THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, PRICE, AND FACILITIES ON STUDENTS’ DECISIONS TO RENT BOARDING HOUSES IN MUARA SATU DISTRICT, LHOKSEUMAWE CITY

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effect of social media marketing, price, and facilities on the decision of students at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Malikussaleh, to rent boarding houses (indekos) in Muara Satu District, Lhokseumawe City. The rapid growth of boarding house businesses around the campus has encouraged owners to promote through social media alongside pricing strategies and facility completeness, making it important to examine which factors truly determine students’ housing decisions. A quantitative research design was used with a survey method involving 102 respondents selected through proportional purposive sampling. Primary data were collected through questionnaires distributed directly and via Google Form, tested for validity and reliability, and analyzed using multiple linear regression with SPSS version 27. Classical assumption tests (normality, heteroscedasticity, and multicollinearity) confirmed that the regression model met the feasibility requirements. The results show that price and facilities have a positive and significant effect on students’ decisions to rent boarding houses, while social media marketing has no significant effect. The coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.671 indicates that the three variables jointly explain 67.1% of the variation in purchase decisions, with facilities being the most dominant variable. These findings confirm that students prioritize price suitability and the completeness of actual facilities over social media promotion alone when deciding to rent a boarding house. This study recommends that boarding house owners prioritize fair pricing and improved facility quality while maintaining transparency in social media promotional content.