The nature and challenges of guest house business in the Maldives: An exploratory study

Abstract

The Maldives has long been perceived as an exclusive and expensive travel destination. However, the political changes have introduced another accommodation option, the guest house. This has provided an opportunity for many locally owned guest house owners to offer accommodation service at an affordable rate. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of business and the challenges faced by the guest house business in the Maldives. The data were derived from in-depth interviews with nine key informants. The thematic analysis qualitative method was employed in identifying informants’ view of the current guest house business. A total of six themes (i.e. product image, service quality, marketing channel, infrastructure, competition, policies, laws and regulations) were identified. The contribution of the paper lies in growing knowledge within the research niche of guest houses in the Maldives and internationally. Implications of the factors that contribute to successful guest house operations, including customer-oriented and service quality are recommended based on the findings. These recommendations can benefit guest house managers in developing and managing their guest house business. Future research may be expanded to view differences in perception among different stakeholders. Such findings could provide insights into what is missing and what topics require further investigation in the future.