"A home away from hem": exploring and assessing hotel staycation as the new normal in the Covid-19 era

Purpose Enlightened by the theoretical framework of adapted protection motivation, this study aims to explore and assess the viability and resilience of hospitality consumption in the ongoing Covid-19 era as embodied in the activity of staycation, which is gaining popularity as a rare escape from the hemming in of the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This study collects data from staycation guests in Hong Kong, which at the time was under semi-lockdown imposing compulsory quarantine for inbound visitors. The data was analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings It is revealed by the study results that staycation experiences in Hong Kong are underpinned by a full mediating effect between place attachment and experience quality is performed by sense of presence, together with consolidation of experience quality and psychological detachment as tenable mediators in the research model. Aside from the utilitarian and hedonic values, hospitality and tourism consumption have been engrained with profound socio-cultural implications congenial to the collective identities, recollection and contemplation of a civilized society, with the Covid-19 era and the foreseeable future expected to be no exception. Practical implications The results of this study can serve as reference regarding better planning and development of the staycation product as effective responses against the grave repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic by hotel and hospitality practitioners and destination marketers and managers at large. In particular, the pandemic has inadvertently availed the opportunity for the destinationalization of the hotel and hospitality sector, with rich implications for industrial consolidations and coordination with destination authorities. Originality/value The holistic structural research model derived and empirically examined entails major antecedents and consequences of the experience quality of staycation guests in locked-down Hong Kong, with the incorporation of the variables of place attachment and extended conceptualization of sense of presence accounting for the efficacy factors of the staycation takers in terms of locality and recollection appraisals, respectively. This study enriches theoretical articulations on staycation as the new normal of hospitality consumption in the lingering pandemic era.

Using agent-based simulation to assess disease prevention measures during pandemics*

Despite the growing interest in macroscopic epidemiological models to deal with threats posed by pandemics such as COVID-19, little has been done regarding the assessment of disease spread in day-to-day life, especially within buildings such as supermarkets where people must obtain necessities at the risk of exposure to disease. Here, we propose an integrated customer shopping simulator including both shopper movement and choice behavior, using a force-based and discrete choice model, respectively. By a simple extension to the force-based model, we implement the following preventive measures currently taken by supermarkets;social distancing and one-way systems, and different customer habits, assessing them based on the average individual disease exposure and the time taken to complete shopping (shopping efficiency). Results show that maintaining social distance is an effective way to reduce exposure, but at the cost of shopping efficiency. We find that the one-way system is the optimal strategy for reducing exposure while minimizing the impact on shopping efficiency. Customers should also visit supermarkets less frequently, but buy more when they do, if they wish to minimize their exposure. We hope that this work demonstrates the potential of pedestrian dynamics simulations in assessing preventative measures during pandemics, particularly if it is validated using empirical data.