Original Scientific Article
Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic
Carolina Pasciaroni
National University of the South, Argentina
carolina.pasciaroni@uns.edu.ar
Viviana Leonardi
National University of the South, Argentina
viviana.leonardi@uns.edu.ar
Silvina Elias
National University of the South, Argentina
selias@uns.edu.ar
The study aims to explore the pre-covid-19 innovative behaviour of smaller hotels
located in an urban centre of Argentina and to recognize whether the current pan-
demic operates as an innovation-inducing factor in these hotels. The contribution
andmainmotivation lies in the lower number of studies on hotel innovation in South
American destinations and the need to identify the strategies adopted by smaller ho-
tels in the face of the covid-19 crisis. The methodology followed is a multiple case
study composed of six small and medium-sized hotels located in Bahía Blanca city
(Argentina). The primary information was collected by surveys sent to hotel man-
agers. The study shows a pre-covid-19 innovative profile oriented to the acquisition
of embedded technology, staff training and obtaining incremental innovations. In-
ternal factors and external factors influence the innovative profile described. The
covid-19 pandemic is not an inducing factor, but rather an obstacle to innovation.
Keywords: innovation, hotels, small and medium-sized hotel, Argentina, covid-19
pandemic
https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.15.363-379
Introduction
Service innovation is a source of competitive advan-
tage for hotels in dealing with the competitive envi-
ronment that illustrates the tourism industry world-
wide (Gomezelj, 2016; Backman et al., 2017; Ambrož&
Omerzel, 2018). In addition, innovation emerges as an
alternative for the recovery and transformation of the
tourism sector given the unprecedented repercussions
of the covid-19 pandemic (United Nations, 2020, p.
2; oecd, 2020; unwto, 2020; Le & Phi, 2021; Breier
et al., 2021).
In the current pandemic scenario, the use of tech-
nology is a key element in reducing the real and per-
ceived risk of contagion (Shin & Kang, 2020; Sharma
et al., 2021) and in designing new marketing strategies
and using digital platforms to improve the competi-
tiveness of small and medium-sized firms (smes) in
the sector (United Nations, 2020).
The international chains Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt
and Best Western adopted fully automated check-
in systems to ensure social distancing, and cleaning
robots, uv technology and electrostatic sprayers to
improve cleaning anddisinfection (Shin&Kang, 2020;
Le & Phi, 2021). Following Lau (2020), 5g and Wi-Fi
Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022 | 363
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
6 technology, facial recognition, artificial intelligence
and robots are some of the new technologies that are
aiding the survival of the sector. It should be noted that
the adoption of technological advances in the field of
ict is a specific feature of innovation in the tourism
and hospitality sector (see, for example, Fernández et
al., 2011; Nieves &Osorio, 2019). Additionally, innova-
tions can be implemented in the hotel business model
to confront the covid-19 crisis through changes in
reservation and cancellation policies, adjustments in
restaurant services to the take-away modality, and
adoption of an annual membership system (Breier et
al.; 2021; Le & Phi, 2021).
Given the traditional conception of innovation as
a source of competitiveness and its current relevance
as an alternative for the recovery of tourism in face of
the covid-19 crisis, this study aims to explore the in-
novative behaviour of small and medium-sized hotel
firms located in an urban centre of Argentina in the
pre-covid-19 stage and examinewhether the covid-
19 crisis signifies an opportunity to innovate for these
firms.
The research on tourism and hospitality innova-
tion in small andmedium-sized firms (smes) is a topic
of particular importance due to the number of these
enterprises in the global tourism sector (Pikkemaat,
2008; Thomas et al., 2011; Motta & Sharma, 2020) and
the specificities of their innovation process. In Ar-
gentina, the tourism sector has a high proportion of
smes compared to other economic sectors. Specifi-
cally, the hotel sector comprises 57 of private em-
ployees (aht & ieral, 2020). Adding to the numeri-
cal importance, innovation in tourism and hospitality
smes has particular features such as low economies
of scale and scope; low level of qualification of its
employees; a propensity to invest in acquisition of
hardware and software; difficulties in accessing financ-
ing; and little propensity to cooperate with customers,
competitors, suppliers, and universities (Pikkemaat &
Peters, 2006; Pikkemaat, 2008).
The paper aims to contribute in diverse directions
to the empirical knowledge about innovation in the
hospitality sector. First, the study addresses the gap
related to the lower number of empirical studies on
tourism and hospitality innovation in South America
compared to other regions. In his review of the state
of academic research in the area of hospitality and
tourism innovation, Gomezelj (2016) found that most
of the studies refer to European and Asian tourist des-
tinations. Thus, for the pre-covid-19 stage, the study
offers empirical evidence on the innovative behaviour
of hospitality smes located in destinations little ex-
plored in the literature. Second, this paper aims to
contribute to the knowledge about innovation in hos-
pitality smes in response to the covid-19 crisis. The
crises in the tourism sector have an amplified impact
on smes given their limited business volume and low
marginal profitability and, therefore, a low level of sav-
ings or own reserves; their restricted access to cap-
ital markets; and their internal constraints, such as
scant management experience (Kukanja et al., 2022;
Dias et al., 2022; United Nations, 2022). Nevertheless,
the smaller firms tend to be more flexible and inno-
vative (Kukanja et al., 2022; Tejada & Moreno, 2013;
Pikkemaat, 2008). Recent studies on the covid-19
pandemic suggest the need to deepen the knowledge
of the creative strategies implemented by hospitality
smes that are not affiliated with a large international
chain (Shin & Kang, 2020; Le & Phi, 2021).
The proposed analysis uses the multiple case study
methodology (Yin, 2009, 2018). Six small andmedium-
sized hotels located in Bahía Blanca city (Argentina)
constitute the selected case studies. Based on the dis-
tinction between survival strategies and innovation
strategies for facing the covid-19 crisis (Le & Phi,
2021), reports for the national tourism sector reveal
that hotels in Argentina adopted savings measures
and requested government aid more than innovation
strategies. This paper tries to deepen knowledge of this
last type of strategies.
From the literature on innovation in tourism and
hospitality, some questions raised regarding the stage
prior to the covid-19 crisis are: What type of inno-
vation activities did the hotel firms under study invest
in? What type of external sources of information did
these hotels use to update themselves on new market
trends, new technologies, new management and/or
organization models during their innovation process?
What kind of innovative results did they obtain?What
internal factors, such as size, chain affiliation, and con-
364 | Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
servative attitude influenced their innovative profile?
What external influences on the innovation process
emerged in the proposed analysis? Concerning the
covid-19 crisis, the research questions are: How did
hotels perceive the covid-19 crisis? What innovation
strategies did hoteliers adopt to face the crisis?
After this introduction, the paper is structured as
follows. The next section offers a review of theoreti-
cal and empirical aspects of innovation in hospitality.
The third section introduces methodological consid-
erations related to the case study, the data collection
instrument used in this paper and the type of infor-
mation collected. The fourth section analyses this in-
formation, dividing the analysis into two stages: pre-
covid-19 and the pandemic context. Section five dis-
plays a discussion of the results, and section 6 offers a
conclusion, indicating limitations and future research
guidelines.
Innovation in Hospitality: Review of the Literature
Hospitality is considered a lower innovative perfor-
mance sector compared to industry and knowledge-
intensive services (Gomezelj, 2016; Martín-Rios &
Ciobanu, 2019), even though the study of innova-
tion in hospitality generates a growing interest derived
from the diversity and specificities of its processes and
activities (Gomezelj, 2016; Martín-Rios & Ciobanu,
2019).
Most empirical studies on innovation in hospital-
ity and tourism are based on definitions and categories
from the Schumpeterian approach (Hjalager, 2010; de
Larrea et al., 2021). Based on the taxonomy proposed
by Schumpeter, innovation is defined as the imple-
mentation of a new or significantly improved prod-
uct (good or service), or process, a new marketing
method, or a new organizational method in business
practices, workplace organization or external relations
(oecd, 2018).
Alternative innovation classifications have been
suggested in order to capture the particularities of
the sector (Orfila-Sintes & Mattsson, 2009; Hjalager,
2010; de Larrea et al., 2021). Following Martín-Rios
and Ciobanu (2019), hospitality integrates the taxon-
omy called supplier-dominated services (sds). The sds
firms are characterized by low levels of formal in-
novation, and their innovation process relies on the
purchase of goods and the interaction with suppliers
and users. Unlike other sds sectors, the hospitality
industry is further characterized as a labour-intensive,
largely seasonal, cost-driven industry, with less incli-
nation towards R&D and large investments in techno-
logical innovation.
Orfila-Sintes and Mattsson (2009) point out that
hotel firms show a greater propensity to innovate
through the introduction of R&D incorporated in
technology (new equipment and/or software) and a
lower predisposition to carry out internal activities of
R&D. Among hotel firms in Spain, Guisado-González
et al. (2013) find that the most common innovation
strategy is the acquisition of new technology through
the purchase of machinery and equipment, followed
by the training of personnel involved in innovation
activities, the purchase of intangible technology and
marketing activities related to the introduction of new
services. Firms are little oriented towards internal gen-
eration of knowledge, external R&D and cooperation
with other firms and agents.
In summary, innovation in the hospitality sector
is illustrated in the adoption of new technologies and
translates into competitive advantages, either due to
productive efficiency, understood as a reduction in
costs, or to the greater capacity for differentiation
through improvements in the service and its greater
adaptation to the client (Orfila-Sintes & Mattsson,
2009; Nieves et al., 2014). Specifically, innovation in
this sector is widely associated with advances in ict
(Orfila-Sintes&Mattsson, 2009; Fernández et al., 2011;
Nieves et al., 2014; Nieves & Osorio, 2019).
It should be noted that firms do not innovate alone.
Innovation is a process that depends on the acquisi-
tion of knowledge and information from outside the
firm (see, for example, oecd, 2018; Lundvall, 2010).
Nieves et al. (2014), Nieves and Segarra-Ciprés (2015),
and Backman et al. (2017) offer empirical evidence in
favour of the positive impact that the interactions with
external actors (customers, suppliers, competitors,
firms of the same group and industry) have on hotel
innovation regardless of their location. Kallmuenzer
(2018) finds that employees, guests, and competitors
are key drivers of innovation.
Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022 | 365
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
Firm-level innovation process
Innovation inputs
(internal R&D, external
R&D, ICT acquisition,
design, consultancy,
training)
Hotel features (size, age, affiliation
with a chain, management modality,
additional services)
Characteristics of demand and mar-
keting strategies (seasonality, reason
for travel, channels used to book)
Product innovation
Process innovation
Marketing innovation
Organizational innovation
Policies to promote innovation in tourism
and hospitality
Crises and economic cycles
New technologies available in the market
Environmental factors
Changes in the tourist infrastructure
and new communication infrastructures
External
knowledge flows
Figure 1 Firm-Level Innovation Process and Its Conditioning Factors Source (based on López-Fernández et al., 2011;
Orfila-Sintes & Mattsson, 2009; Fernández et al., 2011)
Several factors condition the innovation process
in the hotel industry. These factors can be classified
into: (1) internal ones, such as size, belonging to a
group of firms, organizational rigidity and lack of
qualified personnel, and (2) external ones, such as
the availability of financing sources, the lack of infor-
mation or the scant interest of consumers regarding
innovation (Orfila-Sintes & Mattsson, 2009; López-
Fernández et al., 2011). Among the internal factors,
the knowledge, skills and creativity of employees con-
stitute key sources of innovation for hotels (Nieves et
al., 2014; Nieves & Segarra-Ciprés, 2015; Dhar, 2015;
Backman et al., 2017) as well as the behaviour of em-
ployees and their actions towards innovation (Zopi-
atis & Theocharous, 2018). Following Backman et al.
(2017), innovation is not mainly a function of the in-
tensity of R&D but of the knowledge acquired through
the processes of learning by doing, learning by using
and learning by interacting. Thus, specific knowledge
of the firm derives from the human capital of the em-
ployees (education, experience, ability to solve prob-
lems, etc.).
Regarding external factors that influence hotel in-
novation, Fernández et al. (2011) include (1) policies
to promote innovation in tourism and hospitality; (2)
economic crises and business cycles; (3) sociodemo-
graphic conditions such as changes in consumption
habits and the rise of new market segments; (4) new
technologies translated into product, process, orga-
nizational or marketing innovations in the tourism
sector; (5) environmental factors exemplified in legis-
lation to regulate pollution and preserve the environ-
ment; and (6) changes in tourist infrastructure and
new communication infrastructures. Figure 1 illus-
trates the innovation process at the firm level and the
internal and external factors that affect this process.
The academic literature as well as the reports com-
piled by international organizations suggest that the
covid-19 crisis may be a potential external factor that
induces innovation. Hotels, particularly those belong-
ing to large chains, have already implemented inno-
vations in response to the pandemic (Shin & Kang,
2020; Sharma et al., 2021), ranging from procedures
that guarantee higher standards of hygiene and social
distancing to adjustments in reservation and cancella-
tion policies (Shin & Kang, 2020; Sharma et al., 2021;
Breier et al., 2021; Hao et al., 2020).
Le and Phi (2021) identify strategic responses
adopted by the hotel sector to deal with the covid-19
pandemic. In an early phase of the pandemic, hotels
chains suspended their investments in new projects
or implemented an ‘asset-light’ policy, while small and
medium-sized hotels implemented a savings strategy
by freeing up working capital, improving business ef-
ficiency and postponing non-essential renovations.
In the next phases of emergency and crisis, hoteliers
adopted defensive or survival strategies focused on
cost reduction, the adoption of health and safety pro-
cedures, sales promotions through coupons and dis-
count offers and free accommodation for health work-
ers. For the recovery phase, the authors argue that the
pandemic accelerated business innovation through
service automation and revenue diversification. In
particular, new automated service processes such as
366 | Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
contactless check-in/check-out, digital menus, online
service ordering, mobile concierge apps, and smart
room control have been adopted at a rapid pace.
Breier et al. (2021) show that the incremental inno-
vations carried out by hotels in the context of a pan-
demic are explained by the time available, the gen-
eral pressure to change due to the crisis, financial re-
strictions and the role of frequent guests as imple-
menting partners and early adopters. Hotel size, hotel
resources, and government regulations and support
policies are additional factors that have a strong in-
fluence on hotel sector responses to crises (Hao et al.,
2020; Le & Phi, 2021). Large hotel chains are generally
better equipped than small and medium-sized hotels
in pandemic crisis management (Shin & Kang, 2020;
Le & Phi, 2021).
Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Firms
in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector
Several authors agree that innovation in small and
medium-sized firms (smes) in the tourism sector
is a relevant research topic (Tejada & Moreno, 2013;
Hjalager, 2010; Pikkemaat & Peters, 2006; Thomas et
al., 2011). This relevance is based on the numerical
importance of smes in the tourism industry and the
specific features assumed by innovation among these
firms. Data and studies in several countries show that
the tourism industry is dominated by micro and small
businesses, and most of them are owned and man-
aged by a single person or family (Pikkemaat, 2008;
Thomas et al., 2011; Pikkemaat & Zehrer, 2016).
Although, starting with the seminal work of Sch-
umpeter (1942), there is extensive literature on the in-
fluence of firm size on innovation, there is no con-
sensus on such influence (Pikkemaat, 2008; Tejada &
Moreno, 2013). Some studies reveal that larger firms
have the advantage over economies of scale in inno-
vation activities, while other research indicates that
smaller firms have greater flexibility to innovate and
adapt to changing environments (see the review of Te-
jada & Moreno, 2013). In any case, the literature refers
to specific features shared by the tourism and hos-
pitality smes (Pikkemaat & Peters, 2006; Pikkemaat,
2008; Tejada&Moreno, 2013; Thomas et al., 2011; Kall-
muenzer, 2018):
• Low economies of scale and scope, and difficul-
ties in increasing profit margins that allow rein-
vestment in research and development, market
research, product development, upskilling or cre-
ativity. A lack of time, money and knowledge for
a strategic innovation process is identified among
smes.
• Unlike large firms, smes do not have research
and development departments.
• Low professionalism; smes employ numerous
low-cost and semi-skilled labour.
• Lack of cooperation and networking; smes in
the tourism and hospitality industry are reluctant
to cooperate or form strategic allianceswith other
partners (competitors, suppliers, customers and/
or universities).
• smes predominantly focus on acquisition ofma-
chinery as well as upgrading of the facilities in
general, rather than creating service or manage-
ment innovations. The most common type of in-
novation is associated with the adoption of in-
novations in the field of information technology.
Most innovations are adoptions that originate as
new technologies suggested by suppliers.
• smes are risk averse, and, therefore, tend to fol-
low and imitate only after making sure invest-
ments are feasible.
• Innovations in smes are often reactive in nature
rather than proactive innovations. The former
are changes undertaken to solve an existing prob-
lem, while the latter introduce a new capability or
experience for tourists.
The stated features limit the innovation capacity of
tourism smes. The reluctance to cooperate with com-
petitors, suppliers, customers and/or universities is a
significant limitation. It should be noted that coopera-
tion allows smes to access the material and cognitive
resources necessary to innovate (Kim & Shim, 2018;
Kallmuenzer, 2018); at the same time, the cooperation
allows for obtaining the necessary economies of scope
to increase the variety of products and services offered.
In addition, the lowqualifications of theworkforce and
the low cost of labour not only does not allow boosting
labour productivity in the sector, but also does not of-
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Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
fer the necessary incentives to carry out labour-saving
process innovations (Pikkemaat & Peters, 2006).
Moreover, difficulties in access to financing consti-
tute an additional factor that undermines the innova-
tive capacity of tourism smes (Dias et al., 2022;Motta
& Sharma, 2020). smes find it difficult to obtain fi-
nancing from commercial banks due to the lack of col-
lateral, small cash flow, high-risk premiums or under-
developed banking relationships, as well as experienc-
ing difficulties in obtaining credit from suppliers and
financial institutions (see review of Dias et al., 2022).
As a consequence, the smes of the sector are financed
with their own profits.
Regarding innovation in tourism smes during the
covid-19 pandemic, these firms experienced lower
levels of training, less digitization of their processes,
greater vulnerability to external shocks, and greater
dependence on government aid compared to large
firms (Dias et al., 2022; Iancu et al., 2022). In any
case, recent studies show that the adoption of new
technologies, new business models, and employee
training were part of the main strategies followed by
tourism smes in the face of the crisis (Breier et al.,
2021; Haqbin et al., 2022; Estiri et al., 2022). Dias et al.
(2022) find that the risk-taking attitude of managers
and the existence of a cooperation network are factors
that positively affected innovation during the covid-
19 crisis. The authors indicate that state financial aid
had no impact on innovation during the pandemic,
although this may be due to a high degree of correla-
tion with the variable risk. However, Estiri et al. (2022)
argue that the development of digitalmarketing is con-
firmed as an applicable strategy for tourism smes to
access new markets. Government support in the pro-
vision of infrastructure to implement these strategies
leads to the strengthening of organizational innova-
tions that provide a competitive advantage for smes.
Methodology and Source of Information
Method
This paper adopts the case study methodology (Yin,
2018). This methodology should be used: (a) to an-
swer the ‘how’ and ‘why’ research questions; (b) when
the researcher has little or no control over behavioural
events; and (c) the focus of the study is contemporary
as opposed to an entirely historical event (Yin, 2018).
Additionally, a case study would be appropriate when
the researcher needs to describe a social phenomenon
in depth.
This technique was recently used to understand
how hotel firms innovate in their business models in
reaction to the covid-19 crisis (Breier et al., 2021).
Following Yin (2009), the case study technique is
suitable for analysing complex real-life phenomena
for which theory knowledge is scarce. In this way,
the technique is appropriate to address the questions
raised for smaller hotels, which are little explored
given the recent and disruptive nature of the covid-
19 pandemic (Le & Phi, 2021; Shin & Kang, 2020). As
a limitation, the case study does not allow generaliza-
tion in probabilistic or statistical terms. According to
Yin (2009 and 2018), the case study admits an analyt-
ical generalization, in which a previously developed
theory is used as a template to compare the empiri-
cal results of the case study. In analytic generalization,
the researcher attempts to generalize a particular set
of results to a theory.
The proposed qualitative research, with an ex-
ploratory and descriptive scope, uses the holistic mul-
tiple case research design (Yin, 2009, 2018). The six 3-
and 4-star hotels belonging to the small and medium-
sized category and located in Bahía Blanca city (Ar-
gentina) constitute the selected case studies. The unit
of analysis is the hotel.
Bahía Blanca is a medium-sized centre of regional
gravitation based on its geographic location, produc-
tion structure, supply of health services and university
education, and transportation and communications
infrastructure. Public universities and several science
and technology institutes are located in the city. In
particular, one of the local universities offers under-
graduate courses in the discipline of tourism, as well
as in ict-related areas. From the tourism perspective,
Bahía Blanca is a stopover and distribution centre for
tourists and visitors to nearby beach and mountain
destinations (Pinassi & Ercolani, 2012). Only 33.69
of visitors come to the city for vacations (Informe an-
ual perfil del visitante 2019, n.d.).
The hotel business sector in Bahía Blanca is made
up of nine small and medium-sized firms (smes). Ac-
368 | Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
Table 1 Structure of the Survey
Hotel features Affiliation to a chain. Business start year. Number of employees, number of employees with tech-
nical or university training. Number of rooms. Location in the urban space
Demand and market-
ing strategies
Main reason for travelling to the city. If the guests are frequent customers. Place of residence of
the guests. Reservation channels – promotion policies/rate setting policies
Innovative behaviour
and performance pre-
covid- pandemic
Investment in innovation activities (internal R&D, external R&D, acquisition of hardware, soft-
ware, machinery and equipment, consulting, design and marketing, training). Obtaining inno-
vative results (introduction of a new or improved product, processes, marketing method, orga-
nizational method). Use of external sources of information to innovate (guests, suppliers, com-
petitors, hotels of the chain, universities). Access to funding sources for innovation. Obstacles to
innovate, motives to innovate.
Perceptions and in-
novation during the
covid- pandemic
Opinion of hotel managers on duration and effect of the health control policies. Expectations
of hotel managers regarding the recovery period of activity to pre-pandemic levels. Innovations
implemented and/or planned by the hotels.
cording to the Ministry of Production and Labour of
Argentina (Resolution 19/2021) and following the cri-
terion of the number of employees, micro to medium-
sized firms are service companies with more than (or
equal to) 7 employees and less than (or equal to) 535
employees. As previously stated, this paper focuses on
six selected 3- and 4-star hotels. Among the hotels not
selected, two of these firms belong to the 2-star cat-
egory and the remaining one does not have a catego-
rization. This last hotel, although it had a building, be-
gan its activities after the conclusion of this study.
The six highest category hotels are selected con-
sidering convenience. Based on contacts prior to this
study, the lower category hotels of the city did not show
innovative behaviour before the covid-19 crisis, fo-
cusing their attention on daily or current operations.
Therefore, the analysis of the six selected hotels makes
it possible to compare the pre-pandemic innovative
profile with innovative behaviour during the covid-
19 crisis. This allows identification of the effects of the
crisis on innovative behaviour when comparing both
stages.
It is highlighted that the six hotels under study
show differences regarding their size, age and affil-
iation to a hotel chain. There are two chains of local
originwith regional projection. These differences con-
tribute to the robustness of the finding (Guest et al.,
2006 in Breier et al., 2021). Conversely, all hotels face a
similar demand: frequent national guests who mainly
travel for work and use the same booking channels
(Online Travel Agencies, website, telephone, Airbnb).
Data Collection and Analysis
The proposed study examines the use of primary and
secondary sources of information. The primary infor-
mation was collected by sending a form to the email
address of the managers of the 3- and 4-star hotels of
Bahía Blanca city. The form focused on the pre-covid
19 stage, and on the recovery expectations and innova-
tion strategies adopted by local hotels in the face of the
covid-19 crisis. The process of sending the form and
receiving the responses lasted between the months of
July and October 2020. The questions that compose
the questionnaire (Table 1) followed the guidelines of
the OsloManual (oecd, 2018). Based on Sharma et al.
(2021), the categories of the Oslo Manual are still ap-
plicable to many of the measures that hotels have im-
plemented in response to the pandemic, although the
unprecedented nature of the crisis forced hotels to in-
novate without the benefit of the experience.
For the analysis of the primary information col-
lected, this paper follows the scheme proposed by
Breier et al. (2021), using a cross-case analysis or com-
parative analysis between local hotels for the pre-
covid-19 stage and a within-case analysis for each
local hotel for the covid-19 stage. The analysis of the
primary information is combined with secondary in-
formation from official statistics and reports compiled
Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022 | 369
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
by national business chambers. Secondary informa-
tion refers to the strategies or responses adopted by
hotels at the national level in the face of the covid-
19 crisis, with the aim of identifying whether innova-
tion is part of this set of strategies. After providing a
summary of the strategies adopted by hotels at the na-
tional level, the information on innovation in times
of pandemic is analysed for the hotels under study in
particular.
Results
Pre-Pandemic Innovative Behaviour and Performance
As indicated in the previous section, the comparative
analysis on innovative behaviour prior to the covid-
19 crisis requires local hotels to show some variability
in their features in order to draw conclusions. Accord-
ing to Table 2, the six hotels under study show differ-
ential characteristics. In this sense, the hotels A, B and
E belong to a national chain while the three remaining
hotels are independent. Similarly, half of the six local
hotels are more than 25 years old (Hotels A, C and D)
or have a number of rooms equal to or greater than
100 (Hotels A, B andC). The hotels E and F are smaller
in age and size. A relevant aspect to highlight for the
purposes of analysing the innovative behaviour of ho-
tels refers to the training of their employees. In the six
hotels under study, the percentage of professional em-
ployees is low, and this attribute is more pronounced
in the larger hotels.
Beyond the aforementioned distinctive features,
the six hotels under study face a similar demand. In
all cases, the demand is seasonal, concentrated in the
months of March to November. Guests travel mainly
for work and come from nearby towns and other re-
gions of the country. The managers of the six ho-
tels reported using the website, telephone and Book-
ing.com as reservation channels before the covid-19
pandemic. Some hotels also used Despegar, Facebook,
emails and Airbnb. Except for Hotel A, none of the
local hotels had a policy of overbooking rooms. Re-
garding the rate-setting policies, the hotels segmented
the market according to the type of clients (individ-
uals/group); sales channel (travel agency, direct sales,
online travel agencies); and previous agreements with
companies and/or sports clubs. Hotels D and E also
discriminated rates according to the type of reserva-
tion (refundable, non-refundable, early booking).
Despite the differential characteristics in terms of
age, size and belonging to a chain, the comparative
analysis shows similarities in behaviour and innova-
tive performance (Table 3). In line with previous stud-
ies for destinations in developed countries, all local
hoteliers invested in the acquisition of technology em-
bedded in software, hardware or equipment. Hotels A
and E, belonging to the same hotel chain, adopted the
software Property Management System (pms). This
software addresses reservation management, guest
check-in and check-out, room assignment, room rate
management, and billing. In addition, Hotel C incor-
porated an accounting administration software devel-
oped by a national firm and used especially by smes
from different productive sectors. The software pur-
chased byHotel C allows the firm tomanage purchases
and stock, create price lists, issue invoices and compile
management reports.
Except for Hotel B and the recently founded Hotel
F, the local hotels also opted to train their employees.
The hotel business chamber of the city (fehgra) pro-
vided such trainings, which focused onmarketing and
sales and guest service. Only Hotel C implemented an
incentive programme for its staff based on the achieve-
ment of objectives. None of the local hotels carried out
regular evaluations of their staff. Although human re-
sources constitute a key innovation factor in the hotel
sector (Nieves et al., 2014; Nieves & Segarra-Ciprés,
2015; Dhar, 2015), the local large hotels showed a low
percentage of professional employees such as accoun-
tants, graduates in administration and graduates in
tourism (Table 2).
The six hotels under study financed their innova-
tion activities with their own funds. The hotels did
not finance their innovation process from external
sources, even when they mentioned the high costs of
innovation as obstacles to innovate. Hotels A and D,
which have been in operation for more than 25 years,
indicated that the main obstacles correspond to the
conservative organizational culture, the lack of quali-
fied personnel and the high costs of innovation. Hotel
F, recently opened and smaller, pointed to the costs
of innovation together with the limited availability of
370 | Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
Table 2 Description of Local Hotels
Item Hotel
A B C D E F
Category  stars  stars  stars  stars  stars  stars
Chain affiliation Yes Yes No No Yes No
Age > years < years > years > years < years < years
N° of rooms      
N° of employees      
N° of professional employees  no data    
Main reason for travel Work Work Work Work Work Work
Place of residence of the guests Regional Regional
Foreigner
Regional Regional Regional Regional
Frequent guests Yes No Yes No No Yes
Seasonality of demand Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Notes Elaboration based on primary information provided by the hotels, web pages of each hotel and the web page of the
Municipality of Bahía Blanca.
Table 3 Innovation Behaviour before covid-19 Crisis by Local Hotel Features
Hotel Hotel description Innovation process
() () () Innovation activities Source information Innovation results
A Yes >
years
 Acquisition of embodied
technology. Training.
Chain. Generally available
sources. Market sources.
Academic sources.
Product/Service innovations.
Process innovations. Market-
ing innovation.
B Yes <
years
 Acquisition of embodied
technology.
Chain. Market sources. –
C No >
years
 Acquisition of embodied
technology. Training.
Generally available sources.
Market sources.
Product/Service innovations.
Process innovations. Market-
ing innovation
D No >
years
 Acquisition of embodied
technology. Training. Cre-
ation new image.
Generally available sources.
Market sources.
Product/Service innovations.
Marketing innovation
E Yes <
years
 Acquisition of embodied
technology. Training.
Chain. Generally available
sources. Market sources.
Process innovations Market-
ing innovation.
F No <
years
 Acquisition of embodied
technology. Creation new im-
age. Adoption quality man-
agement system.
Generally available sources.
Market sources.
Marketing innovation.
Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) chain affiliation, (2) age, (3) number of rooms. Elaboration based on primary
information provided by the hotels.
financing. It should be noted that investment in inno-
vation activities is not the only input in the innovation
process of firms. Since the 1980s, different theoretical
approaches have pointed out the relevance of external
Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022 | 371
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
knowledge as a source of innovation. As in previous
studies, employees are the internal source of informa-
tion used by local hotels. Within each hotel, the infor-
mation is conducted through regular meetings, emails
and use of WhatsApp.
Respondents indicated that they usemore than one
external source of information to update on innova-
tion and new trends in the sector.Most of the local ho-
tels used generally available information sources (spe-
cialized magazines, internet and fairs). Similarly, all
the hotels used market sources represented by clients
and/or competitors. Only Hotel B indicated that they
also used suppliers as a source of information. Except
for Hotel A, which is larger and belongs to a chain,
none of the establishments used the university as a
source of information. The three hotels that belong to
a chain (Hotels A, B and E) indicated that they use this
organization as a source of information. Nevertheless,
the hotel chain can be considered an internal source of
information.
It is highlighted that the hotels are located in a city
that has a university that offers a degree in tourism,
and training in disciplines in the field of economic sci-
ences, and in engineering associated with ict. These
last scientific fields of interest for the promotion of in-
novation in the sector are aimed at the digitization of
firms.
Regarding the innovative results, the local hotels
obtained product, process and/or marketing innova-
tions, but not organizational ones:
• Product/Service innovations. Hotels A, C and D
obtained incremental innovations represented
by improvements in Wi-Fi network connectiv-
ity (Hotels A and D), incorporation of electronic
locks by approach (Hotels A and C) and im-
provements in heating equipment (Hotel D). The
younger hotels B, E and F did not obtain innova-
tions.
• Process innovations.Hotels A and E, belonging to
the same chain, adopted the Yield Management
philosophy (see, for example, Kimes, 1989; Talón
Ballestero et al., 2008), an aspect that suggests a
greater complexity of management processes and
decision-making regarding rate setting and in-
ventory policies. The independent Hotel C also
digitized its administrative processes. From the
perspective of front-office innovations, Hotel C
added the practice of late check-out.
• Marketing innovation. Except for Hotel B, the lo-
cal hotels indicated that they modified their rate
setting policies, offering discounts for long stays
and through a booking channel (Hotel A andHo-
tel D), special weekend rates (Hotel C), and dis-
counts for groups of guests who come to the city
to participate in specific events and conventions
(Hotel E and F). Only Hotels A and F incorpo-
rated new sales and promotion channels: online
travel agencies and direct web bookings. Hotels
A and C have made changes to their website.
Regarding the factors underlying the innovation
process described, the study suggests that the affilia-
tion to a chain, the size and the age of the hotel do
not seem to influence the innovation process of local
hotels. While Hotels A and B, affiliated to the same
chain, stand out for the adoption of the ym philos-
ophy, Hotel B, belonging to another chain, did not
attain innovations in the pre-covid-19 period. The
internal factors outlined by the hotels surveyed refer
to the conservative attitude and the lack of qualified
personnel. Among external factors, the high costs of
innovation and the lack of financing lines emerge as
obstacles to innovation. For the cases studied, the fea-
tures assumed by demand can serve to explain the
similarity in the innovative behaviour evidenced. Lo-
cal hoteliers indicated that their guests travel for work
and stay in the city for a few days, suggesting that the
accommodation and additional services offered by lo-
cal hotels meet their expectations. Figure 2 summa-
rizes the relatively homogeneous innovative profile of
local hotels.
Innovation as a Response to the COVID-19 Crisis
Based on Le and Phi (2021), innovation is one of
the strategies that hotels can adopt in the face of the
covid-19 pandemic. Although the present paper fo-
cuses only on innovation, the strategies adopted by
hotels at the national level are shown below with the
purpose of providing a general framework of the re-
372 | Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
Financing sources: own resources
Innovation
activities:
acquisition of incor-
porated technology
(equipment and
ICTs) and training
Product innovation
Process innovation
Marketing innovation
Wi-Fi network improvements, electronic
locks by approach, improvements in
heating/cooling of environments
Back-office: Yield Management front-office:
late check-out
Changes in rate setting policy new sales
and promotion channels
Information sources:
generally available
information
(specializedmagazines,
internet), market,
own chain
Figure 2 Pre-Pandemic Innovative Profile of Local Hotels Source (based on primary information provided by the hotels)
sponses implemented at the national level and identi-
fying if innovation is part of such strategies. Innova-
tion is analysed for the particular hotels selected after
providing this general framework.
Strategies against the COVID-19 Crisis Implemented by
Hotels Nationwide
In March 2020, after the recognition by the World
Health Organization of the covid-19 outbreak as a
pandemic, Argentina declared a public emergency
(Decreto de Necesidad y Urgencia 260/2020, 2020;
Ley de solidaridad social y reactivación productiva en
el marco de la emergencia pública, 2019) and adopted
policies aimed at restricting the arrival of international
passenger flights and limiting the internal movement
of people (see summary of government measures in
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (2021)).
Thus, international tourist arrivals showed a negative
year-on-year variation of 97.7 compared with De-
cember 2020. In this scenario, Argentina adopted fis-
cal and monetary policies to mitigate the effects of the
crisis and accelerate recovery and measures to protect
jobs and promote training and skills.
Before the gradual resumption of tourist activity
recorded at the end of 2020, hotels reported difficulties
in operation (Asociación de Hoteles de Turismo de la
República Argentina, 2020; Asociación de Hoteles de
Turismo de la República Argentina & Instituto de Es-
tudios sobre la Realidad Argentina y Latinoamericana
2020; Observatorio Económico Hotelero, 2020):
• 94 of the hotels surveyed requested state aid for
the payment of salaries, 53 carried out person-
nel suspensions, 52 suspended programmed in-
vestments, 47 reduced personnel salaries and
took bank loans;
• More than 80 of the surveyed establishments
indicated that they have infrastructure and equip-
ment and protocols to operate safely;
• 21 of the hotels indicated that they can convert
their establishment to another type of activity. At
this point, it stands out that 20 of the hotels
continued to offer their restaurant service and 5
of the hotels offered this service under the take-
away modality.
Innovation among Local Hotels During the COVID-19
Crisis
At the local level and prior to the reopening of tourism
activities, the 3- and 4-star hotels in the city of Bahía
Blanca made adjustments to adapt their service to the
‘covid-19 Protocol for Tourist Accommodation’ of
the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Argentina. Re-
garding the possibilities for innovation offered by the
covid-19 crisis, Table 4 summarizes the behaviour
and perceptions of the hotel respondents that are de-
tailed below.
Hotel A. The hotel established a maximum capacity
in the breakfast room, signalled physical distancing in
common spaces, and adopted physical barriers at the
reception. Even when the respondent indicated that
the pandemic context demands innovative behaviour,
he considered that the hotel does not have the capacity
to introduce changes. In addition, the respondent ex-
pressed that the government policies taken to mitigate
the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic were not suf-
ficient in a highly affected sector, stating that: ‘Costs
are increasing and accumulate with a very poor de-
mand, the hotel that remains open does nothing more
than borrow in an abysmal way that will undoubtedly
Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022 | 373
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
Table 4 Innovation Behaviour of Local Hotels during covid-19 Crisis
Hotel Hotel description Innovation during covid-
() () ()
A Yes > years 
Innovation strategies are not verified.
Hoteliers do not perceive the crisis as an opportunity to innovate.
Minor organizational changes and service changes for compliance with health
protocols that are not considered innovative results.
B Yes < years 
C No > years 
D No > years 
E Yes < years 
F No < years 
Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) chain affiliation, (2) age, (3) number of rooms. Elaboration based on primary
information provided by the hotels.
affect its future performance, seriously compromising
the ability to respond to innovative changes that adapt
to the new visitor or tourist.’
Hotel B. Hotel B modified its organization, internaliz-
ing the laundry service through the incorporation of
its own laundry room. The respondent indicated that
‘the current situation for the entire industry is critical,
hotels are literally struggling to survive. Many will not
be able to do it and will close their doors permanently.
The recovery is going to be slow and hard, the costs to
maintain the protocols are higher than in the normal
situation. All renovation and technological advance-
ment activity is going to be relegated for quite some
time. The investments are going to be minimal, just to
be able to operate and provide the appropriate quality
to each hotel.’
Hotel C. Beyondminor renovations to common spaces
to contribute to physical distancing, Hotel C indicated
that it does not plan to make any changes. The re-
spondent explicitly pointed to the covid-19 crisis as
a limitation to innovation and revealed that ‘The im-
pact of covid-19 was great in the hotel sector in the
city. The hotel had to adapt to the new municipal and
provincial protocols. The government policies were
correct at the beginning of the pandemic, but later it
seems to me that they were contradictory or unclear.’
Hotel D. Like previous accommodations, Hotel D im-
plemented minor renovations in common spaces to
contribute to physical distancing between people. The
hotel indicated that it plans to adopt off-line card pay-
ment, web check-in and express check-out and inten-
sify the use of social networks as an advertising and
loyalty strategy for its guests. The respondent stated
that the primary strategy is to survive: ‘it is working
with aminimum staffing,with limited service, the staff
is receiving less salary [. . .]. The government policies
were not successful in my opinion. I see everything
[as] very improvised.’
Hotel E. Beyond the adaptations of the service to the
requirements imposed by the protocol, Hotel E did not
consider adopting innovative strategies. The respon-
dent explicitly indicated that the pandemic constitutes
a limitation to the development of an innovation strat-
egy and stressed that the implementation of changes ‘is
going to depend on the region in which we find our-
selves and the evolution of the situation.’
Hotel F. The hotel carried out renovations in com-
mon spaces to contribute to physical distancing be-
tween people. As in the previous accommodation, the
respondent explicitly pointed out that the pandemic
constitutes a limiting factor for innovation. Likewise,
he indicated that the new hygiene protocols meant an
increase in his costs and pointed out that ‘all the eco-
nomic measures that are implemented to provide sup-
port at this juncture are very useful. The prospects de-
pend a lot on the evolution of the pandemic in the
short term, and its effects on the flowof passengers and
means of transport.’
Figure 3 sums up the strategies adopted by local and
national hoteliers in the face of the pandemic. Un-
374 | Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
COVID-19 crisis
Survival strategies
Innovation strategies
Minor organizational changes and service changes
for compliance with health protocols
Suspension of programmed investments
Application for state aid for the payment of wages
Personal suspension
Limitations: lack of own financing funds, cost increase, closure risk,
personal suspension. The hotels declared they had the necessary
equipment and infrastructure to operate in the new normality
Strategies verified
Strategies not verified
Figure 3 Hotels’ Response during the covid-19 Crisis (based on Asociación de Hoteles de Turismo de la República
Argentina, 2020; Asociación de Hoteles de Turismo de la República Argentina & Instituto de Estudios sobre
la Realidad Argentina y Latinoamericana, 2020; Observatorio Económico Hotelero, 2020; Breier et al., 2021;
Le & Phi, 2021)
like previous empirical studies and reports from in-
ternational organizations (Sigala, 2020; Breier et al.,
2021; unwto, 2020; oecd, 2020; Le & Phi, 2021), the
covid-19 crisis is not a triggering event to innovate
for the local hotels. Although one of the hotel firms
surveyed considers that the covid-19 crisis demands
innovation, enhancing factors such as staff time off,
financial pressure due to loss of income and support
from frequent guests are not verified among the pri-
mary information collected.
Discussion
The information collected for the pre-covid-19 stage
shows an innovative behaviour of local hoteliers ori-
ented to the following innovation activities: acqui-
sition of ict and staff training. This innovative be-
haviour is representative of the tourism and hospital-
ity sector, and is more pronounced among small and
medium-sized firms (smes) in the sector (Pikkemaat
& Peters, 2006; Pikkemaat, 2008; Tejada & Moreno,
2013; Kallmuenzer, 2018).
In addition to these innovation activities, the pre-
covid-19 crisis innovation process was based on sev-
eral external sources of information, except for Ho-
tel B, which stands out for not having obtained in-
novative results in this stage. Therefore, a relationship
could be drawn between obtaining innovative results
and openness to information and external knowledge.
Although this relationship is in line with previous em-
pirical literature (Nieves et al., 2014; Nieves & Segarra-
Ciprés, 2015; Backman et al., 2017; Kim & Shim, 2018;
Kallmuenzer, 2018), it is not a conclusive result given
the qualitative nature of this study. It should be noted
that the university was not an external source of infor-
mation widely disseminated among local hotels. How-
ever, the local university can provide relevant knowl-
edge for the hotel innovative process since this aca-
demic unit has degree programmes in fields related to
the hotel and tourism sector. Hoteliers turn in the op-
posite direction, to the local business association, to
train their employees.
The results derived from this pre-covid-19 in-
novative behaviour were incremental. The applica-
tion of the Yield Management philosophy stands out.
Although it is a technique applied in the hotel sec-
tor since the 1980s, it is not very widespread among
smaller hotels (Talón Ballestero et al., 2008) and im-
plies a higher degree of digitization. From the differ-
entiation between internal and external factors, the
conservative-type attitude and the lack of qualified
personnel emerged as internal conditioning factors of
the pre-covid-19 innovative process. The high costs
of innovation and the lack of financing lines appeared
as external factors. According to previous studies on
tourism (Dias et al., 2022; Motta & Sharma, 2020),
small and medium-sized local hotels finance their in-
novation activities with their own resources. In addi-
tion, the characteristics of the demand is a key ele-
ment to inducing innovation in the tourism and hos-
pitality sector (Orfila-Sintes &Mattsson, 2009; López-
Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022 | 375
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
Fernández et al., 2011). Before the covid-19 crisis and
today, local hotels face little dynamic demand that
does not require the introduction of innovations. This
feature of the local demand explains the similarity evi-
denced in the innovative profile of hotels with dissim-
ilar features.
The covid-19 pandemic may be an external fac-
tor that induces innovation, according to reports from
international organizations and recent studies (United
Nations, 2020, p. 2; oecd, 2020; unwto, 2020; Le &
Phi, 2021; Breier et al., 2021; Haqbin et al., 2022; Es-
tiri et al., 2022). However, the primary data collected
shows that local hoteliers did not report perceiving the
pandemic as an obstacle to innovation rather than an
inducing factor. During the lockdown, local hoteliers
did not innovate, nor did they plan investments in that
direction. The main concern of the hoteliers was fo-
cused on surviving, on continuing to operate, rather
than on innovating.
Conclusions, Limitations and Future Guidelines
Innovation is a source of competitiveness and growth
for hotel firms, and it is recognized as a strategy for
survival and adaptation to the current covid-19 cri-
sis. Following the multiple case study methodology
and the analysis scheme used by Breier et al. (2021),
the proposed exploratory and descriptive analysis fo-
cuses on innovation in small and medium-sized ho-
tels, not belonging to large international chains, lo-
cated in a medium-sized city of Argentina oriented to
business tourism. In this way, the paper aims to con-
tribute to the empirical knowledge about innovation
in small and medium-sized firms (smes) in tourism
and hospitality, addressing the research gap in tourism
innovation in SouthAmerica and adding empirical ev-
idence on the innovative behaviour of tourism smes
in times of crisis.
As previously indicated for the pre-covid-19 stage,
the study reveals an innovative behaviour similar to
that reported by the literature for the tourism and hos-
pitality sector (Orfila-Sintes &Mattsson, 2009; Nieves
et al., 2014; Kallmuenzer, 2018), and, in particular, to
that evidenced in the studies for the smes of the sec-
tor (Pikkemaat & Peters, 2006; Pikkemaat, 2008; Te-
jada &Moreno, 2013; Kallmuenzer, 2018). The need to
mitigate the influence of some internal and external
factors mentioned by local hoteliers emerges from the
findings. In this way, policy recommendations arise
aimed at favouring access to financing lines, and train-
ing the workforce employed, which is a key innovative
factor for the tourism innovative process. In the lat-
ter case, a policy recommendation derived from this
study involves promoting a more active role for the
university both as a training centre and as a potential
assistance and innovation centre for local hotels.
After the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic and
its conception as a window of opportunity to innovate
in the tourism and hospitality sector (see, for example,
United Nations, 2020; oecd, 2020; unwto, 2020; Le
& Phi, 2021; Breier et al., 2021), local hoteliers not only
did not deploy change and innovation strategies but
also contemplated the covid-19 crisis as an obstacle
to innovate. It should be noted that the impact of the
covid-19 crisis on innovative behaviour of the hotels
under study must be interpreted with caution, given
that the information collected does not account for
an outstanding innovative behaviour prior to the pan-
demic.
Secondary information at the national level con-
sulted shows that, although national support policies
were arranged for the sector, the extension of restric-
tions on the operation of tourist activities, with the
consequent loss of income, added to the costs associ-
atedwith compliancewith health protocols, are factors
that hinder innovation in times of pandemic. Like-
wise, the partial or total suspension of employees is
an additional factor that undermines the possibilities
of innovating due to greater staff time off during a re-
duction in operational activities (Breier et al., 2021).
As indicated by Le & Phi (2021), the study suggests
that small and medium-sized hotels opt for a strat-
egy of freeing upworking capital and postponing non-
essential renovations.
This paper is not exempt from limitations. A first
limitation of the proposed analysis is associated with
the scope of the case study methodology. This tech-
nique does not allow statistical generalization from a
single or multiple case studies (Yin, 2009 and 2018).
Therefore, deepening of the knowledge of the internal
and external factors that influence the behaviour and
376 | Academica Turistica, Year 15, No. 3, December 2022
Carolina Pasciaroni et al. Innovation in Smaller Hotels in Argentina
innovative performance of hotel firms requires the ap-
plication of an extensive quantitative-type methodol-
ogy to a greater number of hotels. A second limitation
comes from the temporal extension of this paper. It is
limited to the first phases of the covid-19 crisis (Le
& Phi, 2021), therefore, it is necessary to collect infor-
mation on the current recovery phase to obtain a com-
plete understanding of the crisis as a potential window
of opportunity to innovate.
A future research line involves examining the im-
pact of the covid-19 pandemic on the innovative be-
haviour of hotels taking into account different sizes,
categories, and localities, aswell as exploring the strate-
gies carried out by them in the four stages of the cri-
sis indicated by Le and Phi (2021). A complementary
study suggests recognizing whether the influence of
the obstacles to innovation prior to the covid-19 cri-
sis becomes more pronounced during the pandemic
or, in contrast, their impact is attenuated by state aid
or the need to adopt less conservative behaviour facing
a disruptive event. Given that knowledge external to
the firm is a key factor in its innovation process during
the covid-19 pandemic (Breier et al., 2021; Dias et al.,
2022), alternative future research could be oriented to
explore the influence of external knowledge from di-
verse sources (customers, suppliers, competitors, uni-
versities) on the sme hotels’ innovative performance
during the different phases of the covid-19 crisis.
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