| Abstract [eng] |
The hotel business has faced many challenges and difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses providing accommodation or catering services were probably the hardest hit by the pandemic, which led to a drop in Lithuania's GDP during the pandemic. Naturally, in order to survive, hotels had to take appropriate actions in order to cope with the difficulties and challenges of the pandemic. Hotels had to manage their human resources efficiently, hotel management had to show proactive leadership, and confident and calm decisions had to be made to manage the challenges of the pandemic. Hotels had to diversify their activities, to be flexible both in finding ways to attract additional customers and sources of revenue, in creating a flexible organizational structure and in applying innovative solutions within the organization. It was essential for hotels to be socially responsible and to adapt effectively to changing health and safety requirements and conditions during the pandemic, thus ensuring the safety of guests. The Lithuanian government had to find reserves to support the hotel business and this was particularly important for hotels, as government subsidies and compensation helped hotels to retain their employees, or at least most of them. Another important resilience factor in the context of the pandemic was the community spirit of hotels, which was mainly reflected through the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association in Lithuania. The association represented Lithuanian hotels in working with the Lithuanian authorities on the necessary support modalities and also contributed to providing the most relevant and up-to-date information on pandemic management requirements. The pandemic highlighted the importance of having a plan of action and risk management in place before the crisis period, and as a result, hotels have become more proactive in preparing for future crises through operational analysis, budgeting and planning after the pandemic. These are some of the key resilience factors for hotels. In order to substantiate the resilience factors of hotels in Lithuania, an empirical study is carried out in this thesis by interviewing 5 hotels. |
