The Effects of Hotels Green Service Innovation And Green Brand Image on Custumers’ Willingness to Pay

[[abstract]]As consumers' awareness of environmental protection keeps rising, the demands for green products and services are increasing. More and more hotel operators attract green consumers by carrying out green services. They reduce the impact on the environment, and improve the environment performance of the hotel. However, in order to carry out green service innovation, it takes huge budget to improve energy-saving facilities and to provide environmental innovation services. Therefore, only when customers are willing to pay more for room rates, and thus the hotels gain more profits, hotel operators are more willing to carry out green service innovation. According to Stimulus-Organism-Response theory, external stimuli influence individuals’ internal and behavioral response. Basing on Stimulus- Organism-Response, this study probes the relationship between the green service innovation, green brand image and customers’ willingness to pay. This study collects information through online questionnaires. It studies consumers who have lived in the green hotels. Two hundred and seventeen effective samples have been collected and studied. This study explores the relationships between the green service innovation, the green brand image, and customers' willingness to pay. The green service innovation contains five aspects: environmental communication, energy conservation, water recycling, guestroom sustainability, and green food and beverage. The result of the study confirms that environmental communication, energy conservation, guestroom sustainability and green food and beverage have positive effects on green brand image. Water recycling has less positive effect on green brand image. Green brand image has positive effect on costumers’ willingness to pay. The result of the study shows that green service innovation has no direct effect on customers’ willingness to pay. It only has indirect effect on customers' willingness to pay through the green brand image. Finally, we suggest hotel operators take the strategy of green service innovation and run the business of green brands to promote green brand image as well as the value of the customers. In order to support green brands, customers are willing to pay more to live in green hotels which will gain more profits and reach the growth of green economy. Thus they will achieve a win-win green benefits