SUSTAINING OR SURVIVING? AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY ON COVID-19’S IMPACT TOWARDS HOTEL BUSINESSES

Purpose – The aim of this research is to develop a sustainable model for local hospitality businesses in Chiang Mai to mitigate risk during the Covid 19 crisis and become resilient when the situation improves. This research study seeks to explore whether local hospitality businesses in Chiang Mai are taking a sustainable or survival approach in response to the pandemic situation that is occurring worldwide. Design – This is a mixed methods research guided by three research questions to support the aim of the study. Methodology – Five hotels in the province Chiang Mai were selected for the survey and the results were subjected to data triangulation to obtain ideas for a sustainable model. The 400 questionnaires were distributed to 85 hotels including 8 hotels rated 5 stars, 47 hotels rated 4 stars and 30 hotels rated 3 stars in the province Chiang Mai. Approach –Data triangulation was used to test the three questions to ensure the validity of the study: the results of research question number one were compared separately with the results of research question number two and number three; the results of research question number two were compared with the results of research question number three. Findings –Hotels can be viable in the long run if the government creates environmental conditions that support a healthy and intelligent organization to take proactive measures to take care of the welfare of the employees and residents. The overall survival adjustment in the COVID -19 pandemic critical conditions of hotels in the province Chiang Mai was high at 3.96. The correlation coefficient of the cause variables was market adjustment (X1), sustainability adjustment (X2) and learning adjustment (X3) have a positive correlation with the survival of hotels in the province Chiang Mai during the pandemic COVID -19. The survival of hotels in the province Chiang Mai amid the COVID -19 pandemic can be predicted by the underlying event such as learning adjustment (X3) and marketing adjustment (X1), which has an accuracy of 52.70 % and statistical significance at the 0.01 level. Originality of Research – The paper captures the current situation of how Covid-19 has caused a major disruption to hotel businesses in Chiang Mai, Thailand