The influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on guests' evaluations of hotel services

ABSTRACT

The impact of the second Covid-19 wave on guests' evaluations of hotel services is scarce and mainly focused on Asia. We compared positive and negative comments of 1196 pre-pandemic reviews with 1065 reviews written during the pandemic of hotels in the heart of Europe. We found a significant drop in overall guest scores;however, guests commenting positively on the hotel's handling of the pandemic, rated their stay significantly higher. Furthermore, we observed substantial shifts in guests' comments on certain hotel attributes. Our findings provide, therefore, useful insights for hotel managers into guests' expectations and hotel experiences under strict safety conditions. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.