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Crisis planning and improvements to business resilience are increasingly significant aspects of hotel management. This study investigates the crisis preparation of hotel managers in Malaysia and how their perceptions affect crisis planning and preparation.

A qualitative research method of semi-structured interviews with 24 hospitality managers in Malaysia was conducted. Data were analysed thematically using ATLAS.ti software, version 8.

The findings showed that crisis preparation among Malaysian hospitality firms is relatively neglected. Hotel crisis preparation schemes are greatly influenced by senior managers' intentions and organizational culture. Organizational resilience also has a significant role in hotel crisis planning and preparedness. Interestingly, in terms of long-term adaptation, hotels were less inclined to be “learning organizations” and managers were reluctant to change their organizational established structures, core beliefs and practice sustained resiliency in crisis preparation.

Understanding the crisis preparation of hospitality managers is important to develop effective strategies for different crises considering their severity and urgency. This study identified influential organizational and personal factors which affect crisis preparation of hospitality managers in Malaysia. The study further recommends a proactive mindset in crisis preparation of hotels.

Crisis preparation of hospitality managers had received limited attention, and this study highlights how managers consider crisis planning and preparation.

This paper aims to analyze how a real-time COVID-19 pandemic is impacting Macao’s hospitality industry, and illustrates why lessons from COVID-19 are an opportunity for further development for the city.

This case study highlights local government and hospitality industry responses to a real-time crisis. Academic studies, media news and reports have been collected to illustrate why the Macao’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic could be taken as a city case study example. Previous crisis experience provided guidance to Macao’s success in this pandemic.

Macao has succeeded in managing the adverse effects of COVID-19, illustrating the coexistence of challenges and opportunities from experiencing the epidemic. With no COVID-19 cases in the city, cross-border tourism with China resumed in September. Macao is undeniably over reliant on the gambling industry to provide tax income and employment, creating an unbalanced industrial structure. However, the Chinese and Macao Governments, the hospitality industry and other stakeholders, have presented high levels of engagement, unity and rational courses of action during the pandemic. This paper examines Macao’s two orientations – intra and post-coronavirus – which are shown to be instrumental in the city’s future tourism development.

As the paper is Macao-specific, some generalization may not be applicable. The lessons and strategies proposed in the paper may only be theoretically and temporarily workable in this real-time situation. However, as COVID-19 will remain for some time globally, the efficacy of the findings justifies further ongoing analysis and application beyond Macao.

The case offers a first-hand analysis on the governance of Macao to negate the impacts of COVID-19, enabling a comprehensive review on the practices and policies that were effective during the virus outbreak. There is reference for researchers and practitioners in the public policy domain, and particularly in the area of crisis management and destination resilience. The result is worthy of future exploration on how the mechanism of centralized government facilitates risk management, and the rebuilding of a tourism economy in a crisis context, comparing this to other national systems.

This paper aims to summarize the current state of research on risk, crisis and disaster management in the generic field, and in tourism and hospitality. It identifies key themes and compares the main topics studied in both the tourism and hospitality management and marketing literature.

A narrative (thematic) review and synthesis was completed based on articles published in the top 20 tourism and hospitality management journals from 2011 to March 2021. A review was conducted of the generic literature from 2016 to 2020.

From 210 papers reviewed, only 47 are in the hospitality field. The authors found that 80% of papers were empirical with slightly more quantitative papers produced. The majority of the papers focused on crises. Three key themes were found from the review and future research proposed to address gaps based on these findings and a review of 26 papers from the generic risk, crisis and disaster management field.

Research is required into planning and preparedness, not just response and recovery to crises and disasters. Future research should consider hospitality rather than tourism, particularly focusing attention outside of the accommodation sector. Hospitality studies also need to go beyond the micro-organizational level to include more meso- and macro-level studies.

The review provides a number of future research directions for tourism and hospitality research in the field. The paper provides a comprehensive multi-dimensional framework to synthesize studies and identifies research gaps. It also provides recommendations on methodologies required to progress these research directions. Research in this field is likely to grow because of the impact of COVID-19.

Many researchers have attempted to outline the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the growth of economies across the world. Few researchers consider addressing the COVID-19 pandemic as a crisis that needs effective crisis management measures. In particular, there is a gap in research that maps a way forward that managers can use as a guide to recover and revive the hospitality industry after the pandemic. This paper aims to fill this gap.

Data were collected through interviews with 26 hoteliers managing 4- and 5-star hotels in the city of Beirut. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Findings show that the level of preparedness toward dealing with such a pandemic had been low. Hotels have been focused on ensuring transparency with the employees, providing adequate information and decentralizing power to the departmental levels to deal with the impacts of COVID-19. Operationally, hotel managers are shifting focus toward more safety-conscious operations across all departments; emphasizing the importance of local tourists rather than complete dependence on foreigners as a source of revenue; increasing flexibility in bookings and cancellations to incentivize customers. Shifts are expected to be made, making operations in hotels more technologically-aligned and focused.

The aim of this study is to address the managerial reactions of the hotel industry during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and the potential strategic approaches that hotels might adopt in the future. A focus on the Lebanese context can provide scholars with a new model and inform managers on how to approach a crisis of such nature and magnitude, especially in a country that is facing its worst political and economic crisis. The main challenge of this paper is that it examines the hotel industry only in the Lebanese context. The development of the hospitality sector cannot be studied outside the institutional context in which it operates.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study to which extent hotel managers were prepared to deal with a crisis the size of a global pandemic, what shifts in strategies were implemented and what is the future of the hospitality industry?

The purpose of this paper is to examine crisis management practices among gambling-related hospitality business stakeholders (GBSs) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

An online survey was administered to a sample of GBSs resulting in 64 completed surveys. The survey explored the COVID-19 crisis using a three-phase framework: preparedness (prior experience and response plans), response (level of importance and use of crisis practices) and future (confidence in recovery, beliefs about consumer behavior and new strategies). Independent-samples t-tests were conducted to investigate the influence of preparedness variables on crisis management capabilities. Importance-Performance Analysis was used to evaluate GBSs' crisis management capabilities and identify where performance might be improved. Factor analyses were employed to explore groupings of response practices as well as future strategies.

Prior experience had a significant impact on GBSs' crisis management. IPA indicated gaps between the importance GBSs assign to response practices and their corresponding level of use, specifically for those related to marketing and government. Factor analysis revealed response practices did not group according to the questionnaire's four themes, instead, three themes of marketing, efficiency and expenses were revealed. Prevention and hygiene emerged as dominant themes with respect to future strategies.

This is a timely study that investigates crisis management among GBSs during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides important methodological contributions as well as valuable practical considerations for gambling-related hospitality businesses.

This study aims to conceptualize the dimensions of resilient leadership and develop the resilient leadership scale (RLS) through three studies.

In Study 1, based on interviews with 77 leaders and 8 junior employees, a seven-factor resilient leadership model was constructed. In Study 2, exploratory factor analysis (n = 237) was conducted to refine the initial items. In Study 3, confirmatory factor analysis (n = 610) was performed to validate the dimensional structure identified in Study 2, and different types of validity of the RLS were assessed.

The validated RLS composed of seven dimensions: contingency planning, improvisation, adaptive instructing, contingency control, emergency care, adjustment recovery and mutual growth. The scale showed desirable measurement qualities in terms of reliability and validity. Resilient leadership and its dimensions significantly impact employee turnover intentions and employee resilience.

This research contributes to the literature on the resilience of hospitality and tourism enterprises and enriches the research scope and theoretical framework of resilient leadership.

This research revealed the resilient leadership responses to crisis in hospitality and tourism enterprises with practical implications for tourism enterprise leaders to deal with major crisis.

The purpose of this paper is to explore tourism scenario planning for an anticipated shock as viewed through the lens of Irish hospitality managers preparing for Brexit. The research appropriates a climate science framework to structure the study, situating preparations, or lack thereof, against the themes of volatility, exposure and resilience.

The research uses a qualitative, pragmatic approach to determine how senior Irish hospitality managers were preparing for Britain’s exit from the European Union. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data conducted with hotel management, industry federations and tourism policymakers.

Buoyancy of the industry, from an industry perspective, little foreseeable threat to the sector, has caused management to develop complacent tendencies, a myopic viewpoint and a head-in-the-sand mindset. Their “wait and see” and “ad hoc” approaches to planning for an anticipated shock suggest an industry that believes itself to be resistant to threats.

The findings suggest that although tourism has been resilient to economic shocks in the past, historical lessons learned have not been implemented in anticipation of the next shock. More proactive engagement and better strategic preparedness is necessary to mitigate the impacts of future shocks. Industry needs to acknowledge its role in developing resilience and reducing volatility and exposure. The government additionally needs to coordinate initiatives with industry to develop robustness.

The paper demonstrates areas of practice in the hospitality industry that could be improved to reduce volatility and exposure, enhance resilience and encourage rapid adaptability post crisis.

本研究通过爱尔兰酒店管理者为英国脱欧做准备的视角, 探讨了为预期的冲击所做的旅游场景规划。本文采用了气候科学的框架来搭建研究结构, 将准备工作或准备工作的缺失定位在波动、风险和恢复力的主题上。

本研究采用了一种定性的、务实的方法, 来探索爱尔兰酒店高级管理人员是如何为英国脱欧做准备的。英国脱欧对爱尔兰旅游业可能产生重大影响。本文采用半结构化访谈收集数据, 与酒店管理、行业联盟和政策制定者进行了访谈。

该行业现在正蓬勃发展, 而且从行业的角度看, 脱欧对该行业几乎没有可预见的威胁, 这导致该行业内的行动者产生了自满倾向、短视观点和逃避现实的心态。他们采取“观望”和“专门化”的办法来为预期的冲击做准备, 表明该行业相信自己能够抵御威胁。

调查结果表明, 尽管旅游业在过去一直能抵御经济冲击, 但积累的规划经验尚未为即将到来的下一个预期冲击付诸实施。为了减轻未来冲击的影响, 更积极的参与和更好的战略准备是必要的。行业需要认识到自己在增加恢复力、减少波动性和风险方面的作用。政府需要与行业协调行动, 以激发企业的活力。

本文展示了酒店行业的一些实践领域, 这些领域可以得到改善, 以减少波动性和风险, 增强弹性, 并鼓励危机后的快速适应。

El estudio explora la planificación de escenarios turísticos ante una crisis anticipada por el Brexit, desde la perspectiva de los gerentes hoteleros irlandeses que se preparan para ella. La investigación utiliza el marco de la ciencia climática para estructurar el estudio, confrontando los preparativos, o la falta de ellos, con la volatilidad, el riesgo y la resiliencia.

La investigación utilizó un enfoque cualitativo y pragmático para determinar cómo se están preparando los altos directivos hoteleros irlandeses para la salida de Gran Bretaña de la Unión Europea, un evento con un gran impacto potencial en el turismo irlandés. Los datos fueron recogidos a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas realizadas a los gerentes hoteleros, las federaciones sectoriales y los responsables políticos.

Los resultados sugieren que, aunque el turismo ha resistido las crisis económicas en el pasado, las lecciones aprendidas en la planificación no se han aplicado para prevenir el próximo impacto previsto en el horizonte. Es necesario un compromiso más proactivo y una mejor preparación estratégica para mitigar los efectos de las crisis futuras. La industria debe reconocer su papel en el desarrollo de la resiliencia y la reducción de la volatilidad y el riesgo. El gobierno necesita coordinar iniciativas con el sector para estimular su solidez.

En el documento se ponen de manifiesto las áreas de actividad del sector hotelero que podrían mejorarse para reducir la volatilidad y el riesgo, aumentar la resiliencia y fomentar la capacidad de adaptación rápida después de una crisis.

In this paper, the authors set out to explore how small- and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) in a developing country (Turkey) are coping with economic and financial consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It is also crucial to understand what kind of policymaking solutions will help them to successfully overcome it.

To gather data, the authors interviewed SMTEs in the Bodrum area – one of the most elite and exciting destinations for foreign travelers in Turkey. Semi-structured interview method was used, and questions for data collection focused on three key areas: (1) impact of COVID-19 on SMTEs, especially in terms of cash flow and other problems, (2) government incentives and (3) business strategies to cope with the crisis.

(1) Even a year and a half into the pandemic, despite government relief efforts, vaccination programs, the easing of lockdown and travel restrictions, survival is still the main concern for SMTEs. (2) Although they do not have enough resources, these entrepreneurs have energy and motivation, are optimistic about the future and are investigating new opportunities by capitalizing on their “strategic flexibility”, an intrinsic strength of SMEs. (3) Recovery is going to take a long time, and government support, however crucial in the interim, cannot replace the pre-crisis conditions that are anxiously awaited by these businesses.

One of the main limitations of this study is that the gathered research data are localized to one destination in Turkey, the Bodrum area. In that respect, it is difficult to hypothesize the degree to which the resulting data can be generalized to other areas of Turkey and the rest of the world. Future work is required to provide greater insight into how to be prepared effectively for this type of crisis. Therefore, further research should be undertaken to investigate tourism and hospitality industry in the whole country and to compare findings to those of other cities and regions. An especially important issue for future research that would yield insight and practical implications worldwide is comparison of findings across countries.

The impact of COVID-19 is challenging all SMTEs’ conventional business models. Each business needs to evaluate its own internal and external conditions, secure required financial resources necessary for survival and sustainable business strategies for post-COVID-19 era. Besides short-term survival thinking, they also look for long-term business strategies both saving, investing, innovation and diversification. They are also on the look-out to seize any new opportunities presenting themselves as well as for any additional governmental support.

This paper offers a systematic approach toward understanding the realities of SMTEs in the midst of crisis by focusing on their short-term survival and long-term sustainability responses against COVID-19. It also brings practical experiences of industry participants and opinions of industry experts to academicians, practitioners and policymakers, shedding light on challenges faced by SMTEs.

This study aims to explore the underlying mechanisms that support the resilience of the Chinese hospitality industry during and after the COVID-19 epidemic.

Content analysis was applied to 133 manually collected text articles about COVID-19 responses and strategies.

A two-step learning model (emergency reaction, precautions and prevention stages) was identified in the study. In the emergency reaction step, the primary strategies were related to customers, employees, suppliers and facility/food. In the precautions and prevention step, the strategies were related to customers, employees, suppliers and society/public relations. Multiple stakeholders are discussed in the two circles over a continual process in the learning, reacting and adapting stages.

A gap in the literature is filled by this study, providing a learning model and synthesizing various strategies applied in the hotel sector for multiple stakeholders.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.