Homestay businesses' strategies for adapting to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic: A study in Vietnam

Adaptation and recovery are essential for businesses to survive crises and disasters. Drawing on the concepts of business resilience and hospitality service delivery practices, this study explored strategies employed by owners of Vietnamese homestay businesses for adapting to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews with 17 purposefully selected homestay owners were conducted during the pandemic. The thematic analysis of the data revealed three major strategies: adapting operational protocols, modifying products and service offerings, and reinstating the authenticity of the homestay experience. A conceptual model illustrating the transformations in homestay businesses was developed from the findings. As the study particularly revealed that the selected Vietnamese homestay businesses showed a strong capacity for adaptation, we discuss several factors influencing the implementation of adaptation and recovery strategies. This study contributes to the understanding of how micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises can adapt to external shocks and new externalities, and provides practical implications for homestay owners and stakeholders in relation to their post-pandemic business recovery.

Homestay businesses’ strategies for adapting to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic: A study in Vietnam

Adaptation and recovery are essential for businesses to survive crises and disasters. Drawing on the concepts of business resilience and hospitality service delivery practices, this study explored strategies employed by owners of Vietnamese homestay businesses for adapting to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews with 17 purposefully selected homestay owners were conducted during the pandemic. The thematic analysis of the data revealed three major strategies: adapting operational protocols, modifying products and service offerings, and reinstating the authenticity of the homestay experience. A conceptual model illustrating the transformations in homestay businesses was developed from the findings. As the study particularly revealed that the selected Vietnamese homestay businesses showed a strong capacity for adaptation, we discuss several factors influencing the implementation of adaptation and recovery strategies. This study contributes to the understanding of how micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises can adapt to external shocks and new externalities, and provides practical implications for homestay owners and stakeholders in relation to their post-pandemic business recovery.

Travelers’ emotional experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak: The development of a conceptual model

This research proposes a general conceptual framework of individuals’ emotional experiences during crises by reviewing the existing literature. The framework includes two different stages of information-processing induced emotions. The importance of sensemaking in both two stages is highlighted in the framework. This framework proposes that cognition-oriented and emotion-oriented individuals have different attitudes and behavioral intentions. The research then tests the framework in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak using interviews with travelers to ascertain the specific nature of individuals’ emotional experiences in that specific context. The research demonstrates that the general framework can be applied to different contexts, and the framework specific to travelers’ emotional experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak may be used to underpin future research in the area of tourism crisis.