terms of the awareness among the customers about green footprint or green initiatives
that the business organisations are carried out. From the research of Mittal and Dhar (2016) it
can be stated that the effectiveness of business profitability is impossible unless the corporate
and the customers have clear idea about eco-friendly business activities.
Based on this understanding, this research is going to make a correlation between eco-
friendly business initiatives and customer retention through green service offerings in an

4RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Australian luxury hotel in Sydney named Merlyn Spike. As a matter of fact, the research also
emphasises on the role of the organisations to find out different dimensions of green
accommodation in hotels. Therefore, a clear methodology with identification of the themes is
going to be discussed for extracting expected outcomes. Finally, a recommendation part is also
attached with the discussion that can resolve the green issues in hotel services.
Methodology
The research requires a methodology in order to bring more efficacies into the process of
investigation. As a matter of fact, Bresler and Stake (2017) articulated that the research
methodology provides a better approach to the research so that the entire research can get proper
outline to not only conduct the research but also create a better research design where the
samples are included and analysed in a logical format. Based on this understanding, this research
also encompasses enough insights into the methodology section and defines the use of analytical
tools that are highly important for this research.
Research philosophy
Research philosophy deals with the source and nature of the entire knowledge of the
research. The foundation basis of the entire research can be vested on the practice of developing
the research process effectively. Therefore, this research is also chose its research philosophy in
terms of interpretivism. The reason behind opting for interpretivism is that the philosophy is
associated with the naturalistic approach of data collection such as interviews and observations.
Due to immense emphasis on the primary data collection it can be stated that the interpretivism
philosophy of research is highly relevant with this research methodology. According to the
discussion of Fletcher (2017) interpretivism is resembled with the practice of developing its

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entire focus on a specific objective. This is highly pertinent for this research as the research
objects to find out the relationship between green initiatives and the retention of valued
customers.
Research design
Research design is identified as an important part in the research methodology. Dumay
and Cai (2015) opined that the research design defined the way of choosing the research
methods. Moreover, the data collection process is also imbued in the research design. Therefore,
it can be stated that the research design is a significant element in the research methodology that
includes research strategies and the methods of data collection and analysis. This research is
associated with the behaviour of the customers and their understanding towards the green
initiatives that is a trend in the hospitality industries. Henceforth, the purpose of this research
design is to highlight the correlation between the green initiatives of the hotels and the role of the
employees in order to make the initiative a success.
This research is going to follow the exploratory research design in order to get a clear
idea about the close relationship between the valued customers’ behaviours and the green service
of the hotels. The research does not intend to make a conclusive statement but an in-depth
understanding about the research process. Moreover, the exploratory research design is rightly
associated with the purpose of this research. As per the article of Attia and Edge (2017) it can be
stated that the exploratory research does not provide any final or conclusive answer rather
understanding the nature of the theme and finds out the scopes to expand the research dimension.

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Data collection methods
This research is going to use the primary data for getting a clear projection of the
relationship between valued customers and the green service initiatives of the hotels. Another
major intention of this research is to critically analyse the findings to justify the objectives of the
research. As a matter of fact, the qualitative data will be used in this research to identify different
motives and principles of the samples. It is associated with the thematic concerns and the major
themes of the research. Moreover, a questionnaire will be designed for the respondents and
critically analysed their responses through thematic analysis (King and Mackey 2016). The
interview questionnaire will be open ended so that the respondents can ventilate their perception
freely and it will be counted as a major element for the findings and analysis part.
Sampling
According to Lushey and Munro (2015) sampling is resembled with the practice of
developing and guides the process of selecting the number of population used in the research.
The population will be considered as the primary data that can be generated through the
responses of the samples through interview questionnaires. However, Bilau, Witt and Lill (2018)
advocated that the findings, reliability and validity of the sample is highly important for the
research in order to bring proper result from the qualitative analysis. Therefore, this research is
going to choose 4 samples on the basis of gender and nationality as well. As far as the nationality
is concerned, two are from Australia (developed country) and two are from Pakistan (developing
country). In fact, one of the samples from each country will be female. The samples will be
identified as P+ and P- for male and female from Pakistan and A+ and A- for male and female
respondents from Australia.

7RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Identification of major themes
The research has put a great emphasis on three key themes of developing a better green
service imitative in Merlyn Spike that can retain valued customers by influencing their behaviour
and needs. The first theme is associated with the practice creating a clear understanding of the
importance of introducing green service in Merlyn Spike so that it will bring more efficacies into
maximising the visitors effectively. From the research of Chen et al. (2018) it can be derived that
the green initiatives in hospitality industry is an unique and strategic step that helps the
organisations to build up their unique brand value in highly competitive market. Moreover, the
second theme is associated with developing the customer awareness in green initiatives so that
the customers can get to know the benevolence of the products and services and attracted to buy
it again. This section is resembled with the theme of the topic about the use of green services to
retain valued customers. Giebelhausen et al. (2016) mentioned that for making the green practice
appreciable it is also pivotal for the business organisations to push or convince the customers to
buy the product. Henceforth, developing awareness about that initiative is the best possible way
to convince the visitors in Merlyn Spike. Thirdly, the identification and distinction between
customers on the basis of their gender specification is also an important key theme of the
research. Wang et al. (2018) articulated that the female visitors are highly moved by the green
products rather than their male counterparts. Therefore, this research tries to focus on the
respondents and find out whether in Australia also such kind of practice prevalent or not.
Awareness of environmental footprints in hotels
From the responses of four samples, this research is ought to find out whether there are
any trend among the Australian hotels regarding green footprints. Based on the interview, P+
argued that he was new in Merlyn Spike, therefore he has no idea whether the hotel have

8RESEARCH ANALYSIS
previous green initiative or not. However, he seems not so thrilled with the practice because it is
new for him to get green services and he cannot distinguish between the general hotel service
and the green service. To him the green initiative did not seem special. However, A- identified
that the green initiative in Merlyn Spike is a new facility and they were effectively maintain the
quality of green services as well. From using organic foods to use energy saving lights all
seemed very realistic and proved the seriousness of the organisation to introduce the green
initiative effectively.
P- also corroborate the fact that the Merlyn Spike’s green initiative was a great step that
the organisation has envisioned and it helped the organisation to get a strategic advantage in
market. Moreover, she also mentioned that there are few hotels in Sydney that followed the eco-
friendly approach. She was very happy to get a top class green service facility at Merlyn Spike
and willing to visit the hotel again and again. However, for A+ the green concept seemed dull
because he did not get it clear what the hotel was willing to do. Nevertheless, he felt fresh and
green because of the green compound of the hotel. It seemed good to A+ and he revealed that
there were other hotels too in Sydney that provided the same facility.
Building up customer awareness about green initiatives
In course of understanding, the awareness of the customers about green initiative, it can
be stated that the female respondents were more active than the male interviewees. The female
visitors already knew about the green initiatives and the facilities that the hotels were provided in
the name of green services. For instance, P- who was belonged to a developing country also got
an idea of different attributes of green hospitality services. She performed more actively in the
interview in compare to P+ who was also experienced the green facilities for the first time. From
this understanding, it can be stated that there are some misconceptions among the male

9RESEARCH ANALYSIS
respondents about the efficacy of the green services in hotels. In this context, there are two
possible reasons that can be identified for the lack of information regarding green initiatives
among the male visitors. Firstly, the lack of advertising from the hotels’ ends in order to promote
the green initiatives to attract more customers would create a misconception among the male
visitors. Secondly, it can be argued that the initiative was in a nutshell still now and required
more experience in the competitive hospitality industry to establish profoundly.
Resolving gender disparity in green purchasing
The interview clearly identifies a gender disparity among the males and female customers
who were visited in Merlyn Spike. As per the female customers are concerned, it was found that
they were well known about the green footprints in compare to their male counterparts. For
instance, A+ is not new in Merlyn Spikes and he had previous experience in green services
facilities in some other hotels in Sydney. However, he failed to distinguish between the normal
hospitality services and the green services because of lack of information. On the other hand, P-
despite of belonged to Pakistan which is a developing country easily chalked out the green
initiatives that the Merlyn Spike management had arranged for maximising customers.
Therefore, it requires a great deal of marketing for the green services that can easily influence
both the male and female customers equally.
A silver lining in this part is associated with the behaviour of the male respondents. It
can be derived from the interview that both the male respondents appreciate the efforts and the
service that Merlyn Spike had offered. For P+ it was a first time experience but he enjoyed a lot
in getting organic foods and natural flavour all around the place. In this discussion, the
experience of A+ was quite interesting. He had previous experience in green initiatives and he
was sceptical about the difference between normal service and green service. In case of Merlyn

10RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Spike also he did not found anything special about the services. Nonetheless, he confirmed that
he would visit the hotel again not because of its organic foods and all but for the greeneries that
covered all the compound of the hotels. From this point of view, it can be derived that the use of
hotel compound full of greeneries can be a new concept for green accommodation where the
hotels can develop a green facing accommodation for the interested visitors.
Recommendations
Based on the findings from the interview questionnaires some problems are come
forwards in terms of lack of promotional efforts, absence of awareness among the customers and
visitors and the gender oriented differences in perception regarding the impact of green services
to the customers. In this regard, there are some recommendations that can bring efficacy into the
practice of establishing a sustainable green service in hotels and retain valued customers.
 First of all, a promotional strategy should be implemented by the hotels like Merlyn
Spike. The objective of the promotional strategy will be developing awareness among the
customers or visitors about the positive impact of the green services. For Merlyn Spike
the promotional strategy on green service not only provides a strategic position in the
intensely competitive Australian market but also created a brand value of the hotel that
can attract the customers to use green service facilities.
 Secondly, setting the target market on the basis of demographic segmentation is highly
required for Merlyn Spike. Based on the research, it can be argued that there was a
perceptual difference between the male and female visitors. Therefore, putting emphasis
on the gender related customer target will be beneficial for Merlyn Spike to get strategic

11RESEARCH ANALYSIS
advantage in the competitive hotel market in Sydney and setting the promotional strategy
in accordance with the target market analysis.
 Thirdly, product diversification is considered to be an important aspect in high
competitive market. For Merlyn Spike it will be associated with the different services. As
a matter of fact, segregating the services on the basis of gender for some facilities can
generate an outstanding result for the hotel. The acceptability and the appreciation will
also be achieved due to customisation of some service based on gender. However, it is
important to know that no discriminatory practice will be entertained and if the visitors
will ask for services of other gender then it has to be accepted gladly.
Conclusions
The above discussion tries to create a better understanding about the relationship between
green hospitality services and retention of the valued customers. Therefore, the research tries to
use the qualitative analysis on the basis of interview questionnaire on four samples. The samples
are differentiated by country and gender in order to understand the perceptual problem among
the people. Based on the analysis, it can be stated that there are some differences among the male
and female visitors in Merlyn Spike hotel and the recommendations will generate better
advantage for the hotel to establish green service facilities effectively.

12RESEARCH ANALYSIS
References
Attia, M. and Edge, J., 2017. Be (com) ing a reflexive researcher: a developmental approach to
research methodology. Open Review of Educational Research, 4(1), pp.33-45.
Bilau, A.A., Witt, E. and Lill, I., 2018. Research methodology for the development of a
framework for managing post-disaster housing reconstruction. Procedia engineering, 212,
pp.598-605.
Bresler, L. and Stake, R.E., 2017. Qualitative research methodology in music education.
In Critical Essays in Music Education (pp. 113-128). Routledge.
Chen, S., Chen, H.H., Zhang, K.Q. and Xu, X.L., 2018. A comprehensive theoretical framework
for examining learning effects in green and conventionally managed hotels. Journal of cleaner
production, 174, pp.1392-1399.
Dumay, J. and Cai, L., 2015. Using content analysis as a research methodology for investigating
intellectual capital disclosure: a critique. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 16(1), pp.121-155.
Fletcher, A.J., 2017. Applying critical realism in qualitative research: methodology meets
method. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(2), pp.181-194.
Giebelhausen, M., Chun, H.H., Cronin Jr, J.J. and Hult, G.T.M., 2016. Adjusting the warm-glow
thermostat: How incentivizing participation in voluntary green programs moderates their impact
on service satisfaction. Journal of Marketing, 80(4), pp.56-71.
Gupta, A., Dash, S. and Mishra, A., 2019. All that glitters is not green: Creating trustworthy
ecofriendly services at green hotels. Tourism Management, 70, pp.155-169.

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King, K.A. and Mackey, A., 2016. Research methodology in second language studies: Trends,
concerns, and new directions. The Modern Language Journal, 100(S1), pp.209-227.
Lee, W.H. and Cheng, C.C., 2018. Less is more: A new insight for measuring service quality of
green hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 68, pp.32-40.
Lushey, C.J. and Munro, E.R., 2015. Participatory peer research methodology: An effective
method for obtaining young people’s perspectives on transitions from care to
adulthood?. Qualitative Social Work, 14(4), pp.522-537.
Mittal, S. and Dhar, R.L., 2016. Effect of green transformational leadership on green creativity:
A study of tourist hotels. Tourism Management, 57, pp.118-127.
Wang, S., Wang, J., Wang, Y., Yan, J. and Li, J., 2018. Environmental knowledge and
consumers’ intentions to visit green hotels: The mediating role of consumption values. Journal of
Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(9), pp.1261-1271.

14RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Appendix
Interview questionnaire
1. Do you have any idea about green service?
2. Where do you get the idea of green service?
3. What do you think about green Service?
4. Do you have any previous experience with green service? If so then how?
5. How do you differentiate green service from general service facilities?
6. How often do you visit in a hotel?
7. Do you prefer green service over general services?
8. Do you like to visit in a green hotel? If so they why?
9. Do you suggest some measures to make green service more effective?
10. Do you recommend others to visit in a green hotel? If yes then why?