Chasing green dreams: Understanding consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainability in hotel selection through dual-stage PLS-NCA

Using the Perceived Value Theory and Theory of Planned Behavior as theoretical foundation, this study examines the psychological and behavioral determinants of consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for sustainable hotel practices. A questionnaire was used to gather data from 435 hotel guests related to their environmental concerns, environmental consciousness, perceived hotel green practices, green brand image, perceived quality, and willingness to pay a premium. Data analysis used a dual-stage approach, applying PLS-SEM to assess sufficiency-based relationships and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) to identify essential prerequisites. The results confirm that environmental concerns, environmental consciousness, perceived hotel green practices, and perceived quality significantly influence willingness to pay a premium, with perceived hotel green practices emerging as the strongest predictor. However, green brand image shows no significant effect. The findings further suggest that environmental concerns and perceived hotel green practices represent necessary conditions for premium-paying intentions, whereas environmental consciousness, perceived quality and green brand image do not constitute essential requirements.