Early evidence of leadership skills and strategies in managing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the hospitality industry

Abstract

PurposeGiven the critical consequences of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis worldwide, displaying good leadership has been of utmost importance. Hospitality has been among the industries that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, and it requires exceptional leadership skills unique to this crisis and sector. This multi-country study aims to contribute to the understanding of some of the most important skills and strategies that leaders in the hospitality industry may use to navigate the COVID-19 crisis effectively.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employs a qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with managers of international hospitality groups or local hotel chains in seven different countries.FindingsThe results show that positive thinking, decision-making, flexibility, divergent thinking, trust-building and communication skills have a positive impact on leadership effectiveness in the hospitality sector during the pandemic. Besides, saving payroll costs, elaborating contingency plans and leveraging from partners' strengths are highlighted as crucial strategies.Practical implicationsThis paper provides hospitality professionals across borders preliminary insights and recommendations to manage the COVID-19 crisis.Originality/valueEspecially being one of the sectors that have been hit the hardest by the COVID-19 crisis worldwide, the dynamics and leadership requirements of the hospitality sector need further attention. The findings contribute to the literature by illustrating how managers have navigated the initial stages of the crisis in the under-researched hotel sector, and also by gathering evidence about the sector dynamics related to the early stages of this crisis.

The impact of leadership competences, organizational learning and organizational innovation on business performance

“…In the extant literature, many attempts have been made to search for novel strategies that help T&H firms overcome such harsh and turbulent situations. Various recent studies have also pointed to the role of leader in supporting T&H firms to achieve better outcomes during COVID-19 pandemic (Nazarian et al, 2022;Ho et al, 2022;Hahang et al, 2022). For example, Talu and Nazarov (2020) found that leaders relied on their competences such as emotional intelligence and goal orientation to lead their tourism firms through economic uncertainty.…”

The effects of transformational leadership dimensions on employee performance in the hospitality industry in Malaysia

“…Focusing on leadership during this crisis is important not only because it is relatively under-explored, but also because it carries important social implications and organizational costs (Lombardi et al, 2021). Especially considering that the hotel industry is one of the sectors that has been impacted the most severely by the COVID-19 crisis all over the world, the dynamics and leadership requirements of the industry deserve further attention (Hahang et al, 2022). Since the detrimental impact on overall employee performance is obvious, it is necessary to determine whether leadership style will still have a substantial impact on employee performance under stressful COVID-19 conditions (Shanmugam et al, 2020).…”

The mobilization of employees’ psychological resources: how servant leadership motivates pro-customer deviance

“…The hotel industry faces more uncertainty and customers are more sensitive to service quality and staff responsiveness (Chan et al , 2021), employees are required to respond flexibly to customer needs. The findings show that SL can effectively stimulate employees’ pro-customer motivation, create a service innovation atmosphere, flexibility, divergent thinking and enhance employees’ CSE, which can be beneficial to keeping and improving organizational resiliency (Hahang et al , 2022). Therefore, hospitality companies should attach more importance to the SL style in human resource management practices.…”