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Hotel experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: high-touch versus high-tech

Dori Davari (Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA)
Saeed Vayghan (Department of Hospitality Administration, William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)
SooCheong (Shawn) Jang (Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA)
Mehmet Erdem (Department of Hospitality Administration, William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

ISSN: 0959-6119

Article publication date: 10 January 2022

Issue publication date: 11 March 2022

2858

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to gain an understanding of hotel experiences during the pandemic by examining sentiments of guests posted online.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper incorporates the balance theory, in a dyadic system to analyze the ways in which guests were motivated to restore a position of balance during the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. Qualitative content analysis was used to detect thematic patterns of hotel experiences based on examining online reviews shared by actual guests of two major hotel brands – one more closely associated with convenience-driven automation (high-tech) and the other known for providing more guest–employee interaction (high-touch).

Findings

The analysis of the reviews yielded six main themes: “purpose of visit,” “COVID safety concerns,” “technology adoption,” “COVID limitations,” “exceeded expectation” and “hospitality of staff.” Staff displaying a welcoming attitude was the main factor in creating a convivial experience for guests at both hotel brands, but the technology was not highlighted as much in guests’ reviews. Despite the pandemic, guests of both hotel brands had similar levels of enjoyment regarding their hotel experiences regardless of the high-touch or high-tech nature of the operations.

Research limitations/implications

User-generated content often reflects the opinions of those who are very satisfied or not satisfied at all. Different data collection techniques could be used to get a “big picture” view of the balance between high-touch and high-tech experiences.

Practical implications

The findings offer support to researchers and practitioners who advocate that high-touch and high-tech can indeed co-exist, and that these distinct service delivery modes do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Originality/value

This paper provides new trajectories that can broaden the approaches undertaken by hospitality/tourism scholars and practitioners based on user-generated content. This study is one of the first to adopt the lens of the balance theory, in a dyadic system, to investigate how guests may be psychologically motivated to balance their perceptions and expectations during a time of crisis.

Keywords

Citation

Davari, D., Vayghan, S., Jang, S.(S). and Erdem, M. (2022), "Hotel experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: high-touch versus high-tech", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 1312-1330. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-07-2021-0919

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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