Marketing sustainability in the luxury lodging industry: a thematic analysis of preferences amongst the Indian transition generation

Purpose - This paper aims to identify emerging themes that can help in understanding the preferences of Indian consumers, in the transition generation (25-44 years) (Sinha, 2011), toward sustainability in the luxury lodging industry. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses a multi-method approach for data collection. Thorough literature review and personal interviews with marketers were conducted to explore the themes and construct tentative thematic webs. In total, 42 customer inputs were drawn through focus groups and personal interviews to validate the themes. Customer perspective, marketers' perspective and findings from literature were juxtaposed to understand the themes. Findings - "Influence of Parents, Children and Travel agents", "Rewards for green behaviour" and "frequent communication around sustainability efforts" have been identified as some of the key motivations for consumers to choose sustainability. Some deterrents have been identified as "limited awareness about sustainability issues in Tier II cities", "detachment with the hotel's operations", "higher prices" and "unchecked wasteful/acquisitive consumption". Practical implications - Findings from this research work have implications for the practitioners and policy-makers because establishing an understanding of the factors that deter and motivate consumers for engaging in green behavior is important for designing meaningful marketing strategies. Originality/value - Findings are based on the analysis of data from customer inputs and industry inputs. Themes in this research work have been analytically identified, and this study has made significant academic contributions to the marketing literature. It also provides valuable insights for the practitioners.