Covid-19 and Hotel Performance of Hotel Industry in Malaysia: Its Effects and Strategic Renewal

This research seeks to examine the effect of Covid-19 on hotel performance and strategic renewal of the hospitality management industry in Malaysia. 60 useable responses were successfully gathered through a questionnaire survey method distributed to managers of 77 hotels in Penang and Langkawi islands, members of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH). The research findings reveal that the pandemic has significantly affected the hotel industry's performance and operations. Hotel performance was affected significantly, whereby almost 90% of the respondents experienced significant declines in room occupancy rate, pricing, and total revenue. In addition, 80% of the respondents faced a significant decrease in profit margin, leading to a significantly reduced market share. Strategic renewal initiatives focussing on maintenances practices include extensive cash collections monitoring, switching to better financing solutions, contract terms renegotiation, identifying flexible financing terms, cash management revision, and implementing prudent cost management. The research focuses explicitly on Penang and Langkawi islands, the two well-known tourist attraction islands in Malaysia. The survey method employed may have limitations in providing extensive findings as most hotel operations are significantly affected by the pandemic. Findings would contribute to determining effective renewal initiatives to enhance hotel industry performance in Malaysia.