The immediate and subsequent effects of public health interventions for COVID-19 on the leisure and recreation industry

Public health interventions to combat COVID-19 can be viewed as an exogenous shock to the economy, especially for industries—such as leisure, recreation, and tourism—that rely heavily on human mobility. This study investigates whether and how exactly the economic impact of government public health policies varies over time. Focusing on the leisure and recreation industry, we use data for 131 countries/regions from February to May 2020 and employ generalized difference-in-differences models to investigate the short- and longer-term effects of public health policies. We find that stricter policies lead, on average, to an immediate 9.2–percentage-point drop in leisure and recreation participation. Even so, that industry recovers in about seven weeks after a COVID-19 outbreak in countries/regions that undertake active interventions. After thirteen weeks, leisure and recreation involvement recovers to 70% of pre-pandemic levels in a place that actively intervened but stagnates at about 40% in one that did not.     

Hospitality and tourism industry amid COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives on challenges and learnings from India

COVID-19 outbreak has presented unprecedented circumstances before the fragile tourism and hospitality industry. The highly infectious novel coronavirus continues to thwart the sector and raises serious questions about the present and future survival of the sector. The research addresses two important concerns, first, pertains to the major challenges that hospitality and tourism industry faces amid current conditions; and second relates to the vital learnings for the industry. The study draws on the interviews with 15 participants in senior positions in hospitality industry, and tourism and hospitality education services. Responses to the interviews were content analysed, which resulted in 27 sub-themes that were further condensed into 4 major themes. The dominant sub-themes that emerged out of the qualitative enquiry included need of multiskilling and professional development of the employees, increased sense of hygiene, sanitation and related SOPs, optimism toward revival of the industry, media roles, and need of better crisis preparedness. Subsequent overarching themes included “Human Resource Management”, “Health and Hygiene”, “Continuity” and “Concerns”. The study critically discusses prominent themes in the light of the existing arguments from the literature and reflects on implications for the decision makers. The major implications of the study are in the form of determined themes adding to the evolving theory on COVID-19 pandemic and tourism & hospitality industry; and managerial recommendations to address host of issues while taking essential learnings stemming from the current circumstances. Limitations and scope of future research are also discussed.     

Rapid responding to the COVID-19 crisis: Assessing the resilience in the German restaurant and bar industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally impacted the restaurant and bar industry. Simultaneously, this industry is already undergoing structural change. Using the concept of organisational resilience, we analyse the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on owner’s assessment of resilience in the German restaurant and bar industry. Findings from an online survey with 623 owners and managers show that ex-ante business problems, and financing by loans or credit, reduce the likelihood of owners perceiving their business as resilient; while, delivery and takeaway service, ownership of property and higher age of owners, increase the likelihood of enterprise resilience. The paper contributes to understanding how restaurants and bars absorb and cope with the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, we make recommendation for future research on the recovery and adaptability of the business sector.     

Improvising resilience: The unfolding of resilient leadership in COVID-19 times

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy has had disastrous effects on the national economy. The hospitality sector has experienced a significant impact from the crisis: starting from March 2020 it has literally collapsed. Experts believe it will take three years for the sector to recover. Confronted with a dramatic uncertainty, which imposed rapid action, hospitality leaders need to nurture resilience. To enrich current understanding of the way resilient leadership unfolds to respond to jolts, we draw on an exploratory qualitative research involving Italian hotel managers. Following in-depth interviews, we show that resilient leadership and improvisation are deeply interconnected. Their interdependence entails two practices, namely gardening and learning. This suggests a paradoxical tension: to exercise resilience, leaders need to be at the same time in the system, by actively learning from events, and outside the system, by zooming out as they focus on ongoing planning for the next move.     

The role of business model innovation in the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 crisis

The hospitality industry worldwide is among the hardest-hit industries from the COVID-19 lockdowns. Initial theoretical and practical observations in the hospitality industry indicate that business model innovation (BMI) might be a solution to recover from and successfully cope with the COVID-19 crisis. Interestingly, some firms in the hospitality industry already started to successfully adapt their business models. This study explores the why and how of these successful recovery attempts through BMI by conducting a multiple case study of six hospitality firms in Austria. We rely on interview data from managers together with one of their main stammgasts for each case, which we triangulate with secondary data for the analysis. Findings show that BMI is applied during and after the crisis to create new revenue streams and secure a higher level of liquidity, with an important role of stammgasts.     

The repercussions and challenges of COVID-19 in the hotel industry: Potential strategies from a case study of Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the tourism and hospitality sector hard. Hotel managers face uncertainty in this environment in order to survive. This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry, particularly hotels in Indonesia, one of the largest developing countries. It examines the challenges faced by hotel managers and the strategies used to survive. Through the lens of complexity theory, we discuss whether the strategies being deployed are beneficial, redundant, or detrimental for hospitality businesses. Based on semi-structured interviews with 13 hotel managers in Jakarta, Bandung, and Bali, the findings shed light on the various challenges to hotels. We also highlight which challenges could turn into opportunities. The findings show that the strategies that managers are deploying could be detrimental in the future. Potential future research directions are also discussed.     

The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on domestic tourism: A DEMATEL method analysis on quarantine decisions

Countries' most effective methods to reduce the impact of outbreaks are quarantine the regions during the pandemic periods. Quarantine decisions during a pandemic directly affect the hospitality industry. There is no universal guideline regarding the quarantine decision during a pandemic. There is a gap in the literature on making the right quarantine decisions to decrease the negative effect of a pandemic on the hospitality industry. To fill this gap, this study uses a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method to help countries for quarantine decisions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the critical hospitality industry indicators is the inter-regional travel flow between regions for local tourism. Data from the household domestic tourism survey obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) is used to acquire the number of people entering and exiting among regions. This study's findings indicate that Istanbul has an essential impact on Turkey's rest. The results also demonstrate that the DEMATEL method provides convenient solutions for quarantine decisions during a pandemic. The DEMATEL application results concerning the COVID-19 pandemic effect might shed light on the hospitality industry’s prospects and challenges. This study's findings might be adopted to prepare the hospitality industry for the COVID-19 pandemic and similar pandemic.     

Ability and willingness to work during COVID-19 pandemic:Perspectives of front-line hotel employees

This research note reports the results of a qualitative study exploring front-line hotel employees’ views about working during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to identify factors that may influence their ability and willingness to report to work. Findings from online focus-groups reveal that front-line hotel employees generally felt a sense of duty to work during the pandemic. However, there were also a number of perceived barriers to working that impacted on this sense of duty. These emerged as barriers to ability and barriers to willingness, but the distinction is not clear-cut. Instead, most barriers seem to form a continuum ranging from negotiable barriers to insuperable barriers. Following this coneptualisation, the key to reducing absenteeism during the pandemic is likely to take remedial action so that barriers to willingness do not become perceived as barriers to ability to work. Practical implications towards this direction are offered.     

Stakeholders of the world,unite!: Hospitality in the time of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic created a global, complex crisis, without a clear end in sight, presenting an existential threat to many hospitality businesses. Drawing on stakeholder theory, we develop a framework for recovery strategy development for COVID-19, which engages salient stakeholders in the process of recognizing challenges, rationalizing changes needed and refashioning ways of working. The framework is used to analyze the process of development of a recovery strategy for a boutique hotel in England, UK, via a case study methodology. The analysis brings to the fore the interdependencies between the hotel owners and its employees, customers, governments, suppliers and communities, at local, national and international levels. Moreover, the analysis shows how collaborating with these stakeholders leads to the identification of revenue streams for the hotel, operational modifications and even the development of new commercial partnerships.     

Going beyond the curve: Strategic measures to recover hotel activity in times of COVID-19

Hospitality firms are facing unprecedented challenges on a global scale. The catastrophic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its multiple devastating global consequences have initiated a profoundly disruptive transformation in the hospitality sector, as firms attempt to adapt their activity to the current uncertain scenario. This study draws on the crisis management literature to identify the key drivers of hotel recovery in the event of a disaster or an external crisis, like current pandemic. A sample of 237 Spanish hotel managers evaluated and ranked the strategic measures. Based on this evidence, measures were statistically examined to identify which ranked as most significant in helping hospitality managers. The results yield valuable theoretical and practical insights to guide hospitality managers towards business adaptation and recovery by highlighting key strategic measures for implementation in the short term.     

Ethnic factors and the use of public outdoor recreation areas: The case of Mexican Americans

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of subculture, marginality, and perceived discrimination on use of selected public outdoor recreation areas. The assimilation perspective from the sociology literature provided theoretical guidance for the study. These concepts were treated as different types of social distance (cultural distance, socioeconomic distance, and intergroup distance). Each was hypothesized to affect the use of outdoor recreation areas. Data for this analysis came from telephone interviews conducted with 1057 households in Maricopa and Gila counties in Arizona. The analysis was conducted using a subsample of respondents of Mexican ancestry. The results support the socioeconomic, or marginality, hypothesis. There was less support for the subcultural, or ethnicity, hypothesis. There was no support for the perceived discrimination hypothesis. Research implications and recommendations are discussed.     

The effects of crowdedness and safety measures on restaurant patronage choices and perceptions in the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper investigates the effects of crowdedness and in-restaurant safety measures on consumers’ restaurant patronage choices (eat-in vs. order takeaway vs. not patronize) and their perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an online experiment with 593 US consumers and 591 Australian consumers, we assess the effects of three levels of crowdedness (low vs. medium vs. high crowdedness) and four types of in-restaurant safety measures (none vs. partition vs. increasing distances between tables vs. not using in-between tables) by showing participants an image of the restaurant setting. Results show that US consumers are more sensitive to crowdedness, whereas Australian consumers are more sensitive to different types of safety measures, which greatly influence their patronage choices. In general, safety measures featuring social distancing are preferred over partitions, and there is no preferential difference between the measure of increasing distances between tables and the measure of not using in-between tables.     

How to survive a pandemic: The corporate resiliency of travel and leisure companies to the COVID-19 outbreak

What protects travel and leisure companies from a global pandemic, such as COVID-19? To answer this question, we investigate data on over 1200 travel and leisure companies in 52 countries. We consider 80 characteristics, such as company financial ratios, macroeconomic variables, and government policy responses. Using regressions and machine learning tools, we demonstrate that firms with low valuations, limited leverage, and high investments have been more immune to the pandemic-induced crash. We also find a beneficial effect of stringent containment and closure policies. Finally, our results indicate that countries with less individualism may be better positioned to cope with the pandemic. Our findings have implications for regulatory bodies, managers, and investors concerning future pandemic outbreaks.     

Independent restaurant operator perspectives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions and attitudes of South Carolina independent full-service restaurant operators in relation to the operational and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study utilized a mixed-methods approach that first partnered with local administrative and governmental bodies to disseminate a short survey. The survey was open to respondents for a 5-week period, beginning May 4th, 2020, which was when restaurants were permitted to reopen indoor dining, but with seating capacity restrictions to ensure social distancing. The second qualitative stage employed semi-structured post-survey interviews with selected independent restaurant operators from across the state. The results indicated that 25% of the restaurants polled did not survive the nearly two-month closure. Less than a quarter of respondents were unable to bring back their company’s employees to pre-pandemic levels. The CARES Act financial relief programs were favored by most (81%) of the surveyed restaurant operators. Approximately 65% of the respondents did not feel they could keep their restaurants open if the pandemic restrictions remained in place until 2021. The respondents were split as to the future viability of the hospitality and tourism industry. The study offers guidance and managerial strategies for other independent full-service restaurant operators, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve.     

The COVID-19 pandemic and organisational commitment of senior hotel managers

The COVID-19 pandemic will reduce the attractiveness of hospitality occupations. This particularly concerns senior management positions whose holders may substitute hospitality jobs with more secure and rewarding employment in other economic sectors. Organisational resilience of hospitality businesses, including their response to COVID-19, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices may, however, affect perceived job security of senior managers and, thus, influence their commitment to remain in their host organisations. This paper quantitatively tests the inter-linkages between the above variables on a sample of senior managers in hotels in Spain. It finds that the levels of organisational resilience and the extent of CSR practices reinforce perceived job security of managers which, in turn, determines their organisational commitment. Organisational response to COVID-19 affects perceived job security and enhances managers’ organisational commitment. To retain senior management teams in light of future disastrous events, hotels should, therefore, strengthen their organisational resilience and invest in CSR.     

The COVID-19 pandemic: The mitigating role of government and hotel support of hotel employees in Egypt

We investigated the effect of government support of hotels on hotels' employee support (namely, health support, staff retention, and staff training) and consequently on employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment, through the moderating role of perceived overall organizational justice and ethical climate, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a quantitative approach and a framework that drew on the stakeholder and organizational support theories, we collected data from 669 employees in Egyptian hotels through a web-based survey. The results support the proposed framework and show a positive effect of government support through the strengthened perception of perceived overall organizational justice. Surprisingly, findings indicated that the association between job satisfaction and organizational commitment is significantly and negatively influenced by hotel ethical climate. Furthermore, job satisfaction partially mediates the association between hotels’ support of employees and organizational commitment. The study holds important implications for both theory and practice.     

Corporate social responsibility in times of need: Community support during the COVID-19 pandemics

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the hotel sector has engaged in various corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to show solidarity with local communities. Our research examines the impact of such initiatives on tourists' intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth (WOM) and their intentions to visit when the current pandemic ends. Our experimental results suggest community support in the form of providing free accommodation to homeless people increases tourists' intentions to spread positive WOM, bringing reputational benefits. But such initiatives reduce tourists’ intentions to visit, presenting potential business risks. Our results further suggest that community support in the form of providing free accommodation to medical professionals has little impact, as it shows no significant difference to control (no CSR initiatives).     

The motivations of visiting upscale restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of risk perception and trust in government

Despite the massive impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality industry, only limited papers empirically examined consumer reactions to current pandemic in the context of restaurants. To fill this gap, the primary aim of this paper is to reveal how individuals’ intentions to visiting upscale restaurants are affected by dining out motivations under the COVID-19 pandemic. The second aim is to investigate the moderating role of risk perceptions of COVID-19 and trust in government in building relationships. The research was conducted in Istanbul, a city deeply affected by the coronavirus. Data gathered from 681 people living Istanbul were analyzed via structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis. Findings indicated that two motivations—namely, sociability and affect regulation—have positive impacts on visit intention toward an upscale restaurant. Consumers’ COVID-19 risk perception and their trust in government moderate the relationship between some motivational factors and visit intention. The study makes a significant contribution to the literature in terms of both managing the risk perceptions of consumers and building trust in government.     

How the COVID-19 pandemic affected hotel Employee stress: Employee perceptions of occupational stressors and their consequences

This study sought to examine the impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic on hotel employees’ perceptions of occupational stressors and their consequences. Paired t-tests and structural equation modeling were applied to examine the responses of 758 hotel employees in the United States. The findings showed that occupational stressors after the outbreak of the pandemic consisted of three domains: traditional hotel-work stressors, unstable and more demanding hotel-work-environment stressors, and unethical hotel-labor-practices-borne stressors. The impacts of these stressors differed from the hypothesis that traditional hotel-work stressors positively affect job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The findings showed that job satisfaction and organizational commitment significantly explained job performance, subjective well-being, and prosocial behavior, but they did not significantly influence turnover intention. Hotel employees’ pre-pandemic perceptions of occupational stressors and their consequences also differed significantly from their perceptions after the pandemic had broken out.     

Managing relationships in the Tourism Supply Chain to overcome epidemic outbreaks: The case of COVID-19 and the hospitality industry in Spain

The rapid spatial diffusion of the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak has resulted in the total economic disruption of the Tourism Supply Chain (TSC) causing a significant reduction in revenue and creating liquidity issues for all operators. Firms in TSC are linked to each other in complex patterns, leading one risk to another. The purpose of this article is to understand the role of relationship management between hotel chains and their key TSC agents in order to overcome economic disruptions caused by epidemic outbreaks. Among the main contributions of this article are the identification of governments, tour operators, and competitors as the key relationships to be managed by hospitality firms. In addition, key areas for coordination with these actors are explored. Finally, the objectives of relationship management according to the partner are also addressed.