Abstract:
Shariah compliant hotel is a new innovative product in Malaysian halal industry. Out of 4,072 hotels in Malaysia only 10% are Shariah compliant in 2015. The demand for Shariah compliant hotel is very high however there is a lack of criteria to measure Shariah compliance in hotel room operations. Despite of that, there are few standards being applied to cater for Muslim guests by Islamic Quality Standard for hotel and MS2610:2015 Muslim Friendly Hospitality Services. This study is to identify the criteria of Shariah compliance in hotel room operations through observation, questionnaire survey and face to face interviews with hotel operators on 8 selected hotels complying with Shariah. The observation method was used to assess the hotel room facilities in compliance to Shariah requirements. A sample of 40 questionnaires was distributed to the guests of the selected hotels. Face to face interviews were also conducted with hotel operators pertaining to training on hotel room operations and analysed through verbatim and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate questionnaire results. The findings shows that all 33 items of hotel room operations complied with Shariah criteria and only 45.5% met the Muslim guest needs. A set of criteria on Shariah Compliance in Hotel Room Operations will facilitate the hotel operators and potential hotel developers in Malaysia. Training for the implementation of hotel room operations according to Shariah should be inculcated to the hotel staff in order to enhance the Shariah criteria in meeting the needs of Muslim guests. The implementation of Shariah criteria will be a fundamental for Shariah compliant hotel establishment.
