The value of unsustainable hotel services to guests: Evidence from a discrete choice experiment

Hotels routinely provide room services beyond their core accommodation functions. Their value to guests remains uncertain. Some hotel services are environmentally unsustainable but not essential to the core function of accommodation. This study uses a discrete choice experiment ( n = 785) to determine how important such services are to tourists. We classify hotel services into essential but environmentally unsustainable ( air conditioning control ), non-essential and unsustainable services with negligible value ( single-use items ), and unsustainable services with differences in importance across market segments ( daily towel change , minibar , vacuum cleaning ). Findings provide guidance for configuring hotel service packages that can deliver a triple benefit: reduced cost for providers and potentially guests, an optimised room design, and lower emissions.