sustainability

Article
COVID-19 Impacts and Recovery Strategies: The Case
of the Hospitality Industry in Spain
José Miguel Rodríguez-Antón * and María del Mar Alonso-Almeida
Business Organization Department, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain;
[email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected]




Received: 10 September 2020; Accepted: 13 October 2020; Published: 16 October 2020


Abstract: The health crisis caused by the pandemic COVID-19 has been of such magnitude that
the drop-off in economic and tourist activity in most countries is generating an economic crisis
with consequences that are still difficult to measure. The present work analyses the origins and
evolution of the coronavirus pandemic and reviews the literature related to the impacts and recovery
strategies that were implemented in previous crisis situations affecting the hotel industry. In order to
focus the study on one country, Spain was selected based on tourism indicators, the importance of
tourism for this country and the importance of Spain as a leader in international tourist destinations.
The influence of the pandemic on the Spanish tourism sector and, more specifically, on its hospitality
industry is explored in depth. In addition, the main initiatives to support the tourism and hospitality
sector that have been undertaken at the global, European and national levels are highlighted and,
finally, the response and recovery strategies of the five largest Spanish hotel chains to guarantee a
COVID-19-free stay in their facilities and to recover the accommodation activity are discussed.

Keywords: hotels; COVID-19; economic crisis; pandemics; response strategy; tourism; strategy
management; health economics

1. Introduction
COVID-19—the acronym for coronavirus disease 2019—is an infectious disease caused by the
SARS-CoV-2 virus. It was detected for the first time in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, at the end of
2019. Given its rapid expansion, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a state of sanitary
emergency on 30 January 2020; a month and a half later, specifically on 11 March, when the disease had
surpassed the epidemic situation, it declared a state of pandemic. Since both the virus and the disease
were unknown until then, there were no known drugs to stop the disease or vaccines to protect people
against the virus, so the health authorities focused their greatest effort on recommending distance
and social isolation (the evolution and characteristics of COVID-19 can be seen on the Johns Hopkins
University website at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html, as well as on the Spanish version of the
WHO website at https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019.
Since its detection, the expansion of COVID-19 has been unstoppable and has reached practically
all the countries of the world, affecting millions of people and causing hundreds of thousands of
deaths. As of 29 September 2020, COVID-19 had affected more than 33 million people and caused
more than a million deaths, and the numbering is still counting. The spread of the virus has not been
homogeneous nor has its intensity been the same in all affected countries. As of that date, the five
countries with the highest number of affected are the United States, with more than seven million and
21,281 per million inhabitants, followed, at a long distance, by India, Brazil, Russia and Colombia.
The countries with the highest infection rates per million inhabitants are Qatar, Bahrain, Aruba, French
Guiana and Israel, with rates exceeding 26,000 infected per million inhabitants. If we consider the

Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599; doi:10.3390/su12208599 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability

Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 2 of 17

number of deaths caused by COVID-19, the United States again leads the ranking with more than
203,000 deaths, followed, by far, by Brazil, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The countries with
the highest mortality rates per million inhabitants are San Marino, Peru, Belgium, Andorra and Bolivia,
with rates exceeding 670 deaths per million inhabitants (https://covid19.who.int/table).
Although they have certainly saved thousands of lives, prophylactic measures based on distancing
and social isolation, as well as strong limitations on all transport, have caused an economic crisis of
incalculable effect in most of the countries of the world, whether they have been strongly affected by the
virus itself or whether their economic activity is going to be strongly affected through its induced effects.
Within the affected economic sectors, the tourism sector was the first affected by these limitations and
will be the last to return to the “new normal”.
Spain is one of the few countries in the world in which a double situation occurs: tourism is a basic
sector of the country’s economy and, at the same time, the country is a leading destination of world
tourism. This double circumstance means that Spain is affected by the pandemic caused by COVID-19
in a very negative way and it is essential to have an adequate recovery strategy especially geared
towards this sector and its companies. Until now, there has been little research that has analysed the
impacts of previous crisis situations [1], and the existing studies on other epidemics have been focused
mainly on Asia. In Europe, there is little experience in managing pandemic situations, and their
consequences are unknown.
The research about COVID-19 impacts and recovery on hospitality is under construction with the
most of contributions, conceptual [2,3] or critical reflections [4,5] and very scarce empirical research [6].
However, the current situation shows that the pandemic is not under control yet. Therefore, the situation
is unpredictable, and research is essential to help recover tourism and its associated industries [7].
Therefore, this exploratory research, through a case study, aimed to measure and analyse the
possible impacts that the pandemic will have on the Spanish hospitality industry. Likewise, it aimed to
study the measures that are being taken by the main agents involved and the proposed strategies to
speed up the return to normality and minimise the impacts of the economic crisis.
To achieve this objective, the following section will present a review of the literature related to
the effect of some previous crises on the hospitality industry and the responses that were taken to get
out of the situation. The choice of Spain as the centre of the study will then be justified due to the
importance that Spain has for world tourism and the importance that tourism has for the Spanish
economy. Next, the influence that COVID-19 is having on the world and the Spanish tourism sector
will be explored, establishing medium-term forecasts based on the different scenarios with which the
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is working. Then, the initiatives that are being implemented at
the international and Spanish levels to support the emergence of the crisis generated by the pandemic
will be analysed and, finally, the conclusions of the study will be presented, which will include the
appropriate recommendations for the hospitality industry.

2. Literature Review: Crisis Situation and Hospitality Industry

When crises situations such as COVID-19 happen, they force hospitality companies to change
their operating strategies. These events generate high levels of uncertainty and usually require quick
responses in facing negative impacts [8]. Nevertheless, previous research has shown that there is
little preparedness for a crisis situation in the hospitality industry [9], due mainly to a lack of devoted
resources [10] and a lack of knowledge and experience about how to act [11,12].
Previous research has focused on destination response and recovery with little research specifically
in hospitality responses and recovery strategies. However, the little research unanimity that exists
has found that crisis situations have a strong impact on the hospitality industry. Table 1 presents a
literature review focused on the hospitality industry classified by type of crisis impacts and response
and recovery strategies. The immediate-term impacts are a severe decrease in tourists, occupancy
levels and a fall in average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPar). In the short term,
other impacts, such as job cuts, changes in operations and reduction in services, threaten the recovery
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 3 of 17

of the hospitality industry. In the medium–long term, difficulties in collecting loans, postponed
future investment plans or difficulties in paying debts can accelerate the return to normal activity.
Summarizing, the main response strategies are focused on cost reduction, push and relaunch local
market, price reduction, preparation of contingency plans and human resource policies.

Table 1. Hospitality industry and crisis: impacts and recovery strategies.

Type of Crisis
& Geographic Authors, Year Description of Impact Response and Recovery Strategies
Area
Terrorism Dearth of businesses; Ensuring a coordinated response of
Stafford, Yu &
Terrorist attacks Occupancy levels and room hospitality industry; Pushing to reopen
Armoo 2002
of 11 September rates drop; Severe disruption of airport and other major tourist
[13]
2001 USA normal operations attractions; Building a marketing plan
Terrorism Push local market; marketing strategies;
Taylor & Enz Occupancy levels, Average daily
Terrorist attacks Human resources strategies; Focus in
2002 rates (ADR) and Revenue per
of 11 September new segments; Cost rate-cutting
[14] room (RevPar) drop
2001 USA strategies; Discounts on rates
Relaunch domestic market; Focus on
Terror of a war
Israeli & domestic market; Seek new domestic
and terrorist Decline in number of foreign
Reichel 2003 segments; Labour cutbacks; Reducing
attacks tourists
[15] prices; marketing plan; Maintenance
Israel
cost cut
Closing of floors; Suspension of food
and beverage services; Temporary
Pandemic Chien & Law International travel
closures; Pay cuts and no-pay leaves;
SARS 2003, 2003 cancellations; Occupancy rate
Deploying of contingency plans;
Hong Kong [16] drop; Job cuts
new operating measures; preventive
health measures
Cost savings; promotional packages for
Henderson & Average hotel occupancy,
Pandemic SARS residents; improve services salaries
Ng 2004 Average room rates contracted,
2003, Singapore reductions; new operating measures;
[17] Revenues and earnings drop
preventive health measures
Tourist demand from Turkey
decreased; Fixed and variable Checked our business agreements and
Okumus,
Economic costs increased; contracts; Increased our marketing and
Altinay &
Northern Faced difficulties in collecting sales efforts; Reduced our costs;
Arasli 2005
Cyprus loans; Postponed future Postponed future investment plans;
[18]
investment plans; Reduced the number of staff
Faced difficulties in paying debts
Domestic demand decreased;
Cut costs; Improve quality;
Faced difficulties in collecting
More cautious and conservative
loans; Postponed future
Okumus & decisions on new investments;
investment projects;
Economic Karamustafa Increased marketing and sales efforts;
Experienced a stressful working
Turkey 2005 Checked business agreements and
environment; Delays in services
[11] contracts; Spent more time on
from the local authorities;
environmental scanning and
Faced difficulties paying debts;
prepared plans
Reduced budget for training
Hotels arranged for the delivery of
Hotel infrastructures were most water and food supplies to those in
severely damaged in Thailand, need; Collected and distributed items
Natural Sri Lanka and the Maldives; such as clothing; Provided space and
Disaster Indian Henderson 2007 Mass exodus of tourists and complementary accommodation for
Ocean tsunami; [19] cancellation of bookings; relief workers; Members of staff were
2004 Decline in international tourists; released to assist with rescue and
Revenue per room down; recovery operations as well as tasks
Job loss such as translating and counselling;
Human resource policies; Bargain rates
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 4 of 17

Table 1. Cont.

Type of Crisis
& Geographic Authors, Year Description of Impact Response and Recovery Strategies
Area
Cutting costs; Laying off workers,
Closing facilities and floors/wings of
lodging areas (e.g., hotels); Employees
to take vacation or unpaid leave;
Redirected their marketing and sales;
Loss in room nights; Occupancy
Discounted packages to boost their
Tew, Lu, rates were down; Losses in
hotel occupancy; Laid off employees;
Pandemic SARS Tolomiczenko & leisure and business travellers’
Cut management salaries; Working
2003, Toronto Gellatly 2008 cancelled plans; Losses in both
actively with industry associations and
[20] visitors and revenue; Losses
governments; Offering large discounts
of jobs
to lure customers back and changing
strategic plans; Using guest rooms for
purposes other than accommodation
(e.g., rent as commercial offices);
“Tourist in your own city” strategy
Economic
Reduction of income; Measurements reactive;
Global Alonso-Almeida
Cancellations: Cost reduction; Added customer value; Flexibility;
Economic & Bremser 2013
Efficiency improvement; Proactive strategies: Customer loyalty
Crisis, 2008 [21]
Competitiveness improvement and price reduction strategies
Spain
Economic Bremser, Prospectors were the best prepared to
Global Alonso-Almeida withstand an economic downturn with
N/A
Economic Crisis & Llach 2018 defenders scoring second. Reactors
2008 Spain [9] were the worst performers.
Economic and
Terrorist attacks: international travel is
Terrorist attacks Decline in hotel occupancy,
substituted for domestic tourism;
Terrorist attack Kubickova, rates and overall hotel
Revenue management tactics.
of 9/11 and Kirimhan & Li performance; Lower prices;
Economic crisis: Domestic travel focus;
Economic Crisis 2019 Decline in the average
Agreement between Honduras,
2008 in [22] expenditure per guest;
Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua
Honduras and Hotel revenue
to create a single Central American visa
Costa Rica
Source: Own elaboration.

The natural disasters and pandemics resulted in longer periods of crises; as a consequence,
they need more time to recovery than do economic crises (e.g., [22]). Some authors [23] summarised the
critical factors for crisis recovery in such situations. These authors asserted that the factors are a crisis
management and recovery plan; market segmentation; recovery promotion; recovery collaboration;
and human resources management. As it is possible to see in Table 1, neither a crisis management plan
nor recovery collaboration seem to be responses or strategies pursued by the hospitality industry before
or after a major crisis situation. This could be very dangerous for hotel competitiveness and survival.
The scarce empirical research published regarding COVID-19 impacts until now reported severe
falls in revenue per room and hotel occupancy [3]. In fact, the most worried issues for the hospitality
sector concerning COVID-19 are financial issues and uncertainty related to pandemic duration and
fear among tourists. Therefore, [24] recommend changes in revenue generation, plan post-lockdown
and health protection measures in order to generate trust among tourists. In this sense, [6] advised the
necessity of reinforcing the health and safety of their employees for none to be part of the problem
due to a new coronavirus outbreak until there is a vacuum. Some of these future strategies are also
considered in [25].
The following section will deepen an understanding of how the Spanish hospitality industry is
facing the return to the “new normal” following a situation of zero tourism.
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 5 of 17

3. Case Analysis

3.1. Importance of the Tourism Sector for Spain and of Spain for the International Tourism Sector:
Contextual Analysis
Tourism has been making an important contribution to the GDP of the Spanish economy for
many years. Specifically, it is estimated that, in 2018, the tourist gross domestic product stood at more
than 147 billion euros, which represents 12.3% of the national GDP. Furthermore, this contribution has
evolved very positively in recent years, with a growth rate in the 2015–2018 period of 25.3% in income
and 11.8% in the percentage of national GDP [26].
This important contribution of tourism GDP to national wealth has been due to the attractiveness,
welcoming capacity and high degree of tourism competitiveness that characterises Spain. In the
period 2016–2019, inbound tourism grew 11.13%. The main origin countries for these tourists were
the United Kingdom (21.60%), Germany (13.35%) and France (13.33%), which accounted for 48.28%
of international tourist arrivals in Spain. This is a major added problem of the pandemic, because
these three countries are especially suffering the COVID-19 crisis due to having very high levels of
transmission among their population [27].
The attractiveness of Spain as a tourist destination has enabled it to occupy, in recent years,
the second position worldwide for international tourist arrivals, reaching entries of 83.7 million tourists
in 2019. It is important to highlight that the ten most important tourist destinations in the world (France,
Spain, United States, China, Italy, Turkey, Mexico, Germany, Thailand and the United Kingdom) have,
in general, had to bear the greatest impact of COVID-19. If international tourism receipts are used as an
indicator of tourist attraction, Spain is again in second place in the world, this time behind the United
States and ahead of France, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Germany, Japan and Macao
(China), with an income close to US$80 billion [28]. Finally, if level of competitiveness is used as an
indicator to demonstrate the importance of Spain as a tourist destination, since 2015, Spain has been in
the first position in the world in the competitiveness ranking of tourist destinations prepared biennially
by the World Economic Forum. Spain has been the most competitive country in the world as a tourist
destination over this long period of time, followed by France and Germany [29–31].
Within the tourism sector, the hospitality industry has a special role in Spain, because international
tourists who visit Spain prefer hotel accommodations. Specifically, in 2019, 65.38% of these tourists
stayed in a hotel. In addition, the evolution in recent years has been very positive, despite the strong
growth in the use of rental housing and shared housing with their owners, reaching a growth rate of
13.61% in the 2016–2019 period, with an average stay in 2019 of 3.08 days [32].
On the other hand, most of the tourists who stay in Spain in hotels are foreigners. In 2019,
overnight stays by residents abroad accounted for 65.20% of total overnight stays, compared to 34.80%
corresponding to Spanish residents. This accommodation capacity is due to the fact that Spain has an
important hotel offering. Specifically, the average number of hotels opened in Spain in 2019 amounted
to 14,840 hotels that offered a total of 18,201,847 beds annually and hired, throughout the year, a global
average of 219,796 employees [32].
Now that the importance of the tourism sector for the Spanish economy and the importance that
Spain has in the field of international tourism have been demonstrated, along with the weight that
hotels have in tourist accommodations, we will now analyse the influence that the pandemic is having
both in the world tourism sector and in the Spanish sector, as well as its foreseeable evolution in the
medium term.

3.2. The Influence of COVID-19 in the World and Spanish Tourism Sectors
The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer of May 2020, prepared with a special focus on the impact
of COVID-19, indicated that in March 2020, international tourist arrivals in the world fell by 57%.
This means that in the first quarter of 2020, there was a reduction of 67 million international tourist
arrivals and a reduction of US$80 million in income. For the rest of the year, the experts consulted
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 6 of 17

by UNWTO have established three possible scenarios that contemplate a reduction in international
tourist arrivals in 2020, ranging from 58% to 78%, depending on whether travel restrictions start
to be lifted and national borders opened in early July (−58%), early September (−70%) or in early
December (−78%), which could put 100 to 120 million of direct tourism jobs at risk. This data can
mean, over the entire year of 2020, a loss of 850 million to 1.1 billion international tourist arrivals
and between a US$910 billion to US$1.2 trillion loss in export revenues from tourism, putting at risk
between 100 to 120 million direct tourism jobs. These calculations are based on available tourism data
for January–March and other information, such as the shutdown of all national borders as of late April,
although this is still in a context of high uncertainty [28].
According to UNWTO’s Report on COVID-19-Related Travel Restrictions, as of 10 September,
115 (53%) of all worldwide destinations have eased COVID-19-related travel restrictions for international
tourism and 93 destinations (43%) are keeping their borders completely closed for international
tourism [33].
Following the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis prepared
in UNWTO’s Report, the main threats generated by the pandemic can be specified in the economic
environment: world recession; rising unemployment and jobs at risk; closure of businesses, mainly
small and medium enterprises (SMEs); disposable income reduction; uncertainty weighing on consumer
and business confidence; the uncertain length of the pandemic (including resurgence) and vaccine
unavailability; the extent of lockdowns and travel restrictions; and, in the unknown form of the
future, the “new normal”. However, it can also provoke a series of opportunities that must be
considered, such as the need to rethink the business model; the impulse of innovation and digitalisation;
the sustainability and sustainable-oriented segments (rural, nature, health); or the progress in adaptation
plans in destinations and companies. In this sense, COVID-19 can support the fulfilment of some of
the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) included in the 2030 Agenda, such as 9, 12,
14 and 17 [34].
In any case, Spain is going to be one of the tourist destinations most affected by the pandemic
due to the magnitude and influence that the tourism sector has on its economy and the incidence of
COVID-19 in the country. If we apply the possibility of any of the three scenarios foreseen by UNWTO,
the tourism situation in Spain by the end of the year would be disastrous under any of them. With the
information available at the time of this paper, in the first seven months of 2020, there had already
been a decrease of 72.43% in international tourist arrivals, or more than 34.8 million tourists. January
had a fall of 1.36%, followed by a recovery of 0.98% in February, but March was a disastrous month
with a decrease in the entry of foreign tourists of 64.27%, shifting from an entrance of more than
5.5 million tourists to just over two million. However, April and May were even worse, because there
was no entry of international tourists [27]. If the most favourable of the three planned scenarios were
to occur, which represents a reduction of 58% in international tourist arrivals, Spain would receive in
the entirety of 2020 a little more than 35 million tourists; if the second scenario were to occur, which is
based on a 70% reduction, it would place the entry of international tourists at just over 25 million;
and if the worst-case scenario were to occur, which would be based on travel restrictions starting to lift
and national borders opening in early December, this figure would be reduced to almost 18.5 million
international tourists (see Table 2).
These abrupt reductions in the entry of foreign tourists would have a dramatic impact on tourist
income. In the first seven months of 2020, there had already been a reduction of 72.82% of income,
or more than €38 billion (although there had been a cumulative rise of 1.66% in the first two months
of the year, there was an enormous decrease in the number of international tourists who came to
Spain since March). For the rest of the year, if the best of the three planned scenarios were to occur,
Spain would receive in all of 2020 some 38 thousand seven hundred million €; if the second scenario
were to occur, revenues would be just over €27 billion; and if the worst-case scenario were to occur,
this figure would be reduced to just over €20 billion (see Table 3).
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 7 of 17

Table 2. Foreign tourist arrivals in 2019 and forecast for 2020.

Variation 2019–2020 Accumulated Variation 2019–2020

Tourist Arrivals
(%) (%)
2019 2020
January 4,195,641 4,138,371 −1.36 −1.36
February 380,504 4,423,576 0.98 −0.17
March 5,649,577 2,018,323 −64.27 −25.63
April 7,169,675 0 −100 −50.55
May 7,952,788 0 −100 −63.95
June 8,828,499 204,926 −97.68 −71.75
July 9,887,047 2,464,.441 −75.07 −72.43
August 10,121,985
September 8,914,761
October 7,624,486
November 4,664,345
December 4,314,612
TOTAL 83,703,920
Scenario A 35,155,646 −58%
Scenario B 25,111,176 −70%
Scenario C 18,414,862 −78%
Source: Estadística de Movimientos turísticos en fronteras (Frontur) and own elaboration. Estimate for 2020 based
on UNWTO World Tourism Barometer in May 2020 scenario forecasts.

Table 3. Spain International tourism receipts in 2019 and forecast for 2020.

Foreign Tourist Income Variation 2019–2020 (%) Accumulated Variation (%)

2019 2020
January €4678.67 €4778.57 2.14 2.14
February €4658.61 €4713.58 1.18 1.66
March €6034.87 €2214.89 −63.30 −24.84
April €7095.08 €0 −100.00 −47.89
May €8194.64 €0 −100.00 −61.82
June €9696.43 €133.37 −98.62 −70.66
July €11,979.69 €2450.09 −79.55 −72.82
August €11,764.51
September €9705.72
October €8367.07
November €5067.76
December €5013.38
TOTAL €92,256.43
Scenario A €38,747.70 −58.00
Scenario B €27,676.93 −70.00
Scenario C €20,296.41 −78.00
Data in € millions. Source: Egatur and own elaboration. Estimate for 2020 based on UNWTO World Tourism
Barometer in May 2020 scenario forecasts.
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 8 of 17

The great reduction in international tourism arrivals will cause a sharp contraction in hotel
demand in Spain in 2020. Already in March 2020—Spain started the confinement on 11 March—total
hotel overnight stays in Spain had gone from more than 21 million in March 2019 to just over 8 million
in the same month of 2020, a figure that was aggravated by the prohibition of entry of foreign tourists
and by the closure of the entire hospitality industry during the month of April, which gave rise to
zero overnight stays in that month compared to almost twenty-seven million in the same month in the
previous year. In the first seven months of the year, the total hotel overnight stays in Spain had gone
from more than 184.7 million in 2019 to just over 46.4 million in the same period of 2020 [27] (Data as
of 3 September 2020). In addition, the pandemic caused a strong contraction in March 2020 in the
number of hotels open—reduction of 22.02% compared to the same month in the previous year—the
number of beds offered—reduction of 8.53% with respect to the same month of the previous year—and
the number of employees hired—reduction of 30.94% with respect to the same month of the previous
year—due as well to the isolation and reduction of mobility measures that were taken in Spain in the
middle of that month. The situation worsened in May, as all the hotels were closed except for those that
were offered as medicalised hotels. These data have improved during the summer months, but they
are still far from the pre-pandemic situation [32] (Data as of 3 September 2020) (see Table 4).
Given these disastrous data, it is necessary for Spain to adopt recovery strategies that apply in
general to the tourism sector and in particular to the hospitality sector that mitigate, as much as possible,
the negative effects that the pandemic is causing to these sectors. In the next section, an analysis will
be made of the initiatives that are being undertaken both internationally and in Spain to try to properly
recover the tourism sector.

Table 4. Hotels, beds and employees of the hospitality industry in Spain.

Number of Variation Number of Beds Variation Number of Variation

Hotels Open 2019–2020 Offered 2019–2020 Employees 2019–2020
2019 2020 2019 2020 2019 2020
January 11,995 11,987 −0.07 1,101,179 1,106,289 0.46 153,568 155,521 1.27
February 12,749 12,662 −0.68 1,180,863 1,185,245 0.37 161,563 164,710 1.95
March 13,808 10,768 −22.02 1,301,579 930,203 −28.53 179,138 123,711 −30.94
April 15,139 0 −100.00 1,497,219 0 −100.00 212,089 0 −100.00
May 16,144 1567 −90.29 1,763,479 81,827 −95.36 249,885 5526 −97.79
June 16,585 5896 −64.45 1,823,073 322,508 −82.31 268,016 28,341 −89.43
July 17,003 12,068 −29.02 1,860,292 1025713 −44.86 282,483 114,990 −59.29
August 16,900 −100.00 1,855,939 −100.00 285,578
September 16,541 −100.00 1,831,780 −100.00 274,467
October 15,360 −100.00 1,653,045 −100.00 238,608
November 13,294 −100.00 1,196,165 −100.00 169,731
December 12,559 −100.00 1,137,234 −100.00 162,420
14,840 18,201,847 219,796
Source: Encuesta de Ocupación Hotelera. INE. Data to 3 September 2020.

4. Initiatives to Support the Spanish Tourism and Hospitality Industry

In the face of the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 health pandemic, a wide range of
initiatives have been undertaken, both internationally and nationally, which have been complemented
by specific actions by hotels and hotel chains operating in Spain.
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 9 of 17

4.1. International Initiatives to Support the Tourism Sector and Hospitality Industry
At the international level, two general types of initiatives have been launched to support the
crisis generated by COVID-19. The first set of measures are of an economic-financial nature and were
initially promoted after a telematic meeting of G20 ministers held on 24 April 2020, in which the need
to work together and in a coordinated way worldwide was raised, setting homogeneous measures to
create safe destinations that allow an adequate recovery in the tourism sector. In this way, the G20 tries
to take on the challenge that the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) launched two days earlier;
that is, to lead a coordinated recovery of the tourism sector worldwide, since the countries that make
up the G20 have a tourism activity that represents more than three quarters of world tourism GDP [35].
The European Council approved, on 23 April 2020, an initial budget of 540,000 million euros to
help countries finance their plans to avoid mass layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the aim
to repair damage from the crisis and prepare a better future for the next generation, the Commission
sent to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and
Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions (Brussels, 27 May 2020 COM (2020) 456 final)
a Communication on 27 May 2020 entitled Europe’s moment: Repair and Prepare for the Next
Generation. It proposed a new €750 billion recovery instrument, Next Generation EU, embedded within
a powerful and modern long-term EU budget. In addition to Next Generation EU, the Commission
proposed to revamp the EU budget, amounting to some €1100 billion between 2021 and 2027 (https:
//eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0456&from=EN). From the Next
Generation EU, it is estimated that Spain could receive around 140,000 million, of which 77,000 million
would be non-repayable and the remaining 63,000 million in loans.
The second set of measures are sanitary protection. The tourism sector, through the WTTC,
developed a series of protocols [36] to reactivate safe tourism in the world, and, at the end of May
2020, the protocols to be applied in hotels had already been published. The “suggested protocols for
hospitality were compiled based on input from leading hospitality companies either directly or from
their public announcements around the safe, healthy and responsible reopening of hotels to the public.
The protocols also take into account World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The objective is to ensure that protocols are in place across
all relevant functions with an increased focus on health, safety and social distancing guidance which
travelers will need and expect” [36].

4.2. National Initiatives to Support the Tourism Sector and the Hospitality Industry
At the Spanish state level, economic-financial initiatives can be classified into two categories.
The first includes all those policies and measures to support companies in the sector whose survival
may be at risk due to the harmful effects of the pandemic. This support to the tourism sector can be
classified into four categories: (a) labour measures, through the possibility of applying temporary
employment regulation files to companies in the tourism sector (until 2 June, a total of 3,386,000
workers used these files; http://www.sepe.es/HomeSepe/COVID-19/noticias.html); (b) financial aid,
through the application for bank loans with public guarantees (by mid-May 2020, more than 80,000
applications had been processed from 68,000 companies for a total of almost 6,500 million euros);
(c) support for self-employed workers in the tourism sector through financial benefits (in mid-May
2020, more than 250,000 workers in the tourism sector received these benefits); and (d) tax measures,
which are specified in the deferral of debts, business and self-employed taxes for a period of six
months. Most of these measures have also been implemented, with their specific features, by the rest
of the European countries. A comparative summary of the main measures to support the hotel sector
implemented in Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Finland and the United Kingdom can be seen in [37].
Regarding sanitary protection measures, a series of initiatives have been approved to convey to
domestic and foreign tourist the feeling of sanitary security, which has always been a virtue of Spain
as a tourist destination and which has been seriously affected by the significant number of people
contaminated and killed by COVID-19 during this period.
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 10 of 17

The Institute for Spanish Tourist Quality (ICTE), by delegation from the Secretary of State for
Tourism, assumed the coordination of a National Project of Technical Specifications and Guarantee
Seals for the Prevention of COVID-19 that would allow companies, Spanish tourist organisations and
territories encompassed in 21 subsectors or tourist activities to assure tourists of sanitary conditions
that would make their stay in Spain safe. Specifically, the guide entitled “Measures to reduce the spread
of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Hotels and tourist apartments. Guidelines and recommendations”
contains a series of guidelines and recommendations that must be applied by hotels, tourist apartments,
hostels and pensions to minimise the risks of contagion by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (https://www.
mincotur.gob.es/es-es/COVID-19/GuiasSectorTurismo/Hoteles.pdf).
In summary, Table 5 shows the different types of institutional initiatives that are being
implemented in the tourism and hospitality sector to support the way out of the crisis caused
by COVID-19. These initiatives are focused on supporting tourism companies, encouraging tourism
and reducing infections.

Table 5. Types of initiatives, driving entities and scope of action against COVID-19 in the tourism sector.

Types of Initiatives Driving Entities Scope of Action

Policies to support companies in the
European Commission Labour
tourism sector
Tourism incentive policies Government of Spain Financial
Policies for reducing contagion in the
Regional Governments Tax
tourism sector
Town halls Support payments of rents
Tourism associations General sector support
Source: Own elaboration.

4.3. Initiatives Undertaken by Large Spanish Hotel Chains

In addition to the measures being taken by the main agents related to the tourism sector, in general,
and with the hospitality industry, in particular, the companies of the sector themselves are undertaking
a series of policies and initiatives aimed at trying to recover their economic activity as soon as possible
while complying with the sanitary protection measures that are being demanded or recommended by
public tourist and health institutions.
To analyse the private initiatives that companies in the sector are developing in Spain, the five
largest Spanish hotel chains based on turnover have been selected. As shown in Table 6, these chains
are Meliá Hotels International (hereinafter Meliá), Iberostar Hotels & Resorts (Iberostar), Barceló Hotel
Group (Barceló), Riu Hotels & Resorts (Riu) and the NH Hotel Group (NH). All of them invoice more
than 1500 million euros, have between almost 100 and more than 350 hotels and offer between 32,000
and 83,000 rooms to their guests.

Table 6. Receipts and number of hotels and rooms of the first five Spanish hotel chains.

Receipts * Hotels Rooms

2018 2019 2019
Meliá Hotels International 2946.5 329 83,018
Iberostar Hotels & Resorts 2659 102 32,404
Barceló Hotel Group 2559 251 55,944
Riu Hotels & Resorts 2114 95 45,648
NH Hotel Group 1623 369 57,356
* Data in € millions; Source: [38] and own elaboration.
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 11 of 17

Four of them were among the 50 largest in the world by number of rooms in 2018. Specifically,
Meliá was in 20th position, Barceló in 31st, Riu in 38th and Iberostar in 46th. NH does not appear in
that ranking because, after its acquisition by Minor International, all its hotels became part of the Thai
group that was ranked 23rd worldwide in that year (hotelsmag.com/July-August 2019. Special Report
325 hotels).
As shown in Table 7, the five large Spanish hotel chains have taken advantage of the period of
total closure of the economy (period March to June) to carry out studies aimed at making their facilities
free of COVID-19 so that, during their stays, their clients are not contagious. One of the main factors for
the recovery of tourism is the confidence of the tourist in the destination and in the hotel company [21].
The five have deployed collaboration strategies with certifying entities specialised in the field of
security, in general, and health security, in particular. In the specific case of Meliá, it has had the support
of Bureau Veritas, an entity that certifies the restart of activity in establishments, complying with the new
security measures due to COVID-19 in relation to the protection of people, to processes and facilities.
Iberostar and NH relied on SGS (Société Générale de Surveillance), an entity that provides inspection,
verification, testing and certification services related to COVID-19. Riu had the participation of the
Preverisk Group, an international consultancy firm specialised in consulting, auditing and training in
health and safety in the tourism sector. Finally, Barceló used the protocols and recommendations issued
by Cristal International Standards, providers of security and risk management solutions from Biolinea,
a company specialised in the field of public health and tourism, as benchmarks against COVID-19,
Bio 9000, a food consulting company, and Biolab, a company that performs biological tests, mainly in
the area of toxicology and microbiology.
Regarding the contents of said contagion prevention programmes, the approach that these chains
have followed has been similar in substance but heterogeneous in the form of presentation. Thus,
some chains have preferred to establish general lines of action that were aimed at meeting the objectives
set in this area, such as the case of Meliá, Iberostar, Barceló and NH. Instead, Riu has preferred to
directly target the different departments or areas of hotel activity and has presented RIU Protect, a new
service for its clients that provides medical assistance to its guests, including infection by COVID-19,
during their holidays (https://www.smarttravel.news/2020/06/18/protocolos-sanitarios-sostenibilidad-
e-igualdad-genero-nuevas-prioridades/).
In any case, the five Spanish hotel groups have set themselves the common objective of protecting
the health of customers and their employees, implementing strict hygiene standards in the facilities
and in the processes, promoting social distancing and avoiding, as much as possible, direct contact
between employees and customers by strengthening digitisation and opting to undertake extensive
communication and awareness programmes that involve both customers and employees in the adoption
of and compliance with these prevention measures against COVID-19.
Some of these initiatives are similar to those undertaken in previous health crises in Asia [16,20].
Specifically, if we compare these initiatives with those implemented after the Pandemic SARS 2003 in
Hong Kong, Singapore and Toronto (see Table 1), it can be seen that they have as a common link the
adoption of preventive health measures aimed at avoiding contagions caused by this virus, as well as
reactivating the demand by increasing confidence.
However, there are also substantial changes that affect the core of the hotel business, such as those
related to the acceleration of digitisation, the operation of accommodation and food and beverage
services and the use of common areas, as well as internal security protocols and the creation of new
departments and jobs.
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 12 of 17

Table 7. Initiatives taken by the main Spanish hotel chains against COVID-19.

Programme
Main Axes and Areas of Action against COVID-19
Name
- Security for employees and clients
- Reduction of customer–employee contact
Meliá Hotels Stay Safe with
- Optimisation of operational processes (simplification
International Meliá
and digitisation)
- Adaptation of brands to new customer needs
- Offer a safe environment
Iberostar Hotels & - Apply hygiene standards
How we care
Resorts - Secure social space
- Offer innovative experiences
- Sanitation and disinfection
- Ensure health security
- Strengthen the digital experience
We Care
Barceló Hotel Group - Comply with protocols in food and beverages
about You
- Employee training and awareness
- Specific plans for meetings and events and other services
- Communication plan
- Staff reception and access
- Suppliers
- Maintenance
- Restaurant, bar and kitchen
Sanitary
Riu Hotels & Resorts - Housekeeping
Protocol
- Laundry
- Animation
- Spa, fitness and swimming pools
- Stores
- Supervision of disinfection and cleaning
- Advanced scanning
- Cleaning and disinfection protocols
- Adapted catering services
Feel Safe at - Rules of social distancing
NH Hotel Group
NH - Protocols and personal protection material
- Air and water purification protocols
- City Connection advisory service
- Safety and health protocols for employees
- Creation of a person in charge of health security
Source: [39–43] and own elaboration.

One of the response strategies that has been implemented in all health crises as a recovery strategy
has been the offer of rooms for purposes other than tourism accommodation. This response strategy was
implemented by the sector during COVID-19 after Spain closed all its economic sectors and the health
sector was on the verge of collapse. The Madrid Hotel Business Association offered the Government
of Madrid the possibility of medicalising some hotels during the harshest phase of the pandemic.
Specifically, beds were offered in 13 hotels (Ayre Gran Hotel Colón, Hotel Marriott Auditorium, Hotel Vía
Castellana, Hotel City House Florida Norte, Hotel Vértice Roomspace, Hotel Miguel Ángel, Hotel NH
Parla, Hotel Ilunium Atrium, Hotel Praga Santos, Hotel Euroforum Palacio, Hotel Las Provincias,
Catalonia Plaza Mayor and Barceló Occidental Aranjuez) and more than 2500 patients infected with
COVID-19 stayed and were treated there. Other hotels served as temporary accommodations for
workers from essential economic sectors and the state security forces who had to travel throughout
the territory to work where the government required them to be (https://www.hosteltur.com/136208_
comienza-en-madrid-el-repliegue-de-hoteles-sanitarizados-por-el-covid-19.html).
Miguel Ángel,
Miguel Ángel, Hotel
Hotel NHNH Parla,
Parla, Hotel
Hotel Ilunium
Ilunium Atrium,
Atrium, Hotel Hotel Praga
Praga Santos,
Santos, Hotel
Hotel Euroforum
Euroforum Palacio,
Palacio,
Hotel Las
Hotel Las Provincias,
Provincias, Catalonia
Catalonia Plaza
Plaza Mayor
Mayor andand Barceló
Barceló Occidental
Occidental Aranjuez)
Aranjuez) andand more
more than
than 2500
2500
patients infected
patients infected with
with COVID-19
COVID-19 stayed
stayed and and were
were treated
treated there.
there. Other
Other hotels
hotels served
served asas temporary
temporary
accommodations for
accommodations for workers
workers from
from essential
essential economic
economic sectors sectors andand the
the state
state security
security forces
forces who
who hadhad
to
to travel
travel throughout
throughout
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599
the
the territory
territory to
to work
work where
where the
the government
government required
required them
them to
to be
be
13 of 17
(https://www.hosteltur.com/136208_comienza-en-madrid-el-repliegue-de-hoteles-sanitarizados-
(https://www.hosteltur.com/136208_comienza-en-madrid-el-repliegue-de-hoteles-sanitarizados-
por-el-covid-19.html).
por-el-covid-19.html).
Other recovery
Other recoverymeasures
recovery measuresthat
measures thatare
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health crises have
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have
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such
such as
as
redirection
the redirection
the of
redirection of hotel marketing
of hotel
hotel marketing and
marketing and sales programmes
and sales
sales programmes
programmes and and promotional
and promotional packages.
promotional packages. As
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Table
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in Table
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7, four
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to infection
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Specifically, has named
Meliá
Meliá has named
has it “Stay
named Safe with
itit “Stay
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“How we
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Figure 1.
Figure
Figure 1. Meliá.
1. Meliá. Source:
Meliá. Source: https://www.melia.com/es/home.htm.
Source: https://www.melia.com/es/home.htm.
https://www.melia.com/es/home.htm.

Figure 2.
Figure
Figure 2. Iberostar.
2. Iberostar. Source:
Iberostar.Source: https://www.iberostar.com/en/?new_fastbooking=true&old_fastbooking=true.
Source:https://www.iberostar.com/en/?new_fastbooking=true&old_fastbooking=true.
https://www.iberostar.com/en/?new_fastbooking=true&old_fastbooking=
Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 18
true.

Figure 3. Barceló. Source: https://www.barcelo.com/en-es/.

Figure 3. Barceló. Source: https://www.barcelo.com/en-es/.
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 14 of 17
Figure 3. Barceló. Source: https://www.barcelo.com/en-es/.

Figure 4.
Figure 4. Riu.
Riu. Source:
Source: https://www.riu.com/en/home.jsp.
https://www.riu.com/en/home.jsp.

Figure 5.
Figure NH. Source:
5. NH. Source: https://www.nh-hoteles.es/.
https://www.nh-hoteles.es/.

These
These campaigns
campaigns are are aimed
aimed atat attracting
attracting and
and rebuilding
rebuilding confidence
confidence in in tourists,
tourists, one
one of
of today’s
today’s
main priorities. The hotel sector has taken sanitary measures, and these campaigns aim to createcreate
main priorities. The hotel sector has taken sanitary measures, and these campaigns aim to value
value fromby
from them them by showing
showing the creation
the creation of socialofdistance
social distance in the
in the jobs andjobs andplaces,
leisure leisureasplaces,
well asaschanges
well as
changes
in in the accommodations.
the accommodations. However,However, these measures
these measures and campaigns
and campaigns will onlywill only be successful
be successful if
if there is
there is close collaboration between the government and the hotel sector. The
close collaboration between the government and the hotel sector. The government’s support is government’s support is
needed in
needed in relation
relation to
to the
the permitted
permitted mobility
mobility measures,
measures, opening
opening of of borders
borders and and airports,
airports, elimination
elimination
of quarantine periods and other measures that pose barriers to the enjoyment
of quarantine periods and other measures that pose barriers to the enjoyment of tourist activities. of tourist activities.
In
In addition, the hotel sector must ensure the health of tourists staying at
addition, the hotel sector must ensure the health of tourists staying at its facilities. its facilities.
Therefore,
Therefore, as as previous
previous research
research has
has shown
shown (see
(see Table
Table 1),
1), pandemics
pandemics have have aa severe
severe impact
impact onon the
the
hospitality industry during the medium–long term [22]. Nevertheless, the current
hospitality industry during the medium–long term [22]. Nevertheless, the current pandemic seems pandemic seems to
be more dangerous and challenging than previous ones because of its global
to be more dangerous and challenging than previous ones because of its global expansion and expansion and nobody
knows
nobodywhenknows it will
when beitcontrolled and haveand
will be controlled a vacuum at this moment.
have a vacuum at this moment.

5. Conclusions
In conclusion, it can be said that the epidemic caused by COVID-19 is the largest pandemic that
has affected the world in the last hundred years and has caused devastating effects both on the world
economy and on that of the individual nations and, especially, the tourist field. These negative effects
have been due to: (a) the drastic restrictions on mobility that were initially decreed by the governments
of most countries which have paralysed a large part of productive and service activity, as well as
transportation and movements between territories, and which have cancelled the movement of tourists
around the world; and (b) the reduction in disposable income of many families who have seen their
incomes disappear or decrease for a considerable period of time, which will affect tourist spending
capacity even after the measures of confinement and restriction of mobility have been made more
flexible, at least in the short and medium term.
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 15 of 17

Faced with this situation, the response of supranational institutions, especially the European
Union, has been overwhelming. The European Union has involved itself as never before in the revival
of economic activity in its sphere of action, granting significant financial resources to countries more
affected by the pandemic, some in non-repayment and others in the form of repayable credits. In the
same way, all nations have made an important commitment to emerge from the crisis with labour,
financial and fiscal measures.
In the field of tourism, the repercussions for Spain, as a leading country in the world in terms
of tourism competitiveness, receipts and inbound tourist, are going to be enormous. The fall in
tourism GDP, tourism employment and tourism income will be of a magnitude never seen before.
If, as everything seems to indicate, the first scenario contemplated by UNWTO occurs, in which
travel restrictions will start to be lifted and national borders opened in early July 2020, the reduction
in entries by international tourists would be around 58%. This would mean that, in the entirety of
the year 2020, the volume of entry of international tourists would be around 35 million people and
the generated income would be about 38,747.70 million euros, figures far removed from those of
the previous year. In order to restore confidence in tourists, the tourism sector in general, and the
hospitality industry in particular, have mobilised with the aim of protecting tourists from the virus by
promoting—in the case of public and private tourism institutions—and implementing—in the case of
hotel establishments—action protocols to make the stay of tourists in their facilities safer.
In the specific case of Spain, the Secretary of State for Tourism, through ICTE, has published action
protocols in the tourism sector in the face of the pandemic which are being followed by companies in
the sector. Furthermore, the hospitality industry is adopting its own protection measures, as evidenced
by the case study conducted, which show that the five largest Spanish hotel chains by turnover have
their own action programmes against COVID-19. Given the sharp drop in the entry of international
tourists into Spain, one of the possible short- to medium-term solutions is to try to take advantage of
domestic tourism while restrictions on international mobility continue to be maintained. Given this
situation, the Spanish authorities will focus, like many other countries that receive international
tourism, on trying to support domestic tourism, as has happened in other past crises situations. Thus,
in the meantime, public–private collaboration is crucial, as well as governmental measures to support
the tourism industry.
The hospitality industry should be focused on building trust in tourists, reinforcing their brand
and adapting their operations to the so-called “new normal”. Those strategies could be valuable in this
period and in the near future when the pandemic is controlled.
The main limitation of the present study is that, during its execution, the pandemic was still
in the process of expanding, with uneven rates depending on each affected country. This does not
allow an analysis of this situation from the proper perspective, since it is still unknown if the virus
can be eradicated, if there will again be outbreaks in the countries that have it more controlled or if
the coronavirus will mutate. With regard to subsequent studies, it would be convenient to analyse
what the real evolution of the tourism and hospitality industry has been, at least during the year 2020,
and what the forecasts are for the following years, establishing scenarios that facilitate a prospective
study. Another future line of research will be to analyse the result of these strategies in tourists,
the perception of Spain as a tourist destination, and the recovery of the hospitality industry. Future
research should measure the impact of governmental initiatives to support the tourism and changes in
hospitality in organization, operations and performance to survive in the “new normal”.

Author Contributions: J.M.R.-A. has contributed, in all aspects, to the paper reported and has read and agreed to
the published version of the manuscript, and M.d.M.A.-A. has contributed, in all aspects, to the paper reported
and has read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the
published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain within its National
Program for Research Aimed at the Challenges of Society. (Grant ECO2016-79659-R (Eco-innovation and Circular
Economy in the service sector)).
Sustainability 2020, 12, 8599 16 of 17

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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