Updates in service standards in hotels: how COVID-19 changed operations

Abstract

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously affected the hospitality industry. With the experiences of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003 and commitments to ensure guests’ health and safety, many hotels in Asia have actively engaged in updating and implementing new service standards and measures. This study aims to investigate hotels’ service standard changes, processes of management decisions and preparations for the future. Design/methodology/approach Using grounded theory methodology, this research interviews 24 hotel managers from mainland China and Hong Kong. It examines the differences among hotels with different operation types, classifications and locations, and analyzes the service standards in physical and social services cape. Findings Building on the service marketing and crisis management literature, this research provides a synthesis that reflects how hotels have coped with the COVID-19 crisis. It depicts the service standard update process during the COVID-19. Research limitations/implications In line with the literature in disaster management, hotels experienced the outbreak, response and recovery phases of the crisis management procedure. However, given the severity and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic, undertaking particular processes is necessary at every procedure such as following local guidelines and updating local standard operating procedures (LSOPs). This research also expands the literature on the process of adopting new technology in hotels during crisis management. Practical implications The paper suggests that hotel managers should update and use well-thought-out standards on the bases of available scientific evidence. For example, hotels should use LSOPs according to the local situations. Hotels are also suggested to exert additional efforts and attention in service innovation, guest experience and enhancing hospitableness. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first efforts to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on hotel operations. It offers empirical evidence from hotel operators who worked against the crisis during the pandemic and provides valuable theoretical contribution to the hospitality service literature as well as managerial implications for hotel operators globally.

An assessment of crisis management techniques in hotels in London and Stockholm as response to COVID-19’s economic impact

“…Hung et al ’s (2018) research showed that during the SARS crisis in Hong Kong, “hygiene guidelines had been issued to all licensed hotels to encourage enhanced cleansing and improvement of hygiene” (p. 4); a similar CMT was implemented in the UK, where the National Health Service released hygiene guidance for the hospitality industry for COVID-19 (NHS, 2020). This coincides with Chan et al ’s (2021) research findings from interviews with 24 hotel managers in mainland China and Hong Kong, who consider the local governments’ health advice as the foundation when making operational decisions. Other similar measures, such as quarantining hotel guests to reduce the spread of infection, were implemented in 2003 with SARS (Hung et al , 2018) and to date with COVID-19 (Altuntaş and Gok, 2020), demonstrating similar CMTs but also that some economic impacts due to crises cannot be averted.…”

“…Recent studies are emerging from the research surrounding crises and COVID-19’s impacts on the hospitality industry. Many show an adaptation to hotel strategy, with Chan et al (2021) highlighting the change in operations and customer service with technological advancements; Denizci-Guillet and Chu (2021) describing adaptations in revenue management priorities; and Lopes et al (2021) showing a clear change in hotel workforces. However, noticeably revenue generation skills, strategies and techniques are rarely researched.…”

Quality certifications in the TripAdvisor era. Are they outdated?

“…Finally, we focused only on generic quality certifications, but many hotels have adopted new standards since the COVID-19 outbreak (Chan et al , 2021). Several questions can be raised in this respect: can CGM offer signals that compete with specific (health or environmental) certifications?…”

Using social distancing technology in hotels: a social exchange perspective

“…In addition, the focus on value addresses an important and controversial issue in the post-COVID-19 era: that of understanding how consumers assess the value of using technologies as a mechanism of safeguarding personal and public health. This positions the study uniquely in the current hospitality literature, as it departs from the current focus on managerial responses (Giousmpasoglou et al, 2021), companies' strategies (Chan et al, 2021) or specific segment consumption (Yang et al, 2021). Moreover, as some consumers could be inevitably skeptic vis-à-vis the various measures designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, this study elucidates the technology aspect of hotels' response to the pandemic.…”