RAUMDEUTER AS SPATIAL SERVICE INTELLIGENCE IN MALAYSIAN LUXURY RESORTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55197/qjssh.v7si4.1574Keywords:
servicescape, guest experience, proactive service, cultural communication, guest loyaltyAbstract
This conceptual review proposes Raumdeuter as a spatial service-intelligence lens for understanding luxury resort service in Malaysia. Raumdeuter is not an established hospitality construct; it is used here as a metaphor for how frontline employees interpret physical, social, temporal, digital, and cultural cues in resort environments in real time. The review draws on servicescape theory, social servicescape research, hotel customer experience management, customer experience quality, luxury hospitality, proactive customer service performance, smart hospitality and generative artificial intelligence, and Malaysian cultural communication. On this basis, the paper argues that the luxury resort experience is influenced not only by environmental design and service standards but also by employees' capacity to read guest movement, density, timing, privacy expectations, digital signals, and culturally appropriate service cues, including the indirectness and refinement encoded in budi bahasa. The review develops a framework that links resort cues, Raumdeuter interpretation, guest-perceived experiential value, and behavioural outcomes, and offers four research propositions to guide empirical testing. The paper contributes by reorienting the servicescape discussion from environmental influence to staff-mediated interpretation and contextualising anticipatory luxury service within Malaysian hospitality culture. Practical implications are offered for staff training, guest-flow management, service personalisation, technology use, and culturally sensitive service design.
References
[1] Ali, F., Omar, R. (2014): Determinants of customer experience and resulting satisfaction and revisit intentions: PLS-SEM approach towards Malaysian resort hotels. – Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism 3(2): 175-193.
[2] Ariffin, A.A.M., Nadesan, G., Alamssi, A.S.M. (2025): The relative impacts of physical, social and e-servicescape on the resort hotel guest loyalty. – Cogent Business & Management 12(1): Article 2504123, 1-23.
[3] Bai, N., Othman, R., Osrof, H.Y. (2026): Proactive customer service performance in hospitality and tourism: A systematic review and future directions. – Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 66: Article 101386. 14p.
[4] Bitner, M.J. (1992): Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. – Journal of Marketing 56(2): 57-71.
[5] Buhalis, D., Leung, R. (2018): Smart hospitality-Interconnectivity and interoperability towards an ecosystem. – International Journal of Hospitality Management 71: 41-50.
[6] Christodoulides, G., Chatzipanagiotou, K., Baker, J., Buhalis, D. (2025): Conceptualizing and measuring customer luxury experience in hotels. – Journal of Travel Research, OnlineFirst: 1-27.
[7] Jain, V., Wirtz, J., Salunke, P., Nunkoo, R., Sharma, A. (2023): Luxury hospitality: A systematic literature review and research agenda. – International Journal of Hospitality Management 115: Article 103597, 1-16.
[8] Jiony, M.M., Lew, T.Y., Gom, D., Tanakinjal, G.H., Sondoh, S.J. (2021): Influence of cultural intelligence and psychological capital on service quality: A study of the hotel industry in Sabah, Malaysia. – Sustainability 13(19): Article 10809, 1-24.
[9] Kandampully, J., Zhang, T., Jaakkola, E. (2018): Customer experience management in hospitality: A literature synthesis, new understanding and research agenda. – International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 30(1): 21-56.
[10] Khan, I., Rahman, Z. (2017): Development of a scale to measure hotel brand experiences. – International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 29(1): 268-287.
[11] Klaus, P., Maklan, S. (2013): Towards a better measure of customer experience. – International Journal of Market Research 55(2): 227-246.
[12] Lam, R., Cheung, C., Lugosi, P. (2022): The impacts of cultural intelligence and emotional labor on the job satisfaction of luxury hotel employees. – International Journal of Hospitality Management 100: Article 103084, 1-12.
[13] Liang, J., Wang, S., Ye, B.H., Tung, V.W.S., Li, R., Guo, L. (2024): Hotel inspiration: How the substantive servicescape inspires customer satisfaction. – Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research 48(8): 1554-1571.
[14] Line, N.D., Hanks, L. (2019a): The social servicescape: Understanding the effects in the full-service hotel industry. – International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 31(2): 753-770.
[15] Line, N.D., Hanks, L. (2019b): The social servicescape: A multidimensional operationalization. – Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research 43(2): 167-187.
[16] Luna-Cortés, G., López-Bonilla, L.M., López-Bonilla, J.M. (2022): Research on luxury hospitality: A systematic review of the literature. – Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 52: 469-477.
[17] Mariani, M., Baggio, R. (2022): Big data and analytics in hospitality and tourism: A systematic literature review. – International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 34(1): 231-278.
[18] Marinova, D., de Ruyter, K., Huang, M.H., Meuter, M., Challagalla, G. (2017): Getting smart: Learning from technology-empowered frontline interactions. – Journal of Service Research 20(1): 29-42.
[19] Pelet, J.-É., Lick, E., Taieb, B. (2021): The internet of things in upscale hotels: Its impact on guests' sensory experiences and behavior. – International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 33(11): 4035-4056.
[20] Rahimian, S., ShamiZanjani, M., Manian, A., Esfidani, M.R. (2021): A framework of customer experience management for hotel industry. – International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 33(5): 1413-1436.
[21] Ramli, R. (2013): Culturally appropriate communication in Malaysia: Budi bahasa as warranty component in Malaysian discourse. – Journal of Multicultural Discourses 8(1): 65-78.
[22] Veloso, M., Gómez-Suárez, M. (2023): Customer experience in the hotel industry: A systematic literature review and research agenda. – International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 35(8): 3006-3028.
[23] Wang, P.Q. (2025): Personalizing guest experience with generative AI in the hotel industry: There's more to it than meets a Kiwi's eye. – Current Issues in Tourism 28(4): 527-544.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 AHMAD SHAZEER MOHAMED THAHEER, AMILY FIKRI, PHILIP WONG PONG WENG, TAN AI LING, LAI MUN YEE
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
