Improving Customer Experience Management in Hospitality Industry: A Content Analysis of Capsule Hotel Guest User-Generated Online Review

Across all industries, organizations are beginning to understand the important roles that positive customer experiences as well as positive word of mouth in remaining competitive and having better organizational performance. The thesis aims to advance research on CEM. This dissertation will include a detailed analysis of CEs comments on capsule hotels. This research intends to provide scholastic insight into the framework of customer experience management by evaluating the user experience at capsule hotel through online reviews created by users and developing a visual representation for practical use in the context of the hospitality sector. In addition, by examining negative experience indicators and positive experience indicators, the analysis would also describe the emerging practical problems affecting customer experience. This study inspects 1,304 online user-generated content for the top 10 capsule hotel from booking.com. This thesis adopted a qualitative content analysis approach in investigating actual guest encounters in the capsule hotel. In accomplishing the set out objectives of the study, data was collected from 10 Capsule hotels on booking .com based on popularity index. Leximancer 4.5 was used for analysis due to its exploratory and predictive capabilities The outcome of the analysis showed nine themes, ‘’Staff’’, ‘’Hotel’’, ‘’Area’’, ‘’Location’’, ‘’Bed’’, ‘’Capsule’’, ‘’Check-in’’, ‘’Noisy’’, and ‘’Luggage’’. The study also objectively examines the interpretation of higher and lower value for money scores by consumers of capsule hotels. The study reveals that guests who rated capsule hotels closely link their positive experience to the notion of the concept such as staff 82%, clean 71%, helpful 68%, friendly 69%, bed 52%, hostel 45%, and mattress 41%. Concepts regarding the probability of co-occurrence with low money value are: noisy 65%, Wi-Fi 43%, shower 42%, room 61%, bathroom 39%, food 61%, guest 28 %, and location 16%. Extant literature in light of CEM has being inconclusive, thereby leaving a gap. Furthermore, only a limited number of research has been conducted in respect to Capsule hotels and none has investigated CEM in capsule hotel. First of all, this research contributes to CEM's literature in the service industry and, in particular, the hotel field. This research also provides insight into the subject for more researchers to draw on in other ways to develop CEM.