Faculty & Research
Invoking Social Norms: A Social Psychology Perspective on Improving Hotels Linen-Reuse Programs
| View subscription information. |
Vol 48 No 2
By: Noah J. Goldstein , Vladas Griskevicius and Robert B. Cialdini
Executive Summary: In-room cards that encourage hotel guests to participate in programs to reuse their towels usually make one of four types of appeal. A study found that three of these four approaches encouraged about one-third of the guests studied to reuse their linens. Those appeals involved social responsibility, environmental concern, or a partnership concept. However, basing appeals in social psychology theory improved participation dramatically. One of those messages reversed the environmental partnership model to say that the hotel had already made a donation to an environmental cause and asked the guest to reciprocate by reusing the towels. Two other theory-based messages incorporated the concept of descriptive norms, which increased participation by around 50 percent. An important conclusion is that proper application of social psychology theory improves participation but adds nothing to expenses.
Your Comments Please
If this Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly Article made a positive impact on your management approach or business operations, we welcome your commentary. We would like to post your comments on our website. Submit your comments to mlp1@sha.cornell.edu.
To view the whole article, please click on the link below.
- Invoking Social Norms: A Social Psychology Perspective on Improving Hotels Linen-Reuse Programs By: Noah J. Goldstein , Vladas Griskevicius and Robert B. Cialdini
| If you have trouble downloading a report, and are able to install software on your computer, try upgrading to the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to see if that allows you to read it. |