Hotels looking to attract "green" consumers must do more than practice sustainable business practices and be committed to sustainability as an environmental goal, new research suggests.

They also need to communicate those practices effectively to green consumers who exhibit specific behavior patterns and characteristics that are different than consumers in general, the research findings indicate.

Nelson Barber, an associate professor of hospitality management at the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Economics, at Durham, N.H., conducted the research.

"Green consumers are reasonably distinct in terms of identifiable characteristics and behavior patterns," says Barber. "Targeting specific marketing strategies to potential green consumers is likely to be more effective than directing these strategies to the entire population by assuming that all members of the population are potential green consumers."

However, identifying these environmentally focused guests can be challenging, Barber says. Although industry research has shown that a significant percentage of hotel guests would prefer to stay in a hotel that cares about the environment, guests aren't always that predictable.

Barber notes that a study by a major national hotel operation had opposite findings: Seventy-five percent of its guest respondents said they wouldn't give up daily hotel room service activities. The study also found that guests pay less attention to the environment while traveling because they aren't directly responsible for the costs of cleaning and utilities.

"So this dichotomy of opposed issues creates an interesting challenge for hotels. On one hand, hotels are trying to create and implement environmental policies, while on the other hand, hotel customers seeking services also expect to be pampered with hot water, high-pressure showers, freshly laundered linen, an ample supply of towels, abundant supplies of food and drink, and airport shuttles," Barber says.

Barber presented his research in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research in an article titled, "Profiling the Potential 'Green' Hotel Guest: Who Are They and What Do They Want?"

He says he found that green consumers tend to be more concerned for others and have a higher desire to work for the good of society than less environmentally focused consumers. In addition, green consumers place a higher value on the restraint of actions that could upset or harm others and violate social norms. Finally, green consumers are less likely to be motivated to enhance their own personal interests and less likely to purchase self-serving products such as those associated with achievement or excess, Barber says, based on his findings.

He says a successful green placement strategy targeted at green consumers draws on both functional and emotional green images. In terms of functional images, green consumers will look for tangible demonstrations of the hotel's commitment toward green operational practices, such a recycling program or those with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. On the emotional side, green consumers will look for actions that are evidence of a hotel's commitment to the environment and sustainability, such as providing hotel guests with the opportunity to dine on food supplied by local farmers.

"The method of awareness demonstrated through the actions taken by a hotel is important, implying that providing environmental products with visible steps to conserving resources may create a higher degree of consumer loyalty," Barber says.

"The potential image of a green hotel, through the benefits and product preferences perceived, can be a powerful operational tool in attracting and retaining more guests. Incorporating the functional, environmental, and emotional benefits of green positioning into hotel operations is a prerequisite for the creation of a green hotel image," he adds.

The UNH analysis was based on a survey of 563 U.S. hotel patrons who were randomly selected by a nationally recognized marketing research firm. UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.