e being required to confront water and energy conservation issues in the mid 1990s. Energy expenditures account for between two and six percent of operating costs in the hotel industry (Dale, 1992, pp. 30 35). Further, the price of energy continues to rise. Energy conservation, thus, is fast becoming one of the principal operating objectives of hotel managements.
Costs for water are also on the rise. In San Francisco, the dramatic increases in water prices caused the cost for water to the San Francisco Hilton Hotel to increase to $465,000 in 1992 from $410,000 in 1988, although water conservation efforts by the hotel had reduced water consumption by 30 percent from 239 gallons per room to 186 gallons per room (Jesitus, 1992a, pp. 45 46). Additionally, some jurisdictions, notably many within California, are imposing pecuniary penalties on firms and households that do not curtail water use (Seal, 1991, pp. 3, 54). Thus, water conservation too is fast becoming one of the principal operating objectives of hotel managements.
Adding to the pressures on hotel managements is the public outcry against water and energy waste (Rowe, 1992, pp. 36 38). Several options for pursuing energy and water conservation objectives are available to hotel managements. These options range from technological innovations to operational changes. In view of the public outcry against water and energy waste, a valid question involves the extent to which hotel guests may be enlisted in water and energy conservation efforts by hotel organizations. It is this question that will be investigated in the proposed research study.
Several programs designed to promote the conservation of energy and water have been implemented in the United States. Most of these program are applicable to the hotel industry. Literature relevant to these programs is reviewed in a discussion that follows. The principal means by which energy and water conservation goals may b...