My course load this semester throws some very interesting subject matter my way. In one of my classes, Marketing Research for Decision-Makers, the professor was asking the class to brainstorm a specific hospitality-related topic to research. The professor said that last year the class had looked into sustainable hospitality, and in passing, he mentioned that he and a colleague had put together a report on the class’s findings.
The report, titled Reversing the Green Backlash: Why Large Hospitality Companies Should Welcome “Credibly Green” Competitors, was written by Michael Giebelhausen and Helen Chun. It addressed a very interesting issue: how consumers would view a company if it introduced green initiatives. One of the steps consisted of in-depth interviews in order get people’s opinions on such initiatives. Results showed that interviewees distrusted company motivations for implementing sustainability programs. That is, the interviewees doubted that companies actually cared about the environment; they assumed they were instead implementing green practices for the marketing appeal and cost savings.
Greenwashing, the use of deceptive marketing to promote a company's sustainability, has exploded among hospitality firms.
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