A NEW BUSINESS MODEL IN THE FORM OF A STAYCATION IN A HOTEL IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID PANDEMIC

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 virus was discovered in Wuhan, China in 2019, and spread globally, prompting the WHO to declare the existence of this virus as a pandemic outbreak. Indonesia became one of the countries affected by the entry of this virus in March 2020, and an economic sector including tourism experienced paralysis. There was a decrease in the number of tourists which resulted in a low percentage of hotel occupancy. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Eastparc Hotel strategy in responding to the staycation trend towards occupancy rates during the Covid-19 pandemic. The method used in this study is a qualitative description method with data acquisition in the form of primary data which is collected after in-depth interviews with the HR Director of Eastparc Hotel and secondary data derived from literature studies through articles, theories, and dictates. The results showed that the Eastparc Hotel was greatly affected by the pandemic. There was a drastic decline in hotel occupancy and even a temporary suspension of operations took effect. However, Eastparc Hotel is being adaptive by bringing staycation innovation into the concept of facility development. The hotel is also always consistent with the principles of healthy and cleanliness in serving and providing facilities. Both of these things are effective in increasing hotel occupancy, in the sense that Eastparc Hotel has implemented an effective strategy to survive a pandemic. Furthermore, development activities are continued to be carried out of the flow of digitalization to improve the sustainability of the Eastparc Hotel.