Running head: MAJOR CHALLENGES FACED IN THE HOSPITALITY DEPARTMENT 1

Major Challenges Faced In the Hospitality Department and How COVID Might Have

Contributed To It

Name

Institution
MAJOR CHALLENGES IN THE HOSPITALITY DEPARTMENT 2

Major Challenges Faced In the Hospitality Department and How COVID Might Have

Contributed To It

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic affected humans and businesses on a large scale. For example,

many people were compelled to stay at home and business operations were brought to a standstill

(Davahli, Karwowski, Sonmez & Apostolopoulos, 2020). The question is, what were the major

challenges faced by individual departments and how did COVID might have contributed to it? In

this paper, the major challenges faced in the hospitality are examined.

Major challenges faced in the hospitality department

The major challenges faced in the hospitality department are problem finding staffing

after COVID, finding quality candidates who want to work not just for money, COVID-19, and

making sure customers leave a good rating.

Problem finding staffing after COVID

The problem of staffing was experienced significantly during the pandemic particularly

in the healthcare sector due to the high number of sick people as a result of the virus. However,

staffing problems were also significant in other sectors, including the hospitality. These problems

have persisted post-COVID (Mia & Hassan, 2021). The reason for finding staffing after COVID

in the hospitality department is people most people found new ways of making money. During

the pandemic, a significant number of people lost their jobs and most had to look for a way of

earning an income (Cuc et al., 2022). For a significant number of people, the alternative means
MAJOR CHALLENGES IN THE HOSPITALITY DEPARTMENT 3

of earning income have proven to be more lucrative than their jobs and have opted not to go back

to formal employment. This has contributed to staffing problems.

Finding quality candidates who want to work not just for money

For most people, the main incentive for looking for work is money. This is particularly

the case after COVID-19 where most people lost their jobs or suffered from a significantly

reduced income level. There are thereby fewer people who work for the same of working

because they love their jobs (Cuc et al., 2022). The problem is this has led to a high employee

turnover rate. This is because whenever people find other better paying jobs they leave their

current jobs. With significant level of competition for talent in the labour market due to COVID,

employee turnover has been significant in the hospitality department.

COVID-19

As indicated, COVID-19 affected not only humans but also businesses. Most companies

were forced to shut down operations because of the directive to stay at home to avoid infections.

The hospitality industry was among the most affected sectors because people could no longer eat

at hotels, travel, or go to recreation facilities (Mia & Hassan, 2021). The hospitality department

experienced almost zero sales at the height of the pandemic. The financial effects are still being

felt with most hospitality businesses trying to re-establish themselves in the market.

Making sure customers leave a good rating

The continued good performance of the hospitality department depends on customer

rating. When customers leave a good rating concerning the services they obtained, it helps attract

other customers who read these ratings (Mia & Hassan, 2021). However, the challenge is getting
MAJOR CHALLENGES IN THE HOSPITALITY DEPARTMENT 4

customers to leave a good rating. Some customers decide not to give a rating at all. Others decide

to leave a bad rating even when the services they received were good. This is a significant

challenge for the hospitality department and it has contributed to poor performance in some

cases.

Conclusion

Basically, the hospitality department faces a number of challenges that include finding

staffing after COVID, finding quality candidates who want to work not just for money, COVID-

19, and making sure customers leave a good rating. A significant number of these challenges are

a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is thereby need to find a solution to these

problems in order to improve the performance of the department.

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References

Cuc, L. D., Feher, A., Cuc, P. N., Szentesi, S. G., Rad, D., Rad, G., ... & Joldes, C. S. R. (2022).

A Parallel Mediation Analysis on the Effects of Pandemic Accentuated Occupational

Stress on Hospitality Industry Staff Turnover Intentions in COVID-19

Context. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19),

12050.

Davahli, M. R., Karwowski, W., Sonmez, S., & Apostolopoulos, Y. (2020). The hospitality

industry in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic: Current topics and research

methods. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(20),

7366.

Mia, M. N., & Hassan, K. (2021). Post COVID challenges to the tourism and hospitality

industry: a study on Bangladesh. Can. J. Bus. Inf. Stud, 3(6), 109-119.