Green hospitality signals and anticipated destination experience: implications for hotel brand evaluations in South Africa

Purpose In response to growing environmental pressures and evolving visitor expectations, the hospitality sector is increasingly adopting sustainability practices that extend beyond firm-level performance to influence pre-travel destination-level evaluation processes and hospitality brand positioning. This study aims to examine how pro-environmental measures and social influence affect anticipated destination experiences, satisfaction and star-rated evaluations of accommodation brands. It focuses specifically on star-rated hotels (not the wider hospitality sector) in South Africa as places that influence destination experience, an underresearched tourism context. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model linking pro-environmental measures and social influence on star-rated brand outcomes through anticipated destination experience was developed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling on survey data collected from 816 potential guests in Germany and India. Findings The results indicate that pro-environmental measures and social influence positively influence anticipated destination experience, which mediates their relationship with specific hotel brand evaluation outcomes, particularly brand association and uniqueness, as well as visitor satisfaction. However, anticipated experience does not directly strengthen overall star-rated accommodation brand equity unless premium service expectations are perceived as compatible with sustainability initiatives. A perceived trade-off between green initiatives and luxury weakens the effectiveness of sustainability efforts in upscale contexts, while social influence mitigates this trade-off by reinforcing the credibility and acceptance of green practices. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by extending the Stimulus−Organism−Response framework to examine how hospitality sustainability practices function as salient sustainability signals within tourists’ destination evaluation processes. The findings demonstrate how sustainability practices serve as experiential cues that shape anticipated destination meanings and influence specific hotel brand evaluations through pre-travel cognitive appraisal processes, positioning star-rated hotels as influential destination place-brand touchpoints. This study provides practical insights for balancing environmental credibility with premium service delivery in sustainability-driven hospitality positioning and destination marketing communications.