Restrictions imposed by COVID-19 in the hospitality industry may make it difficult to meet and exceed guests’ expectations while recognizing the reality of rising harassment of hotel staff.

What happens next leaves room for frontline hotel staff to get verbally accosted due to frustrations on the part of the guest over policies that are largely outside of employees' control.

COVID-19 has presented the hospitality industry with more challenges, curveballs and issues than can be aptly captured. From travel restrictions, capacity limitations and new sanitation policies to downsizing, skeleton crews and closures, it has rocked the hospitality industry to its core. In addition to the smattering of new policies and procedures that were mandated either by hospitality organizations, governments or some combination thereof — for the safety of the employees and the guests — it also altered the way that services were provided.

The inherent issue with altering the ways that services are provided in an industry that provides intangible and perishable experiential services is that satisfaction in the service encounter — on both the part of the employee and the guest — relies heavily on the guests' expectations of service. Previous experiences form the understanding for how the services are supposed to be delivered. COVID-19 has made it nearly impossible for both employees and guests to formulate a clear set of expectations, which makes exceeding those expectations very difficult for the organization and its players.

To further complicate the matter, individual employees and customers all have different levels of comfort with and beliefs about the pandemic. Some view wearing a mask as a nuisance while others view it as a necessity. There seems to be a spectrum with regards to concern for personal safety and concern for the safety of others, and employees and customers alike pepper the continuum with where their concerns lie. All of this influences the psychological well-being of those who are working. And COVID-19 has been shown to have negative influences on psychological well-being in every industry — for employees and customers alike.

These issues manifest themselves in four ways: Life stressors for employees; employees not following the rules, thereby potentially turning off guests and other employees; guests not following the rules, putting employees in a precarious situation; and perceptions and impacts of hostility and harassment from guests. This article examines these issues and offers suggestions for how human resources managers can combat these issues.

The hospitality and tourism industry was irrefutably the hardest-hit from a financial aspect by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of those organizations that were not forced to close their door indefinitely are operating at staggering low capacity, such that layoffs and furloughs were the only viable options. With job loss may have come unemployment pay, but health benefits became a concern. Many employees were rehired only to lose their jobs again, or they were rehired, but with new roles and responsibilities and often for reduced hours and, subsequently, reduced pay. Even those who were fortunate to keep their jobs, because the customer base was reduced, remain concerned about potentially losing their jobs in the future or reduced wages or tips.

In addition to the issues of financial hardship, there were also issues of childcare as many schools shut down or transitioned to virtual learning. And, of course, there was concern for the health and well-being of family, friends and colleagues. This concern was likely exacerbated by confusion if an employee worked for a hospitality organization with properties across the U.S and the world. As each state and country put forward different rules and regulations with regard to safety measures and required actions, an employee may perceive that their specific organization was implementing measures that were either too strict or too lax, thus leading to feelings of anger, fear and frustration.

For example, an employee who is hyper-concerned for their own safety and strongly believes in mask-wearing might be uncomfortable serving a guest who is not masked or not wearing their mask properly, or even a guest who is masked properly due to the need to come within six feet of proximity in order to serve them properly. Conversely, an employee who does not believe that masks are important may be irritated by the fact that they have to wear them for an eight-hour shift or longer. If neither of these individuals is happy before they are even sent to interact with their guests, the service profit chain tells us that the service encounter is likely to suffer, ultimately resulting in unsatisfied employees and guests, which will ultimately impact an already hemorrhaging bottom line.

In addition to proper and improper mask wearing protocol, the pandemic has ushered in a veritable catalog of new rules regarding sanitation, distancing, mask-wearing and safety that has altered sequences of service, timings of services and numbers of service encounters. As with all changes, it takes time for employees to adopt them as part of their routines without frequent errors and without complaint. Because of the hyper-sensitive awareness many guests have when they choose to dine out or stay at a hotel during the pandemic, any perceptions of disregard for safety protocol may result in a failure to meet expectations and negative ramifications in the form of bad reviews and refusal to patronize the establishment in the future. Both of these have negative implications for the all of the individuals involved and the organization.

More importantly, what happens when a hospitality employee, concerned with their health and financial situation, has to deal with a guest who is unhappy with the service encounter? What happens when that masked employee suggests that the customer wear their mask properly, only to be harangued and verbally harassed by the guest? What happens when our frontline staff get verbally accosted due to frustrations on that part of the guest about policies that are largely outside of the employee’s control? Further considerations come into play when incorporating the “tipping” factor; will a tipped employee risk the bulk of their livelihood engaging in such an inhospitable interaction? In an industry where the customer is always right, what are the policies and practices in place to safeguard the employee when the customer is clearly wrong? In a time when we all need workplace support systems more than ever, organizations must shield the messenger.

The expectations that guests have for most hospitality organizations were formed prior to the pandemic. Thus, complaints during the pandemic have increased, and have been largely based around limited staffing, limited facilities for use, limited offerings — such as bagged breakfast instead of full-service, no coffeemakers in rooms — a lack of cleanliness and/or lack of policy enforcement with regards to mask-wearing and physical distancing. Many of these issues arise from unclear expectations as requirements and regulations vary by state and establishment. When guests are disgruntled and their expectations have not been met, the person who typically bears the brunt of that frustration is the frontline employee.

In times of mental fortitude, verbal assails are difficult to shake. In times of mental fragility, they can literally break a person. Thus, it is paramount for hospitality organizations to have zero-tolerance policies when it comes to employee harassment from the guest, or anyone else for that matter.

Many hospitality organizations have committed to removing the burden of hostile guest interaction from hourly employees; instead, a member of the management team serves as a buffer. While this may be difficult given that operations are running with minimum staff, including managers, this priority is imperative to maintaining the trust, safety and organizational commitment of the team.

One such example involves mask policies within establishments: Instead of having an hourly employee ask a guest to place/replace their mask, this may be an opportunity for management to step in initially and ease the emotional labor for hourly employees.

In an legal article published in HospitalityLawyer.com titled “Are hospitality employees facing a harassment pandemic,” Andria Ryan reveals that 41% of 1,675 service workers surveyed reported higher levels of sexual harassment now than before the start of the pandemic, and more verbal harassment for enforcing COVID-19 policies. Ryan suggests a strategy be employed to safeguard employees. This strategy is comprised of five steps: know the policy, look for warning signs, model desirable behavior, handle complaints in a timely manner, and contact HR and ownership. Making these steps part of practice and protocol will help to offer employees some peace of mind that the organization is there to support them.

Bottom line, times are tough and anxiety levels are high. This is especially true for hospitality, and most especially for our valued hourly employees. While some have chosen to give up entirely on the industry, it behooves management to take extra care of those loyal workers who continue to show up for their organizations and their guests.

Dr. Lisa Cain is an Assistant Professor in the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University.

Dr. Miranda Kitterlin-Lynch is an Associate Professor and Coca-Cola Endowed Professor in the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University.

This article is based on academic research, submitted in partnership with STR’s SHARE Center, which provides support and data resources to professors and students in hotel and hospitality fields of study at colleges and universities worldwide. The assertions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concerns.