Effects of COVID 19 pandemic on restaurant and hotel customers’ sentiments towards dining out, traveling to a destination and staying at hotels

Abstract

This study provides a summary of American restaurant and hotel customers’ sentiments towards dining in at sit-down restaurant and staying at hotels based on a monthly study that tracks restaurant and hotel customers’ sentiments since May 2020. Data for this specific study were collected between December 1 and December 10, 2020. Findings suggest that consumers express a significantly lower likelihood to patronize sit-down restaurants, travel to a destination and stay at a hotel in the near future compared to those who responded the survey during the previous month. Findings also suggest that a large portion of consumers are willing to pay more at sit-down restaurants and hotels that implement increased safety precautions. Findings also suggest that a large portion of consumers are likely to a accept the use of various technologies, such as service robots, contactless payment (i.e., apple pay or contactless bankcards), digital menus that can be viewed on personal mobile devices via QR codes, keyless entry, etc., in service delivery at sit down restaurants and hotels in order to minimize human-to-human contact.