Impact of Covid-19 on Consumer Buying Behaviour in UK Hospitality Industry

This research proposal aims to identify the impact of Covid-19 on consumer buying behaviour and its influence on the performance of UK hospitality industry, with a study on Royal Garden Hotel. The literature review discusses the role of Covid-19 in changing consumer behaviour, issues faced by consumers, and ways to improve performance and satisfaction. The methodology includes a positivism approach, survey method, deductive approach, and both primary and secondary data collection.

LT6P19GN: Research Methods and Project
ASSESSMENT COVER SHEET
PROGRAMME TITLE: BA (Hons) Hospitality Management (Top Up)
MODULE TITLE: Research Methods and Projects
MODULE CODE:
INTAKE/SEMESTER:
ASSESSMENT TITLE: Research Project Proposal
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STUDENT ID: (London Met)
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SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 019
I declare that all material in this assignment is my own work except where there is clear
acknowledgement or reference to the work of others and I have complied and agreed to the College
statement on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity on the College Student Handbook provided at
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e-submission system will not allow late submissions. By submitting this assignment and cover sheet
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Research Topic/ Research Question:
Impact of Covid-19 on consumer buying behaviour and its influence on the performance of UK
hospitality industry
1. INTRODUCTION.
Research Background: (Introduction to the research area with some background information). Include
the following:
The current research is based on Covid-19 which shows the change in buying behaviour of consumers
and its impact on the performance on the company as it reduces the productivity in the highly
competitive business market (Davier, Schäffner and Van Doorslaer, 2018) . With the surge of Covid-19
in the global economy, the consumers have now become more health conscious and this has changed
their perception and thought to buy things and in visiting hotels. The chosen organization in this
research is Royal Garden Hotel which is a UK based hotel and is considered as a renowned hotel which
provides best quality services to customers.
Aims & Objectives
Aim: (What do you want to achieve and why do you want to achieve aim?)
To identify the impact of Covid-19 on consumer buying behaviour and its influence on the performance
of UK hospitality industry. A study on Royal Garden Hotel
Objectives: (How do you want to achieve this aim(s)). State at least three but not more than four
objectives).
I. To identify the role of Covid-19 in changing the buying behaviour of the consumers within UK
hospitality industry.
II. To identify the issues faced by consumers during Covid-19 and its impact on the overall
performance of Royal Garden Hotel.
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III. To identify different ways that helps in improving the performance of Royal Garden Hotel and
consumer satisfaction during pandemic.
Research Questions: (The breakdown of the research topic for some specific questions- it is easier to
convert the objectives into questions- only required for if you are conducting a qualitative research
study.
I. What is the role of Covid-19 in changing the buying behaviour of the consumers within UK
hospitality industry.
II. What are the issues faced by consumers during Covid-19 and its impact on the overall performance
of Royal Garden Hotel.
III. What are the different ways that helps in improving the performance of Royal Garden Hotel and
consumer satisfaction during pandemic.
Research Rationale:
The main purpose of conducting this present research is to study the impact of Covid-19 on the change
in consumer buying behaviour and its overall effect on the performance of the UK hospitality industry
(Siagian, Berybe and Panjaitan, 2021). This research majorly focuses on identifying several ways that
helps in enhancing the company performance and satisfaction among customers as now a days
customers have become more health centric and have a fear in their mind in moving to another place.
The following carried on research also interprets several issues that hospitality industry of UK face
because of changing behaviour and demands of consumers with the changing situation. This research
also helps in fulfilling two types of objectives that are known as personal and professional. In relation
with personal objective, this present research helps the researcher in achieving relevant and valuable
knowledge about the changing demands of the consumers and several methods of research for
collecting and evaluating data. On the other hand, in context of professional objective, this helps the
researcher in gaining information about the changing behaviour of consumers which is necessary for
making sustainable changes for improving consumer satisfaction and company performance.
Scope of Research Study:
The scope of the research is limited as it is based on limited respondents from which the researcher
gather and analyse information for conducting the further research on the selected topic effectively. The
conducted research is based on quantitative method because it is easy from the view point of the
researcher as involves numerical data which is quite easy to understand and calculate.
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW:
The literature should have an introduction, main body that is organised in relevant themes; and a
conclusion
Introduction of literature review
Literature review is considered as that part of the research which contains information about the
selected topic from the past. This part is mainly used by the researcher for carrying out a detailed and
reliable information about the chosen research topic. In simple words, it is defined as the short
summary of the topic which is used for carrying out past and present study.
Main Body
Theme 1: Role of Covid-19 in changing the buying behaviour of the consumers within UK
hospitality industry.
As per the view of Spellecy and Busse (2021), Covid-19 has changed the whole world drastically and
living patterns too which has affected the performance of the UK hospitality industry. With the
situation of Covid-19, the people are living and buying differently, thinking differently and this makes
their lifestyle changed in an effective manner. The virus is shaping the thoughts and perceptions of
consumers in a positive way and this has forced the hospitality industry to brings certain valuable
changes which helps in improving the performance and their satisfaction. As people are more scared
of moving out of their houses, this has brings several changes in the functioning of the UK hospitality
industry like providing with them facilities that makes them feel satisfied for coming back to the
hotels for staying purpose.
Theme 2: Issues faced by consumers during Covid-19 and its impact on the overall performance of
Royal Garden Hotel.
As per the view of Doern, Williams and Vorley (2019), there are various different types of issues that
consumers face during pandemic which impacts the overall performance of the Royal Garden Hotel.
Increasing use of e-commerce for booking and accommodation is considered as the main issue that
consumers face as they need to focus on improving their online presence for better knowledge about
the services of the hotel. Fear of getting infected is considered as the second type of issue that
consumers face which effects the performance of the hotel because this disease is spread by coming in
contact with person or object. Unhygienic culture is another issue that consumers face as they are
more scared of going into places where cleanliness is not there so it is important for the hotel to follow
all the prescribed Covid protocols which builds trust in their minds.
Theme 3: Different ways that helps in improving the performance of Royal Garden Hotel and
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consumer satisfaction during pandemic.
As per the view of Panzone, Larcom and She (2021), there are different ways that helps Royal Garden
Hotel in improving their performance and customer satisfaction in the times of pandemic. Making
strategic changes for improving customer satisfaction like offering digitalized facilities which include
less human touch and offers more reliability. Adopt social media for promoting new changes which
helps in attracting more customers in the time of pandemic because they want hygienic and clean
place where risk of virus is less. Provide with reasonable prices so that customers feel motivated and
satisfied in staying in the hotel for booking purpose as this plays an important role in bringing high
productivity and performance.
Conclusion of literature review
It is concluded from the following literature review that Covid-19 has changed the lifestyle of people
as they are staying at their home and due to high travel restrictions forced hotel which has a major
impact in the performance of the organization.
METHODOLOGY
Research philosophy – It can be classified into two types of methods which are primarily known as
positivism and interpretivism. In the present conducted research, the researcher has selected
positivism approach as it helps in carrying out the research in a more reliable and relevant manner by
gathering correct and accurate information (De Hertogh, 2018).
Research strategy – There are different methods of strategies that helps the researcher in carrying out
the research in an effective manner such as survey, action research, grounded research and many
more. In the present ongoing research, the investigator has chosen survey method because it helps in
gathering quantitative information from a large set of population (Musavengane, Woyo and Ndlovu,
2021).
Research approach – There are mainly two kinds of approaches which are defined as deductive and
inductive approach (Tayebi Abolhasani, 2019). In the current investigation, the researcher has selected
deductive approach because it helps in testing the results of philosophies with the help of numerical
data (Staron, 2020).
Research choice – It can be classified into two parts which is known as qualitative and quantitative
approach. In the present research, the researcher has chosen quantitative data for collecting data
because it helps in deriving numerical data which is easy for calculation purpose (Brown and Tidy,
2019).
Data collection – It can be classified into two types of data which is defined as primary and
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secondary data. The researcher has chosen both the methods in the current investigation as it helps in
collecting valuable and relevant data which is important for the researcher (Ross and Call-Cummings,
2020). 30 employees will be selected by the researcher for carrying out the research sampling.
CONCLUSION
It is being concluded from the above gathered information that Covid-19 has resulted in changing the
behaviour of the consumer and this has brings several changes in the UK hospitality industry. It is
important for the hospitality industry to adopt new technological changes for better functioning of
business operations.
WORK PLANNING
(Gantt Chart, PERT Chart). Presentation of the actual Chart
Gantt chart is defined as a type of bar chart that helps in illustrating about the project schedule which
shows the dependency among the current schedule and present activities.
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REFRENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, B. H. and Tidy, J .A., 2019. The diagnostic accuracy of colposcopy–a review of research
methodology and impact on the outcomes of quality assurance. European Journal of
Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 240, pp.182-186.
Davier, L., Schäffner, C. and Van Doorslaer, L., 2018. The methodological remainder in news
translation research: outlining the background. Across Languages and Cultures, 19(2),
pp.155-164.
De Hertogh, L .B., 2018. Feminist digital research methodology for rhetoricians of health and
medicine. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 32(4), pp.480-503.
Doern, R., Williams, N. and Vorley, T., 2019. Special issue on entrepreneurship and crises:
business as usual? An introduction and review of the literature. Entrepreneurship &
Regional Development, 31(5-6), pp.400-412.
Musavengane, R., Woyo, E. and Ndlovu, A. O., 2021. COVID-19 and game park employees’
livelihoods in a distressed destination. Anatolia, pp.1-14.
Panzone, L.A., Larcom, S. and She, P. W., 2021. Estimating the impact of the first COVID-19
lockdown on UK food retailers and the restaurant sector. Global Food Security, 28,
p.100495.
Ross, K. and Call-Cummings, M., 2020. Reflections on failure: teaching research
methodology. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 43(5), pp.498-
511.
Siagian, R. A., Berybe, G. A. and Panjaitan, T. W., 2021. Crisis Management in Managing Hotels
in Labuan Bajo during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Budapest International Research and
Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), 4(3), pp.4163-4172.
Spellecy, R. and Busse, K., 2021. The History of Human Subjects Research and Rationale for
Institutional Review Board Oversight. Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 36(3), pp.560-567.
Staron, M., 2020. Action Research as Research Methodology in Software Engineering. In Action
Research in Software Engineering (pp. 15-36). Springer, Cham.
Tayebi Abolhasani, A., 2019. Introduction to research methodology: Standard procedures for
qualitative data analysis. Science and Technology Policy Letters, 9(2), pp.67-96.
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