The effect of the COVID-19 epidemic on the marketing strategies of accommodation facilities; Kusadasi example

In this study, which aims to reveal the effect of the Covid-19 epidemic on the marketing strategies of accommodation businesses; The data were analyzed in depth with the managers of 5-star accommodation enterprises in Kuşadası district of Aydın province, which is the sample of the research, with semi-structured interview method, one of the qualitative research methods. While the huge losses caused by the Covid-19 epidemic all over the world affected all sectors, accommodation businesses that provide basic service products in the tourism industry were also seriously affected in this process. In order to more clearly reveal the effects of the epidemic on the marketing strategies of accommodation businesses, each determined subject title; Three different periods, "pre-Covid period", "Covid period" and "post-Covid period", were discussed one by one, and each data obtained was also compared between periods. This study maintains its importance as it provides in-depth information about the previous academic studies on the Covid-19 epidemic, as well as being an academic study that provides comparative data periodically. Based on the data obtained; While accommodation establishments experienced high income and market losses in the Covid Period, they started to reach the Pre-Covid Period again in the Post-Covid Period, and it was observed that more personalized/high satisfaction-oriented marketing understanding increased with new alternative markets during the epidemic crisis. At the same time, it has been determined that the tendency of businesses to digital marketing and to offer new products / services has increased with the Covid period.