United States

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are responsible for more than seventy-five percent of the hotel ownership structure in the USA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, all REITs markets were severely affected. Mandatory lockdowns and mobility restrictions affected several businesses, especially in the service sectors. Unsurprisingly, the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on hotel REITs were devastating due to the unpredictability of revenues and cash flows, directly impacting managerial decisions on how to adapt REITs&#39; capital structure quickly. Understand the risks associated with the capital structure decision and how these determinants are affected by crises, catastrophes, and unprecedented extreme situations that can abruptly affect the revenue and cash flow generation is crucial not only to REIT managers but especially for regulators, lawmakers, and all real estate sector stakeholders impacted by unexpected market volatility. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the moderating effects of COVID-19 on hotel REITs&#39; capital structure determinants. This paper used quarterly hotel REIT financial data of the 18 most representative U.S. H-REITs from January 2015 through December 2020, which does not include other financial crises or extreme lockdown situations other than the COVID-19 pandemic. Collecting a panel data of 472 observations, this study found robust empirical evidence that confirms COVID-19 moderates the relationships between hotel REITs&#39; capital structure and its determinants. Adapting constructs from the Pecking Order Theory (POT) and Trade-off Theory (TOT), this study found that hotel REITs profitability and size significantly impacted their capital structure only during the pandemic; hotel REITs growth potential is a significant determinant before and during the pandemic, and hotel REITs tangibility of assets and interest coverage did not impact their capital structure nor before, nor during the crisis. The results, theoretical contributions, and managerial implications were deeply explored in the final section.

TOUR 2021

The moderating effects of covid-19 on hotel real estate investment trusts&#39; capital structure determinants

h-reit

real estate investment trust

hotel reit

capital structure

real estate

covid-19

Dear Delegates, 

On behalf of the organizing committee at UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management and Elsevier, I have the greatest pleasure to welcome you to the **6th World Research Summit for Tourism and Hospitality: Resilience, Adaptability, and Innovation.** 

Though we cannot host you this year owing to Covid-19 at our beautiful resort-like campus in Orlando, Florida, we believe this virtual and live-streamed conference will provide an interactive, dynamic, and shared international platform for global academics and practitioners to discuss how to enhance research applications and knowledge management through resilience, adaptability, digital intelligence, innovation, and smart knowledge in bringing our industry and research back to normal. This summit particularly offers unique opportunities to unfold and embrace various repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic with various stakeholders, including academic researchers, industry professionals, and government officials, through dialogues on how to better utilize research outputs for the benefits of the industry, in a resilient, intelligent and innovative way. 

I hope you will agree that we have put together a wonderful program including keynote speeches, panel discussions, concurrent presentations, poster sessions, and best paper recognition and award ceremony. We hope you will take advantage of these activities and engage yourself with great learning and sharing opportunities during the two days of the Summit. Thank you for joining us and we look forward to our discussions! 

Sincerely, 
Dr. Youcheng Wang 
Dean and Preeminent Chair Professor

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This conference provides an interactive, dynamic, and shared international platform for global academics and practitioners to discuss how to enhance research applications and knowledge management through resilience, adaptability, digital intelligence, innovation, and smart knowledge in bringing our industry and research back to normal. This summit particularly offers unique opportunities to unfold and embrace various repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic with various stakeholders, including academic researchers, industry professionals, and government officials, through dialogues on how to better utilize research outputs for the benefits of the industry, in a resilient, intelligent and innovative way.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are responsible for more than seventy-five percent of the hotel ownership structure in the USA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, all REITs markets were severely affected. Mandatory lockdowns and mobility restrictions affected several businesses, especially in the service sectors. Unsurprisingly, the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on hotel REITs were devastating due to the unpredictability of revenues and cash flows, directly impacting managerial decisions on how to adapt REITs' capital structure quickly. Understand the risks associated with the capital structure decision and how these determinants are affected by crises, catastrophes, and unprecedented extreme situations that can abruptly affect the revenue and cash flow generation is crucial not only to REIT managers but especially for regulators, lawmakers, and all real estate sector stakeholders impacted by unexpected market volatility. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the moderating effects of COVID-19 on hotel REITs' capital structure determinants. This paper used quarterly hotel REIT financial data of the 18 most representative U.S. H-REITs from January 2015 through December 2020, which does not include other financial crises or extreme lockdown situations other than the COVID-19 pandemic. Collecting a panel data of 472 observations, this study found robust empirical evidence that confirms COVID-19 moderates the relationships between hotel REITs' capital structure and its determinants. Adapting constructs from the Pecking Order Theory (POT) and Trade-off Theory (TOT), this study found that hotel REITs profitability and size significantly impacted their capital structure only during the pandemic; hotel REITs growth potential is a significant determinant before and during the pandemic, and hotel REITs tangibility of assets and interest coverage did not impact their capital structure nor before, nor during the crisis. The results, theoretical contributions, and managerial implications were deeply explored in the final section.

The moderating effects of covid-19 on hotel real estate investment trusts' capital structure determinants

poster

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic not only threatens public health and safety but also hits the hospitality industry, where nearly 70 percent of hospitality employees have been laid off or furloughed (Benshoff, 2020). The industry is recovering with the vaccine rollout nationwide, but now it is facing another critical challenge of staffing shortage (Klein, 2021; Sebastian, 2021). Indeed, for many employees and employers in hospitality, COVID-19 means that they are tackling significant challenges related to their well-being, including their financial, physical, workplace, and mental well-being (Karatepe et al., 2021; Sönmez et al., 2020).

Based on the literature related to employee well-being (Sirgy,2019; Liu-Lastres & Wen, 2021) and the resilience theory (Rees et al., 2015), this study investigated how hospitality workers interpret employee well-being during the pandemic, how they cope with the challenges brought by the pandemic, and how these experiences affect their attitude towards their profession as well as their intentions to stay in/return to the industry. This study employed a qualitative approach and conducted semi-structured interviews with seventeen hospitality workers, including eight managers and nine front-line employees. In addition, constant comparison methods (Glaser & Strauss, 2017) were used to guide the coding process and identify major themes.

The preliminary results confirmed the multi-dimensional nature of employee well-being. It is further noted that although the respondents appreciated the importance of self-actualization at work, they prioritized financial well-being and personal safety during pandemic times. Furthermore, the respondents’ intentions of staying in/returning to the hospitality industry are affected by their empathy towards their employers, positive working experiences, self-alignment with the value of the organization, and consideration for career development. This study’s findings provide insights into building a resilient workforce, which is helpful in planning and preparing for future complications associated with significant crises.

Building a resilient hospitality workforce: Empirical insights from hospitality workers

The Covid-19 pandemic lead to large reductions in GDP in countries all around the world. While some countries introduced less restrictive measures, most countries implemented a lockdown of some sort at one or more times. Lockdowns, and other measures, have various economic consequences that have severely reduced GDP worldwide, including the effects of international border closures, quarantine-on-arrival, and the closure of hospitality businesses and visitor attractions. These tourism channels of impact are clearly only part of the reason why GDP has declined so dramatically, as lockdowns have impacted economies in many other ways.

Using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the world economy, based on data from the Global Trade Analysis Project and World Tourism Organisation, this paper uses simulation techniques to estimate the GDP reduction caused by different channels of impact. These channels often overlap, for example where visitor arrivals were restricted and hotels closed, the resultant loss of earnings for hotel employees could have resulted from either measure. They also work differently for domestic and international tourism, and by purpose of visit, and in different countries depending on levels of Covid-19 infections and government policies.

The CGE model estimates the economic impact of all channels combined, giving GDP results for each country that can be compared against actual changes in GDP. It can also estimate the economic impact of each channel, allowing the calculation for each country of the proportion of lost incomes that were driven by tourism channels of impact.

Decomposing the GDP impacts of Covid-19

One vital job behavior that hospitality organizations should support is helping behavior, as it represents employees’ proactive and reactive responses to the needs of their colleagues (Hwang et al., 2021) and plays a critical role in various service aspects (e.g., Zou et al., 2015; Kim et al., 2018; Özduran and Tanova, 2017). However, there is a paucity of research on how to support employees to engage in helping behavior. Thus, the aim of this study is to increase the understanding of how an employee’s living a calling and cooperative organizational culture impact their workplace well-being, and ultimately their helping behavior toward coworkers. The sample was collected from US hospitality employees using an MTurk panel. Partial Least Squares structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis were used to explain the proposed model. Results revealed that living a calling and cooperative organizational culture positively influenced both workplace well-being and helping behavior, respectively, and workplace well-being positively influenced helping behavior. Additionally, cooperative organizational culture and workplace well-being were significant mediators between living a calling and helping behavior. Cooperative organizational culture was vital for female employees to engage in helping behavior, while the impact of workplace well-being on helping behavior was more important for male employees. This study advances the understanding of employee’s helping behavior by unveiling new motivators (i.e., living a calling, cooperative organization culture, workplace well-being) and extends the understanding of organizational support theory and social identity theory. The study also demonstrates that gender has a significant influence on helping behaviors. Hospitality managers will benefit from this research by understanding the importance of employee’s social identifications and the necessary supportive workplace environment to elevate employee’s well-being and their helping behavior toward coworkers, a critical aspect to increase competitive advantage for organizational success.

The effect of cooperative organizational culture and gender on helping behavior

Perceived supervisor support (PSS) has been repeatedly linked to positive outcomes for employees and recent researchers have examined PSS’s ability to buffer the effects of negative workplace experiences (Ng & Sorensen, 2008; Patzelt et al., 2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, popular press articles have emphasized the high prevalence of customer mistreatment in the hospitality sector. The present study sought to examine whether PSS would buffer the negative impacts of mistreatment anxiety on job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and mental health.

125 U.S. adults currently employed in the hospitality industry completed an online survey in Spring 2021. Self-report scales were used to measure the constructs of interest. The sample was primarily Caucasian (87.9%) and female (61.3%), and the majority (96.3%) worked in theme parks.

The anticipated relationships were tested with hierarchical linear regression. Mistreatment anxiety and PSS were mean-centered, then entered at step 1. A multiplicative interaction term was entered into step 2. A non-significant R2 change (ΔR2= 0.00, p = n.s.) indicated that the addition of the interaction term did not significantly improve prediction of job satisfaction. However, the interaction term did predict life satisfaction (b=0.06, p<.05) and mental health (b=0.06, p<.01). Further examination of the nature of these interactions confirmed the anticipated buffering effects.

The findings suggest that, for hospitality workers, the negative effects of anticipated mistreatment on mental health and life satisfaction can be buffered by supportive supervision. Considering the high levels of mistreatment anxiety experienced by faced by hospitality employees in this sample (M=5.20, SD=1.80, range=1-7), it is critical that hospitality supervisors provide their employees with the support they need. This finding contributes to a rich body of literature demonstrating the importance of supportive supervision.

Hospitality workers’ experiences with mistreatment anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic

Currently, the number of countries dealing with lack of qualified workforce is on the rise. On the opposite direction of that trend, the number of refugees continues increasing worldwide. These individuals have diverse experience and, in this conjecture, emerge as a workforce opportunity. The main question of this study is “Why the integration of refugees, under the lens of diversity, could become a value proposition for companies in the food and beverage sector?” To answer the question, this research draws on UNHCR Global Trends Report (2020), the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE), and UNHCR’s Socioeconomic Profile of Refugees in Brazil’s (2019) data. Information regarding refugees and their importance as qualified workforce was sought in the reports. According to UNHCR Global Trends Report (2020), until the end of 2019, 79.5 million people were forced to leave their home countries for several reasons. These displacements reached more than 1% of humankind and nearly doubled in the last 10 years. According to CONARE data, the presence of refugees is dramatically increasing in Brazil. Based on CONARE’s Plenary Decisions Interactive Platform, until 2021, Brazil welcomed 71.820 asylum requests. These requests came from 107 nationalities. According to UNHCR’s Refugees Socioeconomic Profile (2019), these refugees have a high linguistic and educational capital, above Brazilian average. According to the survey, among the 487 refugees interviewed, 6.37% speak 4 languages or more, 37.99% speak 3 languages, 45.17% speak 2 languages, and only 10.47% speak only one. By observing the level of education, the survey points out that 34.4% have higher education. Therefore, the data shows that these individuals are of interest for working in food and beverage establishments. The details of this study and their validation will be conducted through empirical research in 2022.

The integration of refugees in food and beverage establishments in Brazil – A documental analysis

In light of increasing globalization, intercultural competencies are playing an important role in people’s ability to perform effectively in workplaces characterized by culturally diverse group interaction.Emotional intelligence (EI), or the intelligent use of emotions, is being recognized as a significant factor at work, and it can be enhancedthrough proper EI training interventions.Cultural intelligence (CQ) is defined aspeople’s success when adjusting to another culture in the workplace, and has the ability to leverage differences by bridging cultural differences in the international hospitality industry when dealing with customers from various backgrounds. It is crucial for professionals in the tourism industry to have both cultural and emotional intelligences in order to interact with others constructively and effectively.Although evidence for the relationship between EI and cultural adjustment is supported, there has been no investigation of the relationship between them among tour guides, who act as intermediaries between tourists from different countries or cultural backgrounds and an unfamiliar environment. In addition,research has identified that the competencies of EI can be learned and enhanced through proper training techniques. Once learned, the abilities of both EI and CQ can be improved, which in turn allows an individual to become more confident in appropriately and effectively completing tasks.Therefore, the purpose of study is to investigate how tour guides’ CQ is influenced by EI.Due to the generous support of the Taiwan Tourist Guide Association, a total of 482 individuals who completed all items were included for analysis. The obtained results through SEM indicated thatCQ andEI were positively correlated; tour guides with higherEIlevels reported having moreCQ abilities.The results are consistent with previous research showing these relationships for other settings. Based on the findings, the managerial implications and suggestions are proposed for the tour guides.

The relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Cultural Intelligence (CQ): An examination among Tour Guides

1. In the current online environment, the purchase intention has been arranged differently than in the physical environment, since customers have to interact with technology, affecting their decisions to purchase tourist services. One of the most important aspects is the eWoM, which is available to anyone with Internet access and provides positive or negative opinions about tourism products or companies.



Another essential variable is the new generations of users. In this work, Generation Y, a present and future reference of consumption in digital environments, has been taken as the target population. This group, which has great economic and social importance, presents a certain coincidence in its vital evolution and forms the most technologically advanced, influential and influenceablegeneration, especially in social networks.

This work presents, in a generational context, the influence of various variables on the online purchase of tourist services by these consumers. To contrast the proposed hypotheses, a survey was designed with an online questionnaire, using a convenience sample made up of 346 subjects. The model was tested using structural equations with Partial Least Square.

The results define a new model that includes variables related to eWoM, social norm, reputation and acceptance of the use of the Internet, social networks and electronic commerce, in addition to studying if it presents gender differences. These variables have not previously been studied together and are very relevant for tourism, as the most important leisure activity, due to its weight in certain countries or regions and due to the incessant increase in competition between destinations.

Its usefulness for tourism companies is shown, and it can be easily applied to improve online shopping in the context of market orientation.

Technology, ewom and reputation in the intention to purchase tourism services: A study of the generation Y with a gender perspective

The hotel sector is vulnerable to sex trafficking given its ease of access to buyers, ability to pay in cash, and maximum privacy for guests. Sex trafficking may occur with victims who are compelled to provide commercial sex through force, fraud, or coercion. An estimated 80% of all human trafficking arrests occur in or around hotels. Major global hotel brands are accused of profiting from sex trafficking, which suffered severe losses and long-term brand damage. The goals of the study are a) to investigate the barriers and opportunities of counter sex trafficking in the hotel sector. b) to suggest the optimal strategy of counter sex trafficking for the hospitality practitioners. The study utilized qualitative data of 30 interviews with hotel managers in the United States to address the following research questions: a) What are the current policies in place in the hotel sector to prevent sex trafficking? b) What are the stakeholders that are involved in counter sex trafficking in the hotel sector? c) What barriers and opportunities are there for hospitality practitioners to fight against sex trafficking? Through thematic coding and analysis, the findings indicate four pillars in the proposed hotel anti-trafficking actions framework: an inclusive climate that empowers and nurtures “thinking employees”; constant awareness promotions through pre-shifts and signage; collaborations with local law enforcement and external partners; resources and budgeting for advanced detection technologies. This study is significant because it evaluates the vulnerabilities of the hotel sector to trafficking crimes, accesses the effectiveness of anti-trafficking measures, and identifies key factors to executing anti-trafficking policies at hotels.

No room for trafficking: Investigating sex trafficking SOPs in the hotel sector

Tourism Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises (MSMEs) have been forced to shut down with limited opportunities of reopening and contributing to the tourism sector. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Future Tourism Project seeks to enable the digitization of MSMEs in the Eastern Caribbean to allow these businesses to shift and capture new and emerging markets in the tourism industry. The Future Tourism Project has been implemented by The University of the West Indies, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and the UNDP.

A training needs assessment was conducted to capture the training areas most needed by MSMEs in the Eastern Caribbean and to develop curriculum to digitally transform these businesses. Two hundred and sixty (260) businesses responded to questions relating to the characteristics of the businesses, preferences of training times and modular structure, priority short courses and priority aspects of business operations, and relevant subject matters given the recovery of tourism businesses from the global pandemic, and demographic information about the respondent. The survey was conducted online using a database of 900 businesses that signed up to an Open Call across the ten (10) Eastern Caribbean countries.



Figure 1 First Priority Short Course





The results show that marketing, financial planning and digital technologies are three (3) first priority areas of training (Figure 1). Statistically significant results were received based on K-Wallis tests for groups of respondents based on the length in business. Financial planning was important for businesses 3 years and less and business planning was important for businesses 4-9 years in business. These findings contribute to understanding the capacity building needs of tourism MSMEs that contribute to tourism management and development.

Training needs assessment of tourism MSMEs in the Eastern Caribbean

Ensuring the welfare of the resıdents in tourıst destinations are of paramount importance for the tourism service providers and responsible government authorities. Hence, the local communities retain significant measures of control over the tourıst destinations in which they reside. Economic, social and cultural exchanges between tourists and such communities often determines the attractiveness of tourist destinations. However, the Covid-19 pandemic may have caused significant psychological and behavioural changes among those communities. For instance, the fear of getting infected with diseases from tourists a major concern for resıdents in tourıst destinations. On the contrary, positive attitudes from the residents toward tourists are essential for the revival hospitality and tourism sector from in the post-Covid-19 era. This study aims to empirically investigate the roles of xenophobia, fear of getting infected, economic commitments, perceived risk, and emotional solidarity on the in the attitude of the resıdents in tourıst destinations. Cross-sectional data is being collected from field studies in Antalya, a popular Mediterranean Destinations in Southern Turkey. At the completion, this study may offer important insights about engaging local communities in tourist destinations to the hospitality and tourism service providers and concerned government authorities. Further, this study is potentially a significant addition to the literature on residents' involvement at tourist destinations.

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