COVID-19 public health strategy implementation for the hospitality industry in Taiwan. (Special Issue: Health, sport and tourism: searching for future synergies.)

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to explore the public health strategies that hotels in Taiwan have applied during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. This empirical study develops a list of public health strategy practices from a pilot study using in-depth interviews, followed by a questionnaire survey. The research samples are 4-star and 5-star hotels in Taiwan, which are the most popular hotel choices for domestic and international travellers. Out of 127 hotels, 76 hotel owners, general managers, or executive managers participated in the survey. The findings illustrate the frequency of public health strategies that hotels have used during the coronavirus crisis. It shows that the most popular strategy is strengthening hygiene and cleanliness in hotel operations to offer reassuring lodging services and accommodation products. The results also show there is no significance difference in implementation of the various public health practices regarding hotel location, nationality of main customers, hotel performance, annual f & b revenue, or annual room sales. This study suggests hotels implement public health strategies to limit the spread of disease, regain customers' trust and promote the hotel during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper concludes with recommendations for crisis management and crisis preparation for the hospitality industry.