Customer satisfaction during COVID-19 phases: the case of the Venetian hospitality system

This work presents a longitudinal analysis of hotel customer satisfaction, making a comparison between pre- and post-pandemic situations, as well as a detailed analysis of the evolution of customer satisfaction throughout the different phases of the COVID-19 crisis. To this end, we used representative microdata from more than 405,000 online reviews of 802 Venetian accommodation facilities. Data were retrieved from the Booking.com platform and cover the 2018–2021 period. Results point to a systematic reduction of customer satisfaction, although the negative effect is non-linear over time. In fact, the magnitude of the effect varies according to the severity of the phase (acute vs. transitional periods) and on the replication number of the phase type (first versus second wave), displaying some adaptation effects. The paper contributes to the literature on sustained crises, with an empirical application to one of the most popular tourist destinations. Our results suggest that hotel managers should respond to critical situations taking care of their customers’ satisfaction identifying their different needs depending on the crises’ phases.