Travelers' perception towards budget hotel elements / Khaizie Sazimah Ahmad and Chatila @ Nurasyikin Jamal

The budgets hotel sector is becoming increasingly popular even in advanced country such as Europe country and developing country such as China and India. Budget hotels' product concept is affordable not only for upper income and middle income that emphasize on value for money but also for low income travellers. This paper is aim to determine which attributes of Malacca's budget hotels that will influence travelers' decision and also to identify the significant factors that differentiate the choice of budget hotel between local and foreign travelers. We attempt to use the SERVQUAL and Fishbein's multi attribute model to give clear indication which of the attributes are most dominant in influencing travelers to make a decision to choose budget hotel. The SERVQUAL model is part of the satisfaction measurement techniques, while the Fishbein model is part of the attitude measurement techniques. A convenience sampling method was deemed appropriate for the purpose of this study. Malacca state becomes scope of this study based on the fact Malacca was most prominent tourism spot. While many researchers concentrate their studies on service quality measuring customer satisfaction on luxury hotels elements, very few studies emphasized on budget hotels sector especially in Malaysia. This study is expected to bring some practical implication by utilizing information obtained from the travelers to enhance a much more efficient marketing strategy in the budget hotel industry. The attributes that have been identified to be most crucial will became critical success factor to practitioners and can be focused by the hotels in their future decisions

Acceptance Factors Affecting the Intention to Use Mobile Payments: QR Code Applications

This study explores the intentional use of QR code applications in Malaysia through the lens of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT 2), focusing on five key constructs: which is performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), hedonic motivation (HM), habit (H), and trust (TR). An online survey was constructed and disseminated to a random sample of 215 respondents located in the Southeast region. The primary objective of this survey was to collect data regarding their intentions to utilize QR code applications. The collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), aiming to understand the relationship between the UTAUT 2 factors and behavioral intention towards QR code usage. The analysis revealed that all the UTAUT 2 factors which are performance expectancy, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, habit, and trust have a positive significant relationship with the behavioral intention to use QR codes application. Among these, trust emerged as the most influential factor, underscoring its critical role in the adoption of QR code technology. This finding highlights the importance of addressing security and privacy concerns to foster trust among users, which is pivotal for the wider acceptance and use of QR codes in Malaysia. The study provides valuable insights for developers, marketers, and policymakers looking to enhance the adoption of QR code technology, emphasizing the need to build a trustworthy and user-friendly QR code ecosystem

Policies Improving the Well-Being of Gig Workers in Malaysia

Very scarce research has assessed the extent of adverse effects on the well-being of gig workers, particularly in Malaysia. So, the study aims to examine the policies favoring the well-being of gig workers using qualitative methodology of secondary materials examination and semi-structured interviews with policymakers. One of the key findings is that the Malaysian government is very supportive in welcoming the new era of flexibility and freedom of work, such as gig workers. This is particularly relevant to the gig economy, which is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and variability. The emergent issues significantly call for government and policymakers to design the right policies to enhance gig workers' welfare