Impact of COVID–19 on the Hospitality Industry: Climbing Towards Recovery

Abstract

This comprehensive research has been undertaken to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 in the hotel and restaurant industry. Amid temporary closures, introducing drive-thru, pick-up, third party deliveries, implementation of new technologies, and finally reopening, the restaurant industry and gone through ups and downs. Many restaurants could not afford to return to business and many lost track and employees. To evaluate the impact of COVID-19, this paper has discussed the three vital stages of the recent life of the restaurant - “Pre COVID-19”, “During COVID-19” and “After COVID-19”. The descriptive research has been conducted on independent restaurants to shed light on how COVID-19 has impacted them and also suggested the possible effects of survival. A variety of key themes have arisen from the findings. Firstly, the reopened hotels and restaurants workers have laid off or furloughed more than 50% of workers in Bangladesh. According to a National Restaurant Association study of the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis, the entire restaurant industry is forecast to sustain $240 billion in losses by the end of 2020. Secondly, contrary to previous research, we find that many small companies are financially weaker than before. Therefore, the purpose of this analysis is also to explore the potential effect of the COVID-19 in the hospitality sector due to the restricted movement, summarize the lessons that were learned from other similar epidemics and global crises, and exploring the potential steps towards recovery.