Publication du
CIRVATH INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM
« Gestion de crise »
“
Crisis management”
Préface en français
Preface in English
EDUCATION — SCHOOLS
Page 9
Page 11
Cynthia MULINDI
Remote and distance-learning strategies for promoting student Mental Heal and Wellbeing: A Literature Review
Page 15
Dr Teddy S. MANANSALA
Safesan transition from face-to-face to distance online mode of instructional delivery amidst covid-19 pandemic
Page 21
Dr Marygrace A. AC-AC
Reimagining the benildean education: assessing the Benilde online term experience during covid-19
Page 45
Dr Line LAFFOND
La gestion de crises dans le secteur de l’enseignement
Page 67
Kanchan KANWAR, Tanya PILLAY-NAIR, Joel TIPHONNET, Murali NAIR, Dr Godofredo Cristobal UTANES
Covid-19 Crisis: Leveraging Disruption to Acquire a Competitive Advantage in the Singapore Hotel Industry
Page 99
Rania LABAKI
Which model of resilience for the hospitality industry? Lessons from family-owned and managed businesses
Page 123
Lorena VALERIO, Juan Paolo SUMERA
Hotel’s response strategies to Covid-19 crisis: how the industry is adapting and planning for an uncertain environment
Page 141
Stephen MOFFITT, Dr Sanjay BHARDWAJ
Investigating COVID-19’s impact on Thailand’s Hotel Industry and Strategic Adaptation
Page 173
LEADERSHIP – LITERATURE REVIEW
Chia TUCK YEONG, Craig ALBRIGHTSON, Dr Godofredo Cristobal UTANES
Crisis Leadership During the Covid-19-Outbreak: A Systematic Literature Review
Page 197
AUTHORS
Page 225
Page 229
Jean Monnet, l’un des pères fondateurs de l’Europe.
Le thème unique retenu cette année concernait « la gestion de crise » dans les secteurs de l’éducation, de l’enseignement, de l’hôtellerie et du tourisme. En lançant ce thème dans le cadre du Covid-19, nous souhaitions vous faire partager, avec chaque équipe d’enseignants-chercheurs des écoles Vatel réparties dans le monde, les regards et les expériences vécues durant cette pandémie planétaire.
Un pareil évènement imprévisible à l’échelle mondiale conduit tout naturellement à se poser de nombreuses questions : comment l’anticiper ? comment s’y préparer dans nos écoles ? comment surmonter les conséquences immédiates d’une telle crise lorsque toute vie sociale et culturelle est mise en veilleuse ? comment maintenir la qualité de nos enseignements ? quelles conséquences sur les emplois futurs dans le tourisme et l’hôtellerie ? etc.
Neuf équipes, issues de six écoles Vatel, ont réfléchi à cette problématique. Elles l’ont abordé sous trois angles différents : l’éducation, l’industrie et les ressources humaines. Vous trouverez leurs travaux de recherche dans cette 13e édition des Cahiers Internationaux du Tourisme. La plupart des articles proviennent des continents : africain et asiatique, seule l’école de Nîmes en France représente le continent européen. Une plus grande représentation européenne aurait sans doute permis d’optimiser une analyse comparative et intercontinentale d’une gestion de crise.
Plusieurs méthodes de recherche ont été utilisées : revue de littérature, enquêtes, interview, témoignages d’étudiants. Les témoignages qui présentent les résultats trouvés et la façon dont ils ont été appliqués et vécus sont du plus grand intérêt.
À la lecture des articles, on peut noter que de nombreuses solutions ont été rapidement mises en œuvre par les écoles et leurs enseignants. Cela nous permet d’avancer que l’ensemble du réseau Vatel a fait preuve d’une remarquable réactivité et de beaucoup d’innovation afin de maintenir les valeurs du Groupe et préserver la qualité de son enseignement.
À l’évidence, le monde d’après Covid-19 n’est plus celui d’avant Covid-19. Une mutation est en train de s’opérer sur les plans : économique, politique, social et bien entendu éducatif. Des leçons peuvent être tirées de ces événements
« Les hommes n’acceptent le changement que dans la nécessité et ils ne voient la nécessité que dans la crise »
auxquels on devra ajouter les conséquences du changement climatique et du développement des catastrophes naturelles. Tout en maintenant l’esprit Vatel et sa philosophie d’enseignement, il s’avère nécessaire de procéder à des adaptations pédagogiques relatives aux types et modes d’enseignement (distanciel, présentiel, hybride, multimodal, synchrone, asynchrone), aux modes d’évaluation des étudiants, à l’introduction de nouveaux thèmes de cours, comme par exemple : « management des risques », « résilience des affaires », « gestion des crises », etc. Enfin, l’un des secteurs les plus affectés par le Covid-19 est l’industrie touristique, débouché naturel des diplômés de l’hôtellerie et du tourisme. Il était donc important d’analyser comment ce secteur avait réagit face à la pandémie et comment il pouvait se redresser une fois celle-ci passée. Les recherches publiées ont montré que les professionnels de l’hôtellerie avaient mis en œuvre, pour préserver leurs valeurs et fidéliser leur clientèle, quasiment les mêmes actions que celles qu’avaient initié les écoles Vatel pour maintenir, chez leurs étudiants, leur envie de se former. Heureusement, la réactivité et la résilience dont ont fait preuve les entreprises touristiques, nous rassurent sur les possibilités d’emplois pour nos futurs diplômés.
Henri MAGNEMonnet, one of the founding fathers of Europe.
The single theme chosen this year was “crisis management” in the education, education, hospitality, and tourism sectors. By launching this theme in the context of Covid-19, we wanted to share with you, with each team of researchers from Vatel schools around the world, the views and experiences lived during this global pandemic.
Such an event that is unpredictable on a global scale naturally leads to many questions: how to anticipate it? how to prepare for it in our schools? how to overcome the immediate consequences of such a crisis when all social and cultural life is put on hold? how to maintain the quality of our teaching? what consequences on future jobs in tourism and hospitality? …
Nine teams, from six Vatel schools, reflected on this issue. They approached it from three different angles: education, industry, and human resources. You will find their research work in this 13th edition of the International Journal of Tourism. Most of the articles come from the continents: African and Asian, only Vatel Nîmes in France represents the European continent. Greater European representation would undoubtedly have made it possible to optimize a comparative and intercontinental analysis of crisis management.
Several research methods were used: literature review, surveys, interviews, student testimonials. Testimonials that present the results found and how they have been applied and experienced are of the greatest interest.
On reading papers, it can be noted that many solutions were quickly implemented by schools and their teachers. This allows us to argue that the entire Vatel network has shown remarkable responsiveness and innovation to maintain the Group’s values and preserve the quality of teaching.
Obviously, the world afterCovid-19 is no longer the one before Covid-19. A change is taking place at the economic, political, social and, of course, educational levels. Lessons can be drawn from these events to which must be added the consequences of climate change and the development of natural disasters. While maintaining the Vatel spirit and its teaching philosophy, it is necessary to make updates on the types and modes of teaching (remote, present, hybrid, multimodal,
“Men accept change only in necessity and they see necessity only in crisis”
Jean
synchronous, asynchronous), the modes of student evaluation, the introduction of new courses (e.g., risk management, business resilience, crisis management, etc.).
Finally, one of the sectors most affected by Covid-19 is the tourism industry, a natural outlet for hotel and tourism graduates. It was therefore important to analyze how this sector had reacted to the pandemic and how it could recover once it had passed. Published research has shown that hotel professionals have implemented, to preserve their values and build customer loyalty, almost the same actions that Vatel schools had initiated to maintain their students’ desire to train. Fortunately, the responsiveness and resilience shown by the tourism companies reassure us about the job opportunities for our future graduates.
Henri MAGNECIRVATH INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM
Traditionally, higher education institutions have adopted a reactive approach to wellbeing and mental health issues, where they react to issues when they arise, rather than being proactive in their response before these issues arise (Lister, Seale & Douce, 2021). Furthermore, many of the interventions in higher education continue to position mental health issues as a problem belonging to an individual rather than identifying overarching or systemic causes or triggers in the environment (Lister, Seale & Douce, 2021).
In their research, Lister, Seale, and Douce (2021) outline three possible categories of mental wellbeing barriers and enablers, including study-related barriers, skills-related barriers, and environmental barriers. Most of the existing literature surrounding this topic seems to focus primarily on “study-related obstacles”, resulting in proposed interventions such as faculty members adjusting their teaching plans, teaching styles, and assessment methods accordingly (Lapitan et al., 2021). For example, this could include the introduction of new modes of teaching, such as the blended online learning strategy and “flipped classes” that allow for more inclusive classrooms (Lister, Seale & Douce, 2021).
On the other hand, it has been discussed that colleges are being proactive in sharing resources and information about mental health during orientations and that approaches vary from traditional presentations and panel discussions to role-plays, short videos, and student testimonies (Eva, 2019). In addition, open conversations that normalize mental health among students are critical in fighting against stigmas associated with mental illness (Eva, 2019). In fact, Wada et al. (2019), in their research on university students’ perspective on mental health, found that mental health was described as a “not very tangible” or “an unseen disability” and thus difficult to understand. Moreover, the researchers noted that
* BA in Economics, Deputy Head of Academics at Vatel Rwanda
people also tend not to learn about mental illness, because it is non-visible and intangible. It was signaled that a lack of knowledge and awareness of mental illness among university members contributed to and perpetuated stigma (Wada et al., 2019), which furthers the necessity mentioned above and the positive impact of having open conversations within the student body.
In this literature review, we consider recent research on university students’ mental health issues, looking at how universities have adapted to the current online learning necessity due to COVID-19 and its impact on university students’ mental wellbeing. Additionally, this literature review considers the role of online learning on learners’ mental health.
Although pandemic responses, as demonstrated by COVID-19, typically prioritize those infected by the illness, those impacted by mental health illnesses resulting from the pandemic often exceed the number of those infected with the illness (Ornell et al., 2020). These mental health issues not only have detrimental psychosocial and economic impacts but also tend to outlast the pandemic itself (Ornell et al., 2020). In some communities, pandemic responses, including lockdowns, forced isolation, and lifestyle changes, can result in mental health rates that are double those before the pandemic (McCutcheon, Grant & Schulenberg, 2020). Therefore, mental health must be considered and addressed in pandemic response initiatives.
In a study across twenty-six universities in thirteen provinces of China, Yu et al. (2021) found that mental distress due to COVID-19 was significantly and positively associated with depressive symptoms, and that it further mediated the associations between some of the cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial factors and depressive symptoms (Yu Y et al.,2021). On the other hand, the research showed that students who stayed in the university’s city or with family members were less likely to be depressed. This may be due to them having received better support from their significant others; this social support and coping resources are protective against mental health problems. (Yu Y et al.,2021). This highlights the need to identify and create safe spaces for at-risk students or students without strong social support systems.
Furthermore, Son et al. (2020), through their research, noticed an increase in the anxiety of approximately 70% of students sampled to the COVID-19 outbreak. Multiple identified stressors range from fear and anxiety of individual health safety and their loved ones, academic performance, etc. (Son et al., 2020). To cope with stress and anxiety, the student participants sought support amongst
themselves with either positive or negative coping mechanisms (Son et al., 2020). Due to the impact of the pandemic, tertiary education institutions need to tailor mental health interventions to the needs of their student bodies.
The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted most countries to opt for population confinement and social distancing measures as a way to control the spread of the virus (Odriozola-González et al., 2020). With this, concerns surrounding the loss of the academic year became more prevalent in students, teachers, and parents. Many schools switched from physical classroom learning to the distance delivery of education via online platforms to mitigate learning losses from the significant disruption of education provision during the COVID-19 pandemic (Clark et al., 2021).
This “emergency online teaching,” on the other hand, captures a sense of disruption experienced in higher education, where academics who “almost overnight, (have) been asked to become both designers and tutors, using tools which few have fluently mastered” (Rapanta et al., 2021). For example, using a sample of over one thousand students from five major faculties of economics in Romania, one study revealed that psychological distress and strain under lockdown pressure hurt the effectiveness of online learning in economics (Roman & Plopeanu, 2021). Similarly, a case study in Bangladesh showed that according to a Young
Minds survey, 83% of young people think that their existing mental health conditions became worse as the result of suspensions of educational activities, along with the loss of routine and limited social communication (Khan et al., 2020).
Furthermore, a surge of demand for digital learning resources does not mean that everyone can equitably access remote schooling and learning materials. In addition to financial challenges, many regions globally do not have the basic infrastructure for online learning, such as electricity or internet connectivity. Students from different socio-demographic groups may have experienced remote schooling differently (Hossain, 2021). Roman and Plopeanu (2021) showed that those students who face problems related to insufficient time due to different family problems and inadequate space at home are less efficient in these exceptional times and conditions and that they prefer traditional education instead of online learning. Therefore, it is necessary to mitigate and eliminate this major drawback to impose an effective eLearning educational process (Roman & Plopeanu, 2021).
Beyond pandemic situations, an increase in mental health illnesses is also commonly seen amongst students enrolled in regular distance learning programs. Although distance learning presents several benefits, including a flexible schedule and more autonomy over student learning, it can also result in negative self-talk, decreased motivation, loneliness, and feelings of isolation (McManus, Dryer & Henning, 2017). Furthermore, because three-quarters of individuals with mental health illnesses develop them between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five, which is also when they are typically enrolled in university degree programs, universities offering distance learning programs need to prioritize and closely monitor the mental health needs of their students and to what extent the online mode of learning is impacting their mental health (Martin, 2010).
Barr’s (2021) research on colleges and universities in the United States outlines that among those who have been diagnosed with mental illness, 85% never complete a degree. Moreover, the article further claims that most students participating in online education have lower incomes and are those of a minority race, which puts them at greater risk of mental health issues (Barr, 2015). With this, Barr acknowledges that institutions of higher learning can prepare faculty to identify the mental health needs of online students (Barr, 2015).
The need to combine mental health support during pandemic responses along with the promotion of student wellbeing in distance learning environments is exemplified by the COVID-19 outbreak. As current research shows, despite the many efforts to support and ease the transition to online learning, there is still a prominent gap in dealing with mental health issues and identifying their root causes. Additionally, not only is there a gap in existing research on the impact of COVID-19 on distance learning and higher education systems, but there is also an existing gap in the pre-pandemic status of mental health and distance learning. As a result, there is a need for evidence-based research and strategies for promoting students’ wellbeing and mental health in remote learning environments, ideally those that can be effectively applied during pandemic response periods.
BARR, B. Identifying and Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Online Students in Higher Education. Online. Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 17(2). Retrieved July 6, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/152958/
CLARK, A., NONG, H., ZHU, H. & ZHU, R. (2021). Compensating for academic loss: Online learning and student performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. China Economic Review. 68.
EVA, A. L. (2019, January 11). How Colleges Today are Supporting Student Mental Health. Greater Good.
HOSSAIN, M. (2021). COVID-19 Impacts on Employment and Livelihood of Marginal People in Bangladesh: Lessons Learned and Way Forward. South Asian Survey, 28(1), 57–71.
KHAN, A. H., SULTANA, M. S., HOSSAIN, S., HASAN, M. T., AHMED, H. U. & SIKDER, T. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health & wellbeing among home-quarantined Bangladeshi students: A cross-sectional pilot study.
LAPITAN, L., TIANGCO, C., SUMALINOG, D., SABARILLO, N., & DIAZ, J. (2021). An effective blended online teaching and learning strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education for Chemical Engineers, 35, 116–131.
LISTER , K., SEALE , J. & DOUCE , C. (2021). Mental health in distance learning: a taxonomy of barriers and enablers to student mental wellbeing. Open Learning, 36.
MARRERO, B. (2019). Increasing mental health awareness and services to meet the needs of online students. Journal of Online Higher Education, 3(3), 20–27.
MARTIN, J. M. (2010). Stigma and student mental health in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 29(3), 259–274.
MCCUTCHEON , V. E., GRANT, J. B. & SCHULENBERG , S. E. (2020). Answering the call of COVID-19: An integrated mental health response considering education, training, research, and service. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
MCMANUS, D., DRYER, R. & HENNING, M. (2017). Barriers to learning online experienced by students with mental health disability. Distance Education, 38(3), 336–352.
ODRIOZOLA-GONZÁLEZ , P., PLANCHUELO-GÓMEZ , Á., IRURTIA , M. J. & DE LUIS-GARCÍA, R. (2020). Psychological effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown among students and workers of a Spanish university. Psychiatry research, 290, 113108.
ORNELL, F., SCHUCH, J. B., SORDI, A. O. & PAIM KESSLER, F. H. (2020). “Pandemic fear” and COVID-19: mental health burden and strategies. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 42(3), 232–235.
RAPANTA, C., BOTTURI, L., GOODYEAR, P., GUÀRDIA, L. & KOOLE, M. (2020). Online University Teaching During and After the Covid-19 Crisis: Refocusing Teacher Presence and Learning Activity. Postdigital Science and Education, 2, 923–945.
ROMAN, M., & PLOPEANU, A. (2021). The effectiveness of the emergency eLearning during COVID-19 pandemic. The case of higher education in economics in Romania. International Review of Economics Education, 37, 100218.
SON, C., HEGDE, S., SMITH, A., WANG, X., & SASANGOHAR, F. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 on College Students’ Mental Health in the United States: Interview Survey Study. Journal of medical Internet research, 22(9), e21279.
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WADA , M., SUTO , M. J., LEE, M., SANDERS , D., SUN , C., LE, T. N., GOLDMAN-HASBUN, J. & CHAUHAN , S. (2019). University students’ perspectives on mental illness stigma. Mental Health & Prevention, 14, 200159.
YU , Y., SHE, R., LUO , S., XIN , M., LI , L., WANG , S., MA , L., TAO , F., ZHANG, J., ZHAO, J., LI, L., HU, D., ZHANG, G., GU, J., LIN, D., WANG, H., CAI, Y., WANG, Z., YOU, H., HU, G., … LAU, J. T. (2021). Factors Influencing Depression and Mental Distress Related to COVID-19 Among University Students in China: Online Cross-sectional Mediation Study. JMIR mental health, 8(2), e22705.
Teddy S. Manansala, RND, PhD is a registered nutritionist-dietitian and resident full-time faculty where he holds an assistant professor rank at the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management (SHRIM), De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Manila (Benilde). He obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Management and Studies degree from Miriam College and a recipient of doctoral scholarship grant from Benilde. He holds two master’s degrees namely, Master of Science in Tourism and Hospitality Management (MSTHM) major in Culinary Management from Benilde, and Master of Environment and Natural Resources Management from the University of the Philippines (UP). He is also a recipient of graduate scholarship grant from Benilde for his MSTHM degree. Meanwhile, he obtained his BS Nutrition degree from UP as full scholar. He finished Level 1 Master Course in Italian Cuisine and Oenology from Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners (ICIF), Asti, Italy. Dr. Manansala is passionate in both teaching and research in the fields of food and nutrition, wellness, food safety and sanitation, sustainable food systems, and educational research.
Metro Manila, Philippines has become the epicenter of the transmission since its first novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) case was reported on the 30th of January 2020. More than a month later, in mid-March commenced the lockdown in the region that forced classes across levels to shift from face-to-face to alternative modes of instructional delivery such as a full distance online class. Safety, Security and Sanitation (SAFESAN) is a foundational subject taken by students of all major tracks under the Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management (BS-HRIM) and among students of Bachelor of
* De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde/Vatel Manila (teddy.manansala@benilde.edu.ph).
Science in International Hospitality Management (BS-IHM), with the latter as a transnational double-degree program offering of Benilde in partnership with Vatel International Business School. The impact of the current pandemic in Philippine educational system vis-à-vis the modes of instructional delivery resulted to a necessity that transcends futureproofing of higher education curriculum as the world anticipates the “next normal”. The purpose of this study was to gain insights on how to future-proof the curriculum during COVID-19 pandemic and learners’ response to its fully distance online mode of instructional delivery. Particularly, the paper involved three phases. First, the transition from face-to-face to a full distance online class delivery was described in the context of the pandemic. The second part involved determining how students perceive the implementation of the full online mode of instructional delivery for the SAFESAN subject. Lastly, prognosis of the “next normal” for higher education curriculum was presented. An exploratory-descriptive qualitative research design was used to gain insights while descriptive statistics and thematic analysis technique were employed. A total of 70 out of 76 enrolled students in all four SAFESAN sections have responded in the online survey questionnaire administered at the end of Benilde Online Learning Term (BOLT). Given the school’s existing learning management system that was implemented few years back prior the pandemic, SAFESAN transition from face-to-face to full distance online mode of instructional delivery has been done promptly as it was coupled with capacity-building and technical support system. Survey findings indicated that multiple use of online applications or platforms, carefully planned activities that facilitate self-directed learning, flexibility in deadline for output submission, recorded lectures and/or synchronous sessions, and professor’s consistency in following synchronous class schedule resulted to positive learning feedback. Meanwhile, majority of the learners have identified intermittent internet connectivity as the challenge during BOLT hampering online quiz activity and synchronous sessions most especially for students residing in the far-flung areas. Future-proofing higher education curriculum in the “next normal” requires massive digital infrastructure investment, capacity-building, inclusive technical support system, and ethical artificial intelligence and governance. The “next normal” of higher education curriculum may be described as “mobile learning on your pocket”. This calls for concerted efforts among stakeholders to uplift inclusive and quality higher education curriculum in the “next normal”.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, future-proof curriculum, distance education, online learning, “next normal” higher education.
COVID-19 pandemic claimed millions of lives and has impacted several sectors such as the educational institutions. Philippines first suspected case was investigated on January 22, 2020 (Edrada et al. 2020). Consequently, the Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) publicly confirmed and announced on the 30th of January (Department of Health, 2020). To contain the spread of COVID-19, it was on March 15 that Metro Manila with over 12 million population was initially placed on lockdown (Rappler 2020) which then forced all educational institutions to shift from conventional face-to-face to distance online mode of instructional delivery. About 28 million Filipino learners in all academic levels stayed at home in compliance to the Philippines’ COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force or IATF (UNESCO 2020).
Education continues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 2,400 higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines have placed proactive policies to remain operational (Joaquin et al. 2020). Such policies revolve around the transition to full online learning which may be in the forms of real-time lectures or synchronous online classes and time-based outcomes assessments, or its counterpart, asynchronous or student’s self-pacing and time-delayed activities such as studying the pre-recorded video lectures and time-independent assessments, among others (Oztok et al. 2013). Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) has advised HEIs to continue the “deployment of available flexible learning and other alternative modes of delivery in lieu of on-campus learning” as the entire country grapples to contain COVID19 transmission (CHEd 2020).
In Benilde, transition from face-to-face to distance full online instructional delivery started during the coined BOLT which was considered as the Third Term of the School Year (SY) 2019–2020 since the lockdown has started after Mid-Term of Second Term of the same SY. The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academics (OVCA) released a memorandum pertaining to transition during BOLT as the College’s response to “the serious disruption” in school regular operations and “a purposeful retooling program to adapt to the ‘new normal’” (OVCA Memorandum 2020).
Systematic studies on policy responses and learners’ perceptions during COVID19 pandemic are necessary to identify gaps and challenges during the transition and the implementation of distance full-online instructional delivery especially for schools with educational framework anchored on conventional face-to-face instructions. Studies espoused two important reasons for the empirical study of student perceptions. Firstly, there is a connection between the student perceptions
of the learning environment and academic outcomes, with perception influencing both how students approach a course and how much they learn (Kilgo et al. 2013; Lizzio et al. 2002; Sherblom 2010). The second is that student perspectives provide baseline data both for the administrators and educators’ informed decision-making related to course design, offerings, strategies, and management (Platt et al. 2014).
This study provides insights on Benilde’s transition to distance full-online instruction, the SAFESAN students’ general perceptions/satisfaction of online course delivery, and implications in the “next normal” for higher education curriculum vis-à-vis futureproofing.
There are four parts of this literature review. The first part discussed the SAFESAN course description and its context in online learning. Secondly, distance education elements are enumerated while the third part described concepts of online learning, e-learning, and m-learning. Lastly, learning theories are detailed in relation to online learning.
In Benilde, SAFESAN is a core course which is required in all tracks under the BS-HRIM program and the transnational double-degree program, BS-IHM. Its course description as reflected in the syllabus:
“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) envisage ‘a world where we reaffirm our commitments regarding the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation and where there is improved hygiene; and where food is sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious.’ Food safety has a tremendous impact on food security, nutrition and health outcomes as the World Health Organization (WHO) affirms, ‘Food safety, nutrition and food security are inextricably linked. Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, particularly affecting infants, young children, elderly and the sick. Foodborne diseases impede socioeconomic development by straining health care systems, and harming national economies, tourism and trade.’ This course will provide you a solid foundation both on scientific and management approach on the interactions of foodservice and hospitality industry, food safety, hygiene and sanitation, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point System (HACCP), Codex Alimentarius and relevant local laws, and
occupational safety, security, and emergency management towards contributing to SDGs. The course is multiple disciplinary in nature wherein various disciplines such as food science, microbiology, economics, management, health sciences, and environmental science converge to understand phenomena and provide sound and scientific solutions to real world problems or complex food safety challenges facing our tourism and hospitality industry amidst the impacts of Climate Change.” (Manansala 2019a).
SAFESAN course requires relevant pedagogical approaches among digital natives as it is a highly technical subject. Its course outcomes are readily achieved in a face-to-face setting where instructions can provide ongoing immediate feedback to both the faculty and the students about the lesson, delivery, experience, and challenges. Kitchen tours are also conducted within Benilde’s hotel facility to reinforce classroom learning. Jones and Blankenship (2017) argued that in a faceto-face setting, observing student’s body language and non-verbal cues allows the educator to immediately adjust or develop the response for the students and allows for additional questioning to gain a more detailed idea of the information needed which might be absent in distance full-online instructional delivery. Hence, teaching strategies, approaches, and management may be different in a distance online setting.
Academician Padolina (2007) discussed the elements and concepts related to distance education. The defining elements of distance education include: (1) There’s a quasi-permanent separation between the teacher and learner during the implementation of the learning process, thus, distinguishes from traditional face-to-face teaching; (2) Educational organization is responsible in the planning and preparation of learning materials including student support services which distinguishes it from private study and teach-yourself programs; (3) The use of various technical media, print, audio, video, or computer, to bring teacher and learner together and deliver the course content; (4) Provision of two-way communication so that many benefit from or even initiate conversation and this distinguishes from other uses of technology in education; and (5) The quasi-permanent separation of the learning group so that people are usually taught as individuals and not in groups, with the possibility of occasional meetings for both didactic and socialization purposes. Distance education may provide flexibility to students and freedom for active learning participation (Guri-Rosenblit 2005) and those students learn even if they are physically separated from their instructors (Edge and Loegering 2000). In distance education, various media may be employed as deemed appropriate, available, and accessible. Moreover, collaboration through
learning groups, carrying out group activities, and accomplishing group tasks, may be reinforced with modern means of communication (Padolina 2007). As SAFESAN students generally belong to the digital native generation, this may be advantageous for them in terms of technology utilization during the transition to distance online learning mode of instructional delivery.
Online learning, e-learning, and m-learning are concepts associated with distance education. Padolina (2007), differentiated these concepts as follows: In online learning, resources are accessed and communication between academic institution, instructor, and students are made through the internet. Meanwhile, for e-learning concept, the prefix “e” originally stood for “electronic” but eventually applied to anything that made use of computers and more recently to one that involves the use of computer networks – a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the internet. Lastly, in m-learning, prefix “m” refers to mobile, so m-learning refers to the use of mobile or portable technology, such as mobile phones, hand-held computers or personal digital assistants (PDAs) in the learning process. Like open learning, mobile learning is considered by some as learning that addresses the mobility of individual learners.
Online e-learning is described as learning experiences using various electronic devices with internet availability either synchronously or asynchronously. Online learning media allows to explore student’s digital literacy and creates community spaces among the students both educational and entertainment functions (Tan 2013). Additionally, it could be a platform that makes the learning a student-centered, creative, and flexible (Singh & Thurman 2019). Dhawan (2020) noted that online delivery of courses is cost-effective and may be more accessible among students in rural and remote areas. In the Philippine setting, there could be limitations in terms of internet signal and lack of access for some students to attend online learning in remote areas. Meanwhile, other benefits of online e-learning include overcoming the limitations of the face-to-face lesson frequency between the students and teachers through the features of online platforms (Herayanti et al. 2015). However, there could be variations in terms of the student’s ability to understand the lessons as compared to the face-to-face learning (Dabbagh & Kitasantas 2012).
The implementation of full online classes in Benilde such as the SAFESAN course delivery utilized its learning management system (LMS) called BigSky. Faculty members were also allowed to use various software/apps to complement course delivery in LMS, such as the use of Zoom, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, social media like Facebook Group and YouTube, Kahoot, Menti.com, and
other available/downloadable apps. In a study of Manansala (2019b), freshmen students of SAFESAN course perceived that Facebook Group’s pros as an online classroom platform (OCP) include mobile/user-friendly application, on-the-go, real-time notifications, not time consuming, user is not logout from the application, and ease of accessibility to internet data. However, its cons as an OCP include data security risk and distractions during online session.
It is notable that instructors do use digital platforms as a learning tool. While online learning is proven to have a positive influence on the students (Febrianto & Megasari 2020), several theories espouse the online learning process.
COVID-19 pandemic paved the way to online learning implementation across HEIs whereas several theories support this mode of instructional delivery. Driver and Bell (in Susan & Tony 1995) explained the theory of constructivism. In essence, constructivism pointed that the students must discover and transform complex information by themselves, check for new information using old rules and modify it as deemed necessary (Trianto 2007). In this context, distance online learning gives the students the freedom to obtain information and organize their own learning. It also allows independent problem solving when they are no longer assisted by the instructor in contrast to face-to-face classroom learning (Febrianto & Megasari 2020). Essentially, in constructivism theory, students must discover and transform the information from the instructor independently where the role of the instructor is to facilitate how the students will obtain and provide the information relevant to the course learning outcomes or knowledge (Sagala 2008). Further, knowledge formation as done by the students themselves involves independent work, active thinking, and give meaning to something that is learned while the instructor’s role is the designer and creator of conducive learning environment (Febrianto & Megasari 2020).
Another theory is called the behaviourist learning theory which involves changes in behaviour. Online learning may provide stimulus for the students’ active involvement in the learning process through virtual classroom environment. Changes may also happen during the shift from conventional face-to-face to online learning as this involves changes in the mode of learning delivery and learning styles (Febrianto & Megasari 2020).
In the learning theory of connectivism, it supports the existence of a new perspective on how learning can take place in a virtual environment. This is reflective in an online learning where virtual space becomes a common venue for learning activities where students and instructor are digitally connected (Febrianto & Megasari 2020) such as the use of LMS. Characteristics of online learning include
interactivity, accessibility, and enrichment (Rusman 2011). Appropriate learning media to facilitate online learning are necessary and are possible with the current available mode of communications (Padolina 2007).
Meanwhile, online learning is considered as a more open learning system where it may fulfil the emotional needs of the students. The learning needs theory showed the learning needs of students, and the online learning environment are the same (Kaler 2012). Through online learning, students may encounter challenges, allows freedom and independent learning, and may impact their emotional well-being. In this aspect, emotional support system is needed and may be included as part of HEI academic institutional framework.
In order to articulate how Benilde facilitated the transition from conventional face-to-face to distance online learning mode of instructional delivery, this study employed the model (Figure 1) below.
Capacity-building for faculty includes the online training course called “Be ConnectED: Learning. Online. Teaching.” for BOLT faculty. Part of which was the online course materials development. After the development of online course materials, implementation follows. The last part includes evaluation and determining students’ perception and satisfaction on SAFESAN online course delivery. Relevant CHEd and college’s directives and policies were considered.
This study applied an exploratory-descriptive qualitative research design. As described by Hunter et al. (2019), a phenomenon of interest is being examined in an explorative research. Whereas this paper focused on insights in transitioning from face-to-face to distance online mode of instructional delivery for a course that is highly technical. It also explored on how students perceived various components employed during the full online class and the challenges they have encountered during the BOLT.
Using a non-probability voluntary response sampling, all the five sections of SAFESAN were included as respondents for online survey. A total of 70 out of 76 enrolled students from the five sections have responded in the online survey. Purposive sampling was used for key informant interviews whereas students’ responses that needed follow-up for more clarifications were included as respondents.
The online survey questionnaire used has five parts. The first part stipulates informed consent, the second part describes the demographic profile, the third part elaborates on students’ perceptions/satisfaction about distance online delivery of the course, while the fourth part determines effectiveness of various platforms and applications used, and the last part include students’ experienced challenges during the BOLT. Survey questionnaire was created using Google Form and was face-validated by selected education experts. The third part of the questionnaire was adapted and modified from Fedynich et al. (2015) where four major topics included were instructional design and delivery, teacher roles, student roles and responsibilities, and management and support systems. Meanwhile, key informant interview questionnaire was used as follow-up for open-ended questions in the online survey to sought for more detailed responses.
Benilde and CHEd relevant archival data (i.e., memoranda, emails, reports, organizational chart) were collected to supplement observation and survey conducted.
Results of online survey were subjected to both descriptive and thematic analyses. Respondents’ demographic data and perceptions using Likert scale were presented and analyzed using frequency, percentages, and means. Responses to survey open-ended questions, key informant interviews, and obtained secondary data were analyzed using thematic analysis technique and their interrelationships. The validity of the obtained results and students’ perceptions/satisfaction were reinforced through data triangulation from online survey, key informant interviews, and secondary data.
Since 2013, Benilde has implemented the use of LMS in the form of Moodle. Then from Moodle, it shifted to Brightspace in January 2016 as part of its Strategic Initiative 13
Virtual Learning Space (SI13) wherein Benilde was envisioned to become a “Borderless Benildean Education that is accessible to whoever, whenever, wherever. It is the college’s pro-active response to the evolving technological needs of our learning community” (Educational Technology Office [EdTech] Memorandum 2015). Thereafter, it was rebranded and launched as “BigSky Benilde” known as the College’s versatile, future-focused, cloud-based integrated learning platform (ILP). It was an initiative to create an innovative and inclusive virtual learning space. Globe collaborated with Benilde by providing the College with Brightspace, the LMS that enables a personalized approach to education. Being powered by Brightspace, “BigSky Benilde aims to provide Benildeans access to research-driven and pedagogically sound learning anytime, anywhere” (Inquirer.net 2017).
Prior the pandemic, Benilde has already been responsive to digital education demands. Faculty and students have been using the BigSky as the LMS to complement the conventional face-to-face classes. In response to COVID-19 pandemic, OVCA (2020) released a memorandum on the College’s purposeful retooling program to adapt to the “new normal.” Full-time faculty (FTF) members were assigned a combination of loads to complete the 18-unit requirement in forms of the following:
(1) BOLT courses full online teaching assignment; (2) Course materials development;
(4) Content development for course materials;
(3) Trainor and mentor which provided the support system during the transition;
(5) Special curriculum writer;
(6) Research;
(7) Academic paper writing for faculty members graduate research; and (8) Service leave for qualified faculty.
Benilde through its EdTech proactively initiated the “Be ConnectED: Learning. Online. Teaching.” faculty online training course wherein its outputs include transforming the existing course syllabus to a full online course and consequently become the basis of course materials development. The author was tasked to revise the existing SAFESAN course syllabus to a full online course offering and developed course materials in the forms of PowerPoint presentation slide decks, voice-recorded lectures, and infographics, among others. Developed materials were uploaded in BigSky Sandbox which served as the common template for all faculty members teaching the same course (Figure 2).
A total of 70 students (n=70) had responded to online survey. For the class section distribution, Table 1 shows that both sections BH03 and BH04 had 22 (31.4%) students apiece while BH05 and BH06 had 20 (28.6%) and 6 (8.6%) students, respectively.
Table 1. Respondents’ distribution by class section. For gender distribution (Table 2), majority of the respondents were female with 36 students (51.4%) followed by male with 32 students (45.7%), and 2 students (2.9%) preferred not to say their gender identity.
Table 2. Respondents’ distribution by gender.
In addition to existing criteria for Dean’s List (DL) qualifications, Benilde implemented that a student should carry a 12.0-unit minimum load during the BOLT. Majority of respondents (Table 3) had at least 12.0 academic units enrolled (78.6%) while the rest had 9.0 (8.6%), 6.0, and 3.0 academic units (5.7%) load, respectively during BOLT.
Table 3. Respondents’ distribution by total number of academic units enrolled. All of the 70 respondents reside in several regions of the Philippines (Table 4). Majority were all over the NCR (55.7%) and CALABARZON (30.0%), respectively. Most NCR areas where respondents reside include Quezon City, Muntinlupa, City of Manila, Pasay City, Taguig, Pasig, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Caloocan, Valenzuela, and Malabon. In CALABARZON, majority of the respondents reside in Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, and Quezon Province, respectively. In Western Visayas, three (4.3%) students reside in Aklan. In Davao Region, two students (3.0%) both reside in Panabo City, Davao Del Norte. Meanwhile, a student in CAR resides in Baguio City while a student in Cagayan Valley resides in Isabela. A student in Central Luzon resides in Pampanga while a student in
the Bicol Region resides in Naga City. Lastly, a student in Northern Mindanao resides in Iligan City.
SAFESAN students were generally positive about their experiences on the delivery of online course as reflected in Tables 5 to 8. However, about 65 students (92.9%) agreed or strongly agreed that students have to be self-motivated to be successful in an online course. Hence, a question of whether the instructor, the course design and delivery, management and support services, and the learning materials served the purpose in motivating the students during the online learning experience.
In Table 5, the overall mean for combined agreed and strongly agreed in terms of students’ satisfaction on instructional design and delivery is 88.8%. BigSky was the main LMS and other available online resources and platforms were used (Table 9) in the delivery of SAFESAN course. Both synchronous (real-time) via the Zoom Meeting and asynchronous (self-paced) via the BigSky, Kahoot, and Facebook Group, e-learning strategies were employed. Synchronous e-learning was in the form of interactive virtual teaching while asynchronous e-learning was supported by recorded lectures, supportive videos, external links for pre-determined websites, and additional online resources from national and international agencies and the College’s Learning Resource Center (LRC) available subscribed e-books.
strongly disagree – A: agree – N: neutral – A: agree – SA: strongly agree.
satisfaction.
Teacher roles on student satisfaction received an overall mean of 92.0%, a combined agreed and strongly agreed responses (Table 6). This is the highest overall combined means obtained among the four components of students’ satisfaction. The instructor was able to perform the expected roles to facilitate distance online learning. For the instructor, “the design role becomes important in that the majority of the instructor’s time is spent in determining how the course is to be implemented” (Kolloff 2001).
The lowest overall mean for combined agreed and strongly agreed responses involved the student roles and responsibilities for positive online class experience at 86.4% (Table 7). This may be due to the fact that SAFESAN students were used to the conventional face-to-face classes that they need to adjust in a virtual classroom being the first-time experience. As one of the respondents noted, “The atmosphere is really different as compared when in school.” Results of this study is consistent to that of Febrianto and Megasari (2020) wherein among Indonesian college student’s counterpart, are still accustomed to conventional learning with direct interactions to lecturers and some of them stated that online learning cannot take place optimally because it is different from face-to-face meetings. As such,
there has been hesitancy on the acceptance of the “new normal” in higher education. In addition, students new to online learning also may not be as adapted to the idea of student-to-student interaction, or self-initiated learning that is facilitated by the instructor (Fedynich et al 2015).
Overall mean for combined agreed and strongly agreed in students’ satisfaction on management and support services recorded 90.3% (Table 8) which is second highest among the four components. The College learning support units such as the then Information Technology Department (ITD), the LRC, the Center for Inclusive Education (CIE), Benilde Wellness Center (BWC), and the Lasallian Ministry Office (LMO), among others, were active in performing their respective mandate vis-à-vis students’ accommodations. Support services are vital even in online course delivery since learning needs of students are the same in an online learning environment (Kaler 2012).
SD: strongly disagree – A: agree – N: neutral – A: agree – SA: strongly agree.
In terms of the effectiveness of the online resources and platforms in facilitating distance online learning, students perceived them to be effective, very effective, and extremely effective at 96.9% overall mean. Evidently, SAFESAN students were able to explore more knowledge as provided by distance online learning resources and platforms which is the essence of constructivism theory. Batt and Cummins (2016) concluded that the social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook may be used as digital learning media. Social media being a form of online learning media has the potential to bridge the formal and informal aspects through a participatory digital culture where young people easily adopt the role of consumers and also as a way to support learning (Greenhow and Lewin 2015). In this study, YouTube was used in uploading the recorded lectures and Facebook Group for posting related articles, interactions, and class announcements.
This study emphasized three main themes as commonly experienced by the SAFESAN students challenges namely, limited internet connectivity, online class adjustment, and power/electricity interruption, with the latter as usually experienced by students in far-flung areas (Table 4). Results of this study is consistent to the findings of Febrianto & Megasari (2020), where Indonesian’s counterpart experienced the same limited internet networks in remote areas. Meanwhile, in the study of Zalat et al. (2021), reported insufficient/unstable internet connectivity, inadequate computer labs, lack of computers/laptops, and technical problems were the highest challenges for adapting to e-learning.
Nguyen et al. (2020) established that the main obstacles to e-learning are based on several stakeholder perspectives of infrastructure, technology, management, support, execution, and pedagogical aspects. The e-learning tools should meet the users’ requirements to gain their trust and improve their acceptance of e-learning (Kanwal & Rehman 2017). In addition, e-learning barriers may be classified into learners, teachers, curriculum, organizational and structural factors that need more collaboration for their solutions (Assareh & Bidokh 2011).
Internet Connectivity
Online Class Adjustment
Power/electricity interruption
“Sometimes, I have problem with connecting to my ZOOM”
“Internet connection problem/lag”
“Unstable internet connection during ZOOM lectures”
“It’s troubling when my connection gets lost sometimes”
“Wi-Fi connection”
“Slow internet”
“Sometimes, we don’t have internet connection”
“Internet connection during Kahoot quiz”
“Time and Wi-Fi connection”
“Adjustment in an online setting”
“Stress of things that needed to be done online”
“Online meetings for group output”
“The atmosphere is really different as compared when in school”
“Electricity outage”
“Power interruption considering that in our province, there is black our every Saturday”
“Blackout during weather disturbances”
NE: not effective – SE: somewhat effective – E: effective – VE: very effective – EE: extremely effective.
Table 10. Common challenges encountered by the students during distance online delivery.
In today’s digital society where the lifestyle has changed, learning management should respond to the changing behavior of the learners and to the unprecedented impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. That is, to redefine education in order to respond to the innovative society or Education 4.0 (Puncreobutr 2016). Education 4.0 is a purposeful approach to learning in line with the fourth industrial revolution and about transforming the future of education using advanced technology and automation. Consequently, the “next normal” of higher education curriculum may be described as “mobile learning on your pocket” (Alfonso 2019) as HEIs geared towards Education 4.0. Future-proofing higher education curriculum in the “next normal” requires massive digital infrastructure investment, capacity-building, inclusive technical support system, and ethical artificial intelligence and governance. For Bandalaria (2019), future-proof curricula “integrate the acquisition of future-proof competencies that will enable individuals to respond to the current demands of industry, the flexibility and agility to adjust to the fast-changing world of life and work and the disposition to continue learning
and make sense through critical reflection of the volume of information being made available at an exponential rate as well as the relevant ethical and moral values.” Future-proofing the core competencies are vital as the hospitality, travel, and tourism, are among the fast-changing and demanding industries. While the Education 4.0 highlights modern, smart technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics, this calls for concerted efforts among stakeholders to uplift inclusive and quality higher education curriculum in the “next normal”. Lastly, it may be notable among HEIs to view the “next normal” from the lens of sustainability for we are all dealing with finite resources.
Benilde’s initiatives towards its vision for a Borderless Benildean Education has helped pivot the transition from conventional face-to-face to distance online learning mode of instructional delivery brought about by COVID-19 pandemic. Its policies vis-à-vis COVID-19 response empowered faculty members in various capacities such as being able to develop learning materials and transform conventional classes into full online course offerings. Overall, SAFESAN students had positive learning experience and were satisfied in terms of the course’s instructional design and delivery, teacher roles, student roles and responsibilities, and management and support systems. Moreover, they found that online learning resources and platforms were generally highly effective in facilitating the learning experience. Since BOLT was the first time among Benildean students to engage in a full online modality, a few were hesitant and needed an adjustment in the “new normal” of the higher education system. Common challenges that the learners experienced include limited internet connectivity, online class adjustment, and power/electricity interruption.
This study has limitation in terms of the sample size. Hence, results cannot be generalized and may only reflect perceptions and satisfaction for each class sections. Author recommends future studies to deal with larger sample size and include other variables, i.e., students’ wellness aspect, faculty members’ experienced challenges in a virtual classroom. Additionally, other stakeholders may be part of the key informant interview or focus group discussion for holistic perspectives which may then be used in policy decision-making.
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Dr Marygrace A. Ac-Ac is an Associate Professor at the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management (SHRIM) of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) and holds the title of a Certified Guest Service Professional (CGSP) accredited by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). Her 16 years of experience in the academe as educator and administrator is complemented by skills-based training and tourism industry practice both in the local and international scenes.
Prior to working in Benilde, she served as the Business Development Director of Hospitality Institute of America-Philippines (HIAP) and the Business Development Manager of Zip Travel Philippines. She was also the Corporate Communications Director and the Tourism Area Chairperson of San Sebastian College-Recoletos. Currently, she is an active member of various Tourism and Hospitality professional associations, Board Member of the Philippine Association of Researchers for Tourism and Hospitality (PARTH), and President of their small privately-owned museum in Laguna.
Dr. Ac-ac earned the degrees BS Tourism from La Consolación College Manila, Master of Business Administration from San Sebastian Recoletos College and Doctor in Business Administration from Colegio de San Juan de Letrán.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced educational institutions around the world to suspend normal operations to help curb the spread of the virus. To continuously provide quality education despite the implementation of community lockdowns, many schools have adapted the online delivery of teaching and learning. Currently, each country implements plans and procedures of the “new normal” in educational policy and one of the key questions in developing online learning is its effectiveness in comparison to face-to-face instruction.
* DBA, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde/Vatel Manille (marygrace.acac@benilde.edu.ph).
The Philippines, having one of the greatest number of cases in Asia (1,286,217 total cases and 54,000 active cases as of June 09, 2021), was one of the first countries to implement regional and national lockdowns. Thus, higher education institutions (HEIs) were given academic freedom to implement available distance learning, e-learning, and other alternative modes of learning to continue providing education to students.
In response to these situations, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) offered the Benilde Online Term (BOLT) to reduce possible congestion within the different campuses and inside the classrooms on the next regular term (BOLT FAQs 2020). One of the advantages of enrolling during BOLT is allowing the students to continue with their education while ensuring their safety. All courses were delivered for a period of eight weeks, from July 01 to August 26, 2020. The 8th week was allotted for completion of the course requirements and administration of final examination.
This study was conducted to assess the online term experience of the School of Hotel, Restaurants, and Institutions Management (SHRIM) students who were enrolled during BOLT. It assessed the pre-course activity experience, duringcourse delivery experience and post-course activity experience of the students. This study aimed to provide recommendations and practical suggestions to improve the school and faculty success in transitioning to delivering education fully online.
This study utilized the mixed-methodology approach, employing some techniques of both quantitative and qualitative research designs. The quantitative element involved a researcher-devised questionnaire which assessed the students’ experience during the pre-course activities, during-course delivery and postcourse activities. The questionnaire underwent face and content validation by a pool of experts in the field of education, research, and information technology focusing on educational technology. The quantitative data were supplemented by qualitative data to solidify the findings; thus, data gathering approaches like in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were utilized.
In general, the students have a positive assessment on their experience on the precourse activity, during-course delivery, and post-course activity in their online classes as evident. However, some issues or challenges were highlighted such as limited human interaction resulting in difficulty with working with classmates on group projects and other activities, burnout, or online class fatigue due to overwhelming required readings and assignments, and unstable internet connection.
Keywords: Benildean, COVID-19, Education, HEIs, New Normal, Online Learning.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of the education sector towards digital and distance learning for all levels. Since March 2020, educational institutions in the Philippines have been dealing with the challenges brought about by the outbreak of COVID-19. The education system in the country is largely traditional in terms of delivery of instruction. Teachers and students are more accustomed and comfortable with the physical or face-to-face class setup. Thus, with the abrupt shift to online or distance education, teachers are experiencing difficulties in transforming their lectures and discussions to an online platform and in shifting to online teaching methodologies and teaching materials. These require a lot of training and hard work most especially for the senior faculty. In addition to the technological problems encountered, internet stability in the country is of great concern for both teachers and students. The shift to online learning due to pandemic impacted the enrollment resulting in closures of some schools. This situation brought doubts about the effectiveness of online learning.
Due to the unprecedented situation, the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) in Manila, Philippines offered the Benilde Online Term (BOLT) in anticipation of the “new normal.” The primordial goal of BOLT is to reduce possible congestion within the different campuses and inside the classrooms on the next regular term (BOLT FAQs 2020). One of the advantages of enrolling during BOLT is allowing the students to continue with their education while ensuring their safety. All courses were delivered for a period of eight weeks, started July 01-August 26, 2020. The 8th week was allotted for completion of the course requirements and administration of final examination. Both synchronous and asynchronous learning were utilized. Faculty members were provided with training to equip them with the new normal of education. This opens many opportunities for rethinking the school’s goals and mission.
This study assessed the BOLT experience of the School of Hotel, Restaurants, and Institutions Management (SHRIM) students in three phases: pre-course activity experience, during-course delivery experience and post-course activity experience of the students. It highlighted the challenges and experiences of online learning faced by Benildeans during BOLT.
This study is beneficial to the school administrators, educators, and course designers in providing the best practices and strategies for a successful online learning experience of the students, hence, may have an impact on the student enrollment and retention.
This study focused on the online learning experiences of the School of Hotel, Restaurants, and Institutions Management (SHRIM) students who were enrolled during the Benilde Online Term (BOLT) from July 01-August 26, 2020. Faculty members who taught during BOLT were also interviewed to validate and solidify the findings from the survey among the students.
It is worth noting that while the students assessed their learning experience, the faculty examined their learning delivery as there is a shift in the roles of the faculty from a teacher-led class to a teacher-facilitated scenario.
The literature for this study focuses primarily on online learning, and on the COVID-19 pandemic to a lesser extent. It should be pointed out, however, that most existing literature focus on online learning pre-pandemic, though literature on this educational paradigm in the time of COVID-19 is gradually growing. In this study, the literature focuses on the pandemic’s impact on online learning, specifically in terms of Benildean education and how students of De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) are adjusting.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is profound and all-encompassing, affecting not only public health, but also the different sectors of society. Among the most notable effects of this global health crisis are widespread disruptions in travel and tourism, (Chinazzi et al. 2020), a global economic recession (Fernandes 2020), political conflicts (Barrios & Hochberg 2020), racism (Habibi et al. 2020), and misinformation (Enitan et al. 2020).
The educational sector has been massively disrupted as well (Tria 2020) with schools in various countries, including the Philippines, forced to close indefinitely and halt face-to-face classes (Viner et al. 2020). Data from UNESCO (2020), show that 1,379,344,914 students – or 80% of the world’s learners – are now “being kept out of educational institutions by country-wide closures.”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational systems around the world have specifically relied on distance learning so as not to completely halt the education process (Tria 2020). This shift to holding online classes due to the Covid-19 pandemic is no longer a region- or country-specific phenomenon, but rather a new normal for educational institutions around the world (Mondol & Mohiuddin 2020). In the Philippines in particular, schools at all levels have had to
leverage technology and adopt distance learning to keep classes going no matter how difficult and challenging.
Distance learning is a broad term that refers to the use of various mass media platforms, like the internet, TV broadcasts, and even lectures broadcast over the radio. It must be noted, however, that distance learning is nothing new. As Department of Education secretary Leonor Briones points out, educational institutions in the country have been doing distance learning, with the University of the Philippines, for instance, specializing in it “for the longest time,” which means those who take up education and study education are already exposed to this [distance learning]” (Custodio 2020).
Of the various distance learning platforms, however, advancements in internet technology are making distance education easy and feasible via online learning (McBrien et al., as cited by Dhawan 2021) notes that using a computer connected to a network offers “the possibility to learn from anywhere, anytime, in any rhythm, with any means.” In these trying times, online schooling has provided a glimmer of hope in educational systems across the world (Mondol & Mohiuddin 2020).
This unexpected shift to online education has also become a measure of organizational agility (Wu 2020), with academic institutions worldwide mainly focusing on the transfer of educational content to the digital world and not necessarily on online teaching per se (Adnan & Anwar 2020).
Described by Dhawan (2020) as a “panacea in the time of [the] COVID crisis,” online learning refers to “learning experiences in synchronous or asynchronous environments using different devices (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, etc.) with internet access” (Singh and Thurman 2019). In these environments, students can be anywhere (independent) to learn and interact with instructors and other students.”
Littlefield (2018) describes synchronous learning as “structured” in that the students can attend live lectures where educators and learners can have realtime interactions. McBrien (2009) notes that this paradigm can “provide a lot of opportunities for social interaction.” These same opportunities, according to Dhawan, are crucial in this time of pandemic as they allow video conferencing with 40–50 students to make virtual class discussions feel more “organic.” They also facilitate the instant and real-time exchange of feedback and make lectures accessible not only via laptops or computers, but also through mobile phones.
Asynchronous learning, on the other hand, is more unstructured as students learn not from live lectures but from instruction in the form of “prerecorded video lessons or game-based learning tasks that students complete on their own” (EdGlossary 2013). Despite this lack of live, real-time interaction asynchronous learning may still “encompass a wide variety of instructional interactions, including email exchanges between teachers, online discussion boards, and course-management systems that organize instructional materials and correspondence, among many other possible variations.” However, there is neither instant feedback nor real-time response mechanisms.
Whether synchronous or asynchronous, online learning relies heavily on specific pedagogical features (Seok, as cited in Seok et al., 2010). These features include the tool for learning, the interactions (communication and collaboration) between teacher and student, the content and the way it is delivered, and the assessment strategies to measure student performance.
Like distance learning, online learning is nothing new. However, the COVID-19 pandemic “has created a defining moment for online learning” (Mathes 2020) due to massive school closures worldwide. But for it to be successful, Mathes argues that educators do away with the simplistic characterization of online learning as “any form of learning conducted partly or wholly over the Internet” (Bates 2016) because it is so much more than that.
Rather, online learning “uses the internet as a delivery modality to offer thoughtfully designed, quality, student-focused learning experiences, built on proven best practices that create effective interactions between learners, peers, instructors, and content.” In other words, online learning is more dynamic that what is it being made out to be, and it can be very dynamic and effective.
However, only in adopting this broader perspective of online learning can it be truly student-centric and effective. This shift in mindset, in turn, is critical not only to maximize online learning at present, but also to improve it in preparation for the next disaster or health crisis that will force similar school shutdowns as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With over 28 million learners in the Philippines affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, (UNESCO 2020) due to quarantine measures, both the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) have pushed for innovative ways to continue school despite the health crisis.
The DepEd, for instance, implemented the Learning Continuity Plan, while the CHED gave higher education institutions (HEIs) academic freedom to offer distance learning modes of delivery (CHED 2020). Consequently, most HEIs began implementing their own innovative distance learning strategies, along with policies on instruction and homework. This shifting paradigm, according to Tria (2020) will be “the new normal in education” which must be strengthened and improved so that it can “provide quality, inclusive and accessible education for every student.” Cognizant of this impending the normal in education, the CHED is also enjoining HEIs to “strengthen online platforms and blended learning such as but not limited to Google Classroom, Messenger, Zoom, Edmodo, Facebook, and YouTube” (CHED 2020).
Higher education institutions are adapting Learning institutions in the Philippines have adapted to the pandemic and are now incorporating online learning to varying degrees. The De La Salle University (DLSU), for instance, is now using R.E.A.C.H, or Lasallians Remote and Engaged Approach for Connectivity in Higher Education, which is a technology-enabled alternate mode of education that employs three delivery modes: (1) fully online with both synchronous and asynchronous environments, (2) hybrid where online learning is fused with face-to-face learning), and (3) face-to-face (the traditional system). These delivery modes, along with various learning materials, are organized and made accessible via AnimoSpace, DLSU’s own learning management system or LMS (De La Salle University 2020).
The Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU), on the other hand, offers ADL, or Adaptive Design for Learning. This system also offers three modes of delivery: online, hybrid (or blended), and (3) face-to-face. Ateneo’s ADL also offers various curricula materials, which ADMU students can access via the university’s virtual campus, AteneoBlueCloud (Ateneo de Manila University 2020).
The University of the Philippines, one of the longest proponents of distance learning System shifted, has transitioned almost seamlessly to distance learning by using already existing platforms such as the University Virtual Learning Environment (UVLE) and the UP Open University (UPOU). The UPOU, in particular, maximizes online learning by offering free online course. The UP College of Education, meanwhile, is offering the Education Resilience and Learning Continuity Plan (ERLCP) that aims to provide schools assistance as they transition to distance learning environments (University of the Philippines – College of Education 2020).
The DLS-CSB, meanwhile, has the Benilde Online Learning Term, or BOLT, accessible via BigSky Benilde, and which is now called Virtual Benilde or ViBE.
In a press statement, the DLS-CSB described BOLT as an “alternative means of studying aimed to protect the students and the professors from the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic” (The Manila Times 2020). It was first offered for the academic year 2020–2021 first term beginning September 7, and featured “full online modality for all year levels.”
This decision to adopt online learning technologies was accelerated by the pandemic, even with the administration’s initial reservations as to the overall effectiveness of online learning itself. That said, the DLS-CSB is fully committed to online learning and is of the belief that it can be effective provided the right tools are used along with the right strategies (DLS-CSB 2020).
According to Baticulon et al. (2020), online learning presents numerous challenges for the students. The most notable of these challenges is the difficult adjustment of learning without the benefit of face-to-face lectures. Two other notable challenges students must deal with are poor communication between them and educators and the unavailability of fast and reliable internet connection. This concern on connectivity, in particular, is more pronounced in the Philippines, which has, according to Akamai (2017), the lowest internet connectivity in Asia.
Other issues identified that make distance and online learning challenging for students are difficulties performing home chores, lack of a conducive place to study, low technical ownership, and not owning a device such as smartphone or laptop.
These challenges can be categorized into five: (1) technological (pertaining to hardware, software, and internet connectivity), (2) individual (involving learning styles and preferences of students and their mental health), (3) domestic (referring to issues and problems at home or within the family), (4) institutional focusing on the school administration, the curriculum itself, the institution’s resources, and the teachers’ skills), and (5) community (including infrastructure issues, sociopolitical concerns, and lockdown restrictions).
That is not to say that teachers are not beset with their own issues in terms of making sure that online learning works as intended. Teachers need to recalibrate their approach to learning, as recommended by the DLSU-CSB (2020) instructors’ guide to learning. Pre-pandemic, traditional education was generally teacher-centric, where educators decide on what, when, and how things should be learned. With online learning in general and BOLT in particular teachers, this traditional paradigm needs to be eschewed in favor of a student-focused approach in which teachers must take into consideration what learning is to their students, so they motivate them accordingly. Teachers will also need to learn
new instructional formats (Toquero, as cited in Tria 2020) that will test their knowledge in both pedagogy and technology.
Also posing tremendous challenges as to the effectivity of online learning are the adjustments in the grading system, the changes in how student performance is assessed, and the reduction of in-person activities that supplement learning. Extracurricular activities such as contests and foundation day celebrations are also discontinued, thus resulting in declines in engagement on the part of students, teachers, and school administrators.
The literature shows that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has both necessitated and accelerated the shift to and adoption of online learning, including in DLSCSB. But despite it being around for several years now, online learning still presents quite a few challenges that may reduce its effectiveness. Foremost among these challenges is the difficulty in adjusting to this educational paradigm, as well as the slow and unreliable internet in the country. These concerns are evident in any online learning system, even that of DLS-CSB’s. This is the reason why there is a need to assess the Benilde online term experience during COVID-19, to assess its effectiveness and feasibility as a learning approach moving forward.
This descriptive study utilized the mixed-method approach – some techniques of both quantitative and qualitative research designs were utilized. The quantitative element used was a researcher-devised questionnaire. The development of the questionnaire started in determining the best practices of online learning experience during the pre-course activities, during-course delivery and post-course activities. The quantitative data were supplemented by qualitative data to solidify the findings, using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions.
A total of 200 students enrolled in BOLT during the study period were invited to participate in the study. Of this number, 124 students provided consent and responded to the survey which comprised 62% of the total population. To crosscheck the results of the survey, 11 full time faculty members of SHRIM who have taught during the Benilde Online Term participated in an online interview. The results were analyzed using mean, frequency and percentage
In this study, a researcher-devised questionnaire was used to gather students’ demographic information such as age, academic track (major), and year level and their perception about their online learning experiences. There are three phases identified to assess the students online learning experience: (a.) pre-course activity experience,
(b.) during-course delivery experience, and
(c.) post-course activity experience
The questionnaire went through the process of face and content validity of three experts. The validators are a pool of experts in the field of education, research, and information technology focusing on educational technology.
The questionnaires were distributed and answered by the respondents through different online platforms such as Facebook, electronic mail, and Google Forms. An interview questionnaire was also provided for the faculty members. The interview was done purely online via Zoom app.
The data obtained from the online survey were analyzed using frequency and percentage. The tabular device was employed for a more convenient interpretation of data.
Weighted mean was used to determine the average of the responses for each phase of online learning experience. Weighted mean was also used as an index for the interpretation by reading it against the conversion table:
The researcher also employed standard deviation to summarize the differences of each observation from the mean.
The following discussion presents the results and interpretation of the study. Respondents Profile: A total of 124 enrolled students participated in the survey. Among them, 51 are 20 years old, 34 are 21 years old, 15 are 19 years old, 10 are 22 years old, 4 are 18 years old, and the rest are 23–30 years old.
Majority of the respondents are in second-year college (50.8%), followed by third year (37.9%), then fourth year (6.5%). A small percentage of 3.2% are first year and 1.6% belong to others.
First year
Second year
Third year
Fourth year
Other
Moreover, most of the respondents come from the Travel and Tourism Management track with 42.7%, followed by Culinary Arts Program with 36.3%, Hospitality Management with 12.1% and BS International Hospitality Management with 8.9%.
In summary, majority of the respondents are second year college students, 20–21 years old and taking Travel and Tourism Management Track.
How would you evaluate the quality of your online experience during
124 responses
Students were asked to assess the online learning experience for the three phases: (1) pre-course activity experience, (2) during-course delivery experience and (3) post-course activity experience.
Table 2 presents the pre-course activity experience of the students. As shown in the table, students agree on some of the pre-course activities they experienced in preparation for their online classes. They were able to watch in advance the short course introduction video prepared by their teachers, they have seen posted exercises or activities for the first two weeks of classes, materials and references are already available in the learning management system, and technical support contact information is available in case they need assistance in matters concerning their Infonet account and school’s email address.
As can be seen in the table, students strongly agree that the course content and resources are available prior to the start of the synchronous class, course syllabi are uploaded, and data privacy notice were posted before the start of online classes.
Table 2. Students’ Assessment on the Pre-Course Activity Experience in an online class.
Based on the researcher’s personal communication (January 2020) with some of the faculty respondents, they have been trained to use the learning management system (LMS) and other online learning platforms to become an effective online teacher during the transition. However, despite the training there are limitation matters concerning information overload from the training and transition. This led to some delays on the delivery of the course module content and other pre-course activity preparations. Teachers have experienced a lot of issues and challenges too. As suggested in the DLS-CSB (2020) instructors’ guide, teachers must be attuned with both technological skills and pedagogy pertaining to the various approaches in learning.
Table 3 presents the results of the students’ assessment of their during-course delivery experience. The respondents strongly agree that online platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet and others were utilized effectively in class having 3.67 as the average mean. They also strongly agree on the following: their synchronous classes started on time (with a mean of 3.52), faculty were able to provide consultation hours (with a mean of 3.60) and online submission tools were effectively utilized by the students (3.66). Meanwhile, the students’ experience on working with their classmates for group activities and other projects received the lowest mean of 3.12 with a verbal interpretation of agree. This supported Sit, Chung, Chow and Wong’s (2005) report that inadequate opportunity to study with other classmates is the most frequent identified learning hindrance in an online learning setup.
As highlighted by Students 66 and 89, they had difficulty in accomplishing their group assignments due to different schedules, they were not yet acquainted, and time management was compromised. Student 89 however stated that she liked the BOLT because it is fast-paced, and she learned a lot during the online term.
Communication tools such as discussion, forum and Bigsky news were used for class participation, discussion and announcements got an average mean of 3.46. Time management were also observed in class with 3.42 and both received a verbal interpretation of agree.
Online platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet and other platforms were utilized effectively in our class.
Synchronous classes started on time based on the allotted schedule.
Faculty were available for consultation.
Discussion forum/chat/Bigsky News were utilized to communicate with classmates and teachers.
I was able to work with ease with my classmates for group activities and other projects.
f. Online submission through Dropbox or electronic mail were effectively used by my teachers.
Time Management was properly observed in our class. (i.e., Classes started and ended on time, synchronous classes were scheduled, spent more time with the difficult topics/lessons for better understanding)
According to Seok et. al. (2010), increased technological skills may contribute to the teacher’s perception in delivering an effectively designed online courses. As illustrated in table 3 the experience during the course delivery relies heavily on technological skills, thus providing an efficient and effective digital structure and modernizing the teaching and learning is a way to a successful online learning experience. Moreover, features which include tools for learning and interactions (communications) are significant in the delivery of the course program.
Though it is evident that most of the results have verbal interpretation of strongly agree, students are experiencing burnout or online class fatigue. Students 115 and 123 both agreed that there was too much information being discussed during the online class; sometimes they were lost and opted to study and read alone.
Table 4 illustrates the results of the students’ assessment of their post-course activity experience. It is apparent that the students agree in most of their experiences after the online class. Teachers were able to use rubrics and other assessment methods effectively to evaluate the performance in class with an average mean of 3.51 and faculty were able to successfully communicate to the students the class progress and performance with an average mean of 3.53 both with verbal interpretation of strongly agree.
Class requirement/s per module were sufficient based on the course outcomes provided in the course syllabus.
Faculty were able to discuss clearly the topics assigned for all the asynchronous class session.
I received prompt feedback from the faculty/ instructor on my academic performance.
Rubrics and other relevant assessment method were used to evaluate our performance in class.
All the topics in the course syllabus were covered and clearly discussed.
I was given the opportunity to use all the online sources through our library and other internet sources.
Faculty were able to use different modes of communication to guide and inform us of our class progress and other related information about the online class.
The results of post-course activity assessment reflected that the teachers are fully aware of their responsibilities in giving timely feedback to the students despite the challenges and difficulties they faced due to immediate transition to online modality.
Unstable internet connection is the main concern of the students during online class with 87.10%. Interestingly, the least hindrance in the online learning mode is the unavailability of computer and other technological devices. This only shows that the students are equipped with technological hardware requirements.
Table 5. Identified concerns of the students during online class.
There are students who are working to sustain their daily expenses to help their families. Student 11 said that online class is beneficial to her because of the asynchronous sessions provided, teachers are also very helpful, and she is not worried about the required attendance. However, online class may sometimes be overwhelming due to required readings and modules; she is struggling in meeting the deadlines which were identified as the second and third most common concern, respectively.
In response to the open-ended questions regarding some other challenges for making the online class effective, student 12 emphasized that they need more training and adjustment to implement the full online class focusing on the best practices during synchronous class and online activity submission. Students 27, 40 and 66 felt that there is too much workload and assignments during online class than face-to-face class, resulting in burnouts, mental health issues and difficulty managing their time.
The students also experienced rotational and sudden brownouts, distracting environment at home, the challenge in staying and keeping them motivated as some others do not turn on their cameras and not focusing on the class. Fifteen students mentioned that activities such as group work are difficult to manage since they do not know each other personally and there was no proper introduction and interaction. Others have chosen to work individually instead. Learning becomes more difficult, and quality is lesser as stated by Student 58. Issues concerning technological skills of some teachers were also raised and highlighted.
The overall evaluation of the student respondents in online learning setup is Good with 62.1% and 21% said that it was an excellent experience. This is a good indication and a positive response. Like other studies conducted, the benefit that they could get is the flexible learning wherein they can study at their own pace.
How would you evaluate the quality of your online experience during BOLT?
124 responses
The present study was determined to assess the online term experience of the School of Hotel, Restaurants, and Institutions Management (SHRIM) students and to provide recommendations for improvement and practical suggestions on the practices to enrich the school and faculty success in transitioning to teach full-online. The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde particularly with SHRIM delivered the online class with good standing despite the many challenges identified by both teachers and students. As stated by Lim (2020), “It’s not perfect but it’s going well. Despite the crisis, the school has been able to provide training to the teachers and students learning together, moving forward together, becoming innovative and adaptive are the most important lessons from this experience.”
The evidence from this study suggests that customization of learning experiences through curriculum and syllabi review and revisions must be prioritized. This unprecedented situation caught the academic sector off guard and left gaps in the curriculum. Though full online and flexible learning were introduced, the learning outcomes should be achieved on a whole new level. To further improve the online learning experiences of the students based on the results and findings of the study, the focus must be in the pedagogy (teaching and learning) and technological skills. In the curriculum and syllabi review, the move to integrate core topics of the content of a course program to be able to reduce the cognitive load can
address the clamor of the students having too much workload and difficulty in submitting the requirements on time. Though the content of the course programs may be reduced or be integrated still it must adhere and be responsive to the needs and demands of the industry.
One of the major concerns identified is related to human interaction, the opportunity to meet their classmates in person is limited despite the availability of various communication tools in the LMS provided by the institution, however, designing the program with more peer interactions virtually can provide motivation and may improve the students’ interest and study habits. This may lead to the more student-led activities and teachers are merely facilitators who framed the activities. The school may also consider adapting a hybrid model embracing digital and human connectivity without losing the academic standards. Thus, the quality of teaching and how lessons are delivered (teaching approaches and methods) are crucial to enhance the online learning experience of the students. When it comes to giving feedback as specified in the post-course activity, the school may consider revising or customizing the assessment tools as part of the grading system. The timeliness in providing class performance evaluation is one of the best practices that was mentioned by the students, however, teachers find it that the grading became more lenient and too generous due to the situation. The school administrators must review this viewpoint as this can be a threat to the reliability of the students’ class performance. Adherence to maintain the high-quality assessment is still possible and must be encouraged. For further studies, the researcher would like to recommend studies covering a wider perspective which includes the sustainability of education comprising all the stakeholders encompassing the educational system that will prepare the academic sector into a new era in human history, the post-COVID-19 era.
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LE SECTEUR DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT.
LA « COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE PÉDAGOGIQUE »
De l’émetteur masqué au récepteur masqué : Distanciation éducative et multiplication des défis pédagogiques pour une gestion de crise réussie.
Dr Line LAFFOND*
* Docteure en Linguistique générale — Professeure de français langue étrangère (FLE) VATEL NIMES, France.
Lever, tomber le masque Dire la vérité, cesser de se dissimuler, faire apparaître son vrai caractère, se montrer tel que l’on est avec ses véritables intentions. Bas les masques : expression apparue au début du XVIIe siècle, époque où le masque au théâtre est l’accessoire de la fourberie.
Ouvrir l’horizon des technologies éducatives et soutenir une réflexion sur les nouvelles intentions pédagogiques en période de crise, telle a été notre mission durant ces semaines hors normes. Enseigner en période de pandémie a amené l’enseignant à déployer des stratégies éducatives plurielles et à tester l’exécution de scénarios pédagogiques afin d’accentuer les liens entre enseignants et apprenants. Notre réflexion s’appuie sur l’effort d’adaptation au contexte situationnel et le potentiel créatif propre à l’ingénierie de toute formation.
Dans notre monde en crise où les relations humaines propres à l’échange, au partage, à la formation semblent en danger sans que nos dirigeants puissent en infléchir le cours, l’enseignant se trouve confronté à de nouveaux obstacles en cette année 2020 : Gestes barrières, masques, gestion de la voix sous un masque, maintien des liens interpersonnels en étant parfois inaudibles ou inopérants, distanciations, réseaux inaccessibles, équipements désuets, absence de réponses immédiates de sa hiérarchie à ses nouveaux problèmes.
Le visage, celui de l’apprenant comme celui de l’enseignant est l’outil de travail qui participe à toute communication verbale. En masquer une partie c’est en effacer, voire, en censurer une partie et supprimer, de fait, émotions et expressions faciales. Masquée, la bouche atténue sons et intonations significatives compliquant ainsi l’apprentissage.
Dès lors, il nous faut solliciter davantage la gestuelle et renforcer l’attention au regard.
Le distanciel, également, n’est pas sans faiblesses : certains étudiants ne sont que des initiales, d’autres offrent des visages sans émotions véritables par une mauvaise diffusion de l’image ; le message oral est lui aussi haché, fragmenté parfois inaudible.
Le souhait du professeur de contrôler cette crise dans son univers professionnel, de retrouver des repères et de donner du sens à son métier doit être d’autant plus grand qu’il se trouve face à un public d’apprenants désorientés, déstabilisés, fragilisés, doutant sérieusement de son avenir professionnel. Si gérer cette crise au sein de son établissement n’est pas le maître mot, il veut agir, prendre les rênes, mener la danse pédagogique pour accompagner au mieux sa classe jusqu’à
l’examen final. Se complaire dans une sorte d’inaction ou de prise en charge par autrui ne participe qu’à la panique ambiante.
Bien qu’elle emprunte des détours imprévus, cette période se révèle porteuse, sinon de créativité, du moins, d’une certaine forme d’initiatives pédagogiques pour conduire l’apprenant à la réussite de sa période de formation.
Le regard que porte l’enseignant sur ces mois de covid-19 éclaire ce qui structure et anime, au plus profond, l’univers de la classe dans sa phase pratique. Les fins et les objectifs du programme n’arrivent pas au premier plan.
D’abord, prime le maintien du lien pédagogique de l’enseignant à l’apprenant, de l’apprenant à son alter ego. Le temps pédagogique est démultiplié par la nécessité de garder le contact, de relancer l’apprenant, de stimuler le « décrocheur ». Il faut montrer qu’on est à l’écoute derrière un écran comme derrière un masque.
A cela s’ajoute l’observation de la distanciation physique entre apprenants : le marqueur dans une main et le mètre-ruban dans l’autre, l’enseignant devient clown et coach à la fois.
Pédagogue, comédien, médiateur sanitaire, distributeur de gel hydroalcoolique, chef d’orchestre bienveillant, l’enseignant ne sait plus sur quel pied danser pour mener à bien sa belle mission de transmission. Courageux petit soldat, il espère en un « agir collectif » pour une meilleure organisation de la classe de demain créant une « TeamVatel » sur WhatsApp pour rallier ses collègues impliqués.
Le degré de compréhension d’un message se lit sur l’ensemble du visage bien avant les résultats d’un devoir ou partiel. Ne dit-on pas « lire sur les lèvres » ? On y décèle des réticences, des incompréhensions, des paniques. Cette lecture faciale conduit à reformuler une explication, infléchir un cours, reprendre une analyse.
Comment parvenir, imperturbablement, à transmettre la totalité de son enseignement ? Comment la classe, peut-elle rester concentrée sur le contenu du moment dans de telles circonstances ? Comment ne pas se cacher derrière des prétextes prophylactiques et ne réaliser qu’une partie de son programme et, évidemment, côté apprenants, n’assimiler que cette « demi-transmission » ?
Le document papier angoisse, peut-être « porteur du virus » ? La classe « cluster » préoccupe. La pédagogie distancielle va-t-elle l’emporter sur le présentiel vital pour les plus fragiles et les décrocheurs ? L’avenir de l’éducation repose-t-il sur des tutoriels en ligne ?
De la sollicitation du regard (en présentiel comme en distanciel) à la multiplication des outils pédagogiques et des expériences associées.
L’alternance entre des cours en présentiel et en distanciel, la réduction ou suppression de travaux dirigés, dans le but de diminuer le nombre d’étudiants
participants, pourraient donner matière à une nouvelle discrimination entre les formations qui se tiennent en présentiel et celles assurées en distanciel. L’échange et l’interaction doivent rester le fondement de la pédagogique. L’outil numérique, lors de la période printemps — été 2020 a fonctionné uniquement parce que le lien en présentiel avait été tissé les mois précédents.
Dans un climat d’incertitude, le risque est la passivité. La pluralité éducative est à préserver et ne peut s’appuyer seulement sur une pédagogie à distance mais plutôt sur enseignement hybride. De fait, concertation, échanges, prise de responsabilité, multiplication des supports, numériques inclus, permettent de renouer avec des pratiques maîtrisées mais aussi avec une transmission à géométrie variable en fonction des effectifs, des niveaux et des contraintes dues à la situation de crise, assurant à la fois continuité, différenciation pédagogique nécessaire, mais surtout la volonté d’obtention du diplôme ou encore d’un emploi.
Il nous faut, aujourd’hui, examiner ensemble l’impact de cette crise dans notre secteur d’activités, analyser les données et reconnaître les actions concrètes qui peuvent déjouer au mieux les incertitudes liées au COVID-19 et, ainsi, transformer ces défis d’ampleur en changements durables.
Il était une fois un enseignant, riche de ses liens pluriels avec ses étudiants, arpentant avec passion et énergie sa classe pour se rapprocher des plus fragiles, les aider ou pour féliciter les plus diserts, calligraphiant avec application mots et règles sur le tableau. Un vendredi soir, un message gouvernemental suivi de la confirmation par la direction de son établissement, jeta un voile « provisoire » sur la salle de cours. C’est alors qu’apparut inexorablement le monde du distanciel, nouveau moteur désormais de sa pédagogie. Dès lors l’univers du présentiel s’éloigna de son quotidien pour laisser place à celui des visages pixélisés de ses étudiants. Finie la vue d’ensemble de sa classe et le balayage d’un visage à l’autre pour percevoir l’effet produit et la compréhension heureuse de son message, le temps généreux accordé à certains pour s’assurer de l’acquisition. Bienvenue aux hésitations techniques, aux clics inutiles, aux répétions palliant le manque d’acoustique. Le regard de l’enseignant, hier posé principalement sur son interlocuteur, parcourt aujourd’hui simultanément son cours, son clavier, quelques visages ciblés pixelisés, des initiales le symbole de main levée pour l’étudiant souhaitant prendre la parole, l’horloge pour ne pas oublier la pause entre deux cours.
Art véritable de la jonglerie pédagogique en la défaveur de ses étudiants et de sa matière dans un premier temps.
Sans omettre le travail d’écoute et de mémorisation afin de mieux rebondir sur d’éventuelles questions ou d’organiser, de façon efficace, la séance suivante.
Mais que devient alors le Pédagogue ?
« Le mot pédagogue (en grec paidagôyos) vient de pais, « enfant », et agâgê, « direction, conduite ». Il semble qu’à l’origine, l’office du pédagogue était de conduire l’enfant à l’école et de le ramener. Xénophon (Republ. Lac, c. II) oppose le paidonomos, ou maître commun de tous les enfants, au paidagôgos ou maître spécialement attaché à une famille. Le pédagogue était chargé de veiller sur la tenue de l’enfant et de le garder des mauvaises rencontres. Son office cessait quand l’enfant entrait dans l’adolescence. Plus tard, le mot s’est pris dans le sens général d’éducateur, et c’est en cette acception qu’il a été emprunté par les Romains. Déjà, chez Platon, paidagôgia est pris au sens d’éducation ». Michel Bréal.
Quel rôle jouer ? Quel chemin pédagogique choisir ?
Le « casse-tête » de l’enseignant.
Tel a été notre rôle en cette période de pandémie : celui du pédagogue qui conduit l’étudiant à l’école du distanciel et le ramène à ses missions d’apprentissage. Veiller sur son comportement face à l’écran et le garder des divertissements, tentations offertes par le numérique (Netflix, achats en ligne, sms, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok… Rôle de véritable garde-fou et cette mission commence, dans ces conditions, dès l’ouverture de l’écran.
Profitons du contexte exceptionnel (Covid-19) dans lequel nous avons plongé pour réfléchir à la façon de gérer ces moments pédagogiques atypiques et imprévus, qu’il s’agisse, par exemple, de travaux pratiques, de cours théoriques, d’exposés ou encore de débats d’idées. Autant de formes de prises de paroles qui influent sur nos étudiants, nos programmes, nos pédagogies.
Qui plus est, entre chaque confinement, s’opérait le retour en classe de tous, masqués, espacés, excités par la joie des retrouvailles au sein de l’établissement mais aussi par le temps de parole hors programme à accorder pour recréer le groupe « classe », lui redonner de l’élan. Chaque retour en présentiel avait la couleur d’une nouvelle rentrée des classes où la progression pédagogique était mise entre parenthèses pour laisser place à l’écoute, à la parole libérée du carcan de l’écran et des contraintes techniques.
À l’instar du monde médical, le monde enseignant a lui aussi été au cœur de cette crise et de sa gestion : soutenir, aider, assister.
Anticiper, cela n’était guère possible même si depuis 2018, les termes de mutations pédagogiques apparaissaient dans nos mails et réunions. Mais imaginer une telle réactivité de la part de tous, étudiants, parents, direction, enseignants, personnels administratifs, était à cent lieues de nos réflexions du moment.
Certaines réticences éprouvées face à une pédagogie digitalisée se sont vues renforcées lors du passage obligé au tout digital. Une distance prudente et réfléchie était prise avec l’enseignement en distanciel. Bien des craintes ont été confirmées, tout au moins, lors du premier confinement en mars 2020.
Celui qui court deux lièvres à la fois n’en prend aucun. Érasme
Nous vivions cette année 2020 comme une succession de passages difficiles à franchir, tiraillés entre une pédagogie de terrain aux techniques confirmées et des modalités innovantes d’apprentissage. Cette revisite de nos cours à la « sauce numérique » laissait paraître une dualité pédagogique quelque peu déstabilisante. Or, ce contexte exceptionnel dans lequel nous avons été immergés tous ensemble, a conduit à déranger nos habitudes pour construire, dans l’urgence, une transmission 2.0 prenant appui sur l’engagement, le partage, la participation à tous les niveaux. Notre réflexion a dépassé les limites de notre matière à enseigner pour « flirter » avec les recherches en psychologie sociale, en étudiant le comportement de nos étudiants en présentiel et en distanciel, en groupe ou en sous-groupe face à l’écran. Notre propre conduite de formateur ne risquait-elle pas de mener à une « pédagogie de niche » à force d’enseigner à des demi-groupes ou sous-groupes ?
Nos interrogations de professeur se sont tournées également vers d’autres temps de crise qui ont impacté le système éducatif : zone de guerre, de catastrophe naturelle, d’épidémie locale en Afrique (virus Ebola…), mais aussi crise sociale (gilets jaunes…) confirmant, à juste titre, l’enjeu humanitaire de l’enseignement.
Les deux mondes de l’enseignement en période Covid :
► L’enseignement masqué en présentiel où le regard devient le principal média de la relation pédagogique : c’est à travers lui que s’opère la première vérification de la compréhension. L’aménagement de pauses a été instauré pour apaiser la voix et atténuer, pour certains, les effets négatifs du port du masque (transpiration, irritation, sensation d’étouffement). Il a fallu repenser la communication et ses canaux, hausser la voix pour une meilleure perception, faire usage augmenté de son corps et de la gestuelle, multiplier les exemples pour assurer la compréhension.
Des chercheurs de l’université d’Ohio aux Etats-Unis ont analysé des expressions faciales grâce un nouveau logiciel. À partir de 5000 photos réalisées sur230 étudiants — 100 hommes, 130 femmes, 21 émotions du visage ont été répertoriées. Quel bouleversement dans la relation à l’autre une fois le masque porté !
► L’enseignement digitalisé où le masque disparaît, substitué par un visage complet pixelisé avec, en arrière-plan, un fond d’écran standardisé, parfois personnalisé ou encore, en fonction du moment, de l’environnement ou de l’état physique/psychique de l’étudiant, limité à de simples initiales.
À ce stade de mutations contraintes et contraignantes, est apparue une sorte de discrimination technologique : Pour certains, apprenants comme enseignants, l’accès aux réseaux, aux supports, l’installation dans un environnement de travail sain et ergonomique, ont requis investissements et solutions alternatives. Mais tous, apprenants comme enseignants n’en ont pas eu la maîtrise au même moment. Faire preuve d’une certaine tolérance, dans cette situation atypique a engendré, par ailleurs, maintes activités dévoreuses de temps et d’énergie. Et, que dire des heures quotidiennes passées, activement ou passivement devant ces écrans lumineux, véritables « chewing-gums des yeux ».
La classe en distancielle : tout l’art de l’identification.
« La méfiance à l’égard de l’industrie culturelle repose sur trois craintes : qu’elle ne réduise les hommes à l’état de masse et n’entrave la structuration d’individus émancipés, capables de discerner et de décider librement, qu’elle ne remplace dans l’esprit des hommes la légitime aspiration à l’autonomie et la prise de conscience par un conformisme et une passivité fortement régressifs ; enfin qu’elle n’accrédite l’idée que les hommes souhaitent être trompés, fascinés, égarés dans l’espoir confus qu’une sorte de satisfaction hypnotique leur fera oublier un instant le monde absurde où ils vivent. ». I. Ramonet.
Enseigner en kaléidoscope.
C’était bien là nos craintes, face à cette pédagogie d’urgence : réduire nos étudiants à un kaléidoscope de visages ou d’initiales, entraver leur autonomie et favoriser leur passivité, au service d’un programme pédagogique à suivre, les égarer, voire les perdre, face aux produits soporifiques du digital. Indubitablement, la consommation pédagogique du numérique, en cette période de pandémie, s’est vue en augmentation, quel que soit son outil : smartphone, tablette, ordinateur, écran TV Dès le début du premier confinement, cette consommation qui était alors encore ponctuelle en est devenue quasi quotidienne ; le calendrier numérique se substituait à l’emploi du temps classique de la classe : combien d’heures ont été cumulées par nos étudiants devant chacun de ces écrans quelle que soit sa taille, et il en a été de même, bien évidemment pour le corps enseignant. Or, même si famille, étudiant, professeur, direction semblent, à l’heure actuelle, se féliciter d’une telle consommation puisque, effectivement, elle a permis de garder le
contact et d’arriver à la passation des examens, les cours en ligne ont affecté bon nombre de nos étudiants tant sur le plan physique que psychique : Déséquilibre somatique après des heures passées, mal assis, mal installés, mal éclairés devant l’écran. Leurs angoisses sur leur proche avenir — obtention d’un stage opérationnel correspondant à la durée officielle — perturbaient leur concentration pour la majorité d’entre eux. Que dire de ceux qui avaient perdu leurs « petits boulots », aides non négligeables à l’amélioration du quotidien et pour certains, activités professionnelles obligées pour payer une partie de leurs études.
« Face to face », le passage obligé.
Pour les niveaux les plus faibles en langue cible, le fossé se creuse dans un tel contexte, l’acquisition de tournures grammaticales de base ne passe bien et est véritablement réussie que par une interaction directe : « face to face » étudiant/ professeur ou étudiant/étudiant, où les modulations de la voix, la gestuelle et les postures significatives sont de véritables moteurs ou tout au plus des auxiliaires de poids.
En amont de cette mutation pédagogique, nous espérions nos « digital natives », selon l’expression consacrée, plus en accord avec cette forme d’enseignement : réactivité, esprit de synthèse, collaboration avec le groupe classe, accessibilité à toute forme d’information digitale. Or, si le digital récréatif attire nos apprenants, il n’en est pas de même pour le digital pédagogique. Cliquer pour s’amuser n’a pas le même impact sur certains que cliquer pour apprendre. Le comportement passif n’est pas recommandé. Concentration, prise de notes, mémorisation sont des points forts majeurs. Les captures d’écran sont bien loin d’être nécessaires et suffisantes. L’inaction en distanciel est le danger numéro un. Il faut accepter, plus que jamais, d’être acteur de sa formation.
La boîte à outils de l’enseignant 2020-2021.
Repenser la méthode communicative.
Le premier pas est la représentation des publics cibles pour lesquels l’enseignant doit repenser sa méthode, les canaux possibles de communication ainsi que les outils qu’il possède au sein de son établissement et de son propre matériel pédagogique. Il en déduit, ainsi, sa nouvelle stratégie de communication orientée vers l’ensemble des objectifs préétablis de la progression pédagogique, en lien direct avec la classe ciblée, en fonction de la période d’étude (première année, deuxième année, par exemple).
La conception d’une cartographie des apprenants impliqués dans ce nouveau processus d’apprentissage est nécessaire pour repenser la communication en ce temps de crise et exécuter, de cette façon, des scénarios mieux adaptés mais qui modifient sérieusement le temps pédagogique : Connaissance de leurs origines, de leur parcours, de leurs centres d’intérêt, sorte de curriculum vitae abrégé.
Bien évidemment, avoir eu la chance d’évaluer sa classe avant le premier confinement s’est avéré être une réelle chance pour l’enseignant.
Voilà qui incite à programmer un test d’évaluation, au minimum, en semaine de pré-rentrée pour anticiper les fragilités futures en présentiel comme en distanciel.
Une pré-évaluation ou une évaluation critériée, au regard de notre matière à enseigner ou des profils définis recherchés, par exemple, dans l’univers professionnel ciblé de l’Hôtellerie/Restauration/Tourisme, facilite l’organisation pédagogique et les développements pratiques qui s’en suivent.
Repenser ses sources et ses ressources.
Durant cette période, la remise en question des thématiques à exploiter a été de rigueur. Difficile de s’appuyer sur certains articles sélectionnés avant cette pandémie, lors de la préparation des cours. Leurs thèmes et intérêts didactiques n’avaient plus cours. Il fallait, sans attendre, faire preuve de réactivité, oser changer de cap afin de « capturer » ces esprits détournés de l’univers classe par tant d’informations perturbantes.
Éviter les articles au délai de validité expiré.
Lier actualités positives et didactiques a été le moyen le plus sûr de motiver sa classe dans le cadre du cours comme dans celui des questions de partiels. De même, dans l’apprentissage grammatical ou syntaxique, où là aussi il a fallu donner la part belle aux supports choisis. Exemple : L’acquisition de « moins de/plus de » a été réalisée à partir d’un article associé à cette période nouvelle vécue de l’intérieur.
Le télétravail, véritable ami du petit déjeuner.
Moins de transport, c’est plus de temps pour avaler tartines, pancakes et jus d’oranges : le marché explose.
Ceci implique de la part de l’enseignant mais aussi des leaders de chaque classe une « veille numérique » pour repérer sur la toile des productions constructives, enrichissantes, dynamisantes afin de multiplier et consolider les moments de partage entre étudiants, entre classes, entre enseignants. C’est, de fait, se poser régulièrement la question du support utilisé, via quel canal et pour quelle classe ou quel groupe de niveau. Véritable mission chronophage pour s’adapter au mieux à une situation improbable absente bien évidemment de tout manuel de formation.
► Multiplier les différents canaux de communication et en montrer la riche diversité est bien nécessaire au programme.
► Élargir son champ d’investigation lors de toute recherche stimule la créativité
• Les médias traditionnels (presse écrite, radio, télévision, cinéma, affichage, courrier) :
• L’univers du Web : réseaux sociaux, plateformes collaboratives, blogs, presse en ligne, visioconférences, applications mobiles…
• Mais également l’événementiel traditionnel (salons, conférences, formations, réunions…)
Trois exemples abordés et exploités dans le cadre de partiel ou de Titre d’État.
• Quantas, le vol pour nulle part. Voyager autrement.
• Travail sur la parution du Guide Michelin 2021 en cette période de pandémie.
• ONA, premier restaurant végan étoilé.
Il ne faut pas hésiter à prendre appui sur les publications propres au monde de l’hôtellerie/restauration qui ont su « coller » parfaitement à l’actualité par le biais d’articles objectifs et constructifs :
► L’Hôtellerie Restauration
► Le Journal des Palaces
► Hospitality On
► Néo Restauration, par exemple
Mais élargir aussi son observation et exploration par l’intermédiaire de tout type de production (romans, magazines, journaux, documentaires, émissions TV, peinture…)
Véritable balayage médiatique de rigueur.
Sans oublier le « social model actuel incontournable », moyen de communication de toute une génération et des suivantes : Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Twitter, SMS pour lesquels nos étudiants ne manquent pas de motivation.
Thème de réflexion : Prendre appui sur le tableau de peinture pour traiter d’un sujet d’actualité. Fermeture des cafés, restaurants, terrasses. La mise entre parenthèses de la convivialité.
Auguste Renoir, Le Déjeuner chez Fournaise, vers 1879, Art Institute of Chicago.
Remise en question du caractère chaleureux de ces moments de partage : échanges d’idées, de sentiments, de produits de consommation. L’importance du lieu de convivialité pour garantir « la coexistence pacifique et harmonieuse » de différents groupes humains. Maintien des liens sociaux par la création de l’apéritif en visioconférence le fameux « l’apéro Skype »
Paul Cézanne, Les joueurs de cartes,1892-1895, Collection Courtaud, Londres. L’importance du Jeu en ligne pour passer le temps, en ces dures périodes de confinement, pour une jeunesse avide de liberté spatio-temporelle.
La terrasse de café en période de pandémie : craintes, doutes, incertitudes, manques.
Étudiants : souffrance, lucidité et réactivité.
Le choix d’un sujet de partiel, par exemple, s’appuie sur le contexte situationnel afin que l’étudiant extériorise son ressenti et ne décroche pas. L’enseignant prouve, par la mission donnée, qu’il souhaite, voire, éprouve le besoin impérieux d’être à son écoute pour la réussite de son accompagnement en cette période inimaginable avant ce mois de mars 2020.
Un exemple de production écrite, véritable radiographie à un instant T de la situation vécue.
SUJET : Vivez-vous autrement votre formation en Management hôtelier depuis le début de cette pandémie ?
Voici l’une des réponses d’une étudiante, criante de vérité et de fait, des plus significatives transmise, avec l’accord de l’étudiante concernée, à la direction et à quelques collègues, transcrites ici dans son intégralité. Elle illustre de façon claire évidente l’état d’esprit et l’extrême lucidité de nos étudiants.
« Dès lors que nous nous inscrivons dans une école en management hôtelier à Vatel, nous sommes à la recherche du contact social, du lien entre professionnels et étudiants et de l’apprentissage en profondeur des notions qui nous seront nécessaires pour l’exercice de notre future activité. Nous sommes également en quête de développement personnel dans le but d’être fins prêts à démarrer notre nouvelle vie dans le monde du travail. Qu’en est-il de tout cela lorsque nos deux années de master riment avec confinement et cours en ligne ? Il est certain que notre scolarité a été négativement affectée par cette pandémie, voyons de quelles manières.
Tout d’abord, cette pandémie amène des changements sans précédents auxquels nous, étudiants, nous devons adapter afin de ne pas perdre le fil de notre apprentissage.
Certes, nous pourrions citer quelques avantages à ces cours en ligne comme le fait de pouvoir se rendre à l’école depuis son salon en tenue décontractée ou encore de mettre à sonner son réveil quelques minutes seulement avant le début du cours mais, en réalité, force est de constater que ces cours à distances ont beaucoup d’inconvénients. En effet, les cours en ligne nous demandent un niveau d’attention et de concentration beaucoup plus élevé que les cours en présentiel, les fins de journées sont très éprouvantes autant pour nous que pour les professeurs.
De plus, nous n’avons pas tous une situation propice et un lieu adapté à l’apprentissage à la maison ce qui peut mener à un décrochage scolaire dont les conséquences sont dramatiques à notre niveau. Le contact, tant recherché par des étudiants en management hôtelier, devient difficile. Les communications sont sujettes aux problèmes de connexion et il faut parfois s’armer de patience pour entrer en contact avec nos professeurs.
Cette dernière année de master, nous l’attendions avec impatience. Nous nous réjouissions à l’avance de pouvoir profiter de notre dernière année de cours comme il se doit : fêtes, voyages, mais également préparation du stage et du mémoire de fin d’études. La réalité 2020 est pourtant bien loin de nos espérances, encore une fois. En effet, nous sommes contraints de passer nos soirées et weekend enfermés et loin de toute vie sociale. Les célébrations d’anniversaires et les autres sorties en tout genre se font désormais également à distance, depuis notre salon, un verre à la main face à notre écran d’ordinateur. Pour les voyages, peu
d’entre nous osent quitter le pays le temps d’un dépaysement, de peur que les événements actuels nous rappellent à l’ordre.
Cette dernière année entraine la préparation de notre mémoire de fin d’études. Ce travail est source de stress et de questionnement pour les étudiants. C’est par excellence le moment où nous avons le plus besoin de tous nos professeurs et de leurs conseils afin de nous guider au mieux vers l’obtention de notre diplôme. Depuis le début de ce deuxième confinement nous sommes désemparés à l’idée de savoir que nous serons loin physiquement de l’école et de nos tuteurs.
En ce qui concerne le stage, c’est sans aucun doute la plus grosse inquiétude des étudiants. Dans un secteur en principe où trouver un travail est loin d’être une préoccupation, nous nous retrouvons à la fin de nos études dans une industrie qui, quand elle ne ferme pas ses portes, n’emploie plus faute de visibilité sur l’avenir. Il s’agit du pire moment pour rentrer dans la vie professionnelle, et pourtant, c’est notre moment.
La pandémie est aussi synonyme de problèmes financiers pour les étudiants. En effet, nous ne sommes plus capables de continuer nos petits jobs les week-ends et les soirées qui sont pourtant vitaux pour nous. A cause de la fermeture de presque tous les commerces, nous ne pouvons plus travailler et nous sommes en difficulté pour payer nos études et notre loyer.
Retourner chez nos parents pendant ces confinements pourrait être une solution temporaire, mais pour bon nombre d’entre nous, ils résident dans un autre pays, ce qui est d’autant plus compliqué avec les restrictions de déplacements et de voyages. De plus, même si retourner dans son pays natal est autorisé, si le gouvernement venait à prononcer la fin du confinement, le retour en France pourrait prendre quelques jours voire semaines dû à la réduction du nombre de vols et de trains.
Pour toutes ces raisons et bien d’autres encore, le moral des étudiants est mis à rude épreuve. Nous souffrons de la solitude et du manque de nos proches. Nous faisons attention à ne pas rendre visite à notre entourage et cela devient long. L’année la plus attendue de notre scolarité se transforme en cauchemar
Malgré tout, nous sommes jeunes, nous sommes capables de nous adapter à ces changements et nous faisons preuve de courage pour affronter cette situation. Pour l’avenir, certains pensent à poursuivre leurs études afin de ne pas être confrontés immédiatement au monde du travail affecté par la pandémie. D’autres pensent à prendre une année sabbatique pour réaliser des actions humanitaires par exemple afin de laisser l’eau couler sous les ponts, en espérant que cette situation mondiale se soit améliorée d’ici à la fin de leur expérience. Pour les plus courageux qui décident de se lancer dans le monde du travail à la fin de
cette année, ils envisagent d’accepter un travail peu conforme à leur idéal, mais qui leur permettra d’éviter l’inactivité.
En conclusion, nous vivons bien différemment notre scolarité à cause de cette pandémie liée à la covid. Nous sommes distanciés de toute interaction sociale et professionnelle. Nous éprouvons de gros doutes pour notre future insertion dans le monde de l’hôtellerie. Les hôtels ferment leurs portes et nous restons sur le parvis, notre diplôme en main, et l’ambition en tête. Afin de nous aider à mieux vivre l’instant présent et à mieux imaginer notre avenir, peut-être devrions-nous réfléchir à l’impact de l’hôtellerie sur la relance économique.
Nous savons tous que ce secteur est très puissant, il serait donc intéressant d’utiliser tous les potentiels de l’hôtellerie et de la restauration afin d’aider à relancer l’économie. Cela nous permettrait d’être directement intégré dès notre sortie de l’université, de pouvoir en parler dans notre mémoire de fin d’études, mais également de contribuer et d’avoir un vrai rôle à jouer dans l’après coronavirus. »
Devoir de Chloé CULUS, le 8 novembre 2020. Étudiante en Master international dernière année. Vatel Nîmes.
La stratégie des petits cailloux.
Il est important de décupler les canaux de transmission et les supports de communication pour une économie de la voix, en présentiel comme en distanciel, mais surtout pour un maintien constant avec la matière à acquérir.
N’hésitons pas à le répéter, il faut s’appuyer pour cela alternativement sur les médias traditionnels (presse, télévision, radio) et les médias Web : réseaux sociaux, presse en ligne, applications mobiles, plateformes collaboratives, visio-conférence.
L’année zéro du tourisme ne devait pas être l’année zéro du projet.
Le travail de groupe a pris, dès lors, une autre dimension. Ce temps de travail, hors planning de classe, a participé à la découverte ou l’élaboration de projets constructifs et optimistes. Proposer à nos étudiants de s’investir dans différents projets à gérer en quasi-autonomie, a créé une réelle mécanique créative entre les groupes constitués, véritable vecteur de positivité en ces semaines déprimantes.
Le professeur d’apprentissage mixte.
Être un bon “blended learning teacher” ?
Soyez responsable
Soyez disponible pour vos étudiants
Respectez chaque personnalité
Montrez l’exemple
Tenez compte de la gestuelle
Observez regards et attitudes
Soyez à l’écoute de ce qui se dit
Adaptez vos objectifs pédagogiques à la situation et à votre public
Sachez déléguer
C’est un fait qui ne surprendra personne : Assurer nos missions pédagogiques, garder le lien avec nos étudiants ont nécessité un virage à 180 degrés durant ces périodes de confinement. Pour pallier la quasi-disparition du présentiel, la méthode digitale d’apprentissage a sauvé la mise tout en ouvrant, tout grand, la voie à des pratiques 2.0 au sein de tout établissement, pratiques qui montraient à peine, à la rentrée de septembre 2019, le bout de leur nez.
Force est de constater qu’une fois passées les hésitations, les erreurs de manipulations, l’enseignant a pris conscience, pour ses actions futures, de la dynamique apportée par l’exercice du « blended learning ».
À cela s’ajoute l’avantage, pour l’apprenant d’un suivi de formation à son rythme, véritablement à la carte, si l’on a la chance de créer des sous-groupes de niveau et de préparer, en amont, des fichiers accessibles à toute heure respectant l’hétérogénéité de la classe. L’enseignant impliqué ne compte plus ses heures. L’absence de présentiel a différé, parfois annulé, la mise en pratique des points enseignés. Cet e-learning isolé n’a pu, faute de temps, être ajusté, vérifié, reformulé au sein d’un cours en présentiel. C’est sans doute là que le bât blesse. Force est de constater également, qu’il a fallu, souvent, exercer son métier sans compter. La « générosité » du pédagogue a sérieusement participé à la réussite de ces périodes pédagogiques hors norme. Gérer ses classes en distanciel a exigé un dépassement de soi et des horaires rétribués. Certes, pour s’approprier promptement ces nouveaux gestes liés à l’outil numérique mais, principalement, pour « maintenir à flot » constant l’ensemble de nos étudiants.
La classe, via Microsoft Teams, Zoom n’est qu’une « slide » plate, sans profondeur ni épaisseur. Il manque, au professeur, le champ visuel offert par l’univers de la salle, la profondeur et l’espace de la salle de cours.
La réussite du distanciel ne passe que par la connaissance de son public, les forces et faiblesses de celui-ci. Si ce n’est pas le cas, le e-learning devient vite un monologue laissant sur le bas-côté les participants les plus fragiles.
Face à son écran, l’apprenant perçoit mais il a besoin d’échanger, de comparer, d’analyser, de critiquer, donnant ainsi de l’épaisseur à sa perception. Cela exige, assurément, » une dimension temporelle autre que le créneau horaire imparti.
La technologie au service de la pédagogie implique, de la part de l’enseignant, une perception pointue du profil de chaque participant.
La réussite de ce virage pédagogique a été confortée par le fait que nos étudiants avaient, dans la majorité des cas, déjà été en partie évalués. Ce qui a permis, de façon ponctuelle, d’instaurer une transmission à géométrie variable en sous-groupes.
Crédit photo Thierry Laffond
De fait, avant toute pratique pédagogique à distance, il est nécessaire de s’appuyer sur une évaluation de la compétence communicative de la classe.
La relation interhumaine
Apprenant Enseignant/Apprenant Apprenant : se construit sur des échanges verbaux et non verbaux donnant lieu à des schémas spécifiques d’interactions à partir desquels l’enseignant gère sa classe, ses travaux de groupes, son processus pédagogique. Sans connaissance de ces schémas qui peuvent différer d’une classe à une autre, le passage au distanciel est plus aléatoire. Cette « radiographie » en amont est la première clé d’une bonne maîtrise de ce futur travail en distanciel.
Des étudiants OBSERV’ACTEURS.
La majorité des étudiants assiste au cours en distanciel sans laisser d’autres traces, pour bon nombre d’entre eux que leur présence officielle à la séance lors de l’appel. Il nous faut les amener à passer de l’observation à l’action pour qu’ils
deviennent, au plus vite, des « Observ’Acteurs » davantage investis dans cet enseignement numérique. Ceci implique une gestion autre de la classe « numérique ». Problématique à peine effleurée durant ces trois périodes de confinement, faute de temps. L’enseignant immergé dans sa nouvelle mission a, certes, pris conscience de l’importance de l’observation « participante » de ses étudiants mais n’a pu que repérer quelques traces d’activité effective pour certains d’entre eux grâce aux échanges par mail, au retour de travaux personnels, ou aux différents partiels écrits et oraux.
Enregistrer en intégralité les données vidéo de quelques séances et en analyser les passages pertinents permettraient d’avoir une représentation convaincante de l’activité de l’étudiant en distanciel. Nous avons là un véritable sujet de thèse pour un chercheur en ingénierie didactique, curieux de la mise en place de la transformation évidente de ce métier durant cette pandémie.
Les contraintes d’organisation, le facteur temps, l’hétérogénéité des classes, l’enjeu majeur des examens ont mené irrémédiablement à cette interrogation :
Comment amener son public à une démarche réflexive face à son comportement en distanciel ?
Le choc des maux, le poids du boulot pour une adaptation immédiate.
Réussir cette pédagogie à distance a demandé, côté enseignants comme côté étudiants, une adaptation instantanée à ce mode d’enseignement à distance. Maintenir le lien, le consolider, l’élargir même et stimuler la motivation de chacun était essentiel. Difficile, en cours de langue, d’annoncer « présence caméra ouverte et micro fermé », véritable message qui tombe comme un couperet, et va à l’encontre du lien et de la motivation souhaités. Voilà pourquoi, organisation en sous-groupes et planification rigoureuse, ont été les ingrédients essentiels de la bonne marche de cette cadence pédagogique.
Notre public étant de niveau hétérogène, nos apprenants n’ont pas tous eu la même façon de s’organiser dans l’immédiateté. Il a donc fallu multiplier les conseils, les messages par mails individuels et collectifs, via Microsoft Teams comme Moodle. Il en a été de même pour certains étudiants fragilisés, loin de leur famille, mal équipés ou installés, afin d’assurer la bonne compréhension de la mission, du groupe d’appartenance, de l’heure du rendez-vous…
La prise en considération de cette façon de travailler et de la charge du travail exigée était loin d’être évidente pour chacun. Enseigner, c’est répéter, reformuler, développer et cela à tous les niveaux et de façon régulière : il en était de même pour les dates de remise de travaux, ou de prise de parole individuelle ou en binôme, tout comme pour l’établissement des objectifs hebdomadaires et des tâches précises associées.
Privilégier des séances en sous-groupes de niveau, entrecoupées de missions de recherches sur internet ou d’exercices ciblés a participé au maintien du lien pédagogique et à la bonne assimilation du contenu sélectionné. Le PowerPoint a été le fidèle allié de la concentration nécessaire à tout apprentissage. Dès le début de ce virage pédagogique, nous avons réalisé, pour chacune de nos classes, ce type de production afin d’augmenter nos chances de réussite dans le suivi régulier de chaque séance d’étude. Renoncer à de longues séquences de cours en classe complète a favorisé la fidélisation des sous-groupes et facilité l’évaluation en continu des apprenants. Les sachant devant l’écran durant la journée, nous nous devions de limiter ce temps d’écran dans la mesure du possible et d’alterner d’autres activités complétant le contenu du cours. Ceci a impliqué la mise en place rapide de stratégies pédagogiques gérées au cordeau, ce qui sous-entendait une générosité temporelle de la part de l’enseignant : les notions de week-end, d’horaires de cours, de jours fériés se sont estompées pour offrir une réelle « disponibilité anti-stress » dont les étudiants n’ont pas abusé. Nous savoir disponibles les rendait respectueux des contraintes de chacun, liées à la vie professionnelle, familiale et personnelle, enseignant comme étudiant.
Prise de conscience nécessaire.
Chacun de nos étudiants n’avait pas la chance d’étudier dans un environnement propice à cette formation digitalisée : réseau, espace, confort, intimité… ce qui a engendré une certaine tolérance dans le comportement. Qui n’a pas vu passer le chat devant l’écran, entendu la grand-mère souffler une réponse, perçu le bruit de la cuillère dans la tasse de thé ou de café ? Une tolérance nécessaire lors du premier confinement ne dispensant pas de la rigueur propre au retour des missions exigées.
Voilà pourquoi, lors du second confinement, ce constat a sauté aux yeux : bon nombre d’étudiants avaient remédié aux failles de la première période et mieux organisé leur environnement d’études :
• Lieu mieux accessible au réseau internet.
• Espace de travail distant de toute distraction.
• Installation en accord avec l’ergonomie (siège, éclairage, position de l’écran)
• Multiplication des liens entre camarades pour pallier l’isolement, stimuler la motivation et vérifier la compréhension.
De nouveaux défis pédagogiques.
L’enseignant, quant à lui, a dû reconsidérer les axes prioritaires dans le contenu de son cours : « fraîcheur » du document de base, recherche d’informations ciblées pour accroître la curiosité de chacun et pousser à la découverte de documents périphériques proposés à la classe et à des collègues.
Étonner, surprendre, séduire pour sortir de l’univers clos de l’écran plat et du simple matériel de cours.
Le mode d’enseignement à distance exige une grande autonomie. Enseignant et apprenant ont besoin de maîtriser tous les outils à leur portée et en intégrer de nouveaux pour la réussite de cette autonomie. Certains étudiants maîtrisant mieux l’informatique sont devenus des auxiliaires de choix. Ils ont assuré le rôle de guides « serviables » dans ce nouveau cheminement pédagogique, alors qu’en présentiel, leur rôle était plus discret.
Ce mode d’enseignement nécessite aussi une grande discipline personnelle et c’est le relationnel que l’enseignant a établi avec sa classe qui en est le facteur clé. Il revient alors de réfléchir ensemble sur les avantages et bénéfices de ce mode d’enseignement à distance et de redonner un sens à sa formation. Une fois passées les angoisses de cette nouvelle période, l’enseignant a répondu à chacun des appels à l’aide, a été à l’écoute de chaque questionnement, acceptant les échanges utiles, pertinents, parfois même inutiles, mais réconfortants, hors planning, tout en poussant ses étudiants à développer davantage les aptitudes propres au marché de l’emploi (compétences opérationnelles liées à la gestion du temps, de soi, des autres, de toute mission).
Le pouvoir du PowerPoint : Créer pour garder le lien et susciter l’interactivité.
Ce support visuel a été, de façon régulière, l’auxiliaire didactique privilégié. Il a permis aux apprenants de relier perception auditive et réception visuelle. Leur attention était maintenue, leurs échanges augmentés.
En cours de langue, poster un PowerPoint avant son exploitation annule la réactivité de l’étudiant. Une fois en possession du PowerPoint, il pense pouvoir se dispenser d’interactions au moment du cours. En garder la primeur durant le cours en distanciel a favorisé l’écoute, fidélisé le public et intensifié la mémorisation souhaitée.
Pour l’enseignant, cette création régulière de PowerPoints illustre la structuration de son travail et exige la mise en valeur des données majeures du scénario de cours établi. Montrer que son travail visuel est bien documenté sans le rendre pesant, inaccessible, hermétique, tel est l’objectif. Il faut que certaines slides
surprennent l’étudiant en ne correspondant pas à ce qu’il attend afin de rompre le rythme et garder le lien. Cette « mise en slides » du cours en consacre les points forts et en assure la clarté. Elle contraint, avec efficacité, l’enseignant à « donner vie à sa séance » grâce au rythme choisi qui débanalise la structure de chaque PowerPoint.
Nous pensions que cette période COVID 19 n’était qu’une succession de désagréments ou de situations dramatiques. Non ! Ces derniers mois ont aussi initié des formes innovantes de formation où le monde de l’éducation a vu se succéder des expériences pédagogiques synchrones, asynchrones, classes virtuelles. La solution d’apprentissage phygital est même apparue pour des étudiants internationaux dans l’impossibilité de rejoindre leur campus. (X semaines en distanciel, puis X en présentiel, une fois la restriction des voyages levée), soutenue par des kits de formation, de tutoriels et des séances individuelles de coaching, tout comme l’instauration de défis en ligne entre étudiants.
Plus que jamais la technologie est placée au service de la pédagogie. Recruter en virtuel, travailler en virtuel, étudier en virtuel, être « viré » en virtuel, réussir ou échouer en virtuel. Mais alors, ne risque-t-on pas, demain, de perdre totalement, l’attachement à son établissement de formation comme à son entreprise ?
La solution pédagogique serait-elle liée à la création de tutoriels réussis, postés sur YouTube au grand dam du corps enseignant si sensible au décrochage de son public ?
Cette pandémie a été propice à cette éducation « online » dont l’efficacité passagère a été reconnue si l’on oublie rigueur, contrôle, gestion du temps. L’objectif premier était de maintenir, contraints et forcés, le lien et de faire passer les examens, et non celui de mettre fin aux vertus de la formation en présentiel. Il semble que l’une des principales raisons de la nécessité de maintenir la prépondérance du cours en présentiel est assurément que le processus pédagogique va bien audelà de l’univers numérique. En effet, il s’appuie avant tout sur la médiation entre les différents acteurs de l’apprentissage : enseignants, apprenants, parents, responsables d’établissements.
N’oublions pas qu’apprendre est avant tout un engagement social, le résultat d’échanges, de confrontations, de moments de partage auxquels il faut adjoindre corps, posture, gestuelle, intonation, contexte situationnel qui entrent en jeu et ajoutent du sens au message donné. La situation vécue a placé l’outil numérique sur un piédestal, mais l’expérience a replacé au centre de la réflexion de chacun, enseignants comme apprenants, l’importance du lien et de l’échange propre à la
modalité présentielle et l’usage nécessairement raisonné de la formation en ligne pour les formations et les jours à venir.
Covid 19, révélateur des principes du fonctionnement pédagogique. Ce qui est certain c’est que cette pandémie a permis d’expérimenter la capacité d’adaptation des différents acteurs et leur aptitude à se réorganiser et dépasser ainsi, au plus vite, l’état de sidération collective des premiers moments de confinement. Malgré les difficultés dans lesquelles les différents partenaires se retrouvaient pour gérer, former, progresser, la persévérance l’a souvent emporté.
La distanciation sociale, les gestes barrières, le tout distanciel étaient susceptibles de favoriser le décrochage ou l’absence de validation de la période de formation. A l’opposé, ce sont le sentiment d’unité, l’esprit d’équipe, le sens de la responsabilité de chacun qui ont pris prestement le devant de la scène et ont redonné du sens à notre métier de transmission et aux liens créés au quotidien.
Tous les acteurs du monde éducatif ont su se saisir des outils numériques mais ils n’en ont pas fait pour autant leur horizon de formation.
Préserver la pluralité pédagogique, en élargissant la palette des supports, en incluant le numérique mais en sauvegardant sans conteste le fondement même de l’enseignement : l’interaction en présentiel.
Impact et conséquences.
L’enseignant s’est concentré sur sa responsabilité première : prendre soin de ses étudiants en assurant la continuité pédagogique, tout en gérant le rapide passage à ce nouveau modèle de formation.
En ces temps difficiles, appréhender ces changements de manière à gagner durablement la confiance de nos apprenants en état de choc, en ces longues semaines de confinement, maintenait notre rythme professionnel. Cette confiance dépendait de l’attention que chaque enseignant portait, au quotidien, à chacune de ses classes, et, plus largement, à la communauté pédagogique de son établissement. Elle aurait impliqué de partager davantage une stratégie claire et d’expliquer la façon dont étaient prises certaines décisions, pour apporter, de façon régulière, des réponses proactives plutôt que des réactions ponctuelles, afin d’anticiper l’évolution des besoins de l’étudiant lambda comme ceux de l’enseignant débutant et/ou confirmé. Voilà bien le partage attendu pour encore mieux réussir ensemble, demain.
Relever ce défi a été de s’adapter à toutes les situations. Si les interventions différaient d’un enseignant à l’autre, elles se sont s’appuyées progressivement et scrupuleusement sur les bases suivantes : protéger et rendre nos étudiants « fidèles », autonomes, éviter le décrochage, répondre à leurs besoins fondamentaux pour
leur assurer le passage dans la classe supérieure ou l’obtention du diplôme, dans le respect des programmes de formation et les mener, ainsi, à l’emploi.
Ne l’oublions pas : Disponibilité, Générosité, Humanité. Tels ont été les ingrédients majeurs qui ont permis la réussite de nos étudiants en danger durant cette (R)évolution pédagogique. Nous réinventer régulièrement dans le respect des valeurs qui donnent toujours un sens à notre noble métier.
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CIRVATH INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM
HOTEL & TOURISM INDUSTRY
Kanchan KANWAR*
Tanya PILLAY-NAIR**
Joel TIPHONNET***
Murali NAIR****
Dr Godofredo Cristobal UTANES*****
Link to the researchers’ profiles:
https://www.schoolnetwork-sg.com/leveraging-disruption-in-crisis
Keywords: Benildean, COVID-19, Education, HEIs, New Normal, Online Learning.
This research examined how C-level managers of hotel companies capitalized on the Covid-19 impact on business to survive the crisis and differentiate themselves from the competition. Hotels, food and beverage establishments, airlines, booking firms, travel agents suffered due to this global pandemic (Bulin and Tenie, 2020). How did the top decision-makers of hotel property groups cope with the ravaging effects of the worldwide outbreak? This was the key question that this study explored. Most businesses had to accept the demoralizing havoc that came creeping into the doorsteps of the normally vibrant and progressive industry. Yet like little sparks in the midst of the gloomy business environment, there were some hospitality companies that led the way to leverage on this disruption to acquire some competitive advantage (Shah, 2020). Against the backdrop of mandatory quarantines, mandated Covid-19 testing, and lockdowns that affected the travel and tourism businesses in many countries, the researchers of this present study invited C-level executives to serve as interviewees to candidly answer that key question and the other issues that surrounded it.
* MBA, Management Consultant
** BSc, CEO Owner, Training Circumference, Singapore/Adjunct Lecturer, SDH Institute
*** MBA, CEO, CREAXIL Consulting/Adjunct Lecturer, Vatel Singapore
**** BA, Senior Lecturer, Vatel Singapore
***** DBA, Senior Lecturer, Vatel Singapore
This study hoped to unravel the characteristics and the good practices of those establishments in Singapore that emerged above the rubbles of this global disaster. The research aimed further to investigate what strategies seemed to prove effective for these companies to survive, thrive, and enjoy a certain level of profitability. The researchers of this study searched willing participants to answer qualitative questions to fulfill the objectives. The team successfully got the generous participation of 4 top managers (general managers and area managers, GMs/AMs) of luxury class hotels in Singapore. Recorded interviews were transcribed and treated with text and sentiment analysis of qualitative data. AI-powered machine learning tools were used for both transcriptions and data interpretation. From these, recommendations were reported as learning points for other hospitality companies could appreciate and emulate.
Some key findings include the need for hotel GMs/AMs to maintain a balance between optimism and realism, to spur interests in the anticipation of better times, a stronger need amidst this crisis for top-level managers to get much more involved with the operations, to continue to motivate staff for them to in turn innovate and find new ways to recover lost revenues.
The findings of this research hoped to also benefit the members, hospitality operators in Singapore and elsewhere, professional associations, the government, and training and education institutions.
Acknowledgment: Special gratitude to the following without whom this study would not have been possible (in their family names’ alphabetical order): Bruno Cristol (Crown Plaza Changi Airport), Wouter De-Graaf (Sofitel Singapore City Centre), Marcus Hanna (Fairmont Singapore & Swissotel The Stamford), and Oscar Postma (Regent Singapore).
At the time of this writing, one and a half years had transpired since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Already 172 million cases were reported worldwide with 3.5 million deaths. Vaccinations were underway and 2 billion people had vaccine doses across the globe (Covid-19 Map
John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, 2021). Spearheaded by government leaders, countries continued to fight the menace that set down on humanity without warning, the silent killer that left ravaged lives along its path, the phenomenon that aligned itself to world wars from the standpoint of fatality standards.
The travel and tourism industries were among the first victims in this pandemic. Millions of employees around the globe had lost their jobs and aspired to see
the light at the end of the tunnel (Dill, 2021). Hotel, restaurants, airlines, tourist destinations, and other hospitality outfits were forced to shut down or suspended operations in the wake of waves and waves of coronavirus resurgence in all parts of the globe (Kett, 2020; Schoening & Shapiro, 2021).
This research investigated the good practices of luxury hotels in Singapore that confronted the crisis that dawned unwelcomed on humankind in 2020. Despite the overnight wreckage done on tourism and hospitality industries, the subject 4 accommodation establishments chose to arm themselves to the teeth with some help from the government. The study utilized the following criteria to compare the interviewees in their bid to keep their businesses afloat: revenue strategies, crisis management, cost optimization, corporate culture, operating standards, marketing, technology adoption, government support, and others.
This section reports on reviewed literature related to crisis resilience and crisis best practices by scouring through journal articles and other online resources that focused on companies that seemingly overcame the poor fate of others who chose to either close shop or temporarily ceased business operations at very painful costs. A discussion on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on many businesses, particularly the travel and tourism industry, is fitting as an attempt to provide the right perspective on the subject areas earlier pointed out.
During the first semester of the Year 2020 when the world had realized the extent of the devastation caused by the pandemic on human lives and businesses, the International Labor Organization (ILO) had predicted that the outbreak would result in shrinking the global tourism income by almost 60% on the average. Three hundred million jobs were estimated to be lost and most of them coming from the hospitality sector. As hotel properties, food outlets, airline operations, as well as cruise and travel operations had to either slow down tremendously or stopped due to counter-measures to battle the coronavirus, more than half a billion business enterprises were forecast to suffer. The inevitable labor unemployment in all countries of the world with special mention of the tourism industry was a given in this unprecedented global catastrophe (ILO.org, 2020).
In June 2020, STR reported a big drop in the Asia-Pacific region’s hotel occupancy rate lowest at 35.8% in May 2020. Average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) decreased by 40.2% and 68.5%, respectively. However, Singapore’s hotel industry on average experienced some degree of relief with the
expectedly short-term subsidies for stay-home-notice (SHN) arrangements to house foreign workers and travelers coming back to Singapore who were tested Covid-19 positive. STR, therefore, reported only an 8.8% decrease in average occupancy and among the lowest reductions in ADR and RevPAR in the region (HotelNewsNow.com, 2020).
Levy et al. (2020) reporting that this pandemic is more than five times ruthless as the previous recession-yielding crises, aptly indicated that there were business entities that emerged resilient despite the gruesome impact on global and a country’s economy. The authors observed that these companies’ financial performances stood above the others in terms of profit margins, remarkable revenues, and strong retained earnings.
This paper’s objectives could not be fully achieved if there was no investigation on how the Singapore government, more specifically, supported the various industries during this time of crisis. Mr. Ravi Menon, who served as the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), aptly reported on the measures that were extended to the public particularly working individuals and the business sector. The discussion on actual monetary support was swiftly rolled out to households and the market was capped by the rationale behind the government’s action, namely: ensuring resilience as opposed to pure dole-out in the areas of corporate finance, technology, employment, risk management, and business borrowings, among other things (MAS.gov.sg, 2020).
Most, if not all, business establishments around the world had no choice but to implement hygiene, safety, and sanitation in their premises. Among the recommendations that the ILO had proposed in their follow-up articles regarding the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on labor were for enterprises to maintain social distancing measures among customers and employees, for governments and similar authorities to provide access to PPEs (personal protective equipment) to labor and organizations, regular Covid-19 testing, and open constant dialogues between various elements and parties as everyone is affected by the pandemic. Crisis orientation and gearing-up for future disasters were also highlighted for all sectors to embark on (ILO.org, 2020).
In McKinsey & Company’s report on business firms had displayed remarkable resilience with the best efforts including but not limited to employee empowerment, digital transformation, adaptable supply lines, transformed leadership, and more value-based growth strategies (Levy et al., 2020).
Despite the adverse outcome of the global crisis, great hospitality firms managed to deflect the risks of totally disappearing in the battered markets where they thrived. Domio Boutique Hotels, located in the USA, offered free stays and attractive discounts. In Hawaii, the family-owned travel firm, Kauai Soul Travel, pivoted to personal shopping and delivery service of groceries, at the same time still operated at limited capacity with the assurance of sanitized tour vehicles with staff observing physical distancing and mask-wearing. Yet another company, the Coeur d’Alene Casino resumed casino operations with the assurance of sanitation, wearing of masks, temperature testing, social distancing implementations, giving customers peace of mind during the coronavirus outbreak. Also focused on to the public hygiene regimens, social distancing and wearing of face masks was limo service firm, Vegas Party People. The cruise enterprise, Sixthman, shifted to onshore events after halting cruises while waiting out the suspension of restrictions to operating during the pandemic (Peek, 2020).
Focusing on non-numerical data, qualitative research explores to relate the story of individuals as well as groups capturing interviewees’ personal accounts expressed in texts and supported by gestures and attitudes retold by researchers (Merriam and Grenier, 2019). This present study’s writers chose the qualitative method that they deemed as the best approach for covering as much sentiments as there might be especially having top executives in Singapore’s hotel industry as respondents.
Personal interviews were conducted via Zoom, a cloud-based online facility intended for video conferencing, online seminars, and meetings (webinars) with embedded chat boxes and other functionalities (Zoom.com, 2020). The interview schedule consisted of 32 psychographic questions that were first emailed to the interviewees before the actual Zoom sessions. The questions covered the general areas of revenue strategies, crisis management, cost optimization, corporate culture, operating standards, marketing, technology adoption, government support, and others. The names of the interviewees were concealed to avoid any possible breach of confidentiality. See Appendix (Interview Questions).
There were 4 C-level executives conveniently selected by the research team, business acquaintances and friends, who were willing to spare their valuable time in support of the objectives of this research. Each interview session spanned from 45 to 75 minutes, recorded and later transcribed. Transcription was done using Otter. ai, an AI (artificial intelligence)-powered machine language platform perfect for live transcription (voice to text) (otter.ai). Thus, close to 450 minutes of recorded interviews were transcribed that the researchers of this study interpreted.
After the transcriptions, the resulting texts were summarized highlighting the main responses to the questions that covered 9 criteria, namely: revenue strategies, crisis management, cost optimization, corporate culture, operating standards, marketing, technology, government, and others. These criteria were agreed on by the researchers as those that best cover the widest yet concise range of topic areas relevant to the current research.
The transcribed data in the form of pure text were subjected to another AI-powered machine language digital platform, nVivo, with the capability to process data to form an organized word frequency table with its corresponding word cloud. This procedure assisted the researchers to validate captured responses from the personal interviews, supporting the generation of key findings fulfilling the objectives of this research.
The following discourse discusses the key findings of this research. As the narratives resulting from the transcribed interviews were voluminous, the researchers analyzed the responses, abbreviated into a more easily comprehensible format. The following table summarizes these responses across 9 criteria according to the 4 hotel-group C-level officer respondents, i.e., GMs (General Managers) and/ or AMs (Area Managers). The 9 criteria consisted of revenue strategies, crisis management, cost optimization, corporate culture, operating standards, marketing, technology, government, and others. This was the same order as the interview questions were asked of each informant. See Table 1, Interview Text Summary, Four Singapore-Based Hotel Group GMs/AMs.
In Table 1 below, it was clear that all interviewees appreciated the governments help to provide hotels the option to participate in the “Stay Home Notice” (SHN) program where they were paid by the government to provide 14-day accommodations, albeit quarantined, to people who fly into Singapore before getting cleared to mingle with society. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2021) reported that the Singapore government had committed to bear the SHN costs for Singaporeans as well as visitors who entered Singapore with the cut-off date of March 27, 2020. This program essentially provided hotels a financial reprieve. These included three out of the four informant hotel groups in this research represented by their respective GMs/AMs. SHN contributed from short of 50% to 78% of the gross occupancy rate according to the interviewees. It was interesting to note that not all hotels chose to participate in this program. One of the four GMs/AMs who
served as interviewee in this study felt that the damage to the brand image and brand equity were not the desired strategy.
Most hotels benefited from the Food & Beverage (F&B) business though as Singaporeans were still ordering food and when the Circuit Breaker was lifted, restaurants were the first to see businesses pick up. MICE and wedding events that normally made use of hotels’ convention rooms and multipurpose spaces were still inactive and had since seen some slow recovery.
The focus was directed towards the local markets and many hotels had started “Staycation” packages supported by the government. These have proven to be popular as borders across the globe remain relatively closed. All the informant GMs/AMs pivoted to launch staycation campaigns and successfully achieved from 30% to 40% of additional revenues.
Some hotels had opened their lounges to people who needed co-working places to conduct meetings and discussions over coffee/tea. Moreover, many lodging and accommodation establishments focused on the way these services were being provided to set them apart from their competitors. Some hotels, for example, chose to equip their rooms with additional amenities like treadmills and yoga mats to encourage exercising in the room as well as indoor children’s tents to support family-friendly staycations. These efforts support Levy et al. (2020) regarding resilient practices during the crisis.
The interviewees were unanimous in highlighting to pinpoint cost reduction when they formed up their respective emergency crisis buster teams. Relying on the senior management members to spearhead the tackling of the crisis, organizations rushed to assess the gravity of the situation. Most of the GMs/AMs avoided reckless retrenchment exercises as these would exacerbate the already low morale caused by the uncertainty brought about by the global crisis. Property owners were hesitant to hold on to the same staff compliments against the persistence of the interviewees to observe a conscientious and yet balanced approach to redundancies.
All the interviewees eventually had to confront the issue of right sizing. The temporary staff and some outsourced manpower were the first to go, followed by foreign staff, then those whose performance were below par. They did however avoid those who were most critical to hotel operations. For some who were due, there was forced but graceful retirements. Team members who were stranded in Malaysia across the causeway were given the choice to take long leaves, some of which were paid ones while others were offered volunteered leaves, though
unpaid, but with the guarantee to be redeployed if and when the crisis situation changed for the better.
Room amenities, upon the urging by the government, were removed from the hotel premises. These included books, magazines, coffee makers, bathroom necessities, everything that could prove to risk the spread of the coronavirus.
It was notable that the interviewees tried their best to strike a balance between the property owners’ cost-cutting instincts and staff morale. Everyone was happy to express their gratitude to the former for affording some elbow room for the GMs/AMs to make wise decisions not only with short-term tactics but more so foreseeing future impact. All interviewees emphasized the criticality of shifting immediately to maximum health and safety policies, implementing them with swift reactions, and protecting guests and employees alike. At the core of the changes, the GM/AM respondents did not lose sight of sustaining the guests’ memorable experience, i.e., absolute health and safety while they avail of a similar or better degree of lodging comfort. Yet, there was the general agreement among the respondents that safety and hygiene took some added precedence over guest comfort if and when these two matters collided. Just like the case studies of Peek (2020), these hotel GMs/AMs showed resilience and deflect the risks amidst the crisis.
To generate as much revenue as possible it was important to remove ambiguity and make full use of data analytics with technology to analyze real time the successes of other properties in the group to apply it to the Singapore context. Teams visualized which next moves to take in anticipation of revenue opportunities in a fast-changing landscape. GMs felt a strong responsibility to the property owners to keep the business afloat. See Table 1, Interview Text Summary, Four Singapore-Based Hotel Group GMs/AMs. (The 1st of 10 pages is shown here to save space. The rest of the table can be seen at: https://www.schoolnetwork-sg. com/leveraging-table).
Given the extremely severe impact of the pandemic on hotel frequentation, it became a key imperative to protect profit by taking measures to immediately reduce operating costs. The interviewees took initial measures that were aimed at immediately reducing labor costs. Reduced working hours combined with lower salaries were first put into practice. Staff were also presented with the possibility of unpaid leave and sabbatical holidays on a volunteer basis.
Opportunities to combine roles were also initiated as activity levels were reduced across the board. Though partial redundancies were targeted, hotel managers were conscious that too much of it might have a very negative impact on employee
morale and might make it difficult to hire when business would come back to normal with adequate staffing levels. It was particularly critical not to lose high performers to competition.
Reduced occupancy rates naturally led to lower variable costs across all activities. Initiatives to lower the cost of purchased goods were implemented across areas of F&B, housekeeping, cleaning, maintenance. The pandemic crisis had virtually accelerated the implementation of several centralized purchasing initiatives across properties, countries and regions.
It has to be noted that cost reduction associated with health, safety, and cleanliness were carefully reviewed not to be detrimental to the respect of high standards. The lower levels of normal activity had also resulted in the creation of project-based task forces to focus on reexamining activities aiming at increasing productivity over time.
The importance of maintaining a healthy corporate culture during the difficult times was unanimously highlighted by all our interviewees. The key to this appeared to be communications between all levels of the organization chart. See Table 1.
Some common methods of communications practiced were regular townhall meetings and Zoom meetings with a focus on being genuine and transparent with staff. YouTube channels were created to convey uplifting messages and where some fun interactive activities were conducted to foster a tight family-oriented spirit, resilient to hardship and difficult times.
There was also the emphasis on ensuring the change in hygiene requirements did not change the warmth with which the service touchpoints were carried out. Many of the hotels made staff wear name tags with their faces on it – since the use of masks hid everyone’s smiles.
A culture of empowerment in decision making, resulted in some very successful revenue generating initiatives that made a big difference to the financial performance. Some examples of this included cake sales during Mothers’ Day when staff across several departments worked overtime to generate sales. When some initiatives did not work, they pivoted to other ideas that did work and this kept the organization and the team members happy.
Hotel Group D
C-Officer D
Occupancy rate prior Covid was 80%, went down to 25% to 35% industry wide during the crisis
Did not go for SHN after weighing pros and cons, SHN was a risk for the property
With good sales and revenue team, successfully sold staycation packages, launched the first family staycation packages in Singapore
Hoped that the Hong KongSingapore travel bubble would materialize
Dining-in was growing again, relied on wedding events
Hotel Group C C-Officer C
70% drop in sales, early yearend dropped by 50%, but could improve to 80% in the end
During the crisis, experienced the complete opposite, i.e., higher revenues split between rooms and F&B
No staycation business due to SHN guests but might let go or 2 or 3 floors to give way to the more profitable staycation business
Some hotel properties did 30% to 40% of total revenues from staycation
Made F&B more attractive for SHN guests to order there more, but Grab and Food Panda deliveries competed with that
Covid was not like the SARS days where recovery was within six months
Upselling to SHN guests was not allowed by the government
Wedding events came back to add more revenues
Hotel Group B C-Officer B
Increased sales from deliveries and take-away food from the restaurants
Sold wines at good margins
Created 4 platforms now being sold to other hotels, namely: online check-in-check-out, online guest room, restaurant ordering system, and online banquet managerbecame successful revenue streams
Also created the gift certificate platform for hotels, also successful
Staycation revenues increased
Restaurant guests increased as well, especially the high-tea market
Opened 7 out of 13 F&B outlets, only those that could make money (profits)
SHN was 78% of supply
Sold a lot of mooncakes
Hotel Group A
C-Officer A
Stay-home notice (SHN) guests provided steady revenues
Staycation at 30% to 40% of supply
Extended-stay, regular guests helped in generating more sales for the hotel properties
Hourly-stay market provided added revenues
Food deliveries increased property revenues by 20%
Four Singapore-Based Hotel Group GMs/AMs.
Criteria
1. Revenue Strategies
Table 1. Interview Text Summary
Note: This is the 1 st of the 10 pages of this table. The complete table can be seen at: https://www.schoolnetwork-sg.com/leveraging-table
In operations, the respondents indicated that they had to focus on safety and cleanliness complying with the government’s hygiene and safety requirements. Due to the fluid nature of the situation, plans were developed with multiple scenarios. That included job redesign and deploying staff with assigned multiple tasks. There were staff rotations and if ever possible, work-from-home (WFH) conditions were imposed especially during the first phases of the governments’ concerted campaigns. The interviewees were mused by the fact that WFH policies could be implemented in the hotel business, particularly for back-of-house staff like the GM’s office, sales and marketing, finance, and HR.
New and drastic policies mandated more resources to be deployed in public areas in the property premises such as bathrooms, lifts, lift landings, and various touchpoints. Sanitizers were made available in main lobbies, concierge areas, lift lobbies and front desks. Safe entry and temperature checks were installed in the reduced number of designated hotel entrances. Face masks were made compulsory to be worn by all staff in and out of the property buildings. The same was required of guests when they got out of their rooms.
No full buffets in the F&B outlets inside the hotels were also observed as they were suspended by the government in the heat of the coronavirus pandemic (Zoey, 2020). No dine-ins also were allowed during these initial stages of 2020 as well as gatherings were limited to only a few people, i.e., less than 10 at a time (Lai, 2021).
Common among all the interviewees was the fighting spirit that they and their hotel staff displayed during the thick of the crisis. Creative and innovative ways of marketing were put out in the open to get back the initial 70% drop in hotel revenues. Hotel teams rallied to quickly pivot to new markets. One that was very successful in positioning itself as a hub for international corporate guests took no haste to shift to the local family market.
Staycations were the new product line added to the dwindling regular hotel packages. What prevailed were luxury accommodations advertised at mostly 50% off the average hotel rates within promo periods. Moms were enticed to avail of spa pampering offers while parents were given the option to bring their toddlers for indoor tent experiences. Thousands of promo vouchers were released to loyalty program members to take advantage of big discounts. Distribution channels shifted from the OTAs (online travel agents) to direct channels.
Restaurant sales generally increased hotel revenues due to opening up or expanding distribution strategies through home deliveries and take-aways in collaboration with home delivery vendors. Sales of food products like moon cakes during peak seasons led to added revenues capitalising on social media marketing. Only a few of the traditional advertising campaigns were done through traditional approaches. Digital presence reached an unprecedented heights during the crisis.
In the midst of all the hard work and creativity, the GM/AM interviewees were hopeful that the travel bubble between Singapore and Hongkong which were announced by the government would come to reality. This boost in the travel and tourism industry would certainly help change the landscape of the hotel business, a relief in Singapore’s hotel industry that is top of any GMs’ and AMs’ wish lists.
All the respondents expressed their heavy reliance on technology during the pandemic as the market, mostly local, shifted swiftly to online canvassing for service suppliers and in a massive way online purchasing. The interviewees beefed up whatever online capabilities that were already in place. Hotels embraced the purview of e-commerce in the quickest and most effective means possible that would generate much-needed revenues.
Other IT-related and Internet-based adaptations included robots, AI (artificial intelligence) platforms, digital ordering systems, and marketing-related technologies. One of the respondents went beyond the norm by developing online software that the hotel group sold to other hotels and restaurants.
The respondents were overly appreciative of the support of the Singapore government during the crisis. Everyone availed of the government’s job support scheme (JSS) whereby the government subsidized the salaries of residents employed by their hotel groups. The interviewees also availed of training grants up to 90% of tuition fees that allowed staff to go for courses relevant to hotel jobs. This was instead of laying off excess staff, gearing manpower up in preparation for the reopening of the economy.
The interviewees admitted that without timely government support, they would have found it extremely difficult to weather through the global crisis. These measures were aligned with what Mr. Ravi Menon who served as managing director of MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) reported that the Singapore government extended to the public during this critical time (MAS, 2020).
The interviewees were generally emphatic on the reality that the crisis had placed everyone practically on the same footing, challenged to survive the pandemic, to preserve individual livelihood and protect the shareholders’ wealth. It was a realization that there was an entirely norm in the hotel industry in Singapore and around the world, in fact, in most industries. It was all about pivoting to the unexpected. To survive, one has to ride the tide by employing creative ways to do business. While online meetings would not replace weddings, meetings and corporate incentives as a revenue stream for hotels, face-to-face engagements and enriching the guests’ experience was still the staple for service industries. Thus, hotel management and staff had to put their attention to both short-term goals and long-term strategies. These findings support Levy et al. (2020) who referred to growth-based strategies in such chaotic times.
Staff needed to change their mindset radically, to embrace new skills and double their efforts to multi-task much more than before. Everyone had to be committed to the job much more than before.
Schools had to consciously inculcate in the students’ and trainees’ minds to be flexible on the job, as their new reality would require them to multi-task as manpower would be leaner. Students who were taking hospitality, travel, and tourism courses did not have to be too worried that the industry would not resurrect from its ruins. They however should be ready to embark on familiarity and comfort in using technology as a means to propel the organization to success. Education providers needed to look into topic areas for incorporation in their curriculums such as safety, hygiene, health, revenue management, and digital marketing. See Table 1.
In validating the qualitative data and to find out the overall interviewees’ sentiment, the researchers subjected the transcribed data to an AI-powered machine language digital platform called nVivo. An organized word frequency table and its corresponding word cloud were extracted with this tool. These outcomes provided some insights into the actual sentiments of the respondents (sentiment analysis) (Pudaruth et al., 2018). See Table 2 (Word Frequency) and Figure (Word Cloud). The word frequency (Table 2) of the top 100 highest word frequencies indicates the word “change” with a weighted percentage of 6.8% was the word most mentioned by the interviewees. It was followed by “think” with a 4.33% weighted average. Other words that the researchers found significant to this study were “evaluating,” “active,” “make,” “active,” organization,” “events,” “move,” “act,” “need,” “structured,” “hotel,” “operations,” “connect,” and “know.” With the
researchers’ analysis of the personal dispositions, facial expressions, voice tones, and gestures of the interviewees during the online interviews, it could be gleaned that the general sentiment of positivity was common among all the respondents.
Figure (Word Cloud) shows a graphical representation of the sentiment analysis processed through nVivo used in validating qualitative data. It showed the word “change” in dark blue color and possesses the biggest size among all the other 100 words processed. The researchers interpreted this as a common expression, that is, that the GMs/AMs’ positive outlook towards the crisis is bundled with the acceptance of the crisis condition and that they had to change their ways if they were to survive. The blue-colored words that seem to associate with “change” are “move,” “period,” “number,” “place,” and “need.” From this word cluster, it could be gleaned that the interviewees translated their concept of adapting to the crisis into tangible actions. The other prevailing word cluster in the word map colored light brown is composed of “evaluating,” “happening,” “structured,” “make,” “organization,” “accept,” “connect,” “hold,” “anticipation,” “support,” “like,” “see,” and “focus.” From these associated words, there was no revelation of negative expressions whatsoever. They also added to the researchers’ interpretation that the radical shift in mindset was not theoretical but applied effectively into the grim crisis situation. This supports the overwhelming outcomes in most if not all the criteria used in this study.
Despite the variety of approaches that the hotel GMs/AMs who served as interviewees in this study deployed during the pandemic, they were one in maintaining a balance between optimism and realism. Management needs to encourage the anticipation of better times in the near future while discouraging the “wait and see” mentality that fosters stagnation. Hence, forecasting exercises were still conducted in detail with clear assumptions in place and all staff were involved in this.
When asked about their own hotel group’s having acquired any leverage over the crisis that disrupted the hotel industry, there was a common sentiment that while their individual resilient strategies put them at a vantage position over the competition, everyone was in the same boat, to keep their businesses above water. In other words, the probable differentiation these strong industry players would have achieved was not realized as a predominant characteristic of leveraging disruption brought about by the pandemic. This was as it was originally hypothesized by this study’s researchers.
There was also a stronger need amidst this crisis for top-level managers to get their hands dirty and get involved with the operations to keep the spirits up and
to make up for the shortage of staff across all departments. A common sentiment among the interviewees was the belief that they needed to prepare all staff to pivot quickly and effectively when situations change. This was particularly crucial during times of uncertainty and frequently evolving circumstances. Generally, it was felt that hotels would need to have a stronger focus on health risk management when designing customer experience concepts. The way this was done would differentiate products and services provided and ultimately determine success or failure.
As far as distribution channels go, it was felt that, then more than ever, hotels had to start developing direct marketing strategies through their own websites and social media networks. This would probably be easier to do for the larger chains and there might just be more independent brands collaborating with larger chains on marketing and sales efforts.
There were a couple of constraints that the researchers encountered during the conduct of this research. One was the challenge of having at least 6 interviewee respondents that could strongly justify qualitative data interpretation (Eisenhardt, 1989; Carbtree, & Miller, 1992; Curran, & Blackburn, 2001; all cited in Ponelis, 2015; as all cited in Utanes, 2018). Amidst the pandemic, the researchers had strived to search for possible respondents who occupied C-level positions in hotels, preferably general managers, operations directors, or area managers. It was a daunting task. This was because of possible apprehensions of the ramifications from information shared to the public that might adversely affect corporate directions in the midst of a very sensitive period in the industry. Nevertheless, considering that the 4 interviewees in this study were all high-level executives and the generosity of sharing certain information that could be considered confidential, the researchers believe that it made up for the sampling deficiency.
The other limitation points to the justification of the sample respondents as stated by Sandberg (2005) as regards transgressive validity giving reference to the so-called “search for contradictions in the interviewees’ responses.” This called for gender representation in the choice of respondents. Premised on the above difficulty to find top brass respondents from industry, the interviewees in this study were all male GMs/AMs.
At the time of writing this study, the pandemic had not yet improved. Thus, corporate mindsets should remain vigilant first regarding the control of the spread of the coronavirus and second pertaining to the resilient efforts that needed to be exerted to achieve business sustainability more than ever in the lives of enterprises. Hygiene, safety, and health have to be prioritized in all hotel and tourism-related premises. The manager should continue to strike balance between guests, employees, and shareholders. Each one has strong interest in the business. Each one calls management attention to satisfy needs and wants, namely: safety with a memorable experience, job security, and business survival. Thus, anyone who takes the helm should navigate through rough waters with caution and intelligence, ever-mindful of the evolving risks affecting the business, mainly from the clutches of the silent adversary and the competitive environment where rivals all trying to lure the same small local market.
Hospitality professionals are wary of losing their livelihood in the backdrop of the struggling tourism industry. Therefore, continuous skills retooling and job flexibility should not be shunned at all costs. Rather, thinking should be directed towards more creativity and innovation to help organizations pivot to activities that could generate revenue streams.
Schools preparing students in the hospitality and tourism profession ought to open up to new horizons to prepare future leaders and professionals for the rough waters ahead. Skills development that could help young minds in many sought-after and scarce job places should incorporate digitalization familiarity, risk management, health and safety, as well as crisis administration, among the few.
Governments remain a key driver of business survival and protection of life and property especially during this time of global upheaval. Thus, personal interests should be set aside in favor of the welfare of the public.
Further studies that could spin-off from this research could include one where respondents are from the lower-class hotels, i.e., upscale, midscale, or economy scale. Independent hotels would also be a good subject for a similar inquiry. Moreover, separate researches could be in the areas where interviewees are from the other hospitality and travel industries such as food, airlines, travel agencies, and destination outfits following a similar set of research objectives. The quantitative approach could likewise be resorted to as a research method to solicit and interpret data.
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1. What was the business situation before the Covid-19 crisis? Estimated occupancy? Level of revenue vs. annual targets?
2. How is it now during this Covid-19 crisis in terms of hotel occupancy, level of revenue, or against annual targets?
3. What are the ways you turned to or have done in order to sustain or survive your business during this crisis?
4. Did strategies like bundling and other revenue-building strategies among the measures you looked into and are implementing? Kindly elaborate. If not, what other measures?
5. Did you make any staff redundant due to the crisis? If so, how many? Which staff positions? What criteria did you use to prioritize which positions or staff you had to let go of?
6. Alternatively, did you reduce staff salaries, reduce working hours, or any of that sort of action that you thought was necessary?
7. What other changes did you make in the operation of your business since this pandemic begun?
8. What is the rationale or philosophy behind the changes in your overall business strategies?
9. What issues did you encounter in making these changes? How did you address those issues?
10. What other cost-cutting approaches or strategies are you doing now?
11. How long do you think the business changes you made will last?
12. What issues did you encounter in making these changes related to your corporate culture?
13. Did you have to introduce or instill a new culture regarding staff and guests that are entirely different from before? Please explain.
14. What specific operations-related improvements did you have to make that involved hygiene, safety, and health?
15. Would you like to share how your hotel operation is able to overcome the adverse effects of the crisis in general specifically referring to quality, productivity, staff efficiency, and the like?
16. Do you believe that customer needs have changed substantially as a result of this crisis? If yes, how?
17. Do you feel that your hotel gained a little bit more advantage over your competitors due to the Covid-19 pandemic? Kindly elaborate. What criteria or basis did you identify in gaining the advantage?
18. Is there a necessity to do a market retargeting? If so, which market would be logical for you to tap? And why?
19. Did you have to restructure your customer loyalty program? Kindly elaborate.
20. What is the hotel doing to tap online platforms and social media? Could you elaborate, please?
21. Much of online space is being utilised right now to reach out to customers. Could you elaborate, please?
22. At the outset, everyone is talking about the increased role of technology in hotel operations. Could your share your insights on this?
23. What do you see as the new roles of technology when this crisis is over?
24. Do you find the support of the Singapore government for businesses like yours to be substantial during this current situation? Which specific support was extended to you by the government?
25. If not, what other assistance do you think the government could still provide the hotel industry to weather this kind of calamity?
26. What about for individuals, what do you think can the Singapore government further provide to thrive well in this crisis?
27. Some people say that it is not easy to predict when the crisis will be over. Do you agree with this? If so, why? If not, why not?
28. What do you think are the type of preparations that hotel staff as individuals need to do right now in anticipation of the reopening of the economy in the future?
29. What do you think are the type of preparations that hotel organizations need to do right now in anticipation of the reopening of the economy in the future?
30. What radical changes in your assessment would help the industry to survive?
31. What permanent changes do you see happening in the tourism landscape?
32. Do you have any other comments and suggestions?
Thank you.
The current Covid-19 pandemic has hit worldwide economies while exerting a particular influence on the hospitality sector. This crisis is, however, not the first one in scope for family-owned and managed businesses which account for a significant percentage of businesses in the industry. Family businesses have managed to thrive and strive during significant crises in the past, oftentimes over several generations. As such, they have built strong resilience that proves key to navigate the current crisis. This study explores why and how family businesses in hospitality are managing the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis and preparing for the post-crisis by conducting a multiple case study of eight hospitality family businesses. The findings show predominant perceptions among family businesses regarding the impact and outlook of the crisis and their engagement in four main directions, which support the development of a multidimensional model of resilience. The practical implications are meant to inspire both current and future managers in the hospitality sector about family business intricacies and crisis management towards sustainability.
Keywords: Crisis – Family Business – Resilience – Hospitality – Tourism.
* EDHEC Family Business Research Centre – EDHEC Business School Former lecturer in Finances at VATEL Bordeaux (rania.labaki@edhec.edu).
The COVID-19 crisis stands as a testing time for the hospitality industry, magnifying its existing challenges and posing additional ones, through its overall impact on tourism. According to The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourism is among the most affected sectors, with hotels closed and travel restrictions put in place in all countries around the world1. While most of the hospitality organizations are controlled by families (La Porta, Lopezde-Silanes & Shleifer, 1999; Westhead & Cowling, 1998; Wooldridge, 2015), limited knowledge exists about how this crisis’ impact has been perceived in terms of challenges to address, and how it was echoed in their early practices and strategies (e.g., Breier, Kallmuenzer, Clauss, Gast, Kraus, & Tiberius, 2021; Kraus, Clauss, Breier, Gast, Zardini, & Tiberius, 2020).
Additionally, The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer Report2, released in May 2021, suggests that uncertainty remains high due to the ongoing pandemic and surge of new variants, the travel restrictions still in place and the uneven rollout of vaccines. International tourist arrivals dropped by 83% in the period JanuaryMarch 2021 compared to 2020, as consumer confidence remains low in the face of the pandemic. Still, 60% of experts expect a rebound in 2022 while the remaining 40% a rebound in 2021, mostly during the second half of the year. Looking farther than 2022, nearly half of all experts point to a return to 2019 pre-pandemic levels in 2024 or later, with 37% in 2023. Given this relatively optimistic outlook, there is also a need to explore how family businesses operating in the hospitality sector are intending to prepare the post-pandemic era.
Exploring family businesses’ behavior in such an uncertain context is particularly relevant (Pieper, 2020) as, unlike their non-family business counterparts, they have managed to thrive and strive during significant crises in the past, oftentimes over several generations (Amann & Jaussaud, 2012; Stafford, Danes, & Haynes, 2013). According to recent observations during the Covid-19 pandemic, they have been also able to better perform than other organizations (Amore, Quarato, & Pelucco, 2021; Klerk, 2020).
Family businesses are defined as organizations who are managed and controlled by at least two members related by family relationships and who have the intention to pass on the business to the next generation3. As such, they have the ability to build resilience along the crises they face over their life cycle, and which might prove key to navigate the current crisis.
1 https://www.unwto.org/international-tourism-and-covid-19
2 https://www.unwto.org/unwto-world-tourism-barometer-data
3 Albeit numerous definitions of family business, this article builds on the European definition which stems from a consensual group work. It is presented in more details via the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/supporting-entrepreneurship/family-business_en
Based on an exploratory qualitative study of family businesses in hospitality, this article’s findings suggest a conceptual model of their resilience characteristics, in line with their actual behavior managing the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis and their behavioral intentions to prepare for the post-crisis.
The remainder of this article is structured as follows. First, a state-of-the-art reviews the existing theoretical and empirical studies on the peculiarities and challenges of family-owned and managed businesses in the hospitality industry. Then, the methodology of an exploratory qualitative study is presented and followed by the analysis of the data and discussion of the findings. Lastly, the article concludes with the limitations from which stem future research directions as well as the contributions on the theoretical and practical levels.
Although still in its nascent stages (Fonseca & Carnicelli, 2021) and mainly published in tourism rather than in hospitality books and journals (Getz & Carlsen, 2005), the literature on hospitality family businesses identifies characteristics relative to their emergence and development. Bridging the family business and hospitality literatures, three main specificities and related challenges can be identified. These include the entrepreneurial and strategic orientation, the stakeholders’ relationships and the sustainable development.
Unlike their non-family counterparts, family businesses pursue socio-emotional wealth (SEW) in addition to the traditional financial wealth (Gomez-Mejia, Haynes, Nunez-Nickel, Jacobson, & Moyano-Fuentes, 2007). Socio-emotional wealth refers to a number of components such as the identification and emotional attachment of family members with the family business, the binding social ties, and the renewal of family bonds through succession (Berrone, Cruz, & GomezMejia, 2012). This puts forward the challenge for family businesses to balance financial wealth and SEW or to privilege one over the other as they are transferred over generations. The extent of each component of the wealth creation and preservation equation can differ, in fact, across family businesses, viewed as heterogeneous organizations on many fronts including in terms of the industry in which they operate.
In their state of the art of family businesses operating in tourism, Getz and Carlsen (2005) find them often centered on a vision which places their personal or family needs and preferences ahead of their growth and profit maximization. As
entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial families, the owners and managers are predominantly motivated by their lifestyle and their localization preferences when they start or take over the family business. The financial considerations are viewed as of secondary importance while being characterized by a long-term orientation. Overall, the studies tend to show that the hotels owned and managed by families are more family than business oriented (Getz & Carlsen, 2005; Kallmuenzer, 2018).
Family businesses are characterized by the interaction between the family and the business systems (Tagiuri & Davis, 1996), which leads to emotional flows from one system to the other (Labaki, Michael-Tsabari, & Zachary, 2013). Family dynamics represent, as such, one of the crucial factors of family businesses operating in the hospitality sector (Getz & Carlsen, 2005). These relationships are not centered on the family members per se but extend to other stakeholders, such as customers, employees, and the close communities.
In the hospitality sector, they can be developed with a desire to educate the customer about associated topics, such as the farm or rural life (e.g., Gladstone & Morris, 2000). This can explain the frequency of the plurality of activities developed in these family businesses (Getz & Carlsen, 2005) which impact stakeholders. For example, families can improve the authentic tourism experience by being part of it, through directly connecting with the customers (Wanhill, 2000). As they are inserted within local communities, family businesses extend these interactions to other stakeholders, through corporate social responsibility practices, bringing a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic relationships by reciprocity (Fonseca & Carnicelli, 2021).
Sustainability is an increasingly important challenge for all organizations and particularly those in the hospitality sector (Legrand, Sloan, & Chen, 2013). The COVID-19 crisis has also signaled environmental changes that may be central to the transition to a more sustainable future (Jones & Comfort, 2020). The hospitality sector has been indeed often criticized for its considerable footprint and its negative socio-cultural and environmental impact (Fonseca & Carnicelli, 2021). According to The UNWTO, sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and should be pursued with the objective of a suitable balance among these dimensions4.
Looking at the existing studies, there is a lack of consensus about the long-term contribution of hospitality family businesses to sustainable development. While
4 https://www.unwto.org/sustainable-development
some studies suggest that these family businesses do not contribute significantly (Harrison & Leitch, 2002), others find the opposite (Getz & Carlsen, 2000), by emphasizing their inclination towards the conservation of resources, sociocultural and environmental protection (Getz & Carlsen, 2005), therefore in line with sustainable tourism. More recently, scholars stressed the emerging ambitions of family businesses in the hospitality sector to engage in sustainability and sustainable tourism (Fonseca & Carnicelli, 2021).
The literature review has highlighted the scarcity of empirical studies at the intersection of family business and the hospitality industry, particularly in relation with the Covid-19 pandemic. As the existing efforts remain quantitative and descriptive in nature, this study chooses an exploratory qualitative research approach. The following sections present the methodology, the data analysis and the discussion of the findings.
The exploratory qualitative research approach is relevant to address the “how” and “why” questions rather than “what” or “how many” questions (Yin, 1994). As such, it allows understanding the social processes that underlie management and memorable examples of important management issues in order to build theory (Gephart, 2004), which is currently lacking given the object of study. Following the case study approach of Yin (2009) and the comparative multiple-case studies approach of Eisenhardt (1989), eight family businesses were selected, with four operating as hotels and four operating as restaurants, restaurant chains and food catering businesses, in different geographical locations impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. These family businesses were still active to different extents, adapting their practices in the face of the “black swan”, and showing signs of recovery and survival in a severely affected market. This description conveys attributes of resilience, defined as a dynamic process of adaptation upon exposure to adversity, from which systems emerge strengthened and resourceful (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000; McCubbin, 2001).
The data is collected through in depth and semi-structured interviews with owners and operating family members in each of these businesses. These interviews are designed to capture their perceptions and experiences during the pandemic and their behavioral intentions after this pandemic. The data was complemented, whenever available, by secondary sources such as company’s press releases and related articles in the media. These documents can serve as a guide to start the interview with participants to the study (Rapley, 2018) and provide the researcher
with further evidence supporting in the interview process as well as post-interview process to build connections between the themes that emerge. For anonymity and confidentiality considerations, the names of the interviewed family members and businesses are not disclosed and replaced by fictional ones.
The data analysis followed the approach of Eisenhardt (1989), which is particularly relevant for comparative family business cases (De Massis & Kotlar, 2014). The interviews transcripts and other documents of each case study (1 to 8) were scanned and coded for emergent themes that appeared to be important in explaining the why and the how of the hospitality family businesses’ perceptions, attitudes, and intentions relative to the Covid-19 crisis. Then, a cross-case analysis was conducted to identify patterns among family businesses.
The main observations based on the analysis of the data revolve around five predominant and common themes: (a) the prevalence of a perceived severity of the crisis coupled with optimism to overcome it, (b) the social responsibility considerations with the human factor, mainly the employees, as a top priority in managing the crisis, (c) the consistency in the financial preferences, (d) the acceleration of business model innovation while building on historical values to deal with the crisis and prepare the post-crisis, and (e) the importance of purpose and meaning to build a sustainable future.
These observations are translated into propositions. The following sections provide several exemplary quotes generated throughout the data analysis.
The interviewed family business members shared about their serious concerns of the Covid-19 crisis’ impact on their business while emphasizing their optimism and determination in overcoming the challenges it poses. They referred, as such,
to their own experience or their family’s experience in dealing with past crisis as a valid argument in this direction.
In case 1, the owner-manager of several hotels considers that “The current crisis context is painful (…)”. Then she reflects on past crisis to explain the attitude of the family in the face of Covid-19 challenges. “We faced a crisis nearly ten years ago, which led to a significant decrease in one of our main clienteles, coming from the country X which was was hardly hit by an economic crisis. As we had built good relationships with them, with strong personal involvement, this bears its fruits since this clientele remained loyal and came back when their country’s situation improved. This clients’ bond helps despite crisis. This seems to be the case in this crisis as well.”
In Case 3, the CEO of a group of long-standing hotels suggests that “Hospitality is not existing in isolation; we are completely networked and enmeshed with airlines, railways, road transport, the food and supply chain logistics, the health and safety infrastructure of the entire country. What happens in the country, happens to hospitality (…) This pandemic has been the worst episode of our times (…) It’s been a tough crisis beyond imagination and risk management parameters (…) and it is still continuing, but I certainly feel that it has brought out the best in our people too” (…). Then he adds on an optimistic note, “We have been around for several decades and have learnt to take the rough with the smooth.”
In Case 6, the managing director of restaurant and catering businesses suggests, “Our sector was undoubtedly the most hardly hit and will most likely be the last to recover from the crisis (…) We have endured many other crises in the past, which were different, but we managed to successfully deal with them. So, we will undoubtedly deal with them successfully now as well.”
According to the CEO of case 8, a chain of restaurants, “The business went almost bankrupt twice in the past. Every time, the family in charge managed to innovate and change the course of things. The actual chain of restaurant emerged because of the first crisis we had. My grandfather started a completely new concept because of his failure (…). Then my father decided to grow by buying bakeries and extending our restaurant activities. This is actually what is saving us right now. Restaurants are closed but the bakeries are still operating. We are going through extremely tough times now, especially that the business has tremendously grown as compared with its size during the past crises. There is a bigger responsibility in terms of employment preservation.”
Given these considerations, we suggest our first proposition: Proposition 1: Hospitality family businesses are determined to survive in the Covid-19 pandemic, inspired by their own and family’s past experience and history.
The social responsibility considerations with the human factor, mainly the employees, as a top priority in managing the crisis
The interviewed family business members all agree on the priority being given to the employees’ safety and jobs preservation during the pandemic. They also suggested that employees have reciprocated this behavior by often providing unconditional support in return.
In case 8, the CEO explains “When the lockdown started, we closed the restaurants and moved to regular online meetings with the staff very fast, and only kept those working in the bakeries which remained open. Then, we saw a decrease in the number of employees able to come to work in the bakeries as they had to care for their children. We also kept all medical care for employees (…) But after several months, it was very hard for us to maintain all employees. We had to lay many of them off as the restaurants were still closed. This is very sad and depressing. Some people might not get a job for the rest of their lives. And some of them were working in the business for a long time. But I trust that if life resumes as usual, it will be a priority for us to employ them back (…). Our losses are disastrous as we have significant fixed costs. I know that even though the situation resumes, the business is not going to generate profits in the next years. But what I just want to do is to create jobs for employees.”
In case 5, the CEO of a regional chain of restaurants, reminds us that “The employees are your most important allies, particularly in times of crisis.” While the CEO of case 4 stresses that “We need to make sure our staff are able to get their salaries. It’s a matter of survival.”
In case 7, the CEO explains “I am very close to my employees. When the lockdown was announced, they were panicked. I asked them to meet outside, in the parking lot, and told them I can answer all the questions that they may have. I was about to cry but resisted and provided all the answers I had, to comfort them and reiterate my support just like the family did since decades for its employees. I saw them relieved. I felt like if I was ‘a pater familias’ to them (…). All their jobs were maintained, despite the fact that we had to close our restaurants.”
In case 1, the CEO insists that “the utmost priority is to preserve the jobs. There is a solidarity spirit and a sense of responsibility which is the result of the fact that we truly care for them.”
As the executive director of case 3 puts it, “we must remain true to the core values by taking care of our people first, then aligning efforts to move ahead (…). Fire-fighting the pandemic starts by keeping our people safe (…). Then he adds, “Our people have been rallying around and trying to help each other in every possible way”.
These family businesses also maintained and extended their support to the close communities, in line with their practices prior to the crisis, as suggested in the following testimonials.
From before the crisis, Case 1 has been part of a hotel association that contributes to the food non-waste and solidarity efforts by donating it as well as other hospitality products. These efforts have been maintained during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Case 4 has been engaged in pandemic-related charitable work since the beginning. Particularly, the family has ensured that the communities around are in the safety net, through distribution of livelihoods, rations, and other products, and reaching out for more people by working with security forces and local authorities. Particularly, they emphasized the connection between the employees and the communities as follows “We took the initiative of arranging a supply of masks and hygienic products to the local communities from where our staff comes”. Similarly, Case 5 in the restaurant business has donated meals prepared in-house and delivered them to the hospitals and the elderly care organizations to support them during the pandemic.
Given these considerations, we suggest the following proposition:
Proposition 2: The resilient hospitality family businesses are likely to maintain social responsibility practices in crisis times, reinforcing circles of loyalties.
Most of the family businesses interviewed displayed preferences for self-financing, through significant cash reserves, followed by bank financing, facilitated by well-established and long-standing relationships, that allow to deal with the crisis more smoothly.
The testimonial of Case 2 echoes this observation as follows “We have sufficient cash reserves and very good relationships with the bank, which spontaneously suggested to provide support and which we declined because we have a good cash situation. We were also compassionate with our suppliers. We showed solidarity by renegotiating with them the terms of payment as we knew that they were facing difficulties.”
The testimonial of Case 1 reiterates the good relationships with the banks and adds that it is attributable to the hotel management quality and the financial history of the family business.
The testimonial of Case 7 suggests that “Given the past experience of the family business, my father always told me that cash is an absolute prerequisite in business affairs. The business has almost no debt, which allow us to be more serene during this period.”
Given these considerations, we suggest the following proposition:
Proposition 3: Financial preferences that are oriented towards cash financing characterize resilient hospitality family businesses in times of crisis.
The acceleration of business model innovation while building on historical values to deal with the crisis and prepare the post-crisis.
As Case 7 puts it, “We need to think out of the box to find solutions”. Across the hospitality family businesses, it is possible to observe that significant efforts were built around business model innovation. While this seems to echo the recent research by Breier et al. (2021), it allows to decipher distinctive features of innovation in the different components of the business model. The testimonials highlight innovations relative to the communication channels through further digitalization to consolidate customer loyalty and reach new customers, diversification of the activities, revising the pricing and costs’ structure and means, the work organization, the hotel or restaurant services innovation, and the extended or revised targeted customer base.
The experience of the managing director of Case 4 captures holistically these business model innovation aspects. “We focused on innovations at different levels. We diversified our portfolio by launching new business ventures, to share the services we deployed during the pandemic, such as extending our disinfection services to other hotels and organizations. We also transformed our unoccupied storage spaces into giant restaurant spaces, where social distancing can be preserved without compromising the number of clients. We also re-assessed our business model by revisiting all cost items and updating our technologies and digital platform to improve overall guest satisfaction and loyalty. Given the flexible work organization that is gaining interest and will likely remain, we are also considering tailoring our services to new categories of guests, such as those who would want to mix leisure and work while travelling and staying at our hotels. This crisis and the initiatives we took allowed me and my brother to gain in legitimacy, as successors, of the family business.”
Other specific illustrations show the changes impacting the different components of the business model.
According to Case 3, “Everything now needs to be tweaked and sharpened (…) With better planning and focus, I wish for a renewed focus on creating infrastructure that can support several other industries besides tourism and travel, such as IT and other service industries, making of the region a significant hub.”
On digitalization:
Case 3 suggests that “Technology has become the vehicle for communication, management and everything else that keeps us going. For the hotel and hospitality world, the human factor is supremely important. The warmth of hospitality can only be shared between people and not with robots!”.
This comment echoes the importance of balancing the traditional fundamentals and innovation in the hospitality industry as suggested by the next testimonials.
Balancing service tradition and innovation in line with customer targets:
According to Case 1, “The distinct hotel experience is at the heart of our preoccupation. Still, we do not want to follow trends but to continue offering authentic experiences which resemble us, and which echoes our values, i.e., the smile, the warmth of hospitality, the personalized welcome, and which naturally conveys our passion and emotion. Perhaps one option to cope with the crisis could be to turn to diversification.”
According to case 7, “Our gastronomic restaurants were intended to a wealthy clientele, who happens to be mainly composed of elderly people no longer willing to go to restaurants even after lifting the lockdown. We had to reinvent ourselves and our menus to offer a gastronomic experience tailored to a younger clientele and with a different budget. We also arranged to have special orders delivered to older clientele, by revisiting certain recipes and the packaging, to still make of it a high-end experience.”
Case 5 explains that “The crisis was an opportunity to revisit the traditional recipes and offer new and limited-edition recipes. We also significantly developed the delivery service and prepared the lockdown lift by expanding and making proper arrangements to the outdoor restaurants terrasses to bounce back quickly”.
Case 1 adds that “We invested in disinfection tools to be able to decontaminate the rooms as we welcome guests in quarantine or with Covid-19 infections”. Case 4 emphasized that “The tryptic health-hygiene-safety assume far greater importance and will remain so in the future.”
According to Case 6, in the restaurant business, “The company has completely reorganized its work organization. Our activities mainly require in person presence. Whenever possible, the available and voluntary staff was moved to other locations where the demand was higher or asked to fill the responsibilities of those who could no longer work due to health, childcare or elderly care risks. We adopted flexible work arrangements, boosted by the government support.”
In a similar line although in the hotel sector, the case 1 explains that “During the crisis, employees’ flexibility also meant to have them become polyvalent by filling different positions in the hotel where they work, while some of them cannot work because they live far away and need to avoid taking transportation because of the contagion risk. The human resources management remains paternalistic, but this does not exclude the employees being accountable and responsible.”
On sustainable resources:
As the CEO of Case 8, a chain of restaurants, puts it, “Since my grandfather started the business 70 years ago, we have been responsibly sourcing our ingredients. This will never stop. It’s in our DNA. It’s the quality seal of our products and the success factor of our recipes”.
In Case 2, the CEO and business founder considers that “This crisis taught me how to adapt to the weather and to have a permanent reflection, to prepare, to anticipate. This includes succession planning which will be accelerated whereas I used to view it in the distant future.”
Therefore, the hospitality business model was subject to innovation in its different components’ composition, in line with some of the recent findings of Breier et al. (2021) emphasizing business model innovation as a useful strategy for hospitality businesses to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. In parallel, the family business specificities provide nuances to these components in line with Labaki and Haddad (2019). The fundamental bases of the family business model have remained or been further emphasized, such as through the communication channels to the stakeholders (employees, customers etc.) in reference to family business history and values, and the more open consideration or acceleration of succession across generations, the long-term orientation, and the financial preferences.
Given these considerations, we suggest the following proposition:
Proposition 4: Balancing business model innovation and tradition characterizes the resilient hospitality family businesses in times of crisis.
Looking into the future, hospitality family businesses seem more inclined towards socio-emotional wealth creation and preservation rather than financial wealth, as previously outlined in the literature. Additionally, the importance of purpose and meaning is salient in the interviews, putting forward the crisis as a time for reflection that allowed to externalize the somewhat implicit considerations of these businesses.
As the owner-manager of Case 2 puts it, “I am not interested in financial goals. My purpose revolves rather around the concept of pleasure. Pleasure in developing as an entrepreneur, pleasure of freedom and independence to develop the business, pleasure in helping the people with whom I work grow. This is how I see the present and the future”. The CEO of Case 8 adds, “I am committed to the business for all my life. I do not care about making profits. I want the business to survive and to grow.”
Similarly, the CEO of Case 3 suggests that “The future is about growing in a meaningful way (…) We need to look into the sustainable development of tourism if we were to thrive”. In other words, families look for strengthening the touristic and economic attraction base in the region where they operate, by developing sustainable tourism practices, to make their hotel and/or restaurant businesses flourish and be less impacted by crises in the future.
Proposition 5: Sustainable tourism practices are likely to be favored by purpose-driven hospitality family businesses.
To sum up, the hospitality family businesses explored in the study have a longterm and sustainable orientation, leverage past experience, and presently innovate their business models while remaining rooted in their values, in order to adapt to the adversity times.
The Covid-19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity to learn about the effective strategies of family businesses to cope with uncertainty and disruption (Pieper, 2020). This study is a first steppingstone of an empirical contribution to family businesses in the Covid-19 times in the scarcely studied hospitality sector. The main findings suggest that we can take stock of current practices and inspire other family businesses in the industry on the key resilience factors to be developed.
Naturally, this exploratory and qualitative study is not exempt from limitations which open additional research avenues. The findings are not generalizable per se as they stem from a limited sample of family businesses. Still, the findings on
how and why the hospitality family businesses perceive and deal with the crisis and intend to deal with the post-crisis offer significant initial insights towards the development of a wider understanding of the phenomenon. They suggest multiple characteristics of hospitality family businesses that have been resilient, whether on the social, financial, and entrepreneurial or sustainable development levels. Although their peculiarities in terms of entrepreneurial and strategic orientations as well as stakeholders’ relationships were commonly emphasized in line with the literature, whereas they relate to crisis times, the sustainable development considerations, particularly in relation with the environment, were less salient. This may seem surprising given the literature emphasis and increasing pressures from the governments and policy makers to act in this direction. At the same time, perhaps the environment considerations were not particularly immediately exacerbated during the crisis but remain implicit in the sustainability outlook that these family businesses agree on. Resilience is also to be studied over the long run rather than over a limited period. Studying family businesses that did not manage to survive during the pandemic, as well as following-up with a longitudinal analysis of the active family businesses of this study and of future studies would allow to follow their dynamics from the intention to the actual behaviors.
Overall, this article has outlined key research themes, encompassing common perceptions, intentions, and practices, that can serve as a roadmap for hospitality family business owners and managers. Additionally, they can inspire the tourism and family business researchers, whom we invite to embark on their further explorations to add to our knowledge on the prevalent form of organization and the backbone of worldwide economies.
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Ms. Lorena Valerio is currently a full-time faculty at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde-School of Hotel Restaurant and Institution Management where she teaches professional and major courses in hospitality and tourism management. She also a facilitator of several modules on marketing management, training needs assessment, human resource and customer interaction at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Professional and Continuing Education. Lhoree also teaches advance marketing and service quality management in the graduate school of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde-School of Hotel Restaurant and Institution Management. She had twenty years of industry experience in the field of hospitality marketing and operations. She had a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, and another post graduate diploma on Training Development & Management at the De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde, School of Professional and Continuing Education.
Mr. Juan Paolo Sumera was appointed as Fulltime Professor of the School of Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management and Resident Manager of Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle last June 1, 2018. Prior to that, he has been a part time faculty member of SHRIM since May 2006. With an 18-year hotel operations background, Mr. Sumera has been a part of international hotel brands such as Oakwood Premiere, Resorts World Manila, Best Western Suites and InterContinental Manila and has opened start up hotels such as Rizal Park Hotel and Hotel Celeste. Mr. Sumera has earned his master’s degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management in DLS-CSB last Dec 2019 and is a Certified Guest Service Professional by the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute. He is also a Certified Third Party Auditor of the Standards, Monitoring and Enforcement Division of the Department of Tourism.
* De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde/Vatel Manille (lhoree.valerio@benilde.edu.ph).
** De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde/Vatel Manille (paolo.sumera@benilde.edu.ph).
QUNWTO projected last May 2020, a decline of 58% to 78% in international tourist arrivals the rest of the year. With the reintroduction of travel restrictions, the demand for travel dropped to 70% in August 2020. This scenario will continue to 2021 and may change in trend based on the assumptions of a countries’ easing or lifting their travel restrictions, treatment or vaccine availability and a regained confidence of traveler. However, despite this forecast, it would take between 2 to 4 years to go back to the 2019 – tourist arrivals level. And while the recovery is expected to take several years across the globe, as projected by UNWTO, this pandemic is not only viewed as a problem by hoteliers but as an opportunity to create service strategies to enhance the guest experience to regain the trust and confidence of guests and start regaining business. A qualitative research, this paper aimed to present the different response strategies of the top largest hotel chains of the world to Covid-19 crisis by reviewing 2019–2020 related articles from the different official websites of the subject hotel chains, press releases, tourism & health authorities and hospitality resources. To further substantiate and validate in the local context, secondary data were gathered by interviewing hotel leaders and managers involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the response strategies to COVID-19 crisis. Using a thematic approach, the Guest Service Process (Pre-arrival, Registration/Arrival, Check-in/Stay, Checkout/Departure) was used as the framework for data gathering of this study. Results revealed immediate crisis response strategy is to immediately comply with the sanitary protection measures required or recommended by government tourist and health institutions. Operating strategies, such as new service protocols or guidelines throughout the guest service process were implemented putting at the center the protection of the health of service providers (employees) and guests. Hotels implemented strict hygiene standards in the facilities and in the whole guest service process, such as the adoption of contactless check-in, practicing social distancing and preventing as much as possible, direct contact between guests and employees. The safety and sanitation programs of these hotels aimed at immediate recovery of customers confidence and trust. It is evident that the common link between the subject hotels and the hotel in the reviewed articles is the implementation of preventive health and safety measures with the objective of; (1) help in avoiding the spread of the contagious and deadly virus. These health and safety measures are also “localized”, it depends about the country, state or regions. (2) revive the demand for room occupancy by communicating to the customers those hotels are ready to accommodate them again.
These initiatives and programs of the hotels are supported by (1) technology driven processes all throughout the guest service cycle, by (2) automating some of the processes (3) and employee management.
Keywords: Crisis management, guest service, hospitality trends, new normal, post-COVID-1.
An unpredictable challenge awakens and threatens the existence of the hotel industry with cancelled rooms, meetings, conferences bookings, and hotel F&B outlets and lounges closing. According to the available data from the World Tourism Organization as of this writing, the international tourist arrivals plummeted 93% in June 2020 compared to 2019, showing the harsh impact COVID-19 (acronym for coronavirus disease 2019) on the tourism sector. COVID-19 hit an industry, which is dependent on travel and tourism, and accustomed to yearly increasing occupancies and profits and is now facing a challenge never experienced ever before. Despite the devastating blow, the uncertainty, and fears the challenges the crisis brings, hospitality industry remained hopeful and focused to survive by responding with strategies to adopt to the present crisis (i.e. meeting the new service requirements while ensuring a safe environment for both guests and its employees) with the objective of mitigating the negative economic impact to the hotel properties and to the industry in general. UNWTO projected last May 2020, a decline of 58% to 78% in international tourist arrivals the rest of the year. With the reintroduction of travel restrictions, the demand for travel dropped to 70% in August 2020. This scenario continued to 2021 and may change in trend based on the assumptions of a countries’ easing or lifting their travel restrictions, treatment or vaccine availability and a regained confidence of traveler. However, despite this forecast, it would take between 2 to 4 years to go back to the 2019 tourist arrivals level. And while the recovery is expected to take several years across the globe, as projected by UNWTO, this pandemic is not only viewed as a problem by hoteliers but as an opportunity to create strategies to enhance the guest experience to regain the trust and confidence of guests and start regaining business. Hoteliers are responding with resilience and planning for the future in an uncertain environment. This paper aims to present the different response strategies of the top largest hotel chains of the world to COVID-19 crisis. This paper hopes to contribute an updated and integrated body of knowledge to the hospitality sector in the new normal and post COVID-19 future. This paper reviewed 2019–2020 related articles from the different official websites of the subject hotel chains, press releases, tourism & health authorities, and hospitality resources. To further substantiate and validate in the local context (i.e. Philippines), secondary data
was gathered by interviewing hotel managers involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the response strategies to COVID-19 crisis with the objective of presenting the global strategies applied in the Philippines context. Using a thematic approach, the Guest Service Process (Pre-arrival, Registration/ Arrival, Check-in/Stay, Check-out/Departure) was used as the framework of this study to present the COVID-19 response strategies, focusing on safety (hygiene, cleanliness, health) of guests and employees, digital transformation, touchpoints to touchless processes, payment processing, and marketing. The review was limited to the corporate websites, press releases, and published articles from hospitality and tourism journals (from year 2020), government organizations, non-government institutional and international organizations. The paper did not discuss the role of the public sector or its influence in the crisis response strategies aside from its directives for travel restrictions, and health and safety policies. The results hope to help the tourism and hospitality industries acquire a summarized and updated crisis response strategies of the largest hotel chains. Since COVID19 is novel, this paper will be one of the frontier studies in presenting the hotels crisis response strategies covering the guest process framework and marketing strategies. The results will contribute to advance the knowledge base on how to manage the COVID-19 pandemic which challenged the hotel properties across the globe, how can these increase travelers’ confidence, help hotels recover from the crisis, and prepare for the post COVID-19 future since travelers’ behavior have changed in the new normal.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, but the world is still shaken from its impact. According to the study made by Peeri, et.al. (2020), the fast spread of COVID-19 in mainland China and into the closest and distant countries, was due to the insufficient assessment of risk with regard to how urgent the situation is and the limited information citizens within China received regarding the said virus. COVID-19 has spread more rapidly compared with SARS and MERS, because we are in the era of globalization and where the epidemic started, that is Wuhan, China. It is an enormous hub connecting the North, South, East and West of China via railways and a major international airport. The outbreak of the COVID-19 was in time of the Chinese New Year, so the availability of connecting flights, the massive rail transit hub, located in Wuhan made the virus to penetrate throughout China, and eventually, globally. COVID-19 cases rapidly spread across the globe (Huang et al. 2020), compelling the world governments to implement stringent measures
limit its transmission and isolate cases. One of the measures implemented by the governments of the world is travel restriction which affected the tourism industry, an industry which is greatly dependent on-air travel. That being said, tourism as one of the sectors most badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, applied the multiplier effect. It affected economies, livelihoods, public services and opportunities in every continent. World Travel and Tourism Council’s President and CEO, Gloria Guevara’s statement about the jobs which are globally at risk is 50 million, since the travel and tourism sector is already facing collapse and fighting for survival due to the global health crisis brought about by COVID-19 (Guevara, 2020). All parts of tourism massive value-chain have been affected, particularly the hospitality industry. The covid-19 virus stopped the world and hurting hospitality industry, which is mostly dependent on international travelers. For instance, the United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO 2020) reported that international tourism receipts is down by 20% that is $80 billion in 2020, which is equivalent to a loss of 67 million international arrivals. As forecasted, using the current scenario modelling, indicated a fall between 58% to 78% in the arrival of international tourists, depending on how long the travel restrictions and border closures last (Naidoo and Fisher, 2020). The large-scale travel restrictions, border closures, and community lockdowns affected travel and led to unprecedented decline in hotel occupancies and revenues.
An unpredictable challenge awakens and threatens the existence of the hospitality industry with cancelled rooms, meetings, conferences bookings, and hotel F&B outlets and lounges closing (Hoisington, 2020). For example, Marriott hotels experienced a decline on its revenue-per-available-room (RevPAR) at about 90% in February 2020 in Greater China and down by 25% in other parts of the AsiaPacific region compared with the same period in the past year (Wallis, 2020). Courtney, (2020) study presented that it is forecasted that revenue-per-available-room (RevPAR) in Asia, Europe, and USA and will continue to go down as companies all over the world send their employees home to work virtually, applied video conferencing and work from home is universally accepted, leisure and business travel postponed or cancelled due to fear of the COVID-19 virus. The hotel occupancy in mainland China declined by 75% which is usually a profitable Chinese New Year holiday period. Also, outbound travel from the rest of Asia has declined by over 10% compared to last year (https://www.hospitalityandcateringnews.com/2020/02/coronavirus-80-chinese-hotel-rooms-empty). In the Chinese hotel industry survey made by Horwath HTL’s in the middle of February 2020, around 80% of respondents predicted losses of more than 15%, and about 70% were seeing the worst effect of COVID-19 when it comes to income and occupancy. For the Philippines’ tourism and hospitality industry,
COVID-19 impact, , a forecasted total revenue loss of about PhP 170.5 billion (Philippine Peso), which is equivalent to $3.37 billion, until the end of July 2020 (Centeno and Marquez, 2020). CoVid-19 hit an industry which is accustomed to yearly increasing occupancies and profits and is now facing a challenge never experienced ever before. It seems that the world is gearing itself up to face the worst economic recession which comes with unemployment levels which was not experienced since Great Depression. De-globalization and change in business models lower the demand for travel (https://www.triptease.com/blog/hotels-coronavirus-crisis-strategy/). This scenario may continue to 2021 and they may change in trend based on the assumptions of a countries’ easing or lifting their travel restrictions, treatment or vaccine availability and a regained confidence of traveler. However, despite this forecast, it would take between 2 to 4 years to go back to the 2019 tourist arrivals level, according to UNWTO. Hyatt Hotels CEO Mark Hoplamazian said, “though domestic travel is picking up, gateway markets that depend on international vacations will continue to have a tough year”. He further said that he is optimistic that travel is positioned to make a full recovery as Covid-19 vaccines become more widely available to the public.”
(https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/hyatt-hotels-ceo-sees-clear-path-to-recoveryafter-covid-rocked-industry.html). Despite the devastating blow, the uncertainty, and fears the challenges bring, hoteliers remained hopeful and focused to survive by responding with strategies to adopt to the present crisis, i.e. meeting the new service requirements while ensuring a safe environment for both guests and its employees with the objective of mitigating the negative economic impact to the hotel properties and to the industry in general. And while the recovery is expected to take several years across the globe, as projected by UNWTO, this pandemic is not only viewed as a problem by hoteliers but as an opportunity to create service strategies to enhance the guest experience to regain the trust and confidence of guests and start regaining business. Hoteliers are responding with resilience and planning for the future in an uncertain environment.
The hospitality industry has experienced a big blow from crises before. Example is during 2003 SARS outbreak, flight and hotel bookings underwent an enormous decline. As a result of SARS outbreak, according to Ctrip.com (Trip.com), Flight and hotel bookings in 2003 declined by 33.4% and 25.1% respectively (equivalent to a loss of ¥29.2 million income within the 6-month period until September 2003) compared to the same period in 2002. This is just the same with what the industry is currently experiencing due to COVID-19, but it just way to prove that there are hotels who conquered and made it through by responding to the crisis effectively, since the hospitality bounced back after SARS. Example, During pandemic SARS 2003 which affected Hong Kong, impacted also international travel
cancellations, drop in occupancy rate, and employment cuts. The crisis response strategies were hotels closing floors; food and beverage services were suspended; temporary closures of businesses especially restaurants, pay of employees were cut and the no-pay leaves were applied; implementation of contingency plans; new operating procedures, and strict preventive health measures (Chien and Law, 2003). The response strategies of Singapore during the pandemic SARS 2003 such as cost savings; promotional packages were offered to residents; salaries reduction; new operating measures, and preventive health measures (Henderson and Ng, 2004). When planning strategies to handle the COVID-19 crisis Ralph Hollister, Analyst, Travel & Tourism at GlobalData, shared his view on April 1, 2020, press release in hospitalitynet.org, said that hotels across the globe should remember how they surpassed the various crises they have experienced in the past like natural disasters such as SARS outbreak and acts of terrorism. And that hotels should be proactive in managing room rates and marketing strategies to respond to the future when demand for travel increases as the impact of COVID19 decreases.
In the face of COVID-19 crisis, a wide range of government, travel and tourism initiatives have been implemented, internationally and nationally, and these have been complemented by specific actions by hotels and hotel chains operating across the globe (Anton and Almedia, 2020). What hotels are doing “offline” (i.e. initiatives and programs adhering to the national and local governments health and safety protocols) must be brought online so that travelers must be informed what the hotels are doing so they have the confidence to book again. Communicating to customers about the hotels efforts to keep the guests informed can help reduce the general fear and nervousness around traveling to destinations.
According to the September 18, 2020, article released by triptease.com, based on the study made by School of Hotel Administration (SHA), “Hotels that spend significantly more on marketing in the downturn can get 18.5% higher RevPAR compared to hotels that cut their marketing spend. While all hotels in crisis can expect lower occupancy, data shows that there is a strong positive relationship between marketing expenditures and performance in times of crisis.” One of the drivers of revenue is the optimization of metasearch engine. According to the VP of Digital and CRM of Onyx Hospitality Group Chetan Patel, “The crisis often means there will be limited demand for your rooms. That’s why you shouldn’t invest in the upper-funnel marketing activities aimed at brand awareness and demand generation. Invest more on search and metasearch to capture as many of these high-intent customers as possible and lead them to your hotel website.”
Discovery Hotels is “aggressively targeting users who, despite the situation, exhibit travel intent or trip consideration on their digital channels.” Blessy Townes, VP & Head of Digital Marketing and Branding of Discovery Hotels, and one of the panel experts of Hotel Hero. Hospitality.net, March 8, 2021, article Accor has adjusted spend and marketing activity towards digital channels. ‘It’s All Good’ campaign was run until May 31, 2020 and included paid digital media such as broadcaster video on demand (BVOD) television, digital advertising, social media, and video content.
Source: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4103314.html
In the March 20, 2020, article published in Dragon Trail International, hotel brands in China such as Marriott, Shangri-La hotels, Intercontinental Hotel Group, Hilton, Melia Hotels, W Shanghai the Bund utilized digital marketing to reach potential customers by capitalizing on the demand of Chinese for fitness videos and apps. Through WeChat, Melia Hotels posted an article of simple yoga routines. Created by their Bali staff, indicating the QR as an invitation to follow the official account of Bali property. This was posted on February 19, 2020, with 13,900 views, well above average based on the hotel account’s performance on 2019. While Hilton has been posting videos regularly on Weibo, showing exercises that you can easily do at home that features their gym staff from the hotel properties. At the end of February, Intercontinental followed by sharing short videos of fitness exercises also on WeChat. Aside from fitness videos, the long isolation period in China increased the demand for home cooking and smart hotels picked up on this trend also. IHG wanted an interaction with the audience by giving away gift certificates to the those winning photos of the audience
home cooking. Because of this, for three weeks in a row, IHG ranked in the top three hotel Weibo accounts. This strategy attracted new audience which can be a potential hotel guest by inducing trial for those who have not experienced IHG accommodation. Same strategies were applied by Marriott, Conrad Tianjin, Melia Hotels, and Hilton.
Previously booked hotel rooms were cancelled due to travel restrictions, border closures, and lockdowns. But with the easing of restrictions and opening of borders, customers are still fearing the virus until vaccinated. the impact of coronavirus also hit Las Vegas so hard according to Justyn Hornor, Senior Product Manager at MGM Resort. “We’ve seen large events cancel and our typically large contingent of guests from Asia has dropped to near-zero.” (www.triptease.com/blog/ hotels-coronavirus-crisis-strategy). However, according to the article released by ehotelier.com on September 10, 2020, there is a creative way to reassure hotel customers and reduce the number of cancellations. Communicating to the existing customers to pursue with their travel plans and encourage the new ones to book though hotel websites, emails, phone calls, social media chats with carefully curated content focusing on hotels care for their guests, the strict implementation health and safety guidelines, highest level of preventive measures to ensure guests and employees health safety. Here are examples of how hotels communicate through their websites to bring back the confidence of their customers:
Source: https://www.ihg.com/content/us/en/customer-care/travel-advisory-covid-19?cm_sp=WEB_-IC-_-US-_-EN-_-EV-_-Covid19-_-HMM2-_-FlexiblePlans
Source: https://www.hilton.com/en/
Source: https://all.accor.com/event/information.en.shtml
Reassuring the customers that they can cancel and refundable (without risking losing on revenue in the long-term) is what can persuade them to book These rules on cancellation and refund should be clearly stated and easy to find both on hotel websites and booking engine. Here are some examples of flexible cancellation policies applied by hotels during COVID-19. According to the Vice President of E-Commerce & Revenue Management of Chroma Hospitality, Sunish Sadasivan, “In the 2008 Financial crisis, we panicked and dropped our rates significantly. When the time came to analyze results, we found that we lost in terms of RevPAR compared to some of the competitors who stuck to their rates. But it can be case-sensitive. We have to reduce rates for some of our hotels to ensure that we are still competitive. However, in markets where our hotels had a better brand reputation, we maintained our normal rates and added on special packages – such as specific targeted offers for domestic travelers” (www.triptease. com/blog/hotels-coronavirus-crisis-strategy). Chetan Patel of ONYX Hospitality Group advised that it is imperative that hotels monitor what’s happening in the market. Focus on offering flexible cancellation policies and getting the price right. According to Patel, that customers who have the options to cancel will be more open to booking at properties when the timing is right (https://www. onyx-hospitality.com/). Many hotels have applied flexible rebooking policies to mitigate the impact on revenue of the increasing volumes of cancellations. One of the ways they did is waiving the penalties for the dates of stays in the coming months, and the postponement of the customers stay free of charge.
Source: https://all.accor.com/event/information.en.shtml
The closing of borders and travel restrictions gave people no choice but to stay at home. Dropping room occupancies drove hotels to look for other business opportunities other than filling in the vacant hotel rooms, and that is targeting local markets. Hotels in the Philippines utilized their social media accounts such as Instagram, Facebook, and Whatsapp to target the local market. They provide ultimate hotel experience by offering fancy meals for takeaway, pick-up and delivery. According to the June 2020 article released by Lifestyle Asia, Grand Hyatt Manila, Raffles Makati, Discovery Primea, Shangri-La at the Fort, Marco Polo Hotel, The Peninsula Manila.
Marriott Hotel Manila also signed up their Marriott Café with Foodpanda. Other hotels who also took advantage of online delivery during the pandemic are The Bellevue Manila, Conrad Manila, Hotel Okura Manila, Makati Diamond Residences, , Hilton Manila, New World Hotel. Another way of focusing to the local market is the demand for staycation. In the November 2, 2020 article released by Conde Nast Traveller, in 2019, domestic tourism in England contributed £80 billion to the economy. There was a huge demand for staycation in England when COVID-19 travel restrictions was loosened. Passport-free holidays are becoming the norm, according to Globetrender editor and founder Jenny Southan, together with forecasters Rose Dykins and Marisa Cannon. For example, Luxury Cotswold Rentals, had witnessed a year-on-year increase of 166% in traffic to its website, and a 138% increase in the number of inquiries. (https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/travel-trends-after-coronavirus). Aside from staycation, in the June 21, 2021 article released by Global Business Travel
Association (GBTA) in Hospitality Trends, GBTA conducted its 20th survey to assess how its members are working on their plans to go back to business travel after the pandemic. According to the survey, “40% of respondents say their company’s plan to resume non-essential domestic business travel has “already happened” in the country where they are based – compared with last month’s 34% allowing “some” domestic travel. An additional 33% say their company has finalized a date 8% – or is working to finalize a date 25% – to resume domestic business travel. Only 18% “waiting to see what happens” or are “not sure” is 6%.” GBTA reported that the first poll of this summer suggested a continuous positive momentum as companies start or finalize plans to start domestic business travel. Domestic business travel is nearing to start, however, according to the forecast of GBTA, the international business travel outlook remains is still gloomy based on the result of this survey which indicated that more than 62% of the respondents say their company is still in the “wait and see mode” or is not certain about starting the non-essential international business travel from the country where they are based. Example would be the business travel plans which have taken a back seat in Canada, this is not only for international, but also domestic travel.
After reviewing related articles on how hotels responded to the COVID-19 crisis, the researchers found the common ground on the strategies applied by hotels around the world who survived the different kinds of crises in the past. It is evident that the crisis response strategies of hotels are dependent on government initiatives. The initiatives and programs of the hotels with the objective of decreasing the magnitude of impact of COVID-19 on people’s health, safety, and revenues are dependent by the government initiatives which affects the travel and tourism sector, which affected the hotel industry. The impact on international travel brought about by the decision to restrict travel, closed borders to mitigate the proliferation of the virus, prompted hotels to implement contingency plans, new operating procedures, and strict preventive health measures. Hotel’s crisis response strategies involved the technology adoption, automation of most of the service process both front of the house and back of the house, hotel marketing, employee development. This paper used five hotels in the Philippines to substantiate the proposed conceptual framework (Figure 8).
A qualitative research, focused on presentation of information on how the largest hotel chains in the world responded to the COVID-19 crisis to stay afloat. Considering the vast effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in the tourism industry which directly affected the hospitality industry, this paper aimed to present the different response strategies of the top largest hotel chains of the world to Covid19 crisis as they face the pandemic and rise above the challenge.
Guided by the Guest Service Process (Figure 9), this paper reviewed related articles from the different official websites of the subject hotel chains, press releases, relevant articles from journals published in the latter part of year 2020, tourism & health authorities, and tourism and hospitality resources, which gave light to the following research questions: (1) What are The different crisis response strategies the largest hotel chains during the Covid-19 crisis using the (A) Guest Service Process (Figure 9).
(B) Employee management (C) Sales and marketing (2) What are the plans or strategies of hotels to bring back the confidence customers? To further substantiate and validate in the local context, secondary data were gathered by interviewing hotel leaders and managers (as resource persons) involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the crisis response strategies to CoVid-19 pandemic. The profile of the resource persons includes, director of sales, quality manager, duty manager, front office manager, and executive housekeeper. The identity resource person shall remain confidential. The interview guide questions were sent to the resource persons last January 23, 2021 and retrieved February 15, 2021. The subject hotels are all 5-star and belonging to the largest hotel chains in the world. Since the objective of this paper is to present the different crisis response strategies of the identified hotels, the research questions were rephrased into guide questions which are as follows: (1) What are the different crisis response strategies of your hotel during the Covid-19 crisis? (A) What are the changes made in terms of handling the booking process, payment process, transportation services, check-in process, housekeeping, room service, food and beverages service, check-out process, etc. (B) How did the company manage the employees? (2) What are the plans or strategies of your hotel to bring back the confidence of your customers (sales and marketing)?
Through content analysis, based on the data generated from the five hotels, their immediate crisis response strategy (Appendix, Table 1) is to immediately comply with the sanitary protection measures required or recommended by government tourist and health institutions. Operating strategies, such as new service protocols or guidelines from pre-arrival to departure of the guests with the putting at the center the protection of the health of employees (Appendix, Table 2) and customers. Hotels implemented strict hygiene standards in the facilities and in the whole
guest service process, such as the adoption of contactless check-in, practicing social distancing and preventing as much as possible, direct contact between guests and employees. The safety and sanitation programs of these hotels aimed at immediate recovery of customers confidence and trust. It is evident that the common link between the subject hotels and hotels in the reviewed articles is the implementation of preventive health and safety measures with the objective of; (1) help in avoiding the spread of the contagious and deadly virus. These health and safety measures are also “localized”, it depends about the country, state, or regions. (2) revive the demand for room occupancy by communicating to the customers those hotels are ready to accommodate them again. These initiatives and programs of the hotels are supported by (1) technology driven processes all throughout the guest service cycle, by (2) automating some of the processes (3) and employee management. According to the October 9, 2020 article published in (https://insights.ehotelier.com/insights/2020/09/10/covid-crisis-for-hotels-howto-plan-forward/) “The fundamental tectonic shift that will emerge for hotels out of this crisis will be around three pillars: efficiency, automation, & technology.” The data gathered from the subject hotels in the Philippines and based on the articles reviewed how the largest hotel chains are rising above the pandemic showed the application of these supports. For technology driven process for example, in housekeeping, Marriott Hotels enhanced cleaning technologies including electrostatic sprayers to sanitize surfaces throughout the hotel. The researchers also observed how hotels continue to partner with service providers to fill-in the gaps in the skills and core competencies. An example would be hotels co-branding with corporation that offers services, technology and systems that specialize in cleaning and hygiene. When it comes to automation, subject hotels automated several processes concerning each department. Reservations and back-office department tasks were minimized via chatbots automated reservation systems and that are linked to integrated PMS and marketing platforms. As shown in the data, Hilton encouraged guests to sign-up with Hilton Honors app so they can have a unique QR code which allows them to open the door and no longer need to have a keycard (Appendix, Table 1). Guest services like check-in and check-out, concierge, room service, travel desk were also automated using smartphones, tablets, and AI based technology to increase efficiency, as evident in Marriott Hotels, where they implemented touchless or low-touch solutions and adopted contactless technologies through the hotel app including: mobile chat for guests requests prior to arrival, during and after their stay. mobile check in, mobile key, mobile room service order (QR codes in rooms), mobile check out (Appendix, Table1). Increased utilization of technology and automating processes to respond to the demand of the current situation decreased the need for employees, since demand for hotel rooms and other services also decreased also. Articles reviewed supported by interviews conducted revealed that intensive
training for those who are still working in the hotel. Their well-being is into account (Appendix, Table 3). Being able to learn and implement the new standard operation procedures, and health and safety protocols is a must.
With the available information as of this writing, restrictions across the globe are constantly changing as new variants of COVID-19 emerges (https://www. cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/variants/variant.html), the hospitality sector remains still as one of the hardest hit within an economy but the industry must continuously evolve and try to be flexible enough to work with constraints and prepare for the future. Securing ties with loyalty card holders and members, as well as broadening client base who are ready to travel and book in the future, may it be staycation or business and leisure must be strengthened through digital marketing to communicate to the customers the efforts and initiatives of hotels to provide safe facilities by proactively demonstrating hygiene procedures in creating online contents, giving the customers the confidence to book and cancel their bookings through flexible cancellation policies. Hotels must also continue planning creatively about alternative revenue sources to stay afloat and provide jobs for their employees while considering their well-being. Some hotels still managed to stay open during the pandemic because they applied as quarantine hotels, an example would be Manila Marriott Hotel (https://www.marriott.com/ hotels/travel/mnlap-manila-marriott-hotel/). With the response strategies plotted and already in place; technology adoption, automation, employee management, and hotel marketing (Figure 8), hotels can learn from the evaluation and impact of these response strategies and adopt to the changing needs and demands of the “post pandemic travelers”. As we are now in the new normal, travelers have also changed their priorities. The industry must now adapt to new rules, standards and values which will continue to influence the behavior of travel and tourism services consumers.
This study hopes to help the tourism and hospitality industries acquire a summarized and updated crisis response strategies of the largest hotel chains which is also contextualized in the Philippine setting. Since COVID-19 is novel, this paper hope to be one of the frontier studies in presenting the hotels crisis response strategies covering the guest process framework and marketing strategies and contribute to advance the knowledge base on how to manage the COVID-19
pandemic which challenged the hotel properties across the globe, how can these increase travelers’ confidence, help hotels recover from the crisis, and prepare for the post COVID-19 future since travelers behavior have changed in the new normal.
Hospitality and tourism educators may utilize this paper to update the contents of their syllabus for courses like Front Office Management, Housekeeping, Event Management, and other courses which cover customer service in the new normal, so that students are updated with the current industry practices.
The researchers are inspired to continue the study on the strategies of hotels now that vaccines are already available but new COVID-19 variants are emerging. What are the new challenges to be conquered? What are the changes in the operational processes (involving technology and automation), health protocols (focusing on customer providers and target market), and the vast topic on travel and tourism consumer behavior?
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Joy~Nostalg
Hotel & Suites
Manila Managed by AccorHotels
All our new SOPs and protocols are patterned through the Department of Health, Department of Tourism and Department of Trade Industry guidelines. To highlight a few changes, we have made would be the (1) enhanced grooming standards of all our employees, (2) setting up contactless payment methods and registration process, (3) setting up the lobby to a one-flow system & (4) acrylic barriers both in the cars and the front desk and (5) the heightened frequency in disinfection.
1. Arrival: (1) Valet service is suspended (2) Luggage needs to be sanitized by the bellman before it gets in the lobby. (3) Storage areas need to be in physical distance as well (requires more space) (4) Before doing the actual check-in process, the guests need to have their temperature checked and fill in the health declaration form outlined by DOT.
2. Check-in process: (1) All arriving guests needs to have a negative antigen test on the same day. (2) All guests in the room should be from the same household. (3) Every transaction, the agents are required to sanitize their hands with a 70% cleaning solution. (4) The front desk needs to have a sanitation kit offered to the guests before getting in the room.
3. Stay: Housekeeping: (1) We’ve taken out the non-essential items in the room. (2) Minibar and turn down service are suspended. (3) Make up room service are upon request. (4) Requested items are being placed outside the guest room to avoid physical contact with the guests. (5) Removing all nonessential items in the room such as marketing collaterals, compendiums, menus, etc. and transferred to QR code for easy access.
F&B: (1) Buffet services are suspended (2) Got rid of menus. Replaced them into digital. (3) One collection point for breakfast takeaways. (4) High touch areas are cleaned and sanitized after every use. All room service items are to be placed outside the guest room. (5) Contactless payment system is highly encouraged. If payment is in cash, we’ve set up a UV sanitizer (6) nonessential items are taken out and are only upon request. (7) Seat allocation is rearranged to respect social distancing.
Entertainment: Our recreational facilities such as the fitness center and pool areas are still accessible for the guests provided, they book it in advance and only through a certain period and number of people. This is to give way for our staff to completely sanitize the area. Meanwhile, all our entertainment services have been suspended.
4. Departure/Check-out process: (1) Promoting contactless transactions. After every touch point or item, the guest gives (credit card, cash, ID), it is being disinfected.
Edsa Shangri-La Manila Pre-Arrival: Our Customer Sales Team is tasked tomonitor all bookings created; they touch base with the guest via e-mail or thru phone to inform them of the requirement for the hotel. Since our property is only accommodating staycation booking the following are required (1) Antigen test (24hrs validity) or RT-PCR Test (72 hours Validity) (2) Proof of residence. (Only Resident of Metro Manila, Philippines) are allowed to check-in) (3) Our hotel also provides inhouse antigen testing that will be charge accordingly and offered to guest by our customer sales team. (4) Guest will be offered online payment to lessen contact upon check-in.
2. Arrival/Check-in process: (1) A tray will be use to get the things of the guest and if cash will be used for payment it will go thru a sterilizer (2) Express check-out will be offered to avoid contact with the guest (3) Upon arrival guest will be asked for the required documents. (Antigen/RT-PCR test and proof of residence) Guest that will avail of the onsite Antigen Test will assisted to the testing area. Results will be needed before continuing with the check-in process. Incase guest results is positive, guest and companion will not be accommodated for check-in. If results are negative, check-in will continue, and guest will be advised of the new protocols of the hotel.
3. Stay: During the stay the hotel will try to avoid being in the same room with the guest. Hence, (1) during MUR guest must be out of the room. Suitable PPE will be work by staff who will enter the room. Electrostatic machine is used to disinfect the hotel areas.
In the guest room UV light is being used to ensure cleanliness of the rooms
(2) With the restaurant, face mask and shield will be required while walking in the area, hence, when seated will no longer be required. (3) staff can enter the room during food delivery but will advise guest to move on the end of the room while setting up. (4) During clearing guest will be advised to put the food trolley outside the room.
Each attraction or amenity its own protocol and number of allowed guests. Hence, prebooking will be required.
Emergency protocol is in place incase possible Covid-19 cases.
4. Departure/Check-out process: (1) Express check-out will be offered. However, desk check-out is still possible. (2) Bell staff will collect luggage after guest exit the room. (3) Proper PPE will be used by staff who will collect the luggage.
Grand Hyatt Manila
All reservations channels indicate the safety protocols that the hotel adheres in accordance with government’s Covid-19 policies. (2) Rapid antigen test is required prior to checking in – guest can bring their own results or have the test in the hotel. Guest/s are well informed upon making reservations (3) Guest can pay through using the standard paying method, but cashless and contactless payment scheme are also available.
2. Arrival/Check-in process: (1) Guest will undergo temperature check prior going inside the lobby. Sanitizers are readily available in the entrances as well. (2) Guest will be welcomed when they approach the reception and will be asked to fill out health declaration form. (3) Guest will be asked to present rapid antigen test results or will be assisted to the testing facility if they prefer to have their tests in the hotel. (4) All staffs assisting guests are equipped with the standard PPEs.
3. Stay: (1) The hotel follows international sanitizing and cleaning standards procedures. (2) The hotel is equipped with devices and machines to thorough ensure the cleaning and sanitizing standards. (3) All public areas are sanitized from time to time (4) Health protocols are always implemented on all areas.
4. Departure/Check-out process: (1) Seamless and fast check-out procedures are conducted to minimize contact with guests.
1. Pre-Arrival: (1) We provide client an option to pre-pay via bank transfers, online credit card payment or send bill arrangements (for those company with credit line). However, in the event the client wishes to pay on day of arrival, we have credit card terminals in front of the guests which allow him to swipe his own card. (2) Transportation services are still available. The main difference is that capacity which are now 50% less than the usual/ standard arrangements. There’s a fiber glass partition which separates the driver and the passengers.
2. Arrival/Check-in process: (1) Concierge will no longer collect the luggage; the guest has to put the luggage on x-ray scanner then put it in trolley. Concierge will only touch the luggage after it being disinfected. The luggage will be delivered but it will only be place outside the room. (2) Valid IDs are presented but no longer being handed over to FO. The guest will now scan its own. The acrylic divider that separates guest and FO is equipped with credit card terminal and ID scanner. (3) We encourage guest to sign up to Hilton Honors app so they can have a unique QR code which allows them to open the door and no longer need to have a keycard.
3. Stay: (1) Make-up rooms are no longer a standard process unless guest calls the housekeeping. Housekeeping will clean the room provided the guest leaves. All rooms vacant dirty will be sprayed by disinfectant and will be cleaned and will be sanitized then our seal will be placed.
F&B: Breakfast - full spread buffet are now change to a modified buffet, hot items are plated, but other items are individually packed. Lunch/Dinner –modified buffet is simply everything is pre- portioned, manage buffet style and more personalize service. All cutleries are no longer pre-set-up and everything is properly packed and handed over to guest. (2) Capacity of each restaurant is down to 50%. Prior reservation is required due to lower capacity.
Recreational areas such as pool is now divided into sections and has shorter operational hours. Gym is sanitized on per hour basis and has lessened its usual capacity.
4. Departure/Check-out process: (1) Guests will drop keycards in the UV key card box (2). For members, they can opt to get a printed folio and only view the transaction from the hotel app.
Marriott Hotel Manila
1. Pre-Arrival: (1) We strictly adhere to our government certificate to operate as a quarantine facility thus, staycations are not accepted. We only accept guests under quarantine and in transit guests outbound with confirmed flight details. Allowed long staying guests (LSGs) are guests with diplomat permits. (2) Online and electronic booking and payment process have been maximized. Guests may communicate with us through email anytime and use their mobile phone app to book, pay and send requests needed for their stay. (3) Transportation requests are communicated prior and upon arrival since airport representatives are not allowed at the airports during the new normal, we have a team that monitors, communicates and get in touch with the guests upon arrival. Car and driver details are also provided to them in advance through email, or directly through their social communicating app like WhatsApp, Viber, Messenger etc.
2. Arrival: (1) The hotel provides COVID-19 related signage and materials describing good health practices. Signage is posted to remind guests of physical distancing guidelines and hygiene practices to prevent the spread of disease. (2) Associates are also educated on the proper way to wear, handle, and dispose of PPE, as well as the appropriate way to wash hands, sneeze, and to avoid touching their faces. (3) All entry points have temperature chamber checks for guests, associates and vendors. (4) We implement touchless or low-touch solutions and adopt contactless technologies through the hotel app including mobile chat for guests requests prior to arrival, during and after their stay. mobile check in, mobile key mobile room service order (QR codes in rooms), mobile check out.
3. Stay: Since we operate as a quarantine facility, we limit guest and associate contact thus, (1) no make-up room and turn down service are made. For long staying guests under quarantine, fresh linens are left outside the guest’s room and changing will be done by the guest him/herself every 5th day. (2) Trash collection is conducted every 8 PM daily and guests are instructed to leave it outside for collection by our housekeeping staff in complete PPE. (3) Few outlets are opened for the public following strictly government mandated protocols of social distancing, proper protective gears and (4) contactless payments such as PayMaya and other bank wireless terminals.
Food Safety Protocols with self-audit platform are intensified. We eliminate and modify shared use items in bars and outlets. Sealed, packaged, or singleuse items, disposable or digital menus are offered.
4. Departure/Check-out process: As part of our government certification to operate as a quarantine facility as of this period. All our guests could not check out without providing their negative RT-PCR results and a Bureau of Quarantine Certificate.
Housekeeping and Engineering protocols are also in place in handling room concerns prior to release of guests results. Contact Less Service are delivered.
Joy~Nostalg Hotel & Suites
Manila Managed by AccorHotels
Our hotel house their employees to mitigate exposure from commuting. We basically limit it to those who do not have their own vehicle or bike. We have also decreased our manpower up to 50% on both operations and administrative duties during the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2020 in compliance with the Department of Tourism guidelines and our very AllSafe Label requirements (AccorHotels’ intensified hygiene, cleanliness and safety protocols). Plans of the owning company to administer the vaccine for employees as of this writing is one of the goals, we have for everyone.
Edsa Shangri-La
Manila
Staff are prohibited to use public transportation.
Health declaration form will be filled-up daily by the staff.
Temp. check is being done upon entering the property and when entering the colleague dining area.
Weekly check-up will be done with the company doctor.
Emergency protocol is in place incase possible Covid-19 cases.
Grand Hyatt Manila
To ensure their safety and wellness in order to provide safe and healthy environment of the guests.
Hilton Manila Mental health talk is already part of our monthly training. More open communication. All employees are into cross training too, due to lesser manpower and no usage of contractual employees, we are encouraged to assist different department. Even with mask and face shield on, we try to engage ourselves, communicate with enough social distancing. We do weekly random rapid testing for all employees. We do not allow our employees to commute. If they don’t have transportation, we house them in the hotel.
Marriott Hotel Manila Marriott understand that people are thinking differently now when it comes to traveling. Thus, a commitment to guests and associates as well has been intensified. Health and safety have been at the heart in our approach to hospitality. Hence, our Commitment to Clean. This “new normal” may evolve and change over time to reflect government guidance and new societal expectations. What will never change, though, is the hotels commitment to keeping hotel associates, guests and customers healthy. Employees are provided with programs and trainings to help them daily during their shifts. Strict enforcement of protocols is in place wherever we may be in public areas, offices and guests’ areas, emphasis on hygiene & cleanliness and of course education and updates.
Joy~Nostalg
Hotel & Suites
Manila Managed by AccorHotels
Strengthening our bond with our current corporate accounts is one of our main objectives. Making it a point to make our promotions and offers attractive to the local market as international travels are limited.
As for the marketing perspective, we make it a point to make everything digital. We make it a point to have our info graphics on health protocols be more visible as a reminder for everyone.
Edsa Shangri-La Manila (no response)
Grand Hyatt Manila Promote all the health protocols and certificates the hotel adheres and implements.
Hilton Manila
We try to communicate now via ZOOM, MS Teams, Google MEET and et al., since majority of the company does not allow sales visits. We update them on what’s going on with the hotel.
We send Hilton treats or goodies via Lalamove, Grab, and et. al. Starting with 100% virtual client call, now we can say 20% have the confidence to accommodate our sales visit and actual hotel tour.
Marriott Hotel Manila Operations Team religiously follows strict protocols to nourish the new normal situation. Hotels enhanced cleaning protocols, less contact, more connection strategy, innovating meetings and events, maximizing food deliveries etc. are Sales and Marketing’s’ assurance and leverage in bringing back the trusts of clients and their partners. Moreover, they were able to strengthen and grow our online community. “Marriott is just a click and message away.”.
This article will focus on the devastating effect of COVID-19 on Thailand’s Hospitality Industry domestically, along with Thailand’s measures for recovery. This modern-day pandemic is having an unprecedented effect on the tourism industry and the changes it will have to make in order to see international tourism arrivals return to similar levels that Thailand was seeing prior to the COVID19 outbreak. This paper will investigate the methods used by hotels under the various restrictive operational measures and ‘new normal’ conditions, to continue operating and generate revenue. Data will be collected through interviews with hoteliers to see how the industry is adopting or developing new strategies to maintain their business and go through the rebuilding process once the COVID19 situation has returned to normal. As part of the investigation, data will also be collected to discover how hotels are adopting new strategies to better understand consumer behavior and in doing so, provide new products and services to cater for them during the current outbreak, as well as post measures to reassure tourists that Thailand is a safe and trusted destination.
Keywords: Thailand, hospitality industry, COVID-19 pandemic, consumer behavior, strategy, tourism.
* Lecturer – Master’s degree in education from Boston, USA, over 20 years teaching experience, currently teaching hotel management at Vatel Thailand.
** PhD – Lecturer at Vatel Thailand. Doctorate Degree in Education from Arizona University and involved in the training of hospitality since 1996.
This paper covers the pandemic’s effects on the Thai hospitality industry and specifically the lasting affects to the hotel sector over the last 18 months from January 23rd, 2020, through to June 1st, 2021. A pandemic is not an event that most industries prepared for and some fared better than others. Realistically, the Thai hotel sector may take several years of restructuring to return to a pre-covid landscape and better insulate itself in the future. The tourism industry will need to study the how and why to avoid such heavy and prolonged losses. This paper research and chronicles Thailand’s hotel sector story and the factors contributing to COVID-19’s 18 months of hammering their International and domestic customer base. Additionally, the data research sequencing the major effects to the hotelier’s business and challenges COVID-19 created through unprecedented restrictions on international travel, and periodic domestic travel lockdowns, evaporating both their international and domestic customer base. Hotels faced losses in major income generators such as lost room rentals, event bookings, limitations and occasional forced closures of daily restaurant operations.
Throughout COVID-19’s appearance, Thailand’s local and governmental agency restrictions balanced public safety along with a business’s ability to survive as a daily struggle. Providing a spotlight on the Thai tourism industry, their unpresented success, and the 18-month freefall within COVID-19’s effects, which obstacles and challenges will need to rebuild from. The Thai businesses, specifically the hard-hit hotel sectors who survive this pandemic are currently analyzing, learning, adapting, and trying to predict the new needs and actions of their clients moving towards their new normal lifestyles, many with different jobs, less income and savings to spend, and new ideas of what to spend it on in their future.
Abbreviations used in this paper: (TAT) The Tourism Authority of Thailand; (BMA) Bangkok Metropolitan Administration; (MoTaS) Ministry of Tourism and Sports; (WHO) World Health Organization; (DoT) Department of Tourism
Many health experts believe that the new strain of coronavirus likely originated in bats or pangolin. The first transmission to humans was recorded in Wuhan, China. Since then, the virus has mostly spread through person-to-person contact. Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause disease in both animals and humans. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus strain known as SARS-CoV is an example of a coronavirus. SARS spread rapidly in 2002–2003. The new strain of coronavirus is called severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus causes corona-virus disease 19 (COVID-19).
The outbreak is believed to have begun in Wuhan, a city in the Hubei province of China. Reports of the first COVID-19 cases started in December 2019. Coronaviruses are common in certain species of animals, such as cattle and camels. Although the transmission of corona-viruses from animals to humans is rare, this new strain likely came from bats, though one study suggests pangolins may be the origin. However, it remains unclear exactly how the virus first spread to humans. Some reports trace the earliest cases back to a seafood and animal market in Wuhan. It may have been from here that SARS-CoV-2 started to spread to humans.
SARS-CoV-2 spreads from person to person through close communities. The most common way that this illness spreads is through close contact with someone who has the infection. Close contact is within around 6 feet. The disease is most contagious when a person’s symptoms are at their peak. However, it is possible for someone without symptoms to spread the virus. A new study suggests that 10% of infections are from people exhibiting no symptoms. The contagion can be further spread by touching common surfaces such as door handles, light switches and elevator buttons, or breathing droplets containing the virus that can land on nearby surfaces or objects. The virus is further spread to new victims when touching these surfaces or objects known as fomites.
Infection is likely if a person then touches their nose, eyes, or mouth. It is important to note that COVID-19 is new, and research is still ongoing. There may also be other ways that this new corona-virus strain can spread (Medicalnewstoday, 2021). Organisms in general experience genetic mutations. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which causes COVID-19 mutates approximately every 11–15 days within a population. Coronavirus currently has 12,700 identified mutations, 12 main types of the virus (identified as 19 A through 20 J), five strains and almost 4000 variants.
The strains are known as L which mutated into the S strain followed by V and G (further mutating into GR, GH and GV, and several infrequent mutations collectively grouped together as O). The G strains are now the dominant strain around the world. COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus strain known as SARS-CoV-2. Variant strains (see table) are associated with higher transmission rates that may impact the effectiveness of vaccines, therapy, the speed of the global recovery and effect which regions and sectors have the quickest return to near normal conditions (SRHD, 2021).
In recent history, the tourism sector has traditionally been the most sensitive industry towards the effects of pandemic diseases. From its early inception in 2019, coronavirus has also greatly impacted the world economy as well. In terms of the world’s economy, among the first and most significant markers to gage this is the decline in international tourist arrivals. (Deegan, 2020). The tourism industry in Thailand is one of the essential contributors of up to 20% of the GDP of the country’s economy, and Thailand’s international arrival tourists’ numbers are among the world’s largest. The tourism industry’s contribution of up to 20% to the Thai GDP make Thailand one of the most vulnerable economies to the effects of a global pandemic. Past pandemics (Hanvoravongchai et al., 2010) show that health systems have struggled to maintain routine services; expected shift in funding and human resources to combat COVID-19.
The COVID-19 effect on the tourist and hospitality sector has been measured in terms of lost earnings or employment and affected every country on the planet. For instance, Centeno and Marquez (2020) constructed seasonal auto-regressive integrated moving average models for the Philippines’ tourism and hospitality sector, predicting a total loss of around $3.37 billion in the second half of 2020. According to Günay et al. (2020), COVID-19 may negatively affect Turkey’s tourist and hospitality industries. Their estimate forecasts a total revenue loss of $1.5 billion and $15.2 billion in 2020. India’s projected COVID-19-induced profits loss is about $28 billion, as well as 70% of all tourist and hospitality employees losing their jobs and many small businesses declaring bankruptcy. Additionally, COVID-19 was also analyzed to affect the worldwide tourist and hospitality sector and global GDP. According to Priyadarshini (2020), global GDP growth would decline from 2.9% in 2019 to 2.4% by the end of 2020, while revenues for the tourism and hospitality sector will decrease by 17% compared to 2019. Global sales are predicted to decline by 75% in North America, Europe, and Asia. Tourism and hospitality revenues will decrease by 10% in the U.S., by 10% in Germany, 24% in Italy, and 40% in China (Priyadarshini, 2020).
The coronavirus illness (COVID-19) spread has stopped the globe, particularly hurting the tourist and hospitality sector the hardest. Millions of people worldwide have lost their livelihoods and jobs due to unexpected travel restrictions and border closures worldwide. In 2020 alone, over 100 million jobs have already been lost and adding another 197 million more to the danger with an anticipated loss of 5.5 trillion dollars in travel and tourist GDP (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2020). In Malaysia, more than 35% of hotels were forced to temporarily shut down their operations (Puvaneswary, 2020). Based on their estimates, 60% of all tourist companies would go bankrupt, and 15% of all hotel operators will
be unable to survive and shut down (Dw, 2020). It is stated that after the present COVID-19 pandemic crisis ends, the tourist will not feel comfortable traveling to a tourism site, dining in a restaurant, or staying at a hotel (Gursoy & Chi, 2020).
According to Benjamin, Dillette, & Alderman (2020) countries cannot return to normal since the issue that we had was exactly the one we were trying to fix. It is incorrectly rationalized, believing such occurrence was foreseeable and things return to “normal,” disregarding the advantage of it is hindsight (Taleb, 2007). Over the last few decades, the hospitality sector has been identified as a leading participant in the unsustainable modus operandi, known as over-tourism (Carr, 2020; Cheer, 2020). Galvani, Lew, and Perez (2020) have said that an epidemiologist predicted that a pandemic will occur soon. Now that it has happened, tourism must evolve to progress towards global sustainability. The hospitality industry must respond to the new normal after the global epidemic. Many academics refer to a crucial point known as the “New Normal,” in which the pandemic revealed issues with pro-equity and sustainable tourism practices. The post-pandemic tourist industry is intended to function more fairly and justly and eventually help people, the environment, and the host community (Cheer, 2020; Benjamin, Dillette, & Alderman, 2020).
Tourism in Thailand is on the rise, ranking among the worlds’ topmost visited countries (Jeaheng et al., 2019). According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (2020), the key performance indicator shows that the growth occupancy rate (OR) in 2019 rose to 71.4 per cent compared to 70.16 per cent in 2018. As the state of emergency was announced by the government on 25 March 2020, Thai citizens were required to stay home for quarantine and safeguard themselves following the temporary ban on all international passenger flights to Thailand. The hotel industry of the entire country has been drastically affected, as many hotels laid off their employees due to the closure of hotel businesses with further unpaid leave and cut wages for the hotel businesses that continue to remain open. The Thailand Hotel Association (THA) has estimated a loss of 139,000 jobs in the hotel industry from January – May 2020, and by the end of this year, it estimates the probable loss of up to 500,000 jobs since 130 hotels have been reported to be banned from operation (Khaosod English, 2020).
The tourism industry sector greatly contributed to the country’s economy in 2019 and there was a positive outlook for 2020. However, the coronavirus pandemic stopped the whole world, including Thailand. According to the first-quarter report released by the Tourism and Sports Ministry, tourism revenue figures decreased
by nearly 40 per cent. The impact of the pandemic hammered the tourism sector in the first three months of the year. Chinese arrivals generated 57.6-billion-baht revenue last year, which was the largest contributor; however, this year is suffering from a 63.7 per cent decrease year-on-year. Also, there were decreases in the top five markets, namely Russia, Britain, Malaysia and Japan.
Source: Association of Thai Travel Agents.
This paper comprises reports and critical analyses of COVID-19’s effect on the Thailand hotel sector and the tourism industry overall. Three questions were posed to hotel operators as follows:
What are the Top 3 challenges of your hotel in the next 12 months?
What new strategies has your hotel, or the industry taken to counter the financial effects of Covid-19?
When do you foresee your hotel and the Thai Industry as a whole, back to precovid customer numbers?
The interviews were supported by the collection of secondary data from articles and governmental policy to help provide context surrounding the covid-19 situation in Thailand and to see how pandemic was impacting upon both national and international tourism.
Covid-19 pandemic has left the world’s economy crippled overnight (UNWTO, 2020). An unprecedented challenge has been thrown down by the epidemic. The strategies that include community lockdowns, social distance, and stayat-home orders all caused the temporary closure of numerous hospitality and tourist companies, which reduced the demand for those that were permitted to continue to operate (Bartik et al., 2020). Only take-outs were permitted due to the government travel and stay-at-home directives, hotel occupancy and revenues plummeted. While the hotel and tourist sector has made a gradual recovery, the COVID-19 issue continues to affect how these industries function. Workers and consumers will be safe and willing to patronize companies in the COVID-19 business environment (Gössling et al., 2020).
With early reports of a new respiratory illness outbreak in China the Thai Department of Disease Control established an Operations Centre on 3 January 2020. Thailand was the first country to report a confirmed COVID-19 case, on January 12, 2020. Receiving more than 3.5 million foreign tourists in the first quarter of January 2020, Thailand’s tourist sector provides one in six job opportunities and accounts for approximately 13–14% of the country’s economy. Thailand’s reliance on the tourist sector has made it one of the most vulnerable economies to the COVID-19 impact. Thailand has the largest proportion of Chinese visitors among Southeast Asian countries. They account for the most significant percentage (30%) of tourists visiting Thailand, playing a vital role in underpinning the nation’s tourism sector. Thailand felt the impact of COVID-19 on January 23, 2020, when China stopped travels and imposed a quarantine on Wuhan City.
By the end of the first COVID-19 quarter (March 2020), a state of emergency announced on 26 March (and extended until 30 June) and a 10 pm to 4 am curfew on April 3rd, led to a partial lockdown in and outside Bangkok to contain the virus.
Thailand was considered among the topmost prepared countries to deal with a pandemic according to the 2019 Global Health Security Index (Cameron et al., 2019). Bangkok temples and markets became less crowded. The tourism sector deteriorated as more countries lock their borders and impose restrictions. After Thailand’s ban on international flights indefinitely, City streets became abandoned. Employees also felt the impact of coronavirus. A first step by many hoteliers was to reduce staff by sending their employees on unpaid leave to reduce operational costs. Before the outbreak, and particularly during the high season, hotels enjoyed 80% to 90% occupancy. When Thailand reported its first cases, the hotel occupancy rate dropped to 65% forcing hotel rate reductions by 10% to 20% (Pinchuck et al., 2021).
Tourism is one of the most important drivers of the Thai economy, generating U.S. $62.2 billion in 2019, accounting for 11 percent of GDP. Thailand’s tourism sector and the Thai economy have been significantly hit by COVID-19. According to Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry, it is estimated that tourist arrivals will plunge by 65 percent from 39.8 million in 2019 to 14 million in
2020, a 14-year record low. The sharp decline in the number of tourists has also led to an almost disappearing number. In COVID-19’s second quarter (on April 4, 2020), Pattaya and Phuket temporarily shut down all hotels until further notice. Some hotels were able to shift to offer online food delivery in order to cover their labor and operation costs. The full dine-in restaurants were under severe stress from the outbreak. Bangkok measures were also imposed on most other Thai provinces, including restaurants only being able to sell take-away from March 22, 2020. The revenues from delivery and take-away sales considerably increased, but not offsetting the loss of dine-in sales. The Thai Restaurant and Business Association estimated a loss of U.S. $ 9–10 billion of tourists spending in this sector, predicting that 10–15 percent of restauranteurs would close as a result of global travel restrictions and closures in the food service sector.
In the middle of COVID-19’s second quarter (On May 4), the government eased its lockdown measures by allowing eight types of businesses to open, allowing dine-in restaurants to reopen, with restricted social distancing. For the dine-in business of Quick Service restaurants, 25–30 percent were estimated to be closed.
According to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), the economy shrank 6.4 percent in the third quarter of COVID-19 (July-September 2020). The gross domestic product in the third quarter however was an improvement from the 12.1 percent contraction in the second quarter, as a result of improvements in total exports of goods and services, private investment, and private final consumption expenditure. Meanwhile, the government’s final consumption expenditure, and public investment both expanded continually (NESDC).
The recovered service sector included wholesale and retail trade, accommodation (but not particularly hotel) and food service activities, and transportation and storage. Goods and services balance at current market prices recorded a surplus of Bt257.2 billion, after a surplus of Bt397.5 billion in trade balance and a deficit of Bt140.3 billion in service balance (Nation Thailand, 2021). Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha created a social media storm by approaching Thailand’s 20 wealthiest families to help in addressing economic damage from the coronavirus epidemic (Bangkok Post, 2021). Around 11.4 million Thai households were at risk of falling into poverty from the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, with the unemployment rate rising to 1.9% in the third quarter of 2020, according to the state planning agency (The Examiner, 2020). The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said there were 637,000 households’ dependent on public and private financial assistance. Of the 637,000 households, 467,000 reported lower income. These households work in sectors that are more prone to job losses such as tourism or self-employment (Staff, 2020).
Most hotels experienced temporally closures. In addition to safety concerns, to reduce payroll, reduce operating expenses, preform maintenance and renovations. To replace its losses from accommodation, food and beverage, and meeting/ event facilities, the hotel sector in Thailand applied a variety of strategies to make up for alternative income. Some hotel chains, such as Centara Hotels & Resorts, Dusit International and Chatrium Hotels & Residences, offered food delivery services (through LineMan, GrabFood and Foodpanda food delivery platforms). Some hotels (AccorHotels, Pullman Bangkok King Power, Kokotel Sukhumvit 50 Bangkok and T2 Residence Sathorn) offered single guest, office space day-use room package, rates varied from US $14.40 to $143 per day, in Bangkok. Princeton Hotel Bangkok and The Palazzo Hotel Bangkok handle non-critical COVID-19 patients in a variation of a hospital setting. With strict criteria by the Ministry of Public Health and were compensated by the Thai government. Hotels could apply to the Ministry of Public Health to provide highrisk COVID-19 individuals a self-quarantine facility. There was resistance from the local communities, giving hotel owners some consideration (Jll, 2021).
COVID-19’s 18-month global pandemic assault on Thailand’s tourism industry (forcing some hotel sector businesses to permanently close their doors) appears to be reaching a third wave in June 2021, although mass vaccination programs are under way. However, COVID-19’s legacy will most likely require deep structural changes and possibly a permanent shift in global megatrends. Consumer travel
habits will challenge the industry to transform to meet the demands of travelers from different age groups.
The tourism sector will be influenced by increasingly individualized travel needs, greater application of new technologies, new business models and processes, and higher profile for health and hygiene. Against this change in consumer travel needs, preferences, and behaviors, businesses need to adjust their operations if they want to sustain profit margins. The repertoire of strategies deployed in response to these changes will extend to seeking new business opportunities related to tourism and building new business relations with other players in the tourism supply chain, including those at the local community level.
The main responses have been to slash room rates, overhaul the kinds of services they offer, placing greater emphasis on domestic tourists and cutting overheads. They are also trying to build alternative revenue streams, for example, offering attractive ‘work-from-hotel’ packages to tap on the work-from-home policy, and working with online delivery services to get revenues for on-site restaurants, though this is largely only an option for 4- or 5-star hotels. Many hotels in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region – some of which have cooperated with clinics and hospitals – have also tapped on the quarantine requirement to offer ‘alternative state quarantine’ (ASQ) facilities. Some hotels in the other 9 provinces – Phuket, Suratthani (Kho Samui), Chonburi (Pattaya), Prachinburi, Buriram, Mukdahan, Chiang Mai, Phang Nga and Chiang Rai – have also been able to generate revenues from offering ‘alternative local state quarantine’ (ALSQ) facilities (information correct as of 8 January 2021). But unfortunately, most small and medium-size hotels have had to shutter their business, either temporarily or permanently.
Over the recent past, the travel industry has been strongly influenced by the development of global megatrends that extend into changes in the realms of society, economics, politics, the environment and technology, but among the many effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been its impact on just these megatrends. Prior to the outbreak, the tourism sector was deeply affected by megatrends including the growth in the middle-class population worldwide, the growing pressure for new tourist sites, the increasing impact of technology on the sector, and the rising profile of health-related tourism, but COVID-19 has reshuffled this deck such that in some cases, the likely impacts have been accelerated, while in others, they have been slowed down. Krungsri Research has thus analyzed the factors that will most likely affect hoteliers soon and has identified the 4 most prominent aspects: (i) demographic and social change; (ii) individualization; (iii) digital transformation and automation; and (iv) health and hygiene.
Although Thailand is competitive in international tourism currently, its lead in the region is narrowing. This will change views on these countries, and with that, Thailand’s position in the international market. Thailand will change from welcoming foreign arrivals to both receiving arrivals and moving them on to other destinations in the region. This will not just reduce price competition within countries but will also help to lift the competitiveness of other countries and boost the range of tourism options. Factors that will determine how well countries would be able to co-operate will include visa policies and transport infrastructure that link these countries, including the Bangkok-Phnom Penh-Ho Chi Minh City and Phuket-Phang Nga-Ranong-Andaman Sea highways, and the Had Yai-Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-railway.
Digital and mobile technologies have made obtaining news and information very simple for users. 80% of the world’s population now owns at least one smart phone, making this a global experience. 33% of developed economy customers and 50% of developing economy consumers use their smart phone within five minutes of awakening. Nowadays, travelers have the capability to obtain information virtually without restrictions because to the ubiquity of smart gadgets. Users in the tourist and hotel sectors may now get marketing by using social media or a variety of applications, such as those used to book rooms, to hire cars, or to browse digital maps.
A potential role in the tourist industry may be seen in augmented and virtual reality technologies, which may utilize artificial settings or items to blend the actual world with that of a user. Google’s Google Street View service is a good illustration of this concept. Data analytics will assist operators in meeting consumer demands. players will be able to understand consumer requirements better and be in a better position to provide those needs by analyzing large and increasing stores of data about tourists and where and how they have gone and stayed Data analytics will also be crucial in establishing brand distinctiveness and boosting brand awareness.
By the sixth COVID-19 quarter (April-June 2021), during April’s celebration of the Buddhist New Year, locally known as Songkran holidays, the hotel sector expected occupancy of 60–70%. According to Agoda’s website collected booking data as of March 15, for check-in dates between April 13–15 compared to the same period in 2019, found that people had booked rooms in Phuket the most, beating last year’s top spot Pattaya which dropped to the second spot this year. Hua Hin/Cha-am was the third most popular destination, followed by Krabi, Koh Samui, Khao Lak, and Bangkok. The top traveler type were families, followed by couples and individuals. Travelers also preferred to stay in 4-to-5-star hotels, a change from 2019’s preference of 1-to-3-star hotels (CCSA, 2021).
At the same time, the surge in COVID-19 cases called the 3rd wave in Thailand (exceeded 2000 cases throughout the country daily). Eighteen provinces, including Bangkok, had been labeled as red zones where restaurants served take-away only (no sit-down meals) and convenience stores closed early, with the rest of the country categorized as orange zones forcing local governments to impose travel and flight restrictions (bringing massive flight and hotel cancelations) for the longest vacation break of 2021 which for many lasted up to 9 days (Reuters, 2021). Followed by orders to the closure of all entertainment venues nationwide, including bars, massage parlors, and schools for at least two weeks to curb the
outbreak, and activities involving more than 50 people were also prohibited, businesses operated under shorter opening hours, 7–11’s closed at 10 pm. Some restrictions were graduality lifted, Restaurant restrictions were lifted in the 3rd week of May. However, the order of temporary closure was extended for most businesses until mid-June (TAT,2021).
In Phuket, 90,781 out of 95,423 (97.45%) people are in the process to get their second vaccine shot. 39.45% of the inhabitants in Thalang District, 28.13% of those in Kathu District, and 21.75% of those in central district have now been vaccinated. There are still 321,979 individuals on the island who haven’t been vaccinated to allow the population of Phuket to meet the 70% goal. Mass immunization will be implemented in May, with Phuket getting 200,000 additional doses of COVID vaccine. The ‘Phuket Sandbox’ tourist strategy will be put into effect. Foreign visitors who have been vaccinated will be held in quarantine for fourteen days before they are able to explore the region. “Route optimization” must be done and steps implemented in order for them to move across the region via “sealed routes.”
Foreign visitors who have been completely vaccinated and have tested negative for COVID-19 will be allowed to enter Phuket immediately by aircraft and be able to travel within the region of Phuket without quarantine. Phase 3, in the fourth quarter of 2021 (October-December), is an extension of Phase 2, in which fully vaccinated and COVID-19 negative visitors can travel directly to other pilot areas such as Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Samui District, Surat Thani Province, Pattaya City, Chonburi Province, and Chiang Mai. The Tourism Authority of Thailand plans to provide tourist packages during the summer months of May to June 2021. Although new cases are still being discovered every day, more steps are being implemented in Phuket to reduce the number of new infections to under 10 per day. A proactive island-wide screening effort is underway (Com, T., 2021).
The Thai authorities plan to fully reopen the country by October 2021, with all COVID-19 restrictions lifted, requiring all sectors continue to cooperate with the government in its containment efforts. The major requirements for reopening the country, after more than a year of costly restrictions, was the public sector’s readiness to resume normal life. Active cooperation by the private sector and a similar good response by members of the public to the government’s COVID19 containment efforts were two other major criteria to take into consideration before approving the full reopening of the country. In the fifth quarter of COVID19 (January-March 2021), foreign tourist numbers in Thailand slumped 38% to
6.69 million, with the number of Chinese visitors down 60% to 1.25 million. The 2020 foreign arrivals were a record 39.8 million and spending from foreign tourists amounted to 1.93 trillion baht, or 11% of gross domestic product. The tourism authority is hoping foreign visitors will return to Thailand in October 2021, the country’s high tourist season (Staff, 2020).
Source: Ministry of tourism and sports, national economic and social development, Thailand.
In February, Thailand approved emergency use and started its vaccination program on 27 February. Thailand started rolling out its COVID-19 inoculation program with the Chinese Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s vaccine as the Southeast Asian nation tries to revive its pandemic-hit tourism industry. Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy aims to inoculate 50% of its population by the end of 2021 as the government tries to reopen its borders, which have been closed for almost a year to curb the outbreak. Government officials have stated that all residents qualify for free vaccinations including expats and migrant workers. AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine has also been approved and 61 million doses have been ordered. (Bloomberg, 2021) As of May, Thailand had received 3.5 million doses with another 2 million to arrive later that month (Languepin et al., 2021).
The first question in the study aims to find answers to the top 3 challenges for hotel industry in the next 12 months. Accordingly, to a recent study conducted
by The Nation Thailand in April 2021 targeting 188 hotels across the country, the main challenge for the hotel industry is to keep their businesses afloat. The study found that 46% of the hotels have liquidity to keep the operations alive for less than 3 months, while 13% already shut down temporarily their businesses at least one time since the pandemic started (The Nation Thailand, 2021).
Another study conducted in the same period by the Bank of Thailand concluded that 47% of the country’s hotels will close before August 2021. A study conducted in February 2021 by Thai Hotel Association found that 50% of the hotels in Thailand already shut down their business (THA, 2021).
On the second research question referring to the strategies that hotel took to counter the effects of Covid-19, the same study found that job cuts were some of the first measures taken, respectively hotels operate at 59% of their total human resources. Additional measures were used such as granting leave without pay, allowing employees to use their sick days, and alternating working days (The Nation Thailand, 2021).
The third question of the research refers to when hotel foresee that the tourism industry will get back to pre-Covid time, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, the president of the Thai Hotels Association stated that due to the difficult nature of the Covid crisis in 2021, it is really difficult to predict any come-back (THA, 2021).
In addition, Deloitte (2021) in a study conducted in October 2021 concluded that Thai hospitality sector will take at least 2–3 years to return to pre-pandemic levels as the industry is dependable on others such as aviation.
The present study aimed to answer three main questions respectively (1) What are the Top 3 challenges of your hotel in the next 12 months; (2) What new strategies has hotels, or the industry taken to counter the financial effects of Covid-19; and
(3) When do you foresee your hotel and the Thai Industry as a whole, back to pre-pandemic customer members. Room accommodations, food and beverage, and meeting or event facilities are the three major revenue streams for hotels, but all three have been impacted by the pandemic. While demand for hotel rooms has plummeted due to the tourist downturn, demand for hotels’ restaurants, bars, and conference facilities has vanished due to the country’s widespread adoption of social distancing measures.
Secondary data analyzed in this study showed that the situation for hospitality sector in Thailand is grim in 2021, with studies forecasting 47% respectively 50% of hotels closing by Q3, 2021. It shows hotels that have managed to survive so far are operating at almost half of their human capability, respectively 59% of
their usual manpower. It also highlights a lack of predictability on recovering to pre-pandemic levels due to the COVID-19 situation worsening by the day.
The industry will require government measures to support demand as long as borders remain closed to foreign tourists. Hence, Krungsri Research believes that the We Travel Together program (to encourage domestic travel) should be extended at least until the end of 2021. If the government does this, operators will have much a better chance of staying afloat until the COVID-19 crisis ends.
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LES CAHIERS INTERNATIONAUX DU TOURISME
CIRVATH INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM
LEADERSHIP – LITERATURE REVIEW
The coronavirus of 2019 (Covid-19) created an unprecedented level of fear and uncertainty markedly in the travel and tourism industries. Human casualty had reached close to four million as reflected on the live dashboard of the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre (2021) forcing people to avoid going to commercial places extremely concerned about the disease. Businesses had remained closed as governments declared lockdowns in many cities. Thus, consumers and travellers remained immobile, and consequently, commercial establishments incurred immeasurable losses. Operators and owners of business enterprises were absolutely clueless as to when local and global economies could reopen and if things would return to normal (Chen & Ioannides, 2020; Statista, 2020).
In view of the devastating effects of the Covid-19 outbreak, leadership of both public and private sectors had been heavily challenged during this era that the world had not experienced in decades, even centuries. It is therefore worthwhile to investigate how top managers and leaders of primarily of profit-oriented organisations were responding at a time when livelihoods disappeared in record speed, companies went bankrupt, and lives were simply shattered. This study aimed to do just that and, furthermore, explored the best practices that such leaders, especially in the hospitality industry, exercised during the crisis. To pursue these objectives, the researchers conducted a systematic review of secondary materials from online sources, namely: journal articles, newspaper articles, postings in professional websites, and other digital references.
* MM, Managing Director, Vatel Singapore.
** MA, Senior Lecturer, Vatel Singapore.
*** DBA, Senior Lecturer, Vatel Singapore.
The systematic review of literature had been used extensively based on certain common criteria such as: research topic area; conceptual, theoretical, or empirical; sources of data; type of data and size; method of data collection; techniques in data analysis; and significance (Karim & Rahman, 2017; Mariani et al., 2018; Tranfeld et al., 2003). Text and sentiment analysis were employed to interpret data from the systematic review of these literature (Fontanella, 2020).
A key finding in this study was the realization that leaders and managers were in a state of shock and anxiety when the coronavirus pandemic started taking a heavy toll in their businesses. However, instead of languishing in fear, corporate optimism replaced the initial downheartedness. The systematic literature review further revealed that transparent communication was enormously instrumental in cascading the fighting spirit throughout organizations.
The research hoped to benefit managers and leaders of hospitality organisations and professional groups as well governments, to utilise the findings to identify the best leadership concepts that could pragmatically apply during the Covid-19 pandemic and perhaps future crises. The public sector may also benefit from the findings to come up with government policies that could directly or indirectly have some positive relevance to owners, managers, and leaders of enterprises, to buffer or cushion their business firms from the devastating effects of the/an outbreak.
Keywords: Covid-19, crisis, hospitality, leadership, sentiment analysis, systematic literature review, travel and tourism.
On a protracted period, the coronavirus outbreak had challenged the ability of top management and business czars to overcome a major crisis. Some had given up, but yet several had held on to the helm to weather the storm. The era of Covid-19 was a test of the spirit, of staying power and wit.
Utanes (2018) argued that crises of national and global proportions are bound to come although the exact timing is uncertain. This author referred to the Kondratieff’s wave that showed cyclical patterns of economic summits and throughs spanning 50 to 60 years (de Heij, 2017; Roadmap.com, n.d.). Cooper (2011) cited the “winter” part of the apparent decade long cycle describing the tail-end of the 2009 US subprime mortgage crisis. During the coronavirus pandemic that still continued at the time of this writing, many agreed to Cooper’s observation alluding to the current crisis as the coldest phase of the global economic cycle (Hepworth, 2020; Ong, 2021). It is during such times that
businesses got hit hard. The situation became a matter of survival of the fittest. The way business owners and managers confronted what had come down to them unwelcomed was the ultimate test of their management and leadership skills.
This study aimed at examining how top managers and business leaders navigated their companies riding through the rough current. To achieve this objective, the researchers conducted a conceptual approach turning to content analysis in a system of literature review. The scope of this research covered the 70 shortlisted reference materials taken from various online sources. The key topics, i.e., key words, considered during the search for materials were “Covid-19,” “leadership,” “management,” and “hospitality.” The intended beneficiaries of the outcomes of this work were ongoing concerns, would-be leaders of enterprises, the government, students of hospitality management, and their schools.
Two main topic areas were woven together in achieving the objectives of this study, namely: “leadership” in times of “crisis”, a fitting research subject during the Covid-19 pandemic, and content analysis, the preferred approach in examining data in a time when personal interviews were challenging not only due to social distancing regulations imposed in various countries but also because of individuals’ impacted morale brought about by the physical, psychological and economic ramifications of the global crisis.
The body of knowledge is now replete with opinions and insights on crisis leadership especially during this pandemic period. D’Auria and De Smet (2020) firmly proposed that leaders need to quickly change their mindset to a rather preemptive position because crisis would certainly come, just like this time. Leaders ought to be forward-looking to avoid being basically paranoid during crisis. During challenging times, leadership that recognizes and harnesses “compassion, awareness, empathy, and vulnerability.” These are traits that business people ought to employ (D’Auria, Nielsen, & Zolley, 2020).
In addition to these qualities, leaders during the Covid-19 crisis should be open to use huge amount of information to overcome the temptation to bank more on feelings and opinions in making business decisions. Brassey and Kruyt (2020) agreed by stating that it is vital leaders have a focused and steady manner of thinking, strengthened by a positive outlook. Among many other qualities, it would benefit them and their organizations to process and reflect as well as manage their energies within the context of making critical decisions.
The coronavirus pandemic literally forced individuals into relying heavily on online applications. Corporations in many industries, not only in hospitality tap the Internet to gather consumer information. Jung and Alex (2019), Myneni et al. (2015), and Simmons et al. (2015) spoke about electronic word-of-mouth or eWOM which are comments, opinions, and reviews casually expressed by consumers regarding products and services such as and not limited to those sold by Amazon, and for this matter almost anything even those with no commercial value. They further conveyed that sentiment analysis and environmental reviews are applied on news published online, both audio and visual, besides blogs, webinars, messages through social networking sites (SNS’s), among many others. They called this process as “opinion mining.” The authors argued that it has become mandatory for corporate executives to promptly mine valuable data from these materials to spot behavioral patterns. A related concept that used content analysis of digital materials was presented by Dincer and Alrawadieh (2017) whose study of hotel guest responses and complaints submitted via the online platform, TripAdvisor, revealed that about half of these comments were immediate and should be examined. Similarly, Myneni et al. (2015) in their investigation of online materials on social media utilized “mixed methods that comprised qualitative coding, automated text analysis, and affiliation network analysis to identify, visualize, and analyze content-specific communication patterns….”
Concerning the methods, several studies considered a hybrid of approaches in analyzing contents available online (Echegaray & Martin, 2019; Myneni et al., 2015; Su et al., 2016). Moreover, the numerous computer-aided and digital tools supporting content analysis to extract human sentiments makes it possible to choose any investigating instrument. This present study followed after this trend. It explored various ways, both online and offline, to analyze digital text that focused on leadership in the hospitality industry during this time when the Covid-19 crisis is at its peak.
This present study utilized the qualitative method of research, specifically content analysis, also alternatively known as sentiment and theme analysis, of online materials. AI-powered machine language algorithms that are now available for researchers, educators, business analysts had been used to implement the process of inquiry. These platforms also assisted in interpreting gathered data. Voluminous online materials such as journal articles, news articles, company websites, social media, and sources of eWOM reviews particularly pertaining to hospitality companies around the world were examined with the help of these algorithms.
The procedure of investigation undertaken by the researchers attempted to follow an organized approach that had some research precedents. This process that was elaborated in the previous section of this paper was consistent with those that had been performed previously that had been termed as “systematic literature review.”
The 70 pieces of literature included in this study were shortlisted from the few references written and published about leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. Google, Google Scholar, professional websites, and the EBSCOhost database were the sources of literature included in this systematic literature review. The key words that were used were “leadership,” “management,” “Covid-19,” “coronavirus,” and “hospitality.” These key words delimited the scope of the search. See Appendix, Bibliography of the 70 Pieces of Literature Shortlisted for Analysis.
Settling with the 70 pieces of literature, weeding out those that were about leadership and management but were not in the travel, tourism, and hospitality fields, the researchers browsed, scanned, read, assessed, and studied these materials. To capture the gist and main contents, the literature pieces were tabulated according to article author and title; research topic and objectives; type of paper (whether conceptual or empirical); sources of data; type of data; data collection methods; data analysis techniques; and general findings and conclusions. See Table 1, Systematic Literature Review, 70 Articles/Pieces of Literature. (The 1st of 14 pages is shown here to save space. The rest of the table can be seen at: https:// www.schoolnetwork-sg.com/table-of-70-literature).
The articles were then treated with another approach to analyze the general sentiment and certain textual tones. For this, the researchers used nVivo, an online platform created for the purpose of analyzing text, video, audio, images, among others. Transcribed text from personal interviews, focused group discussions, social media reviews, and journal publications are sources of data that this software can process (LibGuides: Statistical & Qualitative Data Analysis Software: About NVivo, 2021).
It can be gleaned from Table 1 (Systematic Literature Review, 70 Articles/Pieces of Literature) that
24 out of the 70 articles (34%) was empirical. Thirty-five or 50% were purely conceptual papers while the remaining 11 articles (16%) were mixed empirical and conceptual. About half relied on primary data and the rest on secondary data. Almost all of the subjects of the papers were middle to top managers. The general sentiment surmised from the general findings and conclusions of the articles
indicated a major sense of urgency in dealing with the coronavirus crisis. The mood however was mostly optimistic with an underlying feeling of uncertainty and anxiety. Calls to action prevailed in the spread of summarized texts from the articles that indicated the widespread attempt to overcome the crisis in whatever ways available to the managers and leaders of hospitality organizations, rallying for team effort to curb the adversity confronting each manager and personnel.
The thorough content analysis used in this study consisted of subjecting the 70 journal articles, reference materials, and news updates from professional websites through word frequency listing, word cloud generation, tree maps, and cluster analysis, features that the software, nVivo, was able to provide. The researchers primarily used the three iterative nVivo functions of exact matches, with stemmed words, and with synonym because the other functions, namely: with specializations and with generalizations do not seem to provide information logically significant to this study. For instance, the specialization word, “act” that represented the other words like “abandonment,” “absence,” “abuse,” and “achievement,” among others, did not seem to point the researchers in a definite direction no matter how dim. Also, the term, “events” under the “with specialization” functionality did not seem to mean much as it listed out the same words, “abandonment,” “absence,” and the like in “act” and others like “acquisition,” “alliance,” “applications,” etc.
In the same vein the nVivo iteration, “with generalizations” or exact words did not seem to provide a better presentation of data that are arguably clear from the researchers’ modest understanding. For example, “term, “separate” that listed out “branched,” “distance,” “reported,” and many others indicated practically no logical corrections among the words was not that helpful in this study’s analysis. Furthermore, the word, “business,” did not insinuate much as it listed out the terms, “aim,” “appointment,” “brokerage,” “commerce,” and the like.
General findings and conclusions
Food and beverage industry clients demonstrated servant leadership by putting the needs of others before their own. They actively showed a willingness to take care of the community during the pandemic.
The need for efficient processes and best practice guidelines are an absolute must for every hotel. In the downturn as a result of COVID-19, it was prescribed to use time as an opportunity to improve property, staff and procedures.
Reassuring guests and employees, provide the right information to avoid fake news and panic. Take advantage of tools for preventing and mitigating everything from a bad review to a full-blown crisis. review guest surveys and case management.
There is a need to be wary of the negative effects of the crisis as they can be sources of significant insurance claims.
Resolution to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for international arrivals. Establishment of Victoria’s (Australia’s) Hotel Quarantine Program.
Data analysis techniques
Data collection methods
Type of data
Sources of data
Type of paper (conceptual/ empirical)
Research topic/ objectives
No. Article (author/s and title)
Qualitative
Personal interviews; literature reviews
Primary data
Local attorneys advising F&B businesses during the time of upheaval
Empirical
Servant leadership in client relationship management in times of crisis in the F&B industry
Olson, A. (2020). Advising clients in times of crisis: How servant leadership can deepen client relationships and add value during the pandemic and beyond.
1
Qualitative. Literature review
Analysis of sourced secondary data
Secondary data
Secondary published resources
Conceptual
Well-being of hotel guests and staff during the Covid-19 crisis
Wendt, M. (2020). Five steps to enhancing hotel housekeeping and guest satisfaction in a downturn
2
Qualitative. Literature review
Analysis of sourced secondary data
Secondary data
Secondary published resources
Conceptual
Communication guidelines during the time of crisis
No author. (2020). Six ways to manage reputation during coronavirus and other crises
3
Qualitative
Personal interview
Primary data
Single- person’s experience
Empirical
Risks of the crisis from the point of view of health insurers
Shelly, J. (2020). Nine critical Covid-19 risks for the hospitality industry
4
Qualitative
Public hearings
Primary and secondary data
96 witnesses and 350,000 pages of documents
Empirical and conceptual
Measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and avoid the negative effects from the point of view of WHO and governments
Coate, J. (2020). Covid-19 hotel quarantine inquiry final report and recommendations
5
Table 1. Systematic Literature Review, 70 Articles/Pieces of Literature.
Note: This is the 1st of 14 pages of this table. The complete table can be seen at https://www.schoolnetwork-sg.com/table-of-70-literature
Data revealed from the word frequency of exact words indicated the words, “2020,” “Covid,” “quarantine,” “hotel,” “security,” “management,” “crisis,” and “government” topped the list of most mentioned terms. The stemmed word version of the word frequency added the words, “health,” “responsiveness,” “control” “plans,” “people,” and “support,” among others. The similar words iteration had “health,” “program,” and “management” as the highest number of mentions. See Table 2, Word Frequency for Exact Matches Iteration.
The word cloud on exact words indicated the terms, “health,” “Covid,” “program,” “hotel,” “crisis,” “risk,” “work,” services,” “tourism,” “decision,” “emergency,” “social,” “business,” “team,” and “international” to be associated with each other. The words, “management,” “pandemic,” “control,” “people,” “response,” “impact,” “measures,” “time,” “cases,” “airlines,” transmission,” “staff,” “hospitality,” “fist,” “evidence,” “policy,” and “travel” seemed to be associated with each other as they bore the same brown color in the word cloud. Finally, the words, “quarantine,” “security,” “public,” “witness,” “government,” and “support” having the same dark blue color showed apparent association. See Figure 1, Word Cloud, Exact Match Iteration.
The tree map version of the analysis for exact words indicated the biggest magnitude measured were “2020,” “health,” and “Covid” at the first level. The second level in the tree map for exact words showed the words, “quarantine,” “program,” “hotel,” and “public.” The third level frequently mentioned words in the tree map showed the words, “exhibit,” “security,” “management,” “pandemic,” and “statement.” The fourth, fifth, and sixth levels revealed the words, “witness,” “crisis,” “people,” “emergency,” “government,” “response,” “control,” and “evidence.” The others worth including in the notable words most frequency mentioned the following after the latter were “service,” “support,” “time,” “role,” “work,” “plan,” “measures,” “impact,” “risk,” and “agency.” See Figure 2, Tree Map for Exact Matches Iteration.
The clustering function of nVivo indicated the highest level, “tourism.” See Figure 3-A and Figure 3-B, Cluster Analysis for Exact Matches Iteration. This categorized the 70 source materials under the tourism topic area. The words, “industry” and “hospitality” stemmed out of the term, “tourism.” One interesting cluster bundled “global,” “recovery,” “social,” “economic,” “local,” “impact,” and “countries” at a cascading order. Another group consisted of “company,” “million,” “new,” “travel,” and “airlines” came in as another minor group.
Further to the clustering function, “international” and “service” bonded in one cluster. A cluster leaf indicated in a single light purple color the cascading words, “measures,” “government,” “coronavirus,” “2020,” “policy,” “Covid,” “support,” and “national.”
Another cluster in the same green color included, “sector,” “people,” and “response.”
One more seemingly relevant cluster in green as well consisted of the words, “staff,” “time,” “one,” “pandemic,” “plan,” “information,” “management,” and “team.” Perhaps among the least notable that bore reasonable significance in the context of this present study consisted of the words, “emergency,” “infection,” “September,” “cleansing,” “quarantine,” “operation,” “control,” “security,” and “agency.”
In Table 3 (Word Frequency, Stemmed Word Iteration, See https://www.schoolnetwork-sg.com/table-3-word-freq-stem-word-iteration), the word frequency summary under this iteration highlighted the term, “2020” with the highest most mentioned word in the 70 source materials at 5.44% of the total. This was followed by the sords, “health” (4.88%), “Covid” (4.64%), “hotel” (4.00%), “responsiveness” with its one dozen stemmed words at 3.17% contribution to total. “Managing” (3.15%), “quarantining” (2.97%), “programs” (2.63%), “government” (2.44%) and “states” (2.36%) all came relatively high in the frequency table. These were followed by “public” (2.29%) that all had proportions of contribution that were at least 2.00%.
The word cloud under the stemmed word iteration displayed “2020” to be the term that dominated the cloud. With the exact same color dark blue but smaller in size were the words, “public,” “security,” “days,” “risk,” “public,” “control,” “statements,” and “people.” See Figure 4, Word Cloud of Stemmed Words Iteration (Go to https://www.schoolnetwork-sg.com/word-cloud-stem-word).
The next most significant display of associated words, with the same brown color, was dominated by “health,” followed by “Covid” and “hotel,” then “responsiveness” and “quarantining” and then “serving,” “operations,” “travel,” “witness,” “exhibits,” “provide,” and “work,” respectively according to size from big to small characters.
The tree map for stemmed words showed, “2020,” “health,” and “Covid,” to be the biggest space shown on the leftmost side of the figure (See Figure 5, Tree Map of Stemmed Words Iteration, https://www.schoolnetwork-sg.com/word-cloudstem-word). The next smaller in space occupied were “hotel,” “responsive,” “managing,” “quarantining,” “and then “program,” “government,” “states,” “public,” “security,” “emerging,” “pandemic,” “exhibits,” “control,” “plans,” “servicing,” “witness,” “days,” “operations,” “crisis,” and “people,” all having similar volume space on the tree map. The size showed the most number of words within or those respective topics which in turn were assumed to consciously or subconsciously express the sentiments of the writers and authors as well as the expressions of subjects or respondents those studies recorded and reported on.
The clustering function unfortunately did not, for one reason or another, provide a clear graphic resolution of the figure. Thus, there was no option but to exclude this under this sub-iteration at this point as well as in the next key iterations.
The word frequency for the “with synonym” iteration, after the presumably irrelevant words were excluded, showed 64 significant words that were most frequently mentioned in the 70 articles. See Table 4, Word Frequency of Synonyms Iteration. Go to https://www.schoolnetwork-sg.com/table-4-synonyms-iteration. Unlike the other two previous key iterations, under the “with synonyms” iteration, the word, “take” which represented synonymous terms like “accept,” “acceptable,” “adoption,” “bringing,” “choosing,” “conducting,” “directing,” “engage,” “occupy,” “removing,” “proceedings,” “selection,” “studying,” “yield,” and others with generally positive connotations prevailed over the other words at a good 4.72% of the total. This is a big departure from the words, “2020,” “quarantining,” “health,” and others reported earlier under the “exact matches” and “stemmed words” categories. The word, “work” representing other related terms like “acting,” “bringing,” “cultivating,” etc. also generally with positive and actionoriented connotations followed “take” at 3.96% of the total (cleaned) word count. The words representing other synonymous terms that followed “take” and “work” were namely: “control” (3.59%), “government” (3.41%), “set” (2.97%), “support” (2.79%), “state” (2.77%, and “place” (2.76%), among a few more words.
The word cloud and the tree map, however, were similar to the first two iterations because it was extremely difficult, albeit almost impossible, for the researchers to clean-up the data directly on the 70 articles with a sum total of 271,850 words. The researchers therefore chose to only include the word frequency of exact matches for the purpose of data interpretation of this systematic literature review. See the word cloud and the tree map for the “with synonyms” iteration. See Figures 6 and 7, Word Cloud and Tree Map of Synonyms Iteration, respectively. Go to https://www.schoolnetwork-sg.com/copy-of-stemmed-words-figures.
The two stages of content analysis in this systematic literature review showed that leaders and managers of hospitality companies had a generally optimistic attitude towards surviving the crisis. This is although there were overwhelming apprehensions among themselves and their staff because there had never been a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic of global proportions experienced by that and current generations.
Thus, the sentiments were neither categorically positive, neutral, nor negative but rather very much mixed as drawn by the tool used in this study. The investigation’s outcome of prolonged sense of uncertainty and anxiety derived from the source materials implies that leaders and managers for most part had to change
their mindset of running their businesses, that is, with unwavering resolve. As the hospitality industry had been largely ravaged by the pandemic, industry leaders cannot deny the necessity to embark on a fierce fight against the menace and have to quickly reexamine their business models, albeit pivot radically to what could best recover lost revenue from a marketplace defined plainly shocked by the severity of global crisis. These study results were consistent with D’Auria, Nielsen, and Zolley (2020) as well as Brassey and Kruyt (2020) who stated the importance of leaders and managers to remain positive despite the trying times brought about by the pandemic and to focus on confronting the main issues.
This study’s researchers suggest that the pursuit to drill deeper into the outcomes of this paper should not wane. Furthermore, an unceasing search for evolving information should be the order of day as the virus and its variety continue to spread, to propel their going concerns towards a future that is extremely difficult to predict. Leaders and managers therefore should be relentless in updating themselves with daily progress reports and updates on how their respective country governments handle the spread of the virus. As governments play a crucial role in battling the disease, business principals, owners and operators ought to relentlessly monitor the moves of and assistance provided for by the former.
The limited access to more e-libraries was a constraint in this research. Gathered data was relatively not exhaustive although the researchers believe that the 70 shortlisted reference materials were enough to provide an objective and reliable context that they represented. In addition, the comprehensive outcomes of the digital tool used to process the texts did not make it easy for the researchers to distinguish good data and which are not. Sheer logic was resorted to in addressing this issue, that is, select the most obvious word frequency and cloud map results.
The findings and implications of this study could benefit leaders and managers of existing businesses and would-be company owners. As discussed in the earlier section, crises come and go. Hence, best practices from literature systematically reviewed could serve their purpose when the time comes. Industry association and federations especially in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries could use this study to serve as a source of valuable information in creating needed support and assistance to their members.
Match Iteration.
Governments could base policies and strategies to keep their constituencies’ businesses afloat from the outcomes of this study, however little they might be. Academic and training institutions can also benefit from this research through the results discussed here, to influence their curriculums that should contain risk management, business resilience, crisis leadership, and the like.
Further studies could be undertaken involving more e-libraries and could include references, journal articles, and other reading materials in various journal publications. A follow-up systematic literature review could also be conducted at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic would have subsided along with its risks and global mass immunity is achieved. The crisis would have disappeared or minimized and the spin-off research would be a post-crisis reckoning of how leaders and business managers overcome the pandemic with their livelihood saved and sustained.
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CIRVATH INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM
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Cynthia MULINDI, Deputy Head of Academics
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