Crisis Communication During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global crisis, including in the hotel business. Occupancy rates have fallen drastically as governments around the world put restrictions on mobility. This study focuses more on crisis communication conducted by hotels and does not examine crisis management in general. The purpose of this research is to find out the steps taken by the hotel in crisis communication. This study uses a qualitative research method, where data is collected through in-depth interviews and observation. Data collection took place from February 2021 to July 2021, where the crisis still occurred. The object of research is three five-star hotels in Yogyakarta. The results showed that there were two models of crisis communication, namely isolates and egalitarian. Isolate is when communication results in proletarian solidarity due to poor communication. The hotel with an egalitarian crisis communication model is a hotel with good crisis communication, able to show empathy, and can build employee solidarity in dealing with crises.