Title: Perceptions of the hotel guests on the sustainability of towel re-use

Authors: Mohammod Mominul Islam

Addresses: Ansari IT Institute, K.C. Road, Ulipur, Kurigram – 5620, Bangladesh

Abstract: This article is about hotel guests' towel re-use and its impacts on sustainability. Re-use of towel is an issue related to the environmental and business affairs that influence the housekeeping service. The study followed qualitative method where relevant data were collected through the questionnaire survey. Factors contributing to guests' perceptions on towel re-use were tested using the Wilcoxon test. The results show that the guests hold positive perceptions on towel re-use affecting on the environment and on the hotel costs. The guests also assume that their towel re-uses helps in minimising physical hazards of the housekeeping employees in reducing their back pain. The benefits might be sustainable if the guests continue towel re-use. However, physical hazards of the housekeeping employees will not reduce and environmental benefits also cannot be obtained if the guests do not re-use towel. Therefore, relationship exists between guests' understanding on the sustainability with towel re-use.

Keywords: communication gaps; hotels; housekeeping services; guest perceptions; sustainability; towel reuse; back pain; sustainable development; tourism; hotel management; hotel guests; environmental impact; hotel costs; hotel towels.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHEM.2016.082164

International Journal of Hospitality and Event Management, 2016 Vol.1 No.4, pp.305 - 324

Received: 22 Sep 2015
Accepted: 27 Jan 2016
Published online: 09 Feb 2017 *

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