Service Disruptions and Recovery: Lessons from the Chinese hotel industry for the post-COVID-19 Era

Abstract

Ever since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic in early 2020, it has had an impact on all industries globally, especially the tourism and hotel sector. China’s hotel industry was one of the first to experience the challenge related to COVID-19. However, due to early interventions, Chinese hotels are on a faster recovery route than many other global markets. This study examined the relationship between customers' perception of COVID-19 and factors that affect hotel service quality. Through a Chinese online crowdsourcing platform, this study obtained 429 samples from participants who stayed in hotels before and during the pandemic. This study aims to serve as a reference for hotel service innovation and guide hotel managers on how to improve customer experience in the post-pandemic era.