ECO-FRIENDLY CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT PRACTICES INHOTELS: A QUALITATIVE STUDYShabir Ahmad DarAbstract Hospitality industry especially hotels consume a good amount of natural resources and results in wastegeneration. Hotel Industry is considered as main customer oriented industry, were there is huge consumptionof energy resources. As we know that limited availability of energy resources on planet earth has made itessential feature of every industry and hospitality industry is not untouched to go for energy conservation.To contribute effectively, hotels have started exercising green practices which include reusing linen practices,natural temperature control techniques, 3Râs principle and many more. There is huge significance ofenvironment related issues that continues to rise in hotel industry because of increased knowledge aboutenvironmental issues. Keeping this information in mind, the current study stresses on exploring the ecofriendlycustomer engagement practices with respect to hotel location, hotel design exercised in hotels ofGulmarg, Kashmir as well as its impact on repurchase intention of services in hotels. A checklist wasdeveloped to receive data from the hotel managers/ supervisors. The outcome specified that someenvironmental friendly practices like plantation drives, walking through the wilderness, waste watermanagement tools, linen reuse, horse ridding as means of transportation, trekking through the green forests,use of natural light and installation of well designed ventilation and LED lighting etc are mostly exercisedpractices in the hotels of Gulmarg, Kashmir. The study revealed that eco friendly customer engagementpractices involve customers effectively and leaves an ever lasting impression on the customer and attractsthem again towards the destination. |