Online disclosure practices of halal-friendly hotels

Abstract

Purpose

This research analyses the online disclosure practices of halal-friendly hotels, denoting their service provision within “halal” expectancies. This study aims to discover the halal attributes commonly used in the online marketing practices of halal-friendly hotels.

Design/methodology/approach

The methods used in this study include a deductive approach through literature, which was then followed by an initial investigation of several random samples that produced 24 points of halal-friendly attributes, and then content analysis to find out the online disclosure practices of 55 halal-friendly hotels. Further insights gathered through analysis of the use of Islamic images and symbols; also, by examining the nexus between the disclosure level and other variables such as halal-friendly certification level, star-level and guest ratings.

Findings

The results show that most hotels classify themselves as halal-friendly by providing information that articulates Islamic identity or by informing the existence of prayer facilities. Information displayed includes halal food, halal places, alcohol-free policy, prayer facilities and Qibla direction. Furthermore, image analysis shows that almost all hotels use human photographs, and the preferred gender is male; only a few hotels expose Islamic symbols. Most hotels maintain a neutral impression by avoiding “Islamised gender” and not overly emphasising Islamic images. Otherwise, halal-friendly certification level is positively correlated with the disclosure level.

Practical implications

The results provide a fresh insight regarding the online marketing practices of the halal-friendly hotels and could be used as a benchmark by the practitioners.

Originality/value

This topic is still unexplored; it shows this research originality.

Citation

Muharam, I.N. and Asutay, M. (2022), "Online disclosure practices of halal-friendly hotels", Journal of Islamic Marketing, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-12-2018-0239