Guest Satisfaction and Revisit Intention of Muslim Friendly Hotels in Malaysia

Abstract

The hotel industry has remained one of the most competitive industries in the 21st century, and there is a great deal of study being done on guest satisfaction and the consequent effects it has on guest loyalty and financial performance. Many studies have demonstrated that hoteliers that have more satisfied guests experience higher guest loyalty and perform better financially compared to their competitors, ensuring continuity of their business in the long term. The overwhelming demand for quality products and services among Muslim travelers in recent years has led to the establishment of Muslim Friendly Hotels (MFH) in Malaysia and other Muslim countries. It is widely believed that Muslims perceive Islam as something more than just a religion - it is a way of life. Hence, the religion shapes their consumption behavior even during travel. Currently, very little research has examined the influence of satisfaction on revisit intention among guests staying at MFH, specifically in Malaysia. Preliminary findings from a survey of hotel guests indicate that there is a significant relationship between guest satisfaction and revisit intention, which further explains the importance of desirable hotel attributes in influencing hotel selection and a guest’s experience.

Muslim-Friendly Hotel in Malaysia: The Development, Operating Concept, and Associated Issues

“…Muslim-Friendly Hotel (hereafter MFH) is one of the innovative service innovation and creative services that can be found in the hotel industry of Malaysia (Karia & Fauzi, 2019). MFH is a type of hotel that provides basic facilities that are more accommodating to Muslim customers, such as the availability of Mecca direction (hereafter Qiblah) indicator, praying facilities, praying tools, halal foodservice and the provision of mosque list nearby the hotel area (Mansor, et al, 2018). Basically, the existence of the MFH concept in Malaysia derived from the concept of Shariah Compliant Hotel (hereafter SCH) that unsuccessfully attracted the intention of hotel operators in Malaysia for an adoption due to the concept is believed inharmonious to the setting of accommodation sector in Malaysia that not only concentrating to cater the demand from the Muslim's market (Zawawi & Ramli, 2016).…”

- بناء نموذج تنظيمي للاعتماد المدرسي من المنظور التربوي الإسلامي: مدارس التعليم ما بعد الأساسي بسلطنة عمان أنموذجا Building an Organizational Model for School Accreditation from an Islamic Educational Perspective: Post-basic education schools in the Sultanate of Oman as a Model.

“…Muslim-Friendly Hotel (hereafter MFH) is one of the innovative service innovation and creative services that can be found in the hotel industry of Malaysia (Karia & Fauzi, 2019). MFH is a type of hotel that provides basic facilities that are more accommodating to Muslim customers, such as the availability of Mecca direction indicator, praying facilities, praying tools, halal food service and the provision of mosque list nearby the hotel area (Mansor, et al, 2018). Basically, the existence of the MFH concept in Malaysia derived from the concept of Shariah Compliant Hotel (hereafter SCH) that unsuccessfully attracted the intention of hotel operators in Malaysia for an adoption due to the concept is believed inharmonious to the setting of accommodation sector in Malaysia that not only concentrating to cater the demand from the Muslim's market (Zawawi & Ramli, 2016).…”