​The hospitality industry has taken several initiatives to implement environmental management practices to minimize its adverse environmental impact. Nevertheless, travelers often harbor skepticism and hold unfavorable perceptions toward green communication efforts, particularly when such messages are seen as insincere or misleading. This study explores how travelers perceive green hotel communication, aiming to help hoteliers craft credible messages that build trust. Based on five focus groups with 33 participants, this qualitative study applies thematic analysis guided by signaling and attribution theories. The analysis reveals three key themes shaping travelers perceptions of green hotel communication: perceived greenwashing, attribution of ulterior motives and advancing green knowledge. The first two themes reflect the skepticism travelers express when encountering cost-driven motives or promotional overstatements. In contrast, the third theme, advancing green knowledge, emerged as a crucial mitigating factor, emphasizing the importance of guest awareness of green program, green education, and credible certification in fostering trust and message credibility. Theoretically, this study integrates signaling and attribution theories to provide a holistic explanation of how travelers perceive the credibility of green messages, introducing “advancing green knowledge” as a new mechanism that reduces skepticism and enhances trust. Practically, it offers guidance for hotel managers and marketers to strengthen message transparency and credibility by incorporating educational content, demonstrating verifiable environmental actions, and strategically communicating credible certifications across guest touchpoints.​