Middlesex University TOU 2014: Experiential Learning & Hotel Recovery

This report examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hotel industry, focusing on strategies implemented to mitigate negative effects and ensure business continuity. Through fieldwork data, literature review, and interviews, the report identifies key challenges such as decreased sales revenue, increased unemployment, and financial constraints faced by hotels. Strategies such as offering discounts, leveraging social media marketing, and adhering to legislative compliance are explored as potential solutions. The report also reflects on the importance of data analysis techniques, ethical data collection, and the challenges encountered during the research process, including the diverse perspectives of interview participants and the selection of relevant secondary data sources. Ultimately, the report emphasizes the need for hotels to adapt and innovate to attract consumers and restore profitability in the post-pandemic environment.

EXPERIENTIAL
LEARNING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
Fieldwork data, literature and other sources...............................................................................3
PART 2............................................................................................................................................5
Reflection....................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

PART 1
Fieldwork data, literature and other sources
With respect to the current business environment it is clear that the current pandemic has
affected the overall economy to a great extent. By analysing the secondary sources, it is clear that
majorly the hospitality industry has been affected to a great extent (Keogh-Brown and et.al.,
2020). Majorly the hotels segment within the hospitality sector is being affected and because of
this profitability of the hotels has reduced. With respect to this question the interview will be
taking place for analysing the impact of COVID 19 and the measures taken for improving the
business after the effects of pandemic.
Analysis and literature
Impact of current pandemic over the hotel
With the analysis of the views of different people it was evaluated the impact of the
pandemic over the hotel industry was negative. This is particularly because of the reason that due
to the current pandemic the economy was shut down. Due to the shutdown people were not
allowed to travel to any other country. Hence as a result of this the hospitality sector was also
shutdown. Thus due to this reason the sales of the hotels decreased to a great extent. Along with
this and other key impact of the current pandemic over the hotel was the increase in
unemployment (Marinakou, Giousmpasoglou and Zopiatis, 2021). This is particularly because of
the reason that due to the shutdown of the hotels there was employee cut off. Thus as a result of
this many people lost their jobs and this severely affected the overall economy working
condition. In addition to this another major impact of the current pandemic over the hotel
industry was that there was a decrease in the sales revenue of the hotels. This was particularly
because of the reason that many people have the fear of getting infected by going to the hotels.
Hence as a result of this the sales of the hotel decreased to a great extent. In addition to this there
was shortage of finance by the hotel in order to meet the day to day expenses.
Use of strategy which hotel is implementing in overcoming impact of COVID
With the evaluation of the different views of the interviewee it was evaluated that there
are different strategies which are available to the hotels in order to overcome the impact of
covid-19 (Izadi, Foroudi and Nazarian, 2021). All these strategies will assist the hotels and the
hospitality sector to overcome the negative impact of the current pandemic. All these strategies

will provide guidance to the employees of the hotel how to deal with the consumer's coming to
the hotel. In addition to this the use of different strategies to attract the consumers will stimulate
customers to come to the hotel and enjoy it services. Thus as a result of this the sales of the hotel
will increase resulting in success for the hotel (Napierała, Leśniewska-Napierała and Burski,
2020).
Various strategies hotels are applying to minimise the effects of pandemic
When asked for the different strategies which hotel is using the interviewee stated that the
major strategy which hotels are using in order to attract the consumer is providing discounts.
This is particularly because of the reason that when the discount will be provided to the
consumers then this will attract them to come to the hotel and visited. In addition to this another
strategy for overcoming the impact of current pandemic is to focus on the social media
marketing. This is particularly because of the reason that when the effective use of social media
marketing will be undertaken then this will definitely attract the consumers and they will visit the
hotel.
Legislative compliance with respect to current pandemic
With respect to the current pandemic the government has created many different
legislations and rules which all the hotels and hospitality industry have to comply with. With
respect to this the major legislative requirement which day hotels are following currently is the
use of social the sensing policy. In addition to this proper sanitization facilities and machines
have been implanted within the hotel. This is particularly because of the reason that the
consumer can sanitize their hands and objects in time anywhere within the hotel. The sanitization
machines are being placed at small intervals within the hotel. Thus compliance with all these
legislative requirements will build a trust of consumer towards the hotel and this will increase the
sales of the hotel.
Strategies for coping up with stress due to current pandemic
The current pandemic has created a lot of stress among the employees and the visitors
coming to the hotel. Hence in order to ensure that consumers and employees a satisfied it is very
essential for the hotel to build and use some strategies for overcoming stress within the
workplace (Ozili and Arun, 2020). Thus for this the hotel undertake use of different motivational
activities and events. This will definitely attract and influence the employees and consume what
to work in more motivated and effective manner.

As per the views of Gürlek and Kılıç (2021) it is clear that the current pandemic has
immensely affected the working of the overall economy. This is particularly because of the
reason that due to the current when they make there was an economic shutdown which has
affected the whole globe. Thus it is very essential for the hotels in order to improve their sales
and profitability of the company. The major reason underlying this factors that when the current
pandemic will be controlled then only the sales of the hotels can increase. Hence the current
interview research outlined the fact that maximum of the respondent stated that the pandemic has
negatively affected the working of the hotel sector. Hence it is essential for the various hotels to
implement the different strategies which will definitely attract consumers and will reduce the
amount of fear within the person. This is particularly because of the reason that when the person
will not be fearful of getting infected then only they will visit the hotel and the sales of the hotel
will increase.
On the contradictory note Crawley and et.al., (2020) argued that it is very essential for the
hotel to attract and stimulator consumers. This is particularly because of the reason that in case
the consumers will not be coming to the hotel then says of the metal will reduce. Thus, for this
motivating the consumer is very important for them to come to the place. Hence for this is the
use of different marketing and promotional activities will be assisted to the hotel. The reason
behind this fact is that it will definitely attract the consumers and they will develop an interest in
visiting the hotel. In the end it can be stated that the current pandemic has affected the working
of the hotel in negative manner. Thus, it is essential for the hotels to provide good opportunities
to the consumers for developing and improving the sales of the company in good and effective
manner.
PART 2
Reflection
Interview checklist
1. What is the impact of current pandemic over the hotels?
2. Is there any strategy which the hotel is being implementing in overcoming the impact of
COVID?
3. What are the different strategies hotels being applying to reassure the effects of
pandemic?

4. Does the hotel is complying with all the legislative guidelines relating to the current
pandemic?
5. How did hotel cope up with the stress created because of current pandemic?
With the above evaluation it is clear that the use of different data analysis tools and
techniques is very important for the success of the study. This is particularly because of the
reason that when the appropriate data analysis technique is not being used then this will be
affecting the working and successful completion to a great extent (Kim and et.al., 2021). The
reason underlying this fact is that when the effective data collection activities are being
undertaken then then this will improve the working of study. This is pertaining to the fact that
when the appropriate data collection tools and techniques are being used then this will improve
the result and outcome of the study. However, this is due to the reason that success of the study
is totally dependent over the data being used in the research. With this study I learnt the
importance of using the correct and good set of data relating to the study. This is pertaining to
the fact that whole study is dependent over the data set being used, thus, it is important to select
the data in proper and effective manner.
With help of the interview question I evaluated the fact that undertaking the use of
interview is a good source of collecting data. This is particularly because of the reason that in
interview the respondent answers their opinion on their own and the other one record the answer.
In the interview the questions being asked are open ended and this provides a better way of
answering the questions (Bolton, 2021). In interview the respondents are free to provide their
true opinion relating to the question being asked. Hence, this motivates them to provide correct
view relating to research question as it involves the sharing of their opinion and views.
In addition to this, I also learnt that netnography is important as it is a specific research
practice which is related to collecting data, analysing and representing the data along with
compliance with research ethics. With this study I evaluated the fact that complying with
research ethics and data collection ethics is very important. This is particularly because of the
reason that when the data is collected in ethical manner then this will provide better and effective
results.
Moreover, I also learnt that the without the use of data it is not at all possible to
effectively complete the study whether be it literature review, field study or any other type of the
study (Chen and Hang, 2021). Hence, it is necessary that the proper and effective analysis and

evaluation of the data is being taken place in order to evaluate the aim of the study. With the
analysis it was evaluated that use of secondary source of data is the best and effective method.
The reason underling this fact is that secondary source of data is the one which involves analysis
of already published sources of data relating to the filed study (Coxon and et.al., 2020). This is
helpful for the reason that the views of different authors and scholars will develop a strong
theoretical base relating to the research topic or the field of study.
In against of this, the major challenge or the issue which I faced is that there were many
different types of the sources from which secondary data could have been collected. So it was a
little confusing as to which method or source must be selected in order to evaluate the data and
attain the objectives of the study. There are many different authors who have provided with their
views relating to a single common topic. So it was a little confusing as which article need to be
followed and which not. Hence, this resulted in taking a lot of time in choosing which article to
be selected.
Further another major challenge encountered by me at time of interview was that all the
participant does not provide similar views. This is particularly because of the reason that as here
the questions are open ended and due to this respondent provides their personal views and there
is not any uniformity within the answers. Hence, it is time consuming to analyse each and every
answer and then conclude some common points. Thus, this takes a lot of time as first individual
answers of all respondent is analysed then it is combined together to generalise the facts relating
to impact of COVID 19 (Sharma and et.al., 2021).
In addition to this, netnogrpahy also posed some of the challenges in completing the
fieldwork data. This is particularly because of the reason that the major focus is on ethics to be
followed. Hence, it is not necessary that all the ethical consideration is being taken care of at
time of collecting data with help of interview method. In the interview method, it is very
important for the researcher that they must ensure that no personal questions are being asked
from the respondent. While taking the interview there are different types of people and it is not
necessary that one question asked to respondent is also liked by the other participant. Hence, this
becomes a tedious job to analyse that whether any question will be hurting the respondent or not.
By the completion of the whole study I also evaluated the fact that triangulation is also a
good type of survey which can assist in effective data collection. This is particularly because of
the reason that this type of survey uses the multiple method or the different data sources

particularly in qualitative research. this method aims at developing a comprehensive
understanding relating to the research topic. This is a good method for analysing and evaluating
the research topic for testing the validity of the test being applied to prove research objectives.
This will also be a good method for evaluating and analysing the impact of COVID 19 over the
hotels and related industry.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bolton, K., 2021. The impact of Covid 19 on UK group tour operations.
Chen, Z. and Hang, H., 2021. Corporate social responsibility in times of need: Community
support during the COVID-19 pandemics. Tourism Management, 87, p.104364.
Coxon, K., and et.al., 2020. The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on maternity
care in Europe. Midwifery, 88, p.102779.
Crawley, E., and et.al., 2020. Wider collateral damage to children in the UK because of the
social distancing measures designed to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in adults. BMJ
Paediatrics Open, 4(1).
Gürlek, M. and Kılıç, İ., 2021. A true friend becomes apparent on a rainy day: corporate social
responsibility practices of top hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Issues in
Tourism, 24(7), pp.905-918.
Izadi, J., Foroudi, P. and Nazarian, A., 2021. Into the unknown: impact of Coronavirus on UK
hotel stock performance. European Journal of International Management.
Keogh-Brown, M.R., Jensen, H.T., Edmunds, W.J. and Smith, R.D., 2020. The impact of Covid-
19, associated behaviours and policies on the UK economy: A computable general
equilibrium model. SSM-population health, 12, p.100651.
Kim, J., and et.al., 2021. The impact of the COVID-19 threat on the preference for high versus
low quality/price options. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, pp.1-17.
Marinakou, E., Giousmpasoglou, C. and Zopiatis, A., 2021. The impact of COVID-19 in luxury
hotels: the case of Greece and Cyprus.
Napierała, T., Leśniewska-Napierała, K. and Burski, R., 2020. Impact of geographic distribution
of COVID-19 cases on hotels’ performances: Case of Polish cities. Sustainability, 12(11),
p.4697.
Ozili, P.K. and Arun, T., 2020. Spillover of COVID-19: impact on the Global Economy.
Available at SSRN 3562570.
Sharma, A., and et.al., 2021. Hotels' COVID-19 innovation and performance. Annals of Tourism
Research, 88, p.103180.