A preliminary study on boutique hotels in the city of Kuala Lumpur

• Published in: Theory and Practice in Hospitality and Tourism Research - Proceedings of the 2nd International Hospitality and Tourism Conference 2014
• Main Author: Arifin A.S.; Jamal S.A.; Aziz A.A.; Ismail S.S.
• Format: Conference paper
• Language: English
• Published: CRC Press/Balkema 2015
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84907373321&doi=10.1201%2fb17390-9&partnerID=40&md5=48a1319655beb18bc939a7ac25c0828e

This paper discusses about boutique hotels in the centre of the city of Kuala Lumpur and provides a definition, overview and the characteristics of boutique hotels and the responses of their guests. This study also investigates factors influencing guest experience in these boutique hotels. To investigate these experiences, the methodology includes site observation, a rigorous literature review, questionnaire surveys and an analysis of online guest reviews on the hotel website. The findings suggest that the density of boutique hotels is skewed to the Kuala Lumpur city centre. The results also indicate that the existence of boutique hotels is welcomed by local guests, with a majority of them giving positive responses. The results reveal the following three dimensions of guest experience: (i) physical environment; (ii) interaction with employees; and (iii) interaction with other guests. The findings offer important implications for industry marketing. © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group.