Conceptualizing the Post-COVID Servicescape for Hotel Industry

Abstract

This study reviews the dramatic effects of COVID-19 on the hotel service industry and provides a reflective analysis of the changes that could be made to this industry moving forward into the future. As the COVID-19 pandemic plagues the hotel service industry with prodigious challenges and unveils the fragile state of industry formed on personal interaction and human mobility. As such, this paper sought to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the hotel service industry and conceptualize the future practice in the post-covid world. An extensive and critical review was conducted that examined prior works from different streams of hospitality management and marketing research to identify and evaluate the three possible levels of impact (major, limited, and no impact) of COVID-19 on the practice of the hotel service industry. While researchers have noted that High Touch plays an essential role in service satisfaction, the pandemic has put a stop to that. Together with the recent development in technology, the standard of hotel practice and hospitality in the post-covid world would be redefined.