Asking hotel guests to save energy for the planet doesn't work unless the hotel proves they're donating the saved cash to charity.
March 24, 2026
Original Paper
Do moral and monetary incentives overlap? Field experimental evidence from hotel energy conservation
SSRN · 6460109
The Takeaway
In environments where consumers don't pay the utility bill (like hotels), typical 'green' nudges are ignored because guests suspect the hotel is just trying to save money. The study shows that moral incentives only work if there is a transparent, credible mechanism to ensure the savings don't just become corporate profit.
From the abstract
This study examines the distinct impact of moral incentives on energy conservation. Moral incentives are often accompanied by economic incentives, yet this overlap has rarely been examined. Using a novel field experiment in a hotel, we separate moral incentives from direct economic rewards and show that moral incentives alone do not significantly reduce energy use. However, when conservation requests are embedded in a transparent donation mechanism that credibly commits energy savings to an envi