Consumer Agency: Over Half of Users Dissatisfied with Hotel Eco-Friendly Services

More than half of consumers who have used eco-friendly services at domestic hotels were found to be dissatisfied.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 6th that this was confirmed through a survey of consumers who used domestic tourist hotels in the past year.

Out of 500 survey participants, 225 (45%) had used eco-friendly services, and among them, 146 (64.9%) responded that they were not satisfied with the services. They pointed out that the actual service level did not meet the advertisements or that the contribution to environmental improvement was insufficient.

Since 2011, the Ministry of Environment has been implementing a system that grants environmental label certification to hotels actively engaged in environmental improvement and efficient resource use to promote a green consumption culture. However, 80.8% of consumers were unaware of this system.

The Consumer Agency investigated 10 hotels that had received environmental label certification or promoted eco-friendly services, and all of them provided environmentally friendly services such as reducing energy consumption like electricity and gas. Among the 10 hotels, 7 where information on light bulb products was available all used low-power LED bulbs, and 9 hotels replaced towels and bed sheets in guest rooms only upon consumer request to reduce unnecessary water usage. Seven hotels provided bathroom amenities in reusable containers instead of single-use products.

However, the Consumer Agency evaluated that more proactive environmental protection activities are necessary considering the level that consumers actually feel or expect. They also emphasized the need to expand hotel operators' participation through promotion of the system, as only two hotels currently maintain environmental label certification.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.