As sustainability becomes a strategic priority in the hospitality industry, a key question remains: Do sustainability efforts actually influence consumers' decisions to stay, and if so, how? Drawing on environmental psychology and the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, this research explores how sustainability initiatives affect staying intentions by triggering internal emotional and psychological states. According to the S-O-R model, sustainability acts as a stimulus that shapes organism-level responses, perceived emotional value and well-being, which then drive behavioral intentions, specifically staying intentions.
We conducted two experimental studies with British participants to examine these pathways. Study 1 (N = 148) exposed participants to hotels with either high or low sustainability efforts. Those in the high-effort condition reported significantly greater emotional value, well-being, and intention to stay. Mediation analysis confirmed that emotional value and well-being were the mechanisms through which sustainability influenced behavior. Study 2 (N = 203) added a moderate-effort condition to test whether only high sustainability levels produce meaningful outcomes. Emotional value and well-being again emerged again as robust mediators. Importantly, we tested two alternative explanatory variables-perceived competence and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Although both were positively influenced by sustainability, neither significantly predicted staying intentions. This suggests that self-relevant, experiential states (such as emotional value and well-being) are more impactful in driving intentions toward corporations committed to sustainability than general corporate evaluations. This suggests that self-relevant experiential states (such as emotional value and well-being), are more impactful in driving intentions toward corporations committed to sustainability than general corporate evaluations.
These findings highlight the mediating role of self-relevant experiential states in how people respond to sustainability efforts. Rather than relying solely on signaling corporate responsibility, hotels can enhance guest loyalty by creating experiences that resonate with guests' emotional value and well-being. Accordingly, it is crucial to invest in eco-friendly practices and pursue recognized sustainability certifications.