Management and design solutions of hoteliers in a pandemic

Abstract

Background. The pandemic and, as a consequence, the lockdown and restrictions on tourist movement have increased the number of threats in the hotel services market both at the level of individual tourist destinations and globally. This has led to the relevance of identifying managerial and design solutions that have contributed to the development of the hotel industry in a pandemic and can lead to economic growth of the hotel services market in the strategic perspective.
Analysis of recent research and publications has shown that despite the availability of some scientific achievements, an important scientific and practical problem in determining effective managerial and design solutions for the development of the hotel business in a pandemic remains unresolved.
The aim of the article is to determine the list of the most common managerial and design solutions implemented by hotel enterprises in a pandemic and which can be used in the future under similar threats.
Materials and methods. In the process of research, the methods of systematization, deduction and induction, comparative analysis, survey and others were used.
Results. A comparative analysis of the implementation of hotel services and changes of the hotel enterprises’ KPIs before and during the pandemic in different tourist destinations was conducted. The main reasons that led to the decline in the development of the hotel business in a pandemic have been identified. In particular, in Ukraine, the following reasons were: a sharp drop in hotel services demand due to reduced tourist flows of foreigners into the country; introduction of quarantine and various restrictions in connection with the pandemic in the country; reduction of hotel rooms Rack rate from the beginning of quarantine in 2020. The most common managerial decisions and targets of their adoption in the hotel industry during the pandemic effects were identified. It is emphasized that all managerial decisions of hotel managers during the pandemic can be divided into four groups: economic; social; innovative; communicative. Based on the results of a survey of 500 tourists-respondents in the summer of 2021, it was found that design combined with comfort is one of the main priorities (8.2 points on a 10-point scale) factors in the process of choosing a place for temporary accommodation during a pandemic. At the same time, it was found that the most priority factors for tourists today are: security; attractive pricing policy; opportunity to get quality catering services at the hotel. Strategically promising design solutions that help hotels not only "survive"but also develop in a pandemic have been identified and characterized.
Conclusion. The situation of the hotel services market during the pandemic has changed negatively in various tourist destinations. Based on the results of analysis and determination of the targets of managerial decisions that made by managers of various hotel enterprises in a pandemic, it was found that the most common in this period were decisions of economic, social, innovative and communicative directions. It was found that the rather long duration of the pandemic negative consequences has led not only to the positive results of the managerial decisions for consumers of hotel services. A sample of strategically promising design solutions that contributed to the progressive development of the hotel services market in a pandemic was formed during the study. It will allow practicing hoteliers to evaluate and compare their own design solutions with relevant solutions of competing hotels, as well as take a more balanced approach to design innovations.
Further, the results of the study can be used to develop methodological approaches to the selection of alternative strategies for development and management of hotel enterprises in conditions similar to those that formed during the COVID crisis. In addition, both theoretical and practical principles of development and implementation of various design ideas and projects can be developed in order to increase the level of attractiveness of hotels in the market.