Nobody could have exactly seen or even predicted the depletive effect of the Pandemic on hospitality industry. Much like many other businesses, the hospital industry was caught off guard as they had to just resource expenditure. The hospital industry including travel, tourism and also other segments of the hospital industry is completely dependent upon the free movement of people and human-to-human contact (Bajrami, Terzi?, et,el, 2021). Airlines and Cruise lines were out of business and even hotels and restaurants witnessed closer of their businesses as the Government forced them to shut down their operation due to the fear of higher human-to-human contact(Alsetoohy, Ayoun, and Abou-Kamar, 2021). The impact of coconut 19 was so significant that they were unable to cope with the crisis and to do much needed adjustments to bring people. The situation was unbearable; people were afraid to visit hotels, and even the hotel staff were reluctant to offer customers services. During the crisis for more than one year, including the first and second waves, people feared for their lives, and nobody was thinking about what will happen to the hospitality industry(Shapoval, Hägglund, et et, el., 2021.). The airlines we closed and even air Travel was banned resulting in the closure of many hotels and travel and tourism businesses. The situation has also helped companies to work on manufacturers including managing costs and reducing overheads over a period of time also they were made very concerned about the safety and cleanliness and hygiene of the hotel rooms and then sure that people-to-people contact can be minimised in future. The payment collection from the customers and also the bookings were made online and that helps the hospital industry to reduce costs. It requires a lot of understanding about the existing industry and the areas of concern so that in future the challenges can be well managed and do not affect the businesses as significantly as they did during the Covid Pandemic (Andreu, Font-Barnet, and Roca, 2021).
The hospitality industry started its journey in the 1800s. Initially, they were provided with a resting facility and later they started to provide food and drinks to travellers apart from the bedding facilities. This opportunity was created and that give birth to the Hotel concept where the hotel became more sophisticated with better rooms and dining areas. The places started to evolve and American architects started to design and construct a luxury hotel with private attached bathrooms and locks on the doors(Andreu, Font-Barnet, and Roca, 2021). The industry started to grow and it started to improve the sectors. The hospitality industry also started to include other services like Airlines, bars and multiple stationery hotels and motels. The sector started to improve and indulge in certain practices which became later a standard for the hospitality industry. The definition of the industries started to increase further and it included different services the modern Hospitality era started its journey in the 20th century as they were in cooperating with more and more facilities including invasion and Transportation systems for the guest(Awasthi, and Nain, 2021).
There are as many as 5 sectors under the hospitality industry umbrella. The sectors are vital as they offer significant benefits to people, and all those sectors focus on different segments and make it a multi-billion industry. The main 5 sectors include hotels, travel and tourism, luxury services, food services and accommodation and Beverage business. The cost and the challenges of these industries are swinging upward but managing the sectors under the hospitality industry rakes in more rewards in the long term(Barreda, Bilgihan, and et,el, 2015).
The customer service is indispensable as it provides accommodations and integrated comfort with wall class amenities and services(Plaut, 2020). The challenges remain with an extravagant resort and services that offers customers privacy and also exclusive services but the recent challenges of covid 19, has made the situation difficult but also it has contributed towards safety and hygiene with better lodging experience of people around the world(Andreu, Font-Barnet, and Roca, 2021).The hotel industry in the United Kingdom is mainly dominated by 5 star hotels, the major five star hotel brands are Threadneedles, Brown's Hotel, The Ritz. The Budget hotel business is also running properly in the United Kingdom as room per night costs around 100. The revenue is constantly improving for the hotel industry after the Pandemic. The situation was the worst for the hospitality industry during this crisis provided by the Pandemic but later the demand started to creep up(Gursoy, and Chi, 2020).
During the Pandemic, the global economy witnessed a severe downturn due to sudden financial lockdowns imposed by various governments around the world and this eventually had a depletiveeffect on the global hotel and hospitality industry. Governments have adopted various approaches to reduce the growth of the Covid-19 curve, and these included measures like community lockdowns, a complete blanket ban on international travel, social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders (Alsetoohy, Ayoun, and Abou-Kamar, 2021). All these have caused in the periodic closing of various hospitality businesses, which had really threatened their existence. However, after the normalisation of the situation after the Pandemic, a steady rise has been observed in the number of travellers worldwide, which has created new business growth opportunities for the global hotel and hospitality industry(Sharma, and Kaushik, 2021). After the Covid-19 Pandemic, customers have become even more fussy and particular regarding their needs and preferences and this has compelled the hotel and hospitality establishments to provide even more attention and emphasis towards satisfying the growing needs and expectations of their customers(Andreu, Font-Barnet, and Roca, 2021). Customers nowadays have become extremely cautious and sensitive about the personal safety and hygiene parameters that have been accepted and accomplished by the hotel and hospitality establishments, and they perceive it to be an indispensable element over other factors such as facilities provided by hotel establishments for their guests(Crespí-Cladera, Martín-Oliver, and Pascual-Fuster, 2021). More and more hospitality establishments are going out of their way to ensure the safety and security of their guests during their period of stay and this has helped them to earn the trust and confidence of their customers(Barreda, Bilgihan, and et,el, 2015). This is the only way hospitality establishments could foster customer satisfaction, which in turn would allow them to ensure long-term customer retention.
As the world normalises following the Pandemic, the industry belonging to travel and tourism is witnessing a massive surge of customers throughout the world and this is inclined to provide a positive implication on the global hotel and hospitality sector(Aharon, Jacobi, and et, el, 2021). The global hotel and hospitality sector is presently witnessing a positive turnaround in their business due to the increased customer demand and this has created a rat race among the hospitality establishments to capture an increased share of this lucrative market(Bruijl, and Gerard, 2018,). There is a high level of competition that is presently being witnessed in the global hotel and hospitality industry wherein each and every hotel establishment is trying their best to draw a wide range of customers from the market in a bid to maximise their revenues and profits. In addition, hotel establishments are trying everything in their capacity to provide a favourable brand image and perception regarding their hospitality services to their target customers in a bid to surpass their existing business rivals in the market and this has really intensified the business competition in the global hospitality industry(Clark, and Mauckand Pruitt, 2021).
The financial lockdowns suddenly imposed by governments throughout the world crippled the business operations of the suppliers dependent on the hospitality establishments for their business. However, with the global hospitality sector lately witnessing a positive turnaround in their business fortunes, the suppliers are likely to see better days ahead with increased business from the hospitality establishments (Gursoy, and Chi, 2020). The market suppliers of hospitality establishments are likely to witness a steady growth in their business due to increased demand from the hospitality sector, and this would help them to generate increased revenues and profits. The suppliers would be able to perform a crucial role in ensuring the smooth business operations of the hospitality establishments and this would invariably increase the bargaining ability of the suppliers in the near future(Awasthi, and Nain, 2021).
This is the main reason why there is presently negligible threat from the new business entrants to the already established business players. The owners of new hospitality establishments still need to be made clearer and sceptical about the future growth prospects of the hospitality sector. This prevents them from taking the plunge into the hospitality sector(Clark, and Mauckand Pruitt, 2021).Furthermore, the hotel and hospitality industry requires significant financial funding at the backend and a high level of technical expertise to ensure its smooth and uninterrupted business operation. With more significant uncertainty and scepticism among the new hospitality business owners regarding the prospects of the market, they are unwilling to invest a considerable amount of business capital in setting up their hospitality business(Sürücü, Öztürk, and et el., 2019). This is the main reason why the hospitality sector is presently witnessing a low threat from the new market entrants(Alsetoohy, Ayoun, and Abou-Kamar, 2021).
Customers these days are willing to pay extra money to hospitality establishments to ensure their health and safety. This has invariably minimised the market for cheap substitute products. Customers nowadays have realised that they cannot compromise with their own health by opting for cheaper accommodation services that are being provided by the local motels or home stays in a region(Del Chiappa, Bregoli, and Fotiadis, 2021). This has eventually proved a blessing for the global hospitality establishments bymanaging revenues and cash flow. They can attract customers and this would enable them to fully overcome from the devastating effect of the global Pandemic in a faster manner(Gursoy, and Chi, 2020).
The hospitality industry was facing challenges due to Covid 19. The industry has even affected bars and clubs and also the number of consumers pending in the same industry started to fall. Public spending in bars and clubs declined by nearly 70% during the Pandemic, affecting food and drink suppliers (Pillai, Haldorai, et et, el., 2021). The hospitality Industry witnessed a fall in business or the temporary closer of business by 81% in the spring of 2020 but after the 2021 lockdown, the temporarily closed businesses were just 54%(Clark, and Mauckand Pruitt, 2021).
The overall turnover in May 2020 in the hospital industry in the United Kingdom was just over £1.2 billion but in the second wave by May 2021 the revenue stood at £6.9 billion. The 2020 revenue was down by 80% as compared to 2019 levels(Hameiri, 2021). The challenges were so significant that businesses started to fall, and even the drinking places and eating places witnessed a significant overall decline in the businesses as depicted by two figures. The bulk payment transactions to the suppliers and the contractors for food and drinks declined by 51% during 2021. The recovery was very much slow during that period and the businesses even after the easing of restrictions did not rebound(Alsetoohy, Ayoun, and Abou-Kamar, 2021).
Only 17% of the customers were inclining to go to any destination and around 14% are comfortable going to a restaurant after the availability of vaccines. This study shows that the consumer behaviour is continuously evolving and evolving fast in the global hospitality investor which requires continuous monitoring(Cuomo, Tortora, and et, el, 2022).
Statista pointed out that sales of restaurants, hotels, pubs, and bars before the lockdown period in Great Britain in March 2020, declined by 57%. In addition, it showed at that time that only 18% of customers in the travel and tourism industry are inclining to go to a destination and also are willing to stay in a hotel when that location has fewer covid-19 cases along with an advanced medical support system. On the other hand, a section of global hospitality customers are comfortable with the vaccination process(Awasthi, and Nain, 2021).
The hospitality industry has significantly benefited from the globalisation-related political force that has been witnessed in the past few decades. The end of the cold war also saw a significant political referral from the western developed powers towards the globalisation process. The Global political consensus on this matter and the development of the critical Global Trade Organisation slide WTO has helped spread globalisation(Kang, Park, and et, el., 2021). This globalised culture resulted in significant international travel and tourism, whereas the growth of international businesses has also witnessed business-related travel during this time. But the covid-19 Pandemic has come as a great destruction for the process of globalisation (Cuomo, Tortora, and et, el, 2022). The preventive measures taken by the national governments across the world had at one point of time almost restricted global travel. This political and legislative power used by the national governments was devastating for the larger hospitality industry(Perraton, 2019).
Pandemic caused political disturbances across the world as the geopolitical environment across the world started to shift significantly. Increasing tension between the major powers of the world and the current Russia Ukraine war situation shows that the very force of globalisation is witnessing a tough challenge from the post-covid world(Hameiri, 2021). The covid-19 Pandemic has not totally been eradicated through vaccination or natural immunity process, as continuous lockdown situation is being witnessed in China, which contributes a significant amount to the tourism and travel industry globally. Therefore the destructive environment that certainly was witnessed at the initial time of the covid-19 Pandemic has also seen some kind of continuation(Davahli, Karwowski, and et, el., 2020). The health and safety legislation had become the most important issue because of the covid-19 pandemic situation, and the larger hospitality settings have significantly adjusted the operational pattern to fulfil the health and safety requirements. The following sections of this macro environment analysis will show that these political and legal decisions due to the covid-19 Pandemic have resulted in significant consequences for the global economy and the hospitality industry(Hameiri, 2021).
After the initial opening decisions taken by many governments across the world, the hospitality industry could not open businesses with a total capacity to maintain social distancing and health and safety-related requirements. In many economies, this initial opening was again disrupted by the second or third wave of infection spread related to restrictive policies imposed by the governments(Ntounis, Parker, and et el., 2022). But this was not only the Government and legislative decisions that have impacted the steady operation of the hospitality industry but also the larger change in consumer behaviour(Davahli, Karwowski, and et, el., 2020). The restaurant industry related study had shown that more than 50 percent of the customer base was not prepared to dine. On the other hand, travel and tourism industry specific analysis have shown that more than 50 percent of that customer base are also not willing to travel and stay in a hotel after the initial shock of the Pandemic(Sanabria-Díaz, Aguiar-Quintana, and Araujo-Cabrera, 2021). This kind of change in consumer behaviour is a significant problem for the industry to remain sustainable in terms of operation. One of the major issues for the hospitality industry is the high operating cost and high breakeven point for unit service delivery. Therefore, this kind of limited number of customers and Government imposed social distancing requirements made it very difficult for the larger hospitality industry to maintain a sustainable operation(Hidalgo, Martín-Barroso, et et el., 2022).
The covid-19 Pandemic witnessed a significantly fast vaccine development process, and it was hoped that this development would quickly resolve the crisis situation across the world. But the change in consumer behaviour and consumer apprehension was not resolved by these kinds of development. One study was focused on this kind of new development and how that impacts the consumer decision making in the hospitality industry(Cuomo, Tortora, and et, el, 2022).
The covid-19 Pandemic significantly affected the economic environment. The restrictive environment resulted in a significant loss of business operations, and the global economy went into recession. The economic data in the following diagram shows the significant drop in economic activity(Hidalgo, Martín-Barroso, et el., 2022).The recession followed by the covid-19 Pandemic was more severe than the 2008 financial crisis. This kind of hostile economic environment significantly reduced the disposable income in the hand of the consumer, resulting in a significant demand drop in the global economy(Norris, Taylor Jrand Taylor, 2021). The hospitality industry is not an essential sector like the grocery Retail Industry. Therefore after the initial relief from the respective environment the customer did not enthusiastically return to the hospitality industry as the difficult economic environment resulted in a greater focus on the essential requirements rather than engaging in a leisure activity in the hospitality industry. During this time the governments in many countries engaged in stimulus packages to provide economic relief. As a result, the hospitality industry suffered significantly, and many businesses were on the verge of becoming insolvent(Hidalgo, Martín-Barroso, et el., 2022). This kind of economic package, as well as some hospitality industry-specific policy support, provided some relief to the industry. But the kind of economic loss witnessed by the hospitality industry was difficult to recover within a short span of time considering the change in consumer behaviour, as discussed in the earlier section. From this perspective, long-term strategic planning has become an important requirement to deliver long-term sustainable operation(Ho, Tsai, et, el., 2021).
On the one hand, the infectious environment of the covid-19 Pandemic resulted in consumer awards in any Hospitality Services. On the other hand, some consumers engaged in hospitality service consumption, but their preference was to engage in contactless services. Digital technology has become an important aiding factor in this process(Teng, Wu, et, el., 2020.). Therefore, the digital technology and service automation process was an important change requirement considering this important opportunity for the larger hospitality industry. Some studies have found that the pandemic environment has influenced hospitality businesses as more than half of the major businesses were engaged in the automation process to deliver contactless service capability to these businesses. Therefore the change in consumer behaviour can provide important opportunities to the hospitality businesses(Davahli, Karwowski, and et, el., 2020). many studies have recognised cognitive interaction or service automation as an important post-covid scenario-based hospitality industry change requirement that can provide the next level of business growth (Van, Vrana, et, el., 2020). Therefore, the technology used and the innovation process will be one of the most important growth driving factors for the larger hospitality businesses worldwide. The touch-less services are related to technology development and innovation process and focus on touch-less checkout, check-in, parking area, room services, housekeeping and travelling services(Tong, Xie, and Xiao, 2021).
On the other hand, the digital payment system will be another major transformation for the larger hospitality business that would also have a similarity with the larger touch-less Service Delivery approaches(Ho, Tsai, et, el., 2021).The development of touch-less services was initially focused on the hygiene and infection spread-related prevention approach, but as the change in consumer behaviour along with these technological and service-related changes would mean that this kind of service would provide more significant benefits of ease, flexibility and better amenity related. Therefore, in the long run, digitisation and touchless service delivery will become a central part of the global hospitality industry's larger service delivery approach (Nhamo, Dube, and Chikodzi, 2020).
Some of the studies have focused on this new technology and innovation driven hospitality industry development. The studies have shown that a significant initial investment would be required from the hospitality businesses to develop these new technologies and automated service-related solutions, but in the long run, the cost reduction and improved efficiency would be an important benefit for the industry to focus upon. On the other hand, the lockdown situation across the world has influenced the ordinary consumer to engage more in social media and digital media content consumption and exposure(Wong, and Swanson, 2022). This perspective would also have a significant impact in terms of future opportunities for the hospitality industry. Therefore, digital solutions would become a natural expectation among hospitality industry customers. Therefore, this development would become a necessity for the short-term and long-term focus of the hospitality industry operation(Nan, 2020).
The change in consumer behaviour towards health and Wellness as well as the larger sustainability requirement of the hospitality industry has been discussed in the earlier section. Conscious consumption was evolving among the global hospitality industry consumers for a long time but the covid-19 pandemic environment has significantly accelerated this mindset among the consumers. Some of the studies have been able to show that all the important demographic segments of the Global hospitality industry have expressed heightened levels of environmental awareness(Mehta, Kumar, and Ramkumar, 2021). The earlier hospitality industry business strategy was to deliver sustainable solutions to the niche segment of the market as an added value but the covid-19 Pandemic and the change in consumer behaviour shows that this important value has become the requirement of every kind of consumer segment. The operational changes like Eco aware control of temperature, increasing use of green technology, supply chain prediction using artificial intelligence for better control of hospitality waste and development of energy saving features in the hospitality buildings have become important change requirements(Hopkins, 2017). Therefore focusing on sustainable solutions would be an important requirement for the greater hospitality industry. This is no longer a high value addition for the customer but has become a basic requirement for the larger hospitality industry. Another important trend that has been witnessed after the covid-19 pandemic environment is the focus on local sourcing process. The global supply chain disruption was an important sock for the global economy as well as for the hospitality industry. Its high level of Reliance on the global supply chain significantly restricted the initial opening of the economy as well as the hospitality industry operation(Davahli, Karwowski, and et, el., 2020). The importance of local Sourcing and supplies and capability development has been witnessed during this time. Therefore it has been suggested that the local Sourcing practices is likely to continue after the difficult situation of the pandemic environment and a long-term supplier relationship management approach at the local level would gain priority for the hospitality businesses across the world(Woyo, 2021). Another important aspect of this local Sourcing process is also tied up with the health and Wellness benefit-related targeting policy of the hospitality business(Wieczorek-Kosmala, 2021.). Local Sourcing processes have resulted in receiving fresh and high-quality suppliers rather than depending on long-distance global supply chain operations. From this perspective, the increasing Reliance on the local sourcing process is likely to continue considering the larger consumer behaviour change perspective (Dobbs, 2014).
The covid-19 Pandemic has not only affected the physical health of the Global population but also has significantly impacted the mental health situations across the world. Depression, stress and anxiety-related aspects have been found in 43.5%, 8.2% and 68.2 % of the population. Therefore health and Wellness, as well as hygiene-related factors and related information, have become an essential requirement after the covid-19 Pandemic. Thus, hospitality businesses would have to provide information related to hygiene factors and design services that can target the larger health and well-being-related values of the customers(Dube, Nhamo, and Chikodzi, 2021). This kind of consumer mindset change also significantly impacted the overall sustainability issue surrounding any major industry. Many major studies have found out that the consumer mindset has significantly shifted towards the larger sustainability question of the hospitality industry and many hospitality businesses effectively utilise this factor in terms of Green Marketing practices. Therefore, this kind of consumer behaviour and mindset change has also become an important opportunity for the hospitality industry to improve its value proposition(Falkenhain, Flick,et et, el. 2021). In terms of opportunity, another important Trend for the global hospitality industry is that the customers are favouring the domestic hospitality environment over the international choices. The travel restriction and the consumer apprehension related to spread of infection is one of the important Fear Factor driven motivations that is influencing consumer behaviour. From this perspective, the greater knowledge of the domestic environment provided the hospitality customers confidence to engage in the domestic hospitality industry rather than going to international locations(Ho, Tsai, et et, el., 2021).
Another important challenging situation for the Global hospitality industry after the witnessed by the industry was the labour market shortages the hotel business lost a staggering £114.8 billion in 2020 alone(mckinsey, 2021). Major hospitality businesses, especially in the developed economies, witnessed the manpower shortages to properly run the hospitality businesses. One of the important religions that have been cited by some studies is related to the return of non-native workers in the hospitality industry, to their native places during the high crisis time.After the relaxation and the gradual opening of the global economy, many of these workers did not return to their workplaces and that resulted in a labour market shortage in the hospitality businesses. The covid-19 Pandemic not only changed the consumer behaviour but it had also changed the behaviour of the employees and workers. "The great resignation" moment witnessed in major economies was an important force that caused in a significant staff crisis in the hospitality industry(Dube, Nhamo, and Chikodzi, 2021). McKinney’s survey had shown that around 47% of the Hospitality workers were looking to leave their job within 6 months time period and around 64% of the surveyed staff they also revealed that they would leave their current job without having another option in their hand.
Cost reduction is another important aspect that the hospitality establishments should strive to achieve from their business operations(Li, Yin, and et el, 2022). The management of hospitality establishments must undertake a conscious and concerted effort to minimise their operational cost by doing everything in their capacity. For example, hospitality establishments could seek greater discounts from their suppliers and distributors (which include local travel agents and tour operators) while also undertaking measures to minimise energy consumption within the hotel premises. In addition, the management needs to minimise unnecessary resource wastage by undertaking affirmative measures. This would go a long way in helping the hospitality establishments to save on their operational costs(Falkenhain, Flick, andet, el. 2021).
Hospitality establishments need to be listed on online travel affiliates (OTAs) as this would help them maximise their brand exposure among the general population. Customers these days are extremely tech savvy and they prefer browsing for their preferred travel destinations on the internet. By getting listed with OTAs, the hospitality establishments would be able to able to grab the attention of today's tech savvy customers who are always online, and this would surely help them to popularise their products and services among them(imf., 2022).
The primary focus of the Government and the businesses was the safety of the people and the focus continued even by compromising economic growth and corporate profit. The businesses quickly understood operation and financial impact for the businesses and also the same time they witnessed both revenue and supply chain decline due to the shutdown in the hotel businesses(Le, and Phi, 2021). The disruptive impact of the Pandemic on the travel ecosystem had a crucial effect on worldwide tourism and also in the United Kingdom and businesses were facing the challenge of cash and working capital issues(Jian, Yu, and et el., 2020.). The hotel businesses however recovered from such a crisis and also they understood the impact of having positive cash and working capital and profitability for a longer period of time. The businesses have understood to reduce cost and cash outflows to maintain a positive cash balance in the business for any such kind of future uncertainties and also to manage working capital and profitability for a longer timeperiod. The businesses understood the possibility of minimising cost and discretionary operation or capital expenditure(imf., 2022). The Pandemic worked as a warning bell for the management of the hotel industry to reconsider or even post pond unnecessary capital expenditure to conserve money. They also started to put advanced revenue management systems and pricing models without much depending on normal practices of luring customers(Zubair, and Shamsudin, 2021). The management also understood to develop a technology system for booking hotel rooms at payments from the customers who can reduce the cost and effort. The transparent system will highlight the funding requirement and also they will create a free structure based on financial relief measures(Jian, Yu, and et el., 2020.). The opportunity was to involve stakeholders, including suppliers and project developers and also the contractors and maintain confidence as they can enjoy discounts on supplies and rent due to the crisis and also they can seek waivers from lenders for short-term issues. The Pandemic has helped the management to reorganise their business in the first moving environment and also help them to quickly respond to the challenges outside normal operation that can create a separate governance structure and to allow Swift decision making(Jones, and Comfort, 2020).
Hospitality establishments must provide greater focus and emphasis towards social media marketing as this would play a vital role in improving their product exposure among their target customers. Covid 19 invariably helped to spread customer awareness and this would in turn help them to attract potential customers from the market.The social media engagement the hospitality establishments would be able to obtain the customer feedbacks and opinions regarding their existing product and service quality(Jones, and Comfort, 2020).. This would invariably help the management to undertake the necessary measures through which the hospitality establishments would be able to increase the value proposition among their customers. This would surely help the hospitality establishments in ensuring long term customer retention. The Government and the authorities have even utilised hotels to support people in the crisis time and they are even being isolated to reduce infection. The hotels were primarily used in the United Kingdom as a support homes and a place to offer treatment and food to the infected people and the hotels were paid minimally for such support and services(Kariru, and Ndungu, 2021).
The management of hospitality establishments need to focus more on the aspect of staff training and this would really help them to deliver better service quality to their customers. The staff need to be provided proper training regarding interacting and engaging with their clients while thoroughly adhering to the existing social distancing norms. In addition to this, the staffs also need to be imparted training in effectively utilising modern technologies to improve customer service quality(Kariru, and Ndungu, 2021). This would really play a vital role in creating a positive impression in the minds of the customers by creating a sense of reassurance that the hospitality establishment truly cares for the safety and wellbeing of their guests. This would in turn aid them in creating a positive image of the brand and perspective in the minds of their customers and would invariably help them to ensure long term customer retention(Kaushal, and Srivastava, 2020).
The hospitality establishments should undertake a conscious and concerted effort to improve their online reputation, and this can be achieved by asking their customers to rate their overall services on social media platforms. There is a need for the hospitality establishments to continuously monitor how their brand is being projected and perceived by their existing target customers and how it is eventually impacting on their overall brand reputation and goodwill(Lai, and Wong, 2020).
Hospitality establishments need to enrol themselves on existing meta-search engines as this helps them to reach across a larger segment of the general population. The meta-search engines are often utilised by customers to compare hotel room prices across different online travel affiliates and eventually arrive at a purchase decision, and this is a trend that is not going to change even after the Covid-19 Pandemic. By enrolling themselves in the meta-search engines, hospitality establishments would be able to ensure more direct bookings from their customers. This would invariably go a long way in helping the hospitality establishments to generate greater revenues and profits from their market operations(Kaushal, and Srivastava, 2020).
Various strategic recommendations are suggested to the modern-day hospitality establishments to effectively tackle and mitigate the challenges and issues witnessed by the hospitality industry in the aftermath of the global Covid-19 Pandemic. There needs to be greater emphasis on utilising modern technology to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the guests that are coming to experience their hospitality services(Yeon, Song, and et. el, 2021). The management of hospitality establishments needs to realise that their customers are concerned and worried about their personal safety and well-being, which invariably influences their buying behaviour in the market(Ke, and Hsiao, 2022). To put all customer concerns at rest, hospitality establishments need to utilise the right technologies in their business. This would help them to minimise the overall human interaction with the guests thereby helping hospitality establishments to thoroughly adhere to social distancing norms. This would go a long way in proving a sense of reassurance to the customers of hospitality establishments that the hospitality establishments are taking adequate measures for ensuring the safety of their customers(Wu, Hu, and et el., 2022).
The management hospitality establishments would have to address the challenges arising from the low occupancy of hotels. With lower occupancy rates, hospitality establishments cannot maximise revenue generation, negatively impacting their organisational bottom line. Most hospitality establishments require a minimum occupancy rate of 40% to achieve breakeven. However, the average occupancy rate during the Covid-19 Pandemic stood anywhere between 0 to 20% throughout the industry(Ke, and Hsiao, 2022).In post-pandemic, hospitality establishments to come up with unique marketing strategies that would enable them to maximise their occupancy rates in the near future. The management of hospitality establishments needs to come up with discounted pricing as well as a host of other offers to grab the attention of their target customers(Kim, and Han, 2022).
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