THE IMPACT OF GREEN HOTEL PROGRAM ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION (A CASE STUDY OF GENERATION Y AT BOROBUDUR HOTEL, JAKARTA)

Abstract

The latest tourism trend showed a concern on environmental issues .This might be the result of awareness and customers’ concern on the environment. Current customers care more about environmental issues; this is shown by active participation in protecting the environment. Among all customers that are concerned with the environment, Gen Y, or famously known as the millennial generation, are the most concerned. This phenomenon has led to them being a potential target market for hotel business. There is a large pressure on hotel business that are usually considered to be not environmentally friendly; thus, hotels have tried to implement ‘green hotel’ programs to show that they also take part in protecting the environment. Hotel Borobudur is a 5-star hotel located in Jakarta, Indonesia that has implemented the green hotel program and dealt with Gen Y customers. The purpose of this research was to observe the implementation of green hotel programs and identify the effect on Gen Y’s customers’ satisfaction. The results showed that the existence of recyclable materials in a hotel and the hotel’s design that suit the green philosophy have significantly satisfied the customers. Recycling represents waste management program and a recycling program that takes place in a hotel, takes the attention of the customers. Moreover, the hotel has implemented the use of solar, wind, biomass, and hydraulic powers in order to lower the environmental pollution. The hotel also runs several energy-saving programs such water-saving and electricity-saving programs. Moreover, it has conducted an energy-saving training program.