Can budget hotels provide quality service? An analysis of e-complaints on low-cost accommodation in Malaysia

Abstract

The significant contribution of budget hotel to the tourism sector plays an important role in the economic development of many developing countries in Asia. Despite the increasing published work on the use of Internet for negative word-of-mouth communication, surprisingly little is known about how travelers use the Internet to share the negative experiences of their consumption of budget accommodation. Keeping this in mind, this present research seeks to examine e-complaints posted by guests who have stayed at one and two star hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The methodology involved a content analysis of 100 complaints scripts from popular travel review website- Trip Advisor. The scripts were manually coded to identify the type and frequency of e-complaints. Preliminary findings were presented to managers in the hospitality industry for comments, responses and validation. The final findings revealed 16 main e-complaints categories, “rooms,” “staff,” “in room facilities and services,” and “bathroom,” as the top four categories guests criticize. Discussion of these four main e-complaints categories and implications of the results are provided in this paper.