Digital Co-Creation and the Transformation of Customer Experience in Moroccan Hospitality

Abstract

In Morocco’s rapidly growing hotel sector, digital co-creation is emerging as a key strategy to enhance the customer experience. Grounded in co-creation theory and the literature surrounding digital transformation, this study explores how Moroccan hotels use digital platforms to engage customers and foster service innovation. A qualitative research design, based on 27 semi-structured interviews with hotel clients, was employed. Data were analysed inductively using thematic analysis with NVivo 14, allowing patterns and key themes to emerge from participants’ narratives.

Findings reveal that digital tools improve service personalization, facilitate feedback, and enable collaborative engagement through mobile applications, contributing to higher customer satisfaction and more effective service innovation. Persistent challenges include gaps in digital literacy and concerns regarding data privacy.

The study contributes theoretically by providing contextual insights into how digital co-creation fosters personalization, engagement, and service innovation in Moroccan hotels. On a practical level, it offers empirically-grounded recommendations for hotel managers to design user-friendly digital interfaces, ensure data privacy, and support customers in adopting digital tools, thereby enhancing satisfaction and fostering customer loyalty.