Sanitation Transparency on Social Media and Its Influence on Guest Trust, Hotel Image, and Satisfaction

Hotels increasingly treat sanitation as a signal of reputation and health assurance after the pandemic, yet many still do not communicate their standards openly. This study aims to analyze the influence of hotel sanitation standard transparency on social media on guest trust, hotel image, and customer satisfaction in Tasikmalaya City. Grounded in Signaling Theory, the study used an associative quantitative approach with a cross-sectional online questionnaire completed by 100 guests or prospective guests of eight star-rated hotels, recruited through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 26 using validity, reliability, classical assumption, and simple linear regression tests. Sanitation transparency had a positive and significant relationship with guest trust (b = 0.755, p < 0.001, R² = 0.751), hotel image (b = 0.728, p < 0.001, R² = 0.577), and customer satisfaction (b = 0.859, p < 0.001, R² = 0.673), so all three hypotheses were supported. Transparent digital hygiene communication therefore works as a credible quality signal that reduces consumer skepticism. Hotel managers should treat sanitation disclosure on social media as a core communication strategy, and local tourism authorities may develop guidelines for digital hygiene communication.