•Incorporating natural features and systems into the built environment to fulfill the human need for exposure to nature.•Learning biophilic designs elicited stronger positive emotional responses.•Finding biophilic designs elicited stronger behavioral responses.•Perceiving biophilic designs as being superior in quality.•Moderating effect of gender on the relationships. Biophilic design encourages the use of natural systems and processes in the design of the built environment. By introducing biophilic elements to a hotel’s physical environment, a guest’s need for connection with nature may be fulfilled. There is a lack of studies on the effect of biophilic design in the lodging industry. The purpose of this study is to examine whether implementing biophilic design enhances guest emotional responses, perceived quality, and behavioral intentions in the context of hotels. Using the scenario-based experiment, the findings of this study have revealed that biophilic designs elicited stronger positive emotional and behavioral responses than the standard design. In addition, customers perceived hotels that had biophilic designs as being superior in quality. While stakeholders within the lodging industry continue to plan, build, change, and control a hotel’s atmospheric design, this study shows hoteliers some of the direct links between biophilic designs and guest responses.