EVALUATION OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ON PERFORMANCE OF HOTEL INDUSTRY IN ERA OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN ENUGU STATE

Abstract

The advent of COVID-19 pandemic has brought about restrictions, confinement and devastation, on every industry, especially the hotel industry. The study evaluates the customer relationship management on performance of hotel industry in the era of COVID- 19 pandemic. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. A total of 320 respondents (managers and front desk officers) drawn from 160 registered hotels in Enugu metropolis, represent the sample for the study due to its manageability. Enugu metropolis was used because it is the capital and most of the major hotels are located in the State. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled “Customer Relationship Management on Performance of Hotel Industry in COVID-19 Questionnaire” (CRMPHICQ) and was validated by three experts from Department of Business Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was ascertained through Cronbach Alpha technique which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.81. The questionnaire was administered personally by the researchers through the help of six research assistants. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, and the hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance using Ttest statistics. The study provided valuable information for hotel managers on how to manage their customers during this period of COVID– 19. The study also revealed how hoteliers should always gear up to counter any crisis and handle future distress. Due to intensity of the disease, the study recommends that management of hotel industry should develop diplomatic protocols and procedures in handling their customers for better service.