Abstract:
It is evident from literature that the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought the world economies
to its ‘knees’. No industry has gone untouched by the effects of this pandemic. Globally there has been
an adverse impact on travel which is backbone of the hotel industry. This study focuses on exploring
the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on Zimbabwean hotel sector. The objectives of the
study focused on investigating the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on hotel occupancy and revenue and
proposing strategies that can be implemented for recovery post the pandemic. The study adopted a
mixed method approach, semi-structured questionnaires were used to gather data from 29 (3-5 star)
hotel management across the various major tourism cities in Zimbabwe. Findings reveal that the Covid19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on hotel occupancy and revenue. Occupancy and revenue
have dropped. Strategies have been employed by hotel to cope with the adverse impact of reduced
occupancy and revenue, these include working with minimal staff to avoid increases exposure, closing
other parts of the hotel to reduce operational cost and operating on take out bases. It can be concluded
that hotels in Zimbabwe are unprepared for pandemics like Covid-19. It is therefore recommended
that disaster management plans relating to pandemics be developed and implemented by hotels.
