Analyzing the COVID-19 Impact on UK Hospitality: Travelodge Case

This report investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK hospitality sector, using Travelodge as a case study. It examines the influence of COVID-19 on the sector's performance and productivity, the challenges faced by Travelodge in managing its business during the pandemic, and the strategies employed to overcome these challenges. The research includes a literature review discussing the pandemic's effects on the hospitality industry, followed by a data analysis section presenting findings from a questionnaire. The report concludes with recommendations for mitigating the negative impacts of future pandemics on the hospitality sector, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and strategic planning. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and resources for students.

Research project
(The impact of Covid-19 on the Hospitality Sector
in the UK)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Overview of the topic.............................................................................................................3
Background of the company...................................................................................................3
Research aim..........................................................................................................................3
Research objectives................................................................................................................3
Research questions.................................................................................................................4
Research Rationale.................................................................................................................4
Problem statement..................................................................................................................5
Significance of the research....................................................................................................5
LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................................................6
What is the influence of COVID 19 on the performance and productivity of UK hospitality
sector?.....................................................................................................................................6
What are the challenges faced by Travelodge while managing the performance and
productivity of business in COVID 19?.................................................................................8
To identify the strategies for overcoming the influence of pandemic on the performance and
productivity of Travelodge ..................................................................................................10
Research Methodology..................................................................................................................15
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS .........................................................................................19
Frequency distribution table.................................................................................................19
Data interpretation................................................................................................................21
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .........................................................................34
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................37
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................39
Questionnaire........................................................................................................................39

INTRODUCTION
Overview of the topic
The present dissertation is based on identifying the impact of COVID 19 on the
performance and productivity of hospitality industry. All the industries have faced challenges in
the tough time of pandemic but hospitality industry is one of the industries that has faced severe
loss in the tough time of pandemic (Sanjeev and Tiwari, 2021). COVID 19 has badly hit the
growth and performance of UK hospitality industry due to which it becomes challenging to
attract and retain the customer towards the brand (Tiwari and Sanjeev, 2021). Hospitality
industry faces severe issues due to pandemic as government-imposed lockdown and travel
restrictions in order to prevent the spread of disease. Pandemic has created a huge impact on the
hospitality companies on the basis of revenue and supply chains (Johnson, Thompson and Paul,
2022). The industry has also taken decision to shut down hotels and restaurants so that they
reduce the impact of COVID 19. Therefore, hospitality industry includes the large number of
employees and customers which increases the potential for exposure to and spreading of
infections (Lim and To, 2022). There are various challenges faced by the hospitality sector in
order to manage the overall performance and productivity of business.
Background of the company
The chosen company for this research is Travelodge, it is a private company that operates
hotels throughout the UK. The brand was founded on 1973 and also considered as UK's largest
independent hotel brand. The mission of Travelodge is to deliver affordable travel for everyone
at low cost which helps in attracting large number of customers towards the brand. Travelodge is
successful as it focuses on improving the standard room product and also use effective revenue
management to optimise the balance between occupancy and rate growth. The values which are
provided by Travelodge are build competency, innovation and teamwork.
Research aim
To identify the impact of COVID 19 on the performance and productivity of UK
hospitality sector, A Study of Travelodge
Research objectives
 To determine the influence of COVID 19 on the performance and productivity of UK
hospitality sector

 To examine the challenges faced by Travelodge while managing the performance and
productivity of business in COVID 19
 To identify the strategies for overcoming the influence of pandemic on the performance
and productivity of Travelodge
Research questions
 What is the influence of COVID 19 on the performance and productivity of UK
hospitality sector?
 What are the challenges faced by Travelodge while managing the performance and
productivity of business in COVID 19?
 What are the strategies for overcoming the influence of pandemic on the performance and
productivity of Travelodge?
Research Rationale
The rationale behind conducting this research is to identify the impact of pandemic on the
overall performance and productivity of UK hospitality industry. COVID 19 has influenced the
growth and performance of hospitality industry due to which it becomes challenging to generate
profit and attract more and more customers (Beckman and Morse, 2020). The pandemic has also
created an impact of the performance of the employees as they were not able to contribute their
best efforts in the tough time of pandemic. The chosen topic provides a great knowledge to
reader by offering them information related to the pandemic and its influence on hospitality
industry. While doing this investigation, the two major perspective of the researcher will be
accomplished. The personal perspective of the researcher will be accomplished as they will learn
more about the influence of COVID 19 on the business performance and productivity. While
collecting the information related to the chosen topic, the skills of the researcher will be
enhanced including presentation skills, analytical skills, research skills and many other skills
which helps in achieving personal perspective. On the other hand, the professional perspective of
the investigator will be attained as they learn about the strategies through which the influence of
pandemic can be overcome from the performance and productivity of business which will be
beneficial in the job role of the researcher. Thus, this study provides detail information about the
impact of pandemic on the UK Hospitality industry along with the accomplishment of personal
and professional perspective of researcher.

Problem statement
The problem which is identified within this research is that company faces various issues
in the tough time of pandemic which creates an impact on the overall efficiency and productivity
of business (Dube, Nhamo and Chikodzi, 2021). It becomes difficult for the hospitality
companies to survive in the tough time of pandemic. This research is helpful in identifying the
problem which are faced by the company in managing the performance of hospitality company
during pandemic situation.
Significance of the research
This research is beneficial as it focuses on providing the influence of pandemic on the
growth and performance of hospitality industry in pandemic situation. The present research is
important for the researcher, company and students. In respect of the researcher, this
investigation is important as it provides information related to the different research methods
which can be used by the researcher in order to obtain the information related to the chosen
topic. The investigator will use this study as one of the secondary sources for accomplishing their
investigation (Jang, Kim and Lee, 2022). On the other hand, this research is also useful for the
students as they can grab the knowledge related to the impact of COVID 19 on the business
performance so that they can use this study for the accomplishment of their academics. This
investigation is also helpful for the companies as they can know the about the different strategies
which helps in reducing the impact of the pandemic on the performance and productivity of the
business. By adopting the different strategies, organisation can mitigate the negative impact and
also improve their business growth in post pandemic.

LITERATURE REVIEW
What is the influence of COVID 19 on the performance and productivity of UK hospitality
sector?
According to the point of view of Panzone, Larcom, and She (2021) hospitality sector of
UK has been hit hard by the Covid-19. It is created high impact on the performance and
productivity of UK hospitality sector which is decreased due to Covid-19. It is decreased the
turnover growth of the UK hospitality sector that is the tough challenge for the hospitality sector.
Covid-19 was the situation which creates many issues and challenges for every industry or
sector. In relation to UK hospitality sector, the impact of Covid-19 affects the hospitality sector
financially, operationally that is reduce the productivity and performance as well. The influence
of Covid-19 crisis is creating many health issues for the peoples which affects the public's health.
The impact of Covid-19 includes high unemployment, governments rules and regulations and
many more. The pandemic situation of Covid-19 decreases the growth of the industry and also
reduce the profitability. It is changing the consumer behaviour towards the industry which is the
loss for the hospitality sector. The impact of Covid-19 affected the sector by government's rules
and regulation which was created for the public's health and safety. During the Covid-19
government created some rules & regulation such as shut down everything including shops,
restaurants, hotels, gym, swimming pools, theme park, movies theatre and many more which is
affected the hospitality sector because they have to follow the rules of government. Covid-19
was the toughest situation because it is spread all over the world. It is destroying the nature of the
environment. The impact of Covid-19 on the performance and productivity of UK hospitality
sector affects effective working of the employees that is the big issue for the industry (Bryson,
2021). changing behaviour of customers reduce the productivity of the industry. The impact of
global pandemic affects the overall industry and its operation which is the biggest issue for the
industry. It was a long-term situation that is affect the industry's turnover and growth as well.
The situation of Covid-19 was the sudden situation which was drastically changed and damage
the industry's function and operation. The impact of Covid-19 directly affects the hospitality
sector performance because there is no effectiveness in the industry. The overall impact of
Covid-19 was negative because hospitality sector hit hard by the global pandemic and it is also
hit its all the area and function. During the Lockdown every person is on work from home which

is impact on the workers well-being and productivity. It is changing the consumer perception
towards the hotel industry because they are required more improved services. Hospitality sector
of UK fallen down due to Covid-19 situation which is the big disadvantage for them. The impact
of Covid-19 required high safety and security and it is not easy to recover it (Salem, and et.al.,
2021). the Covid-19 impact is the negative impact on the UK hospitality sector that is reduce the
productivity and performance of the industry.
As per the view of Maslakçı, Sürücü, and Sesen (2022) the influence of Covid-19 on the
performance and productivity of UK hospitality sector is overall negative because it is creating
many issues for the industry. The Covid-19 situation hits hard the industry and its business
functions and operations. This situation was the difficult situation for every industry and sector
because it is reduced overall growth due to low performance of industries. In relation to UK
hospitality sector, the Covid-19 is created many challenges for the industry which affects overall
growth and productivity. The impact of Covid-19 changed the consumer behaviour and increase
their demand to increase the level of services. The impact of COVID-19 reduced the profitability
of the industry because during the Covid-19, employee is not working properly which missed
their effective performance for the industry. Many people lost their jobs which is increase the
unemployment (Vo-Thanh, and et.al., 2022). Covid-19 is one of the most difficult parts for
everyone because it is reducing overall economy and its growth. UK hospitality sector is affected
by the Covid-19 which reduces its productivity and performance. The situations of Covid-19
impact on the employees and worker which reduced their effective performance. The impact of
Covid-19 crisis is the toughest situation which is spread all over the worlds. It is affecting the
employees, consumer behaviour, performance, productivity, profitability, growth, production and
many more. UK hospitality industry affects by the Covid-19 crisis which is creating issue for
their business performance and productivity. After Covid-19 it is difficult to overcome from the
crisis for the UK hospitality industry. It is the situation where government has taken the
decisions for the public and their health and safety, they making some rules such as lockdown,
shutdown everything which is impact on the profitability of the UK industry. The Covid-19
influence the performance and productivity of the UK hospitality industry because of poor
working of the employees (Criscuolo, and et.al., 2021). During the Lockdown, nobody can go
outside because Coronavirus can affect their health and safety. After the Covid-19 many people
are afraid to go outside from their home so it is difficult for the UK hospitality industry to make

them believe that everything is safe and secure. There is lack of guest in the market which affects
the productivity and profitability of the hospitality industry. These all impact of Covid-19 affects
the performance and productivity of the UK hospitality industry which is the issue for the whole
industry. The crisis of Covid-19 is the difficult situation which directly impact on the business
and reduces its productivity and performance.
What are the challenges faced by Travelodge while managing the performance and productivity
of business in COVID 19?
In the opinion to Shipman, Burrell, and Mac Pherson (2021) there are many challenges
faced by the Travelodge in managing the performance and productivity of business during the
Covid-19. It was the one of the most challenging and difficult situations that was spread in all
over the world. It is the situation where government ruled for the people's safety and health to
closed everything for the while. For overcoming from the situation, government announced
Lockdown where no one able to go anywhere. In relation to Travelodge, they faced many
challenges such as in hiring and retaining the staff, changing in marketing dynamics and trends,
rising the daily consumable cost, housekeeping issues, operational issues, data security issues,
irregular cash inflows, changing the guest expectations and behaviour and many more. These all
challenges affected the overall hotel and its operation hardly. They also faced some financial
issues because during the Covid-19, it is reducing the economy growth and profitability. It is
difficult to face all the challenges suddenly because it is created many barriers. It is difficult to
overcome from the situation for the hotel. It is reducing the number of guest because no one
wants to allow go outside from their home. It is creating many trusts issue in people because they
all are required the hygiene services. It is difficult for the Travelodge to satisfy their guest
because the situation of Covid-19 changed the consumer's behaviour and perceptions. It is
creating the issues in engaging the employees during this situation because it is created the
unemployment. It is reducing the profitability and productivity of the hotel because there is no
high skilled employees and workers within the hotel. During the Covid-19 there is the poor
customer satisfaction because Travelodge hotel failed to satisfy them (Luo, 2021). There are
different people has different demand during the Covid-19 so, it is not possible for them to
fulfilled everyone's needs and wants. These all challenges have been faced by the Travelodge
which affects its operations and functions. Managing performance and productivity in business
during the Covid-19 is so difficult for the Travelodge because there is so many issues and

challenges which are creating barriers to overcome the crisis of Covid-19. This situation was
drastically changed the overall hotel and its performance due to this it is impact on their
profitability and productivity. The situation of Coronavirus reduced the comfort zone of peoples
and it is changing their perception towards the hotel and its services which is the biggest
disadvantage for the Travelodge. It is not easy for them to serve the accurate services to their
guest and fulfilled their needs because during the Covid-19, it is increasing the consumer's
demand (Kassema, 2020). the impact of Covid-19 in managing the performance and productivity
of Travelodge is difficult because there is low performance of employees which is reduce the
hotel growth and performance as well.
As per the point of view of Park, Jeong, and Chai, (2021) there are many challenges
during the Covid-19 situation that is faced by the Travelodge in managing their business
performance and productivity. They faced that there is no public after the Covid-19 situation
because still people are afraid to the Crisis of Covid-19. The Covid-19 situation creates many
financial issues that affects the profitability. There is poor performance of employees which
affects their effective working. The challenge of Covid-19 creates unemployment which is faced
by the Travelodge in employee engagement. They faced that there is many rules and regulation
in order to public’s health and safety which is created by the government. Government
announcing Lockdown and shutdown everything so, they had to shutdown their hotels that
affects on the profitability of the hotel. It is created many trust issues between customers and
hotel’s services because after covid-19, customer change their behaviour and demand and they
want high level services but this is not possible to serve everyone according to their demand.
They faced that there is lack of productivity within the hotel because of poor working of
employees which affects performance and growth of the hotel. They faced that after the
government rules and regulation there is no public or person who wants to stay in the hotel
(Schislyaeva, and Plis, 2021). They faced that there is no effectiveness and profitability in the
hotel. The impact of Covid-19 creating the big challenges to UK hospitality sector which affects
overall functions and operations of Travelodge. These challenges have been faced by the
Travelodge during the Covid-19 where they are failed to manage their performance and
productivity of the business. They faced that there is different type of guest demand. They faced
that consumer wants high quality services including good quality food, hygiene services, neat &
clean everything and many more. During the Covid-19 situation, it is creating huge impact on

the business performance of the Travelodge because it is reducing due to low performance of the
employees. They faced that employee are not working properly and not giving their best for
achieving the goals of the hotel (Mollenkopf, Ozanne, and Stolze, 2020). Global pandemic is the
difficult situation that is faced by every person or company. In context to Travelodge, Covid-19
hits hard the overall hotel’s performance and productivity by reducing the number of customers
or guest. They faced that there are many financial issues because of pandemic. They faced that
many people are not able to come to the hotel because they are still afraid of Covid-19 crisis. It is
creating challenges for the employees because due to Covid-19 many people are lost their job. It
is changing the consumer behaviour and nature which affects on the hotel’s performance because
people are not giving the positive feedback during the Covid-19. The impact of Covid-19
changes the overall system and process of the Travelodge which affects on its business
performance and productivity. These all challenges of Covid-19 is the disadvantage for the hotel
and their services which is faced by its employee, consumers or guest, managers and every
person of the hotel or staff.
To identify the strategies for overcoming the influence of pandemic on the performance and
productivity of Travelodge
According to Sutarto, Wardaningsih and Putri, (2021), during the time of Covid-19, most
of the things have changed from the people to their workplaces. Pandemic plays a major role in
relation to affect the level of productivity and performance in hospitality sector. The company
can also provide support such as financial and psychological support in order to reduce the
adverse impact of the Covid-19. That is why creation of a safe workplace should be the main
priority. That will lead to elevate the level of efficiency and output and in those proper policies
will be provided along with the guidelines (Chanana, 2021). The chosen company has always
taken care of its employees that is why it keeps on checking the workplace and makes sure to
keep it clean that tend to maintain the proper balance at the working environment. Various
meeting regulations were also updated as meetings comprises of various people that could lead to
increase the effect of Covid-19. Along with it, the company made sure that crisis management is
there in the company which main task is to take care of such unforeseen situations. A business
crisis is seen as an occurrence that significantly affects the firm's success and has the ability to
destroy the operations and reputation of the company. Planning for such events is crucial because
they could be internal or external. The process of planning for and handling any stormy or

unanticipated emergency situations that have an impact on the organisation, stakeholders,
customers, and revenue is known as crisis management. As a result, crisis management is seen as
an essential part of any company and numerous external environmental concerns must be taken
into account by all enterprises operating in the hospitality industry. For instance, Covid-19 has
resulted in loss as a result of Covid-19 during any unplanned incident in the year 2020. Modern
digital technology integration and crisis management, particularly in the hospitality sector, are
closely intertwined. As a result of digital transformation, all company divisions must incorporate
digital technology (Gukasyan and et.al.,2022).
As said by Yadav, Kar and Kashiramka (2021), the COVID-19 has a severe financial and
operational impact on the UK hotel sector, which affects productivity and performance. In the
previous time, there have been various issues and crisis that adversely impacted the hospitality
industry. There are various issues which are faced by the chosen company in relation to its
performance and productivity. That is why there are various ways which can be used to reduce
the adverse impact on the company. Such as the company is advised to implement the effective
communication among the employees. Also, the company can also provide flexible working
hours to the employees so that the work can be managed easily. Along with it, the chosen
company is required to make an appropriate budget for the purpose of allocation of numerous
creativities in the workplace transformation. Further, adopting major know-hows will allow the
company in order to transform its way of operating. Due to which the company will be focused
on to bring major changes in the management and also training the employees. Similarly, the
management will be required to build a healthy bond with the employees so that they will
involve and participate in enhance the level of productivity (Mattera, and et.al.,2021). People and
organisations all across the world have had to adjust to new ways of living and working. All
areas were impacted by the pandemic's spread, and the digital transformation is viewed as
complex since it requires a variety of tools, techniques, and software programmes to manage the
company's transformational activities in order to minimise the adverse impact.
The entire universe has been affected as the COVID-19 has changed business practises
and upended the entire world. The families, careers, health, and happiness of everyone are also
suffering as a result. A variety of activities need to be taken in order to lessen the pandemic's
consequences. Due to social distance standards and state-wide lock downs, which had a

significant influence on people's lives, the Covid-19 pandemic has also made the use of digital
technology vital. Business practises have been impacted by COVID-19.
As per the view of Khan, A.R., Piprani and Yu (2022), due to the rising demand from
customers, it would be difficult for them to provide correct services and meet their expectations
at COVID-19. Due to the fact that poor staff performance also hinders hotel expansion and
performance, it is difficult to predict how Covid-19 will affect Travelodge's performance and
productivity. The company must engage with the customers that can be increased by improving
the level of involvement of the customers in the company. As there are various channels which
are available for the company which keeps the customers on the priority. Such priority will lead
to increase the generation of profit and reduce the negative impact on the company due to
pandemic. The company can also focus on making a communication strategy that comprises of
social media too. COVID-19 has had a significant negative influence on the hotel sector in the
UK. The performance and productivity of the hotel business in the UK are significantly harmed
by Covid-19. The decreasing increase in turnover in the UK market is the hardest challenge
facing the hotel industry. Covid-19 was the event that caused a variety of issues and challenges
for any business or industry (Montoya-Torres, Muñoz-Villamizar and Mejia-Argueta, 2021). As
the people are experiencing a variety of health issues as a result of the COVID-19 disaster
globally, which is having an effect on public health as a whole. Some of COVID-19's impact
comprises of high unemployment, governmental legislation and prohibitions, among other
things. Industry growth and profitability have stalled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic
problem. The change in consumer behaviour toward the sector is a loss for the hospitality
business. Because of COVID-19, the sector was affected by government laws and regulations
that were designed for the general public's health and safety. The Covid-19 government's rules
and restrictions, which demanded that everything be shut down, including shops, dining
establishments, lodging facilities, gyms, swimming pools, amusement parks, theatres, and more,
had an effect on the hospitality business. The company and the management must successfully
complete various tasks in order to deliver good and valuable results. That is why the project
manager must first design the project before properly arranging and monitoring the operation in
order to get the intended outcomes and speed up the company's growth. In that process, due to
pandemic the digital technology has changed the way businesses are run in the current world and
offers the firm several benefits when utilising it.