Has COVID-19 influenced the perceived quality of service of hotels?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the perceived quality of service by guests in the reopening process during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyzed 1,679 TripAdvisor reviews from 2019 and 2020 that were written for hotels in Gran Canaria, Spain. The authors compared the average rating for 2019 and 2020 and the authors performed a content analysis of the reviews. Findings Guests perceived the quality of their stay to be worse during 2020, especially regarding food and beverage and staff behavior. The only service quality dimension that showed an improvement was related to open-air hotel installations. Research limitations/implications The authors only analyzed reviews in one language. The authors were not able to determine if the lower ratings in 2020 were due to the way in which they perceived the quality of service or to the fact that the quality of service was objectively worse. Originality/value This paper contributes to theory development in the field of hospitality management by providing new insights into how external events can influence hotel services and guests’ perceptions. This research shows how a health crisis that is external to the tourism industry has caused an impact on hotel staff management and on how hotel staff behavior is perceived. However, it is also possible that regardless of anything managers do, the rating that a guest awards a hotel will be lower than it would have been before the pandemic.