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- The COVID-19 aftermath: a multidimensional study on hospitality managers' perceptionsPublication . Silva, Miguel; Melo, António; Melo, Carla; Vasconcelos, SandraThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought many constraints to several industries, including tourism and hospitality. Despite its resilience, the socio-economic implications arising from this sanitary crisis have exposed the vulnerabilities and prompted swift reactions from policymakers, stakeholders and managers. This exploratory study aims to determine which dimensions of the hospitality business were most affected by this pandemic and how they responded to this outbreak. Considering dimensions such as "Decision making" "Health Safety" “Operations” “Marketing & Sales”, "Human Resources" and "Customer Relationship Management", this study is supported by semi-structured interviews with hotel managers, putting forward an analysis based on the perceptions and realities of different hotel categories and operational contexts. Aiming to complement previous and ongoing research concerning the coping mechanisms hotel managers have had to implement when confronted with this unprecedented crisis, it succeeds in identifying key strategic areas and concerns, that are relevant for understanding the current situation, as well as preparing future emergencies and crisis affecting the hospitality business, paving the way for future research within this scope
- Shaping the new normal: Portuguese hotel and event managers’ reactions to COVID-19Publication . Melo, Carla; Melo, António; Vasconcelos, Sandra; Meneses, DanielaThe COVID-19 pandemic has created a worldwide crisis, which has had an impact on all economic sectors, having transformed social and consumption patterns. This crisis has been particularly difficult for the tourism industry, with uncertainty and the emergence of new consumer profiles and demands prompting swift reactions from policymakers and stakeholders. Focussing on two sub-sectors of the Portuguese tourism industry – hospitality and events – this paper aims to identify the most relevant concerns and Crisis Management Strategies adopted in each of these sectors in the early stages of the pandemic, putting forward a multi-layered analysis, juxtaposing the different challenges faced by managers and how they were approached. Based on previous studies and on 14 semi-structured interviews with hotel and event managers, the authors adopted an exploratory qualitative approach as to record and categorize the interviewees’ perceptions, having established the transversal importance of resilience, flexibility, and technology for each sector’s recovery. Moreover, taking into account the singularity of each setting, the authors were also able to identify more specific sectorial categories, which have had an effect on both the decision-making and future outlooks for both the hospitality and events industries. Overall, despite being hopeful, hotel and event managers anticipate different recovery challenges, with the first highlighting the importance of soft skills, and the latter emphasizing the need to regain the public’s confidence, at the same time they will have to rethink their offer as to better address current needs and concerns.
- The changing face of events after COVID-19: initial reactions and future perspectivesPublication . Melo, Carla; Vasconcelos, Sandra; Melo, António; Meneses, DanielaThe COVID-19 health crisis has significantly impacted the tourism and events industries, having prompted different responses from stakeholders and decision-makers. Focusing on the initial response from event managers and drawing from their perceptions, this paper outlines the dimensions considered to have been more directly affected by the crisis, analyzing how they shaped event managers’ outlook on the future. In order to provide a comprehensive view, researchers carried out six interviews, having resorted to purposive sampling, as to collect data from managers working with social, corporate, and cultural events. Overall, Operations, Human Resources, and Decision-making stood out as the most relevant dimensions, mostly stemming from the need to act quickly when faced with this unforeseen situation, having had a short- and medium-term impact on recovery prospects. Together with Health and Safety and Customer Relationship Management, these dimensions are expected to play an important role in shaping the future of events, as, in addition to changes regarding the dimension, format, and sustainability, managers anticipate a shift in peoples’ behavior and expectations, which will ultimately affect their experience, calling for different approaches and strategies.