THE INFLUENCE OF SHARIA HOTEL INDICATORS TOWARDS ITS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND GUEST INTENTION TO STAY: AN APPRAISAL

Abstract

Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, showed an increase in the development of sharia hotels that apply sharia laws and regulations as their operating system. This study aims to explore both hotel executives' and consumers’ perceptions of sharia hotels and the impact on creating the hotel’s competitive advantage, which will affect guest intention to stay. In-depth interviews were completed with hotel executives of sharia and non-sharia hotels as one group and with sharia and non-sharia hotels guests as the other group. In-depth interviews and thick narratives nuance the research processes and inductive data reduction. The interview data were processed using thematic analysis. Two major themes were revealed from the interviews: governments are relatively slow in certifying standard regulations for sharia hotels and there is still a discrepancy concerning the perceptions among hotel executives and customers about what constitutes a sharia hotel. A clear and comprehensive definition of the sharia concept will make public perceptions, both in terms of hotel executives and hotel consumers, stand on the same ground. A conceptual model has been proposed based on the study findings, expected to enrich the body of literature regarding sharia hotel indicators that need to be taken into account by management to build its competitive advantages. Further research employing a quantitative approach is suggested to validate the underlying factors in the model that influence consumers' intentions to stay at sharia hotels.