Sustainable tourism practices and customer satisfaction of Five-star hotels in Nairobi Kenya

Abstract

The hospitality industry, particularly the five-star hotel segment, faces increasing pressure to adopt sustainable tourism practices in response to growing environmental concerns and evolving customer expectations. In Nairobi, Kenya, the integration of such practices remains varied, yet their influence on customer satisfaction is not clearly understood. This study sought to establish the effect of sustainable tourism practices on customer satisfaction of five-star hotels in Nairobi. The specific objectives were to examine the influence of green certification, energy management, waste management, and sustainable sourcing on customer satisfaction. The study was anchored on the Theory of Planned Behavior, supported by Expectation-Confirmation Theory, Social Exchange Theory and Signaling Theory. The study adopted a positivist research philosophy and utilized a quantitative approach. A descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was employed to collect primary data from management staff in all the 9 registered five-star hotels in Nairobi. Stratified random sampling was used to ensure representation from each hotel. Structured questionnaires was administered to the respondents. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics to summarize data, and inferential statistics including correlation and multiple regression analysis to test the research hypotheses and establish the strength and direction of relationships among variables. The regression model was statistically significant (ANOVA: F = 53.133, p < .001) and explained a large share of variation in customer satisfaction (R square = .797; adjusted R square = .782). Standardized coefficients showed that energy management had the strongest positive effect on customer satisfaction (β = .395, p = .005), followed by green certification (β = .282, p = .038), waste management (β = .198, p = .026), and sustainable sourcing (β = .154, p = .043). The findings conclude that sustainability practices are important drivers of guest evaluations in Nairobi’s luxury hospitality context. In particular, visible and well communicated energy efficiency measures, credible and integrated certification routines, structured waste programs, and transparent responsible sourcing each contribute to higher customer satisfaction. The study recommends that hotel managers deepen investment in energy technologies and strengthen monitoring and reporting of performance, institutionalize certification review calendars and communicate achievements to guests, scale staff training and guest engagement for waste reduction, and formalize sustainable sourcing policies with clear supplier partnerships and menu or in room disclosures.