Carlos Díaz-Santamaría, Jacques Bulchand-Gidumal and Santiago Melián-González
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the perceived quality of service by guests in the reopening process during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the perceived quality of service by guests in the reopening process during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyzed 1,679 TripAdvisor reviews from 2019 and 2020 that were written for hotels in Gran Canaria, Spain. The authors compared the average rating for 2019 and 2020 and the authors performed a content analysis of the reviews.
Findings
Guests perceived the quality of their stay to be worse during 2020, especially regarding food and beverage and staff behavior. The only service quality dimension that showed an improvement was related to open-air hotel installations.
Research limitations/implications
The authors only analyzed reviews in one language. The authors were not able to determine if the lower ratings in 2020 were due to the way in which they perceived the quality of service or to the fact that the quality of service was objectively worse.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to theory development in the field of hospitality management by providing new insights into how external events can influence hotel services and guests’ perceptions. This research shows how a health crisis that is external to the tourism industry has caused an impact on hotel staff management and on how hotel staff behavior is perceived. However, it is also possible that regardless of anything managers do, the rating that a guest awards a hotel will be lower than it would have been before the pandemic.
Details
Keywords
Esteban Lafuente, Suyen Alonso-Ubieta, Juan Carlos Leiva and Ronald Mora-Esquivel
This study evaluates the relationship between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and business competitiveness in four different contexts (i.e. France, Spain, Hungary and Costa Rica).
Abstract
Purpose
This study evaluates the relationship between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and business competitiveness in four different contexts (i.e. France, Spain, Hungary and Costa Rica).
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a sample of 348 manufacturing and knowledge-intensive business service firms operating in four countries with different entrepreneurial ecosystems (France, Spain, Costa Rica and Hungary) for 2019. Firm competitiveness is computed via the “benefit-of-the-doubt” (BOD) method, and a multilevel model is employed to assess the connection between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and firm competitiveness.
Findings
The results of the multilevel model indicate that the entrepreneurial ecosystem is related to firm competitiveness, while the BOD results suggest that firms operating in settings with a more consolidated entrepreneurial ecosystem are better able to realize the outcomes of strategic choices linked to the exploitation of key resources and capabilities. Country-specific results suggest that “human capital” is the most relevant competitive pillar prioritized by all sampled businesses.
Originality/value
The proposed analysis of the connection between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and business competitiveness in different contexts contributes to the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem frame by offering insights into how the properties of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (i.e. interactions among individuals, organizations and institutions) can produce economically meaningful effects on business performance.