The intersection of religious diversity and subjective happiness in luxury hotels: A qualitative study in Muslim majority countries

Abstract

The increasing demand for Islamic hospitality services has attracted more attention to Islamic Shariah-compliant hotels in many parts of the Muslim world, particularly in the Middle East. At the same time, religion-practicing customers may be discriminated against on the basis of their religious needs and practices. This study explores (1) the treatment faced by hotel customers due to their religiosity and (2) how their religiosity affects their happiness during their accommodation at non-compliant hotels to Islamic teachings. Given the study's context, it uses an Islamic lens through a combined theoretical underpinning of Stephenson's model of Islamic hotels and customers' subjective happiness model. Drawing on 28 in-depth interviews, data were collected from hotel customers who stayed in the four- and five-star hotels in different Arab Middle Eastern countries (i.e., Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates). Drawing on the findings, this study offers a contextual and novel framework to understand the complex interconnection between Shariah-compliant hotels and customers' happiness and points out the underlying mechanism of how hotels can meet Muslim hotel customers' needs and expectations. The empirical findings highlight the contextual relevance and extension of Stephenson's framework by incorporating religiosity/spirituality and well-being of hotel customers in a Middle Eastern context.