COVID-19 cripples global restaurant and hospitality industry

Abstract

The restaurant and hospitality industries are crucial socioeconomic sectors that contribute immensely to the global economy. However, these sectors are vulnerable and sensitive to natural hazards such as the COVID-19 pandemic and any resultant economic downturns. This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on the global restaurant industry using data from OpenTable and other sources. The study found that sitin guests dropped to zero in many countries as governments across the world instituted social distancing initiatives, movement restrictions and lockdowns. COVID-19 also led to an unprecedented loss of employment and revenue, resulting in millions of jobs and billions of dollars in potential revenue lost. The work recommends extraordinary financial and other support measures for the sector. It further recommends a raft of safety and health protocols as the industry gradually reopens.

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

“…Albeit temporary, such closures have endangered the business longevity of many hotels by slashing their revenues and disintegrating the long-established supply chains ( Nicola et al, 2020 ). The long(er) term impacts of COVID-19 are yet implicit but likely to be exemplified by the diminished consumer demand for hospitality services in the foreseeable future due to health and hygiene precautions ( Dube et al, 2020 ). Coupled with the need to decrease operational capacity in order to follow the newly-established social distancing rules ( Hancock, 2020 ), this will reduce the long-term profitability of hotels, thus undermining the viability of their traditional business models ( Gössling et al, 2020 ).…”

A conceptual framework of the service delivery system design for hospitality firms in the (post-)viral world: The role of service robots

“…Borders were closed, airplanes were grounded, hotels, restaurants, conference and convention venues, and other hospitality companies had to close their premises, compulsory quarantine measures were imposed on populations, physical distancing was introduced as a recommended social behaviour of people ( Nicola et al, 2020 ). As a result of tourists’ fear of the virus and governments’ actions to curb it tourism demand plummeted ( Dube et al, 2020 ) and many companies had to fire their employees due to the lack of financial resources to pay salaries ( Hanson, 2020 ), while others went into default.…”

How safe is it to shop? Estimating the amount of space needed to safely social distance in various retail environments

“…These measures, albeit necessary to contain the virus, have brought many people near to their breaking points, due to the disturbance of normal life ( Ali, 2020 ), but they have also had a wider socio-economic impact on people’s daily lives and the global economy, with fears of a new recession and financial collapse looming every day ( Chakraborty and Maity, 2020 , Nicola et al, 2020 ). Vulnerable sectors that require physical presence to operate and deemed as non-essential (such as tourism, hospitality, accommodation and retail) have suffered the most during the crisis, and their sustainability is being threatened ( Barbieri et al, 2020 , Dube et al, 2020 , Gössling et al, 2020 , Jones and Comfort, 2020 ).…”