Analyzing Challenges in Hospitality, Travel During COVID-19 Pandemic

This essay analyzes the challenges faced by the hospitality, leisure, and travel industry, particularly focusing on Premier Inn, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies key issues such as revenue mismanagement, digital technology shortcomings, and restrictions on tourism. The essay explores how ...Read More

Academic Writing for
Business Management

Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
Challenges of Hospitality, leisure and Travel industry during Covid-19 pandemic...................1
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Academic Writing is termed to structured, concise, clear along with backed up by evidence
that aids reader’s understanding. In business management, academic writing focuses towards
academic language as well as literacy skills which are required to manage coursework more
effectively (Kumar, Normala and Belhadi, 2021). For business managers, the concept improves
aspects of academic knowledge, skill sets and competence for persuading career opportunities
and developing greater insights for organisational functioning. The aim of the essay is to
examine variety of existing issues with usage of various research materials. The essay is
prepared on Premier Inn which is largest hospitality and leisure brand in UK. It operates its
business in variant locations comprising suburbs, city centres and hence forth. For the essay,
chosen business issue is “Challenges of Hospitality, Travel and Leisure Industry during Covid-
19 pandemic”.
The essay highlight what the issue is and way companies are reacting. It also includes
recommendations to business for solving the issue.
MAIN BODY
Challenges of Hospitality, leisure and Travel industry during Covid-19 pandemic
What the issue is
Hospitality, leisure and travel industry is primarily about restaurants, hotels along with bars.
It is linked with idea of people that travel to other locations away from their homes, for leisure,
business or social purposes (Reichenberger and Raymond, 2021). Covid-19 impacted all sectors
across the world, hospitality and leisure industry is among hardest hit. Travel and hospitality
industry has been hit hard by Covid-10 and its impact has been uneven. For instance, supply side
of various businesses across travel, leisure and hospitality industry were forced to shut when the
pandemic started. Establishments that were providing food, drinks and accommodation were first
to closed down so to prevent the spread of Covid-19 as well as expected to be certain of last to
reopen completely. Because of Covid-19 situation, exponential decline in organisations and
person travel in the industry faces complex challenges for operations so to make manage revenue
generation system. It is perceived that challenges experienced by leisure, travel and hospitality
industry are unlimited and immeasurable.
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One of challenge is revenue mismanagement as businesses within the industry failed to
handle revenue management system in ineffectively. For example, Premier Inn is one of
company of hospitality, leisure and travel industry which has slumped to loss of around
£725million in first half of financial year as well as faced issue that booking slowed since
regional lockdown were imposed (Premier Inn owner hit by £725m loss as local lockdowns dent
bookings. 2021). Prior to the pandemic, revenue of businesses in the industry were dependent on
past trends and data while establishing pricing based decisions. However, subsequently to Covid-
19, past trends or historical information is not assisting to hotel or other travel agencies to predict
demand by taking cues from other countries that is time forward in curve of the pandemic. For
hotels and other ventures performing in leisure, travel and hospitality industry, it is a challenge to
analyse time and aspects when passengers or customers will make decision to purchase travel
packages.
Covid-19 is challenge for lives and livelihood that are part of the industry. It has been
created more implication where many businesses went through collapsed as not generating a
single part of revenues. In many industries, hospitality industry that mainly represent it services
provide to customer to make their satisfaction enhanced to certain level of point (Gössling, Scott
and Hall, 2020). There is one hospitality organisation that makes more suffer due to Covid
situation that makes unbalanced sustainability. In this Premier Inn is four-star hotel and they also
face many challenges due to Covid situation. As in UK, the economic crises of pandemic were
very horrible with this Premier Inn also not generated positive outcomes due to heavy pandemic
situation arise. Another challenge which company is facing that digital technology errors on
which Premier Inn not able to access their hospitality business. For that, management team of
Premier Inn they are not making their social and personal interaction with clients. Due to having
scarcity customer used to avoid their social interaction in Premier Inn. With this, company not
able to yearly profitability due to lack of customer interactions. Due to the virus, the government
has imposed various rules and regulations in the country and has also imposed lock down in the
country. Restrictions on tourism and travelling was another challenge for the hospitality
industry but due to the safety reasons, the country has followed these rules sincerely (Jasrotia,
Agarwal and Chib, 2021). The virus was creating severe harm to the lives of people and are
creating many challenges in the lives of general people as well. When restrictions on tourism and
travelling were imposed, it created challenge for Premium Inn to improve its sales volume and
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meet demand of its customers for visiting various destinations. Even after the end of lock down,
it is very difficult for people to reach out to good hotels which are following all the safety
regulations and it has become very challenging for hotels to attract customers and conveyance
them to choose their hotel instead of competitors one.
How companies are reacting
In leisure, hospitality and travel industry, business are making various attempts for
reacting towards challenges faced due to Covid-19 pandemic. The crisis is moving quickly along
with unprecedented, yet still uncertain in deep manner (Bui and Wickens, 2021). Premium Inn
responded towards the challenge of revenue mismanagement by adopting new motivational
sources for hunting along with managing revenues. The company is working to act creatively
as well as provides a location to other ventures for live streaming conference to groups against
certain revenues. Moreover, businesses within the industry collects information by pricing
strategies of competitors, social media platforms and focuses on booking ratio which assist to
minimise expenses that helps in managing annual revenue generation system positively. For the
challenge of digital technologies, information technology department of Premium Inn responded
through revitalising digital technologies. With this, front desk area at various places of the
establishment were eliminated by providing alternatives of making online check-in to customers.
Through this, Premier Inn not makes their services updatation on platform due to lack of
technology resources. Apart from it, some of the online review and digital optimisation program
are there such as Trip Advisor that would help to mitigate their digital technology errors.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Organisations working in travel and hospitality industry can solve challenges caused because
of Covid-19 with application of mentioned below recommendations:
 Ensuring compliance with safety regulation: It is recommended to businesses of the
industry to carry out practices by fulfilling compliances and safety regulations
(Reichenberger and Raymond, 2021). For example, failure to adhere new safety
legislations in industry can cause the company to pay penalties which leads to hampering
organisational revenue management. Herein, it is recommended to managers of Premium
Inn to improve knowledge of employees about safety regulations such as social
distancing, maintaining hygiene, etc so to make clients and customers to purchase travel
packages which will help in solving revenue management issue.
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 Adopt remote working: To solve the business issue of financial crisis because of Covid-
19, it is recommended to managers of Premium Inn to adopt or implement remote
working. Human resource teams as well as managers of company are investing less,
cutting staff benefits, reducing cost while enhancing workloads along with becoming
more cautious for uncertain future. With implementation of remote working, managers of
Premium Inn will give freedom to its employees for working from anywhere and at any
time. It created opportunity for the company to work with less staff at workplace and
suspend dividend payments addition to making cut on payment to employees resulting to
managing issue of financial crisis.
CONCLUSION
From the information presented in essay, it is concluded that issues in business leads to
failure to accomplish aspects of agreements or desired objectives of company. Hospitality,
leisure and travel industry has been hardest hit by Covid-19 pandemic. It is perceived that
economic results of the industry were down by approximate 90%. Further, easing coronavirus
restrictions has helped businesses performing in the industry to react towards the issue. Revenue
mismanagement, digital technologies and restrictions on tourism as well as travelling. are some
of challenges that are faced by organisations within hospitality, travel along with leisure
industry. These businesses within the industry react towards challenges through new
motivational sources for hunting along with managing revenues and revitalise digital
technologies. For solving the business, issue, business in the industry is recommended to ensure
compliance with safety regulations and adopt remote working.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Bui, P.L. and Wickens, E., 2021. Tourism industry resilience issues in urban areas during
COVID-19. International Journal of Tourism Cities.
Gössling, S., Scott, D. and Hall, C. M., 2020. Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid
assessment of COVID-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 29(1). pp.1-20.
Jasrotia, S. S., Agarwal, T. and Chib, S., 2021. The impact of COVID-19 on the Indian
hospitality sector and tourism education. International Journal of Pluralism and
Economics Education. 12(1). pp.80-88.
Kumar, M. D., Normala, S. G. and Belhadi, A., 2021. COVID-19 Impact on Leisure and Travel
Industry: Psychological, Safety and Governance Imperatives. In Virus Outbreaks and
Tourism Mobility. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Lee, C. C., Lee, C. C. and Wu, Y., 2021. The impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on hospitality
stock returns in China. International Journal of Finance & Economics.
Reichenberger, I. and Raymond, E. M., 2021. Students’ perceptions of tertiary tourism education
and careers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism,
pp.1-23.
Online:
Premier Inn owner hit by £725m loss as local lockdowns dent bookings. 2021. [Online].
Available through: < https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/27/premier-inn-
owner-whitbread-loss-local-lockdowns-bookings-profits-covid-hotel-closures>
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