To survive or to thrive? China’s luxury hotel restaurants entering O2O food delivery platforms amid the COVID-19 crisis
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elservier
Abstract
COVID-19 presents luxury hotels with an unenviable task of maneuvering to secure survival. One of the contingency
measures of China’s five-star hotels is to salvage revenues by entering online-to-offline (O2O) food
delivery platforms. However, both opportunities and risks will ensue. Study 1 has content analyzed customer
reviews on the largest O2O food delivery platform in China to probe the key factors of concern. The results show
that taste, freshness, and brand credibility remain salient, as in dine-in experiences, while packaging and delivery
quality emerge as a result of the integration of the O2O platform, and hygiene due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interestingly, interaction quality between restaurant staff and customers still plays significant roles with the
online channel. Study 2 has further deepened the understanding of luxury restaurants’ O2O services through
semi-structured interviews with F&B professionals. The results have paved the way for hotel operators to employ
tactics on O2O platforms.
Description
International Journal of Hospitality Management 94 (2021) 102855
Keywords
O2O,Luxury hotel restaurant,COVID-19,Service quality,Brand credibility