Muslim Friendly Hotel Development in Malaysia: Prospect and Challenges

Muslim Friendly Hotel (MFH) and its Shariah compliant is a new lucrative tourism product that grew tremendously in Malaysia over the past years as part of halal industry. There are about 5,520 hotels in Malaysia and about ten percent (10%) are complying with Shariah requirements. The prospect for Muslim Friendly Hotels will be observed through the adoption of Shariah rules and regulations in the hotel development in Malaysia due to the increased in Muslim tourist arrivals, particularly from Middle Eastern countries. There are few standards been developed pertaining to Shariah compliant in hotel development or Muslim Friendly Hospitality Services (MFHS) in this country. This paper will highlight some of the criteria on Shariah compliance in the provision of hotel room facilities through Face to Face (F2F) interviews with hotel management and guests, and inventory of room facilities. The study was conducted on eight (8) MFHS hotels aimed at assessing the facilities provided in the room in compliance to Shariah requirements. A total of 40 questionnaires were distributed to the hotel guests to identify Muslim guest needs based on Maslow hierarchy of needs. All data were collated and analysed through content analysis and descriptive analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate results. The results were synchronized with Islamic Quality Standard (IQS) and MFHS Standard for hotels to be embedded with the ultimate objectives of Shariah (Maqasid Shariah). The findings show that all 33 aspects of hotel room being surveyed were complying with Shariah requirements. About 15 of the criteria met the Muslim guest needs. The Shariah compliant hotel criteria based on guestroom facilities have accommodate hotel operators to apply the criteria in meeting the potential users in the hotel industry development in Malaysia.