COVID-19 and hospitality 5.0: Redefining hospitality operations

Souji Gopalakrishna Pillai; Kavitha Haldorai; Won Seok Seo; Woo Gon Kim

doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102869

COVID-19 and hospitality 5.0: Redefining hospitality operations

Int J Hosp Manag. 2021 Apr:94:102869. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102869. Epub 2021 Jan 23.

Authors

Souji Gopalakrishna Pillai¹, Kavitha Haldorai¹, Won Seok Seo², Woo Gon Kim^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ International Center for Hospitality Research & Development, Dedman School of Hospitality, Florida State University, 288 Champions Way, UCB 4117, P.O. Box 3062541, Tallahassee, FL 32306, United States.
² College of Hotel & Tourism Management, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea.
³ Robert H. Dedman Professor of Hospitality Management, International Center for Hospitality Research & Development, Dedman School of Hospitality, Florida State University, 288 Champions Way, UCB 4116, P.O. Box 3062541, Tallahassee, FL 32306, United States.
⁴ International Scholar from Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has severely affected the global hospitality industry. The hygiene and cleanliness of hotels has become the focal point in the recovery plan during COVID-19. This study investigates the effects of past disasters on the global hospitality industry, and how the industry responded to them. Since past pandemics and epidemics identified hygiene and cleanliness as an important factor, this study further explores the role of technology in ensuring hygiene and cleanliness. Hence, this study further examines the scalability of Industry 5.0 design principles into the hospitality context, leading to Hospitality 5.0 to improve operational efficiency. The study further delineates how Hospitality 5.0 technologies can ensure hygiene and cleanliness in various touchpoints in customer's journey. This study serves as a foundation to understand how synergy between humans and machines can be achieved through Hospitality 5.0. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Automation; COVID-19; Customer journey; Hospitality 5.0; Hygiene and cleanliness; Industry 5.0; Mobile technology; Robots; Virtual/augmented reality.