Saving the hotel industry: Strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hotel selection analysis, and customer retention

Jinkyung Jenny Kim; Heesup Han

doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103163

Saving the hotel industry: Strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hotel selection analysis, and customer retention

Int J Hosp Manag. 2022 Apr:102:103163. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103163. Epub 2022 Jan 7.

Authors

Jinkyung Jenny Kim¹, Heesup Han²

Affiliations

¹ School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Youngsan University, 142, Bansong Beltway, Haeundae-gu, Busan 48015, South Korea.
² College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwanjin-Gu, Seoul 143-747, South Korea.

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hotel selection attributes and customer post-purchase behaviors. Qualitative and quantitative processes comprising an importance-performance analysis are used. This mixed-methods approach successfully (1) explores the hotel selection attributes after the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) uncovers the change of importance of these attributes before and after the outbreak of COVID-19, (3) identifies the importance and the performance level of the hotel selection attributes, and (4) explores the roles of the hotel selection attributes that form the overall image of a hotel and the subsequent intentions to revisit a hotel. This study includes a high degree of value, and this is the first empirical research that explores the guests' hotel choice behaviors before and after the pandemic, which can be helpful for the subsequent guest-behavior studies in the post-pandemic era.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hotel selection attributes; Importance-performance analysis (IPA); Intentions to revisit; Overall image of the hotel.