Are travellers satisfied with Malaysian hotels?

Purpose This paper aims to examine the factors that measure different satisfaction levels between the Asian and Western travellers during their stay in hotels in Malaysia. The paper also seeks to analyse the importance of the tangible and intangible factors in the hotel industry. Design/methodology/approach The research questions are utilised to measure the differences between Asian and Western perception of hotel attributes. A questionnaire with five‐point Likert scale is applied to measure customer satisfaction. Data is analysed using SPSS software by employing factor analysis, multiple regression, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Findings Results indicate that there are significant differences between Asian and Western evaluations of hotel quality, with clear indication that satisfaction levels Malaysian hotels were higher among Western travellers than the Asian travellers. Both Asian and Western travellers perceive hospitality as an influential factor in determining the overall satisfaction level. Research limitations/implications The limitation of the study is that the sample is taken only from travellers who are leaving Malaysia by plane. Future research can be carried out on the travellers arriving at and depart from Malaysia using different mode of transportations. Practical implications For practitioners, it is worth noting that Asian travellers are exclusively concerned with the value for money services, while Western travellers regard security and safety, and food and beverage as important factors for them to stay in the hotels or revisit the country. Originality/value Malaysia is an emerging market for tourism industry and the information obtained from the travellers can be utilised to enhance a much more efficient marketing strategy in the hotel industry. This paper contains material relevant to education as well as to the tourism industry, and implementable solutions are sufficiently well suggested.