COVID-19 AFTERMATH: THE SELECTED LODGE OWNER’S ABILITY TO

CONTINUE OPERATING AT BATARAZA, PALAWAN

AGUILOS, GARRY JOHN L.

BALANZA, DARLENE JOY C.
LANDAO, MIKE JIM A.
MONTAÑO, MONICA C.

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

JANUARY 2023

22
COVID-19 AFTERMATH: THE SELECTED LODGE OWNER’S ABILITY TO
CONTINUE OPERATING AT BATARAZA, PALAWAN

AGUILOS, GARRY JOHN L.

BALANZA, DARLENE JOY C.
LANDAO, MIKE JIM A.
MONTAÑO, MONICA C.

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE RESEARCH

COMMITTEE OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND
MANAGEMENT, WESTERN PHILIPPINES
UNIVERSITY, ABORLAN, PALAWAN
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

JANUARY 2023
 ACCEPTANCE PAGE
The undergraduate thesis attached hereto entitled “COVID-19 AFTERMATH:
THE SELECTED LODGE OWNER’S ABILITY TO CONTINUE OPERATING
AT BATARAZA, PALAWAN”, prepared and submitted by, AGUILOS GARRY
JOHN L., BALANZA DARLENE JOY C., LANDAO MIKE JIM A., and
MONTAÑO MONICA C., in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management is hereby accepted.

THESIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

ROY B. CABARLES
Thesis Adviser

_________________
Date Signed

MAY AIZA BELLE P. JUNIO CHARMAE E. SANTIAGO

Member Member

________________ ________________
Date Signed Date Signed

JOSEPH C. LLANTO, MIHM

Chair

___________
Date Signed

Accepted as partial fulfilment the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of

Science in Hospitality Management.

SOL DE VILLA B. RAMA, DPA

Dean
College of Business and Management

_________________
Date Signed
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In grateful acknowledgment, the researchers would like to give their warmest

thanks to their advisers, Mr. Roy B. Cabarles and Mr. Joseph C. Llanto, who made this

study possible. Their guidance and advice carried the researchers through all the stages of

writing this study.

The researchers would also like to thank the panels, Ms. Charmae E. Santiago and

Ms. May Aiza Belle P. Junio, for letting the defense be an enjoyable moment, and for the

brilliant comments and suggestions.

In addition, the researchers would like to give thanks to their statistician, Mrs.

Sharon Rose P. Anunciado, who analyzed their study and computed the gathered data.

Also, the researchers would like to thank their English critic, Ms. Alyssa Limsa, who

critiqued their study.

Foremost, the researchers would like to express their sincere gratitude to their

family as a whole for their continuous support and understanding when undertaking the

study.

Finally, thanks to Almighty God for letting them through all the difficulties and

giving them wisdom to successfully complete this research study.

GJ.L.A

DJ.C.B

MJ.A.L

M.C.M
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The researcher was born on September 20, 2001. She currently lives in Brgy.

Marangas, Bataraza, Palawan. She was the eldest among the three children of Mr. Lando

D. Balanza and Mrs. Myrna C. Balanza. She finished elementary at Bagong Sikat

Elementary School and her secondary level at Bagong Sikat National High School. She

graduated Senior High School in Accountancy Business and Management (ABM) at

Bataraza National High School. She is now taking up Bachelor of Science in Hospitality

Management at Western Philippines University. Currently a fourth-year student.

DARLENE JOY C. BALANZA

 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The researcher is now 21 years old. He was born on September 26, 2001. He lives

in Barangay Princess Urduja Narra Palawan. He is the third of six siblings. His parents’

names are Arthuro Aguilos and Pilar Aguilos. He lived with his Grandmother while in

elementary school at Princess Urduja Elementary School.

He is currently studying at Western Philippines University taking up Bachelor of

Science in Hospitality Management.

GARRY JOHN L. AGUILOS

 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The researcher was born on August 4, 2001. She lives in Barangay. Rio Tuba,

Bataraza, Palawan. She is the eldest among the two children of Mr. Michael C. Montaño

C. Montaño. She finished her elementary education at Rio Tuba Central School and

finished high school at Rio Tuba National High School. She is now 4th-year at Western

Philippines University taking up Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management.

MONICA C. MONTAÑO
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The researcher is now 27 years old and was born on December 29, 1995, at Sitio.

Diapila, Brgy.Teneguiban, El Nido, Palawan. He is the third son of Mr. Florencio I.

Landao and Mrs. Margie A. Landao. He finished his elementary education at Diapila

Elementary School, and he graduated high school at Faith Adventist Academy (FAA) in

Taytay Palawan.

When he went to college, he studied at the Western Philippines University taking

up Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management.

MIKE JIM A. LANDAO

 ABSTRACT
AGUILOS GARRY JOHN L., BALANZA DARLENE JOY C., LANDAO MIKE
JIM A., and MONTAÑO MONICA C., College of Business and Management, Western
Philippines University January 2023 COVID-19 AFTERMATH: THE SELECTED
LODGE OWNER’S ABILITY TO CONTINUE OPERATING AT BATARAZA,
PALAWAN.

Adviser: ROY B. CABARLES, LPT

The study was conducted to determine the selected lodge owner’s ability to

continue operating at Bataraza, Palawan. specifically, the objectives of the study were to:

(1) Identify the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of name, age, and sex,

(2) To determine the factor that affects the selected lodge owner’s: and (3) to illustrate

the perceived effects of sustainable abilities to continue operating at the Bataraza,

Palawan.

The descriptive research design used a survey questionnaire as the major

instrument to gather data and information.

Based on the results, the majority of the respondent to our survey questions in the

selected lodge owners at Bataraza, Palawan are mostly 60 years old and above, female,

and married. Most of the respondents earned 10,000 and above on a monthly average.

The findings show the environmental factors that affect the lodge business. The overall

weighted mean was pegged at 3.18 which matches “Agree” scale. This means that the

respondents were assessed to agree about the environmental factors that affect the

selected lodge owners.

The findings of the study revealed the social/emotional factors that affect the

selected lodge business. The overall weighted mean was pegged at 2.65 which matches
“Agree” scale. This means that the respondents were assessed to agree about the

social/emotional factors that affect the selected lodge business.

Most of the respondents agreed to the strategies used by the owners to overcome

the challenges they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their

business. The overall weighted mean was pegged at 3.22 which matches “Agree” scale.

This means that the respondents were assessed to agree about the strategies used by the

owners to overcome the challenge they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH vii
ABSTRACT viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS x
LIST OF APENDICIES xi
LIST OF TABLES xii
LIST OF FIGURES xiii

CHAPTER
I INTRODUCTION 1
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 2
Objectives of the Study 2
Significance of the Study 3
Scope and Limitation of the Study 4
Definition of Terms 5

II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 6

Theoretical Framework 12
Conceptual Framework 14
Conceptual Paradigm 15

III METHODOLOGY 16
The Locale of the Study 16
The Research Design 17
The Respondents of the Study 17
The Sampling Procedure 17
The Research Instrument 17
The Procedure for Data Collection 17
The Analysis of Data 18

IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 19

V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 26

Summary 26
Conclusions 28
Recommendations 29

BIBLIOGRAPHY 31
 APPENDICES 33

LIST OF APENDICIES

APENDICIES PAGE

A Questionnaire 33

B Letter of Request 34

C Documentation 40
 LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE

1 Sociodemographic Profile of the Respondents 20

2 Factors that affect the Lodges 22

3 Strategies used by the owners to overcome the challenges 24

they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue

their business.
 LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1 Conceptual Framework 14

2 Conceptual Paradigm 15

3 Map of Bataraza, Palawan 16

 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The lodging or hospitality industry is a sort of residential accommodation that

offers guests the use of a room, together with food service and other service items, for the

time they have paid for, while traveling or otherwise away from home. The term

“lodging” refers to temporary housing or a place to stay for one or more nights. The

lodging industry includes posh hotels, youth hostels, senior hostels, campgrounds,

motels, and other companies that offer places for visitors to stay the night. Typically, the

hospitality sector makes money by renting out hotel rooms, booking meeting spaces, and

selling food and drinks. For a hotel or other hospitality-related business, such as a food,

and beverage operation, a theme park, or a cruise line, all of these generate profitable

revenue.

The hospitality industry was confronted by the pandemic with a strange challenge.

Strategies to level the COVID-19 curve such as community lockdowns, stay-at-home

orders, social distancing, travel, and mobility restrictions have resulted in the short-term

termination of many hospitality businesses that were allowed to continue to operate. The

hospitality industry was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with lockdowns and travel

restrictions resulting in huge layoffs and greatly reduced employment opportunities. As

the effects of COVID-19 spread across the entire world, the primary focus for
governments and businesses is the safety of their people. Due to the COVID-19

pandemic, there are a lot of hotels, lodging houses, restaurants, and theme parks that shut

down their operation, not to mention the disruptive effect of the travel ecosystem, all of

have a significant impact on worldwide tourism, (Bartik et. al, 2020).

Lodges are one of the sources of income and employment in the tourism and

hospitality industry in Bataraza. Bataraza is eyeing to lure more tourists because of the

growth of the tourism and hospitality industry. Bataraza caters to an average of 30,000

visitors annually and is hoping to invite more investors who would be interested to put up

lodging inns and pension houses to accommodate more tourism and visit, (Palawan

News, 2019).

This study aims to determine the selected lodge owner’s ability to continue

operating at Bataraza, Palawan.

Statement of the Problem

This study was conducted to determine the selected lodge owner’s ability to

continue operating at Bataraza, Palawan.

Specifically, this study was conducted to find answers to the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents such as;

1.1. Name (Optional);

1.2. Age;

1.3. Sex;

1.4. Civil Status;

1.5. Name of the lodging business; and

 1.6. Monthly income?

2. What are the environmental and social factors affecting the lodge business

during COVID-19 pandemic?

3. What are the strategies used by the owners to overcome the challenges they

encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their business?

Objectives of the Study

The study aims to:

1. Identify the demographic profile of the respondent in terms of name, age, sex,

civil status, name of the lodging business, and monthly income;

2. Determine the environmental and social/emotional factors affecting the lodge

business during COVID-19 pandemic;

3. To know the strategies used by the owners to overcome the challenges they

encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their business.

Significance of the Study

The significance of the study depicts the reasons for the researcher to undertake a

particular study. This study provides the necessary information which is fundamental in

the following aspects:

Government. This study can be used by the government to provide more assistance and

develop an alternative strategy that would provide opportunities to the impacted

individuals in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Owners/businessman. This study can provide additional knowledge for businessmen to

pursue an alternative strategy to be prepared in operating lodge establishments.

Students. This study can be used by the students as a basis when they are going to make

a study that is related to the hospitality industry.

Employees. This study can be beneficial to the employees because it will serve as an

awareness to them. In case another pandemic or epidemic hits the country, they would

have an idea about what may happen and what possible solutions they can execute.

Future Researchers. This study can be used by future researchers interested in

conducting the same study as their guide.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The research study entitled “COVID-19 aftermath: The selected lodge owner’s

ability to continue operating at Bataraza, Palawan” only covers the owners of selected

lodges by the researcher in Bataraza, Palawan.

This research focused on identifying the demographic profile of the respondent in

terms of name, age, sex, civil status, name of the lodging business, and monthly income,

determining the environmental and social/emotional factors affecting the lodge business

during the COVID-19 pandemic, and identify the strategies used by the owners to

overcome the challenges they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue

their business.
 The study limits its selected respondents as well as the research location; this

study was conducted in Bataraza, Palawan.

Operational Definition of Terms

For a proper and better understanding of this study, the following terms were

defined operationally.

COVID-19 – refers to an acute respiratory illness in humans caused by a

coronavirus, capable of producing severe symptoms and in some cases death, especially

in older people and those with underlying health conditions.

Pandemic – refers to an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic

area (such as multiple counties or continents) and typically affects a significant

proportion of the population.

Lodge – refers to a lodge is an inn where travelers stay overnight if they’re in

need of a night's sleep while traveling an out-of-the-way country road.

Hospitality Industry – refers to the hospitality industry as a broad category of

fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drinks service, event

planning, theme parks, travel, and tourism. It includes hotels, tourism agencies,

restaurants, and bars.

Aftermath –refers to the period that follows an unpleasant event or accident, and

the effects that it causes.

 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Local Literature

The tourism and hospitality industry is thriving because of those who find ways to

attract visitors to support the sector and enhance the multiplier effect from the industry.

The travel restrictions are being observed in the national and international levels due to

the on-going situation. The tourism and hospitality sections have placed extreme

challenges such as travel bans, border closures, event cancellations, quarantine

requirements and fear of spread (Gossling et al, 2020a, b).

According to (Peterson and D, Pietro, 2021), to ensure the long-term viability of

tourist enterprises, it is important the capacity to interact with stakeholders. It is

important to examine and incorporate their opinions, feelings, and concerns directly, even

when they are not communicated with. Hospitality stakeholders have such as significant

influence in the success or failure of a business.

In the hospitality literature, the COVID-19 pandemic is more complex than the

crises and disasters examined in the hospitality literature, which typically focuses on a

single type of crises (Lai and Wong, 2020).

 (Zhang et. al, 2020) states that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study sought

to look at the impact of hotel safety leadership on employee safety behavior as well as the

function of belief restoration as a mediator and perceived risk as a moderator between

safety leadership and behavior.

Foreign Literature

The study of (Farmaki et al., 2020), the international hospitality and leisure

business has been hit hard by the epidemic, hotels in most nations forced to close as a

result of government’ lockdown reaction.

The deadly virus was transmitted to the whole world-giving rise to uncertain and

unstable situation. Many businesses were completely shut down. The tourism and

hospitality sector were not exempted from the stringent measure for conducting business

activities in selected sectors only (United Nations World Tourism Organization

(UNTWO), 2020).

Stated by (Oman Observer, 2020a, 2020b), owners are stressed about future

business activities as the tourism and hospitality industry is on the edge of collapse. Also,

economic impact, social impact was staggering the owners on the survival of their

business. The ministry of tourism assured to provide a relief package for business

owners, encouraged banks to invest in the tourism sector, restricted loans schemes for

hotel investors, grants, incentives, facilities, and introducing new financing policies.

Many researchers have investigated and analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on the

tourism industry and hospitality industry in various countries like England. The pandemic
had put the complete world economy on hold. Out of all economic sectors, the tourism,

and hospitality industry is facing maximum pressure due to the COVID-19 crisis across

the globe (Ntounis et al, 2021).

Authority of (Markel, 2018), some researchers have studied the effects of such

outbreaks on the hospitality and restaurant industry. The impact of these outbreaks on the

hospitality industry in the affected countries was enormous.

Sited by (Gossling et al., 2020), the hotel industry revenue forecast has been

revised to be in a serious decline. Almost all countries have witnessed on enormously

lower tourism rate, because most of the hotels have been closed.

Goodwin et al., 2021 states that previous literature has suggested that the spread

of epidemic arises people’s anxiety if they perceive the epidemic as a threat and if they

don’t believe that epidemic can be controlled effectively.

Gibson et. al., 2021 explained that prior researches show that COVID19 affects

people’s emotions such as extreme anxiety, fear of disease, depression, and psychological

stress. Therefore, it is said that people’s fear of disease affects their emotions and then

affects employees work psychology.

Report of (He et. al., 2020), job stress forms a negative relationship between the

individual and the environment. When the individual perceives the job stress to be

overwhelming physical and mental problems may occur.

Preliminary findings also indicate that a large proportion of restaurant customers

(64.71%) and the majority of hotel customers (70.42%) believe that the use of various

technologies in service delivery will be necessary in the COVID-19 environment in order

to minimize human to human contact (Example: service robots, contactless bank cards,

digital menus that can be viewed on personal mobile devices via QR codes, contactless

digital payment keyless entry, and touchless elevators (Gursoy et. al., 2020).

The study of (Aguiar-Quintana et. al., 2020), anxiety, stress, depression, and

frustration among the hospitality service providers are the causes of COVID19 outbreak.

Because of the mobility restrictions and lockdowns during the COVID19 pandemic,

workplace interactions were limited or completely prevented.

The COVID19 outbreak resulted the lack of financial sources in most hotels,

which led to a reduction in the employees’ salaries. (McCartney et. al., 2022),

According to (Lu and Lin, 2021), corona virus outbreaks had a major impact on

global public health, as well as the supply and value chains of various industries. The

business is decreasing day by day due to COVID19 spread.

According to (Aharon et. al., 2021), because of the preventive measures such as

physical/social distancing, community lockdowns, protocols, and mobility restrictions,

many hospitality businesses were forced temporarily in order to mitigate the spread of the

virus.

In the study of Vu and Tran (2020), instead of locking down the cities, the

government decide to stop schooling, commercial, and related activities so that the

disease could be prevented from spreading. In order to minimize the negative impacts out

on the economy, these activities were asked to be switched to being online.

 According to (Teng, 2019), in the hotel industry that is impacted by COVID-19,

employees working in the international tourist hotels are required to meet more diverse

customer expectations than those working in local hotels.

According to ((Davahli et al., 2020), owners have to pay fixed costs, which

include rent, electricity, salary, and loan interests, but continuous decline in the revenues

was

making it challenging for owners to sustain during COVID-19 scenario. Conducted in-

depth literature review focusing where findings revealed the negative impact on revenue,

job, loss, change in the customer preference, and decline in market demand.

Based on the study of Bloomberg, 2020; Godinho, (2021), the customers demand

for tourism package has also declined, as a companies have not received many inquiries

from domestic or international visitors. The present COVID-19 outbreak has not only

affected the present booking but has made a huge impact on future bookings.

According to (Kang et al., 2020; Patel, 2018; Xiao et al., 2020), many owners

were stressed over the future plan as they might have to reduce some staff and cut salaries

due to the loss that occurred by in COVID-19. This provision has allowed the company

owners to control the spread of coronavirus and continue the business. Also, owners felt

that their relationship with their staff has got affected as they were asked to work on

reduced salary and given notice for termination of services in the future. So, it can be

concluded that the social impact was very high on owners of the tourism and hospitality

industry. Many owners took counseling services to deal with fear of COVID-19.
 Stated by (Karim et al., (2020), it found that the companies received cancelation

requests for future bookings at the national as well as at the international level. COVID-

19 has severely affected the financial situation of tourism and hospitality companies.

According to Ankara, (2020; Oman Observer, (2020a, b), the fear of COVID-19

also made them felt like closing the companies for short-term job and sit at home until

COVID-19 ends. It was difficult to adjust psychologically to new normal in the business,

such as wearing, continuous washing of hands, masks, hand gloves, social distancing, and

so forward. As reported in this research study, most of company’s owners felt

irritated, anxious and stressed about getting affected due to the visits made by customers

or employees of the company during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Like Brizek et. al., (2021) explain that the companies have faced many other

difficulties in delivering products and services to maintain their customers. It was a

challenge for the companies to acquire the necessary materials and services for managing

the inventory and developing new products. The cancelation of events has much affected

the tourism and hospitality companies, as they were not able to attract tourist for making

travel plans to the country. Many hospitality companies had seen a huge financial loss of

business from March to December 2020. Due to huge financial loss, they perceived that

their business might be permanently shut down within 6-12 months.

According to Gossling et. al., (2020), hospitality business are expected to make

substantial charges to their operation in the pandemic business. Environments in order to

ensure employees and customers health and safety, with unprecedented challenges faced
by the hospitality industry in the COVID-19 era, hospitality scholars are expected to shift

their research focus to develop solutions for the industry.

Gursoy et. al., (2020) explains that the number of customers served more rigorous

and frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces in common areas, and protocol are the most

important safety precautions customers expect from a restaurant and a hotel.

In the study cited by Shihui Xiang et. al., (2021), discussed the gaps in the

literature surrounding. The COVID-19 epidemic has hit the economy very hard, leaving

no industry unaffected. economy and economic environments and encourage future

research to focus on the stress and well-being explanation, particularly in response to the

pandemic decline.

According to Hicola et. al., (2021), the end of the economic activities made the

future sustainability of the tourism and hospitality industry into a big question mark.

COVID-19 has result in severe consequence and affected the socio-economic prosperity

of many nations.

Stated by Colliers, (2020), the first half of 2020, hotel occupancy in Metro Manila

fell from 71 percent to 25 percent due to a sharp decline in foreign arrival. While the

impact of the pandemic to the hospitality industry in undeniable, some hotels manage of

the blow by converting into quarantine facilities. Moreover, a significant number of

hotels closed their doors and laid off hospitality professionals and personnel.

According to Sengel et. al., (2020), the COVID-19 crisis has negatively impacted

employee organization relationships. The psychological effect on the owner is deepened,

as they have to make indefinite layoff.

 According to Kim and Lee, (2021), the study conducted a survey and concluded

that the salience of the COVID-19 increases customer’s preference for private dining

facilities. The impact of the perceived threat of the COVID-19 pandemic on customer’s

preference for private dining facilities.

Theoretical Framework

The review showed a spike in publications related to earlier SARS outbreak in the

aftermath, which however started to reduce gradually. A surge in theoretical contribution

is imminent during this time as well, to this end this study adds to the existing of

literature

on epidemiological crisis in the backdrop of tourism and hospitality. The study also

presented viewpoints of those who have the onus of preparing manpower and employing

them after they complete their skills training and necessary education for the tourism and

hospitality.

The impacts of the current SARS COVID-19 will be more pronounced and long

lasting, especially in the light of absence of immediate vaccine to create immunity in the

common masses. Although some countries have had attempted to adopt the path of herd

immunity (for the example Stockholm) but that approach has been questioned by a body

of scientists in the absence of data to support such radical action. This is critical for the

tourism and hospitality sector because of the perpetuity exhibited by the outbreak. The

effects are going to remain for a longer duration and sectors that thrive on social contacts

such as tourism and hospitality need to embrace for tumultuous times ahead. Going

forward, it would be crucial for the governments and marketing firms to undertake
research to analyze the effects of the current catastrophe on the industry (Men et al.,

2011).

Conceptual Framework

This study is entitled “COVID-19 aftermath: The selected lodge owner’s ability to

continue operating at Bataraza, Palawan.”

Conceptual Paradigm

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Demographic profile of the The selected lodge owner’s ability
selected lodge owners in Bataraza, to continue operating at Bataraza,
Palawan. Palawan

Fig.1. The conceptual paradigm shows the relationship between the different variables.
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter discussed the research methods available for the study and what is

applicable for it to use in response to the statement of the problem in Chapter 1 which is

directed towards the selected lodge owner’s ability to continue operating at Bataraza,

Palawan.

Likewise, this chapter presents the various procedures and strategies in

identifying sources for needed information on the analysis and evaluation of the selected

lodge owner’s ability to continue operating at Bataraza, Palawan.

Locale of the study

 This research study was conducted in Bataraza, Palawan, wherein the data will be

gathered through a survey using a face-to-face interaction.

Fig.2. Map of Bataraza, Palawan

(Source: https://maps.google.com)

Research Design

This study used a descriptive method. Especially, the survey method used to

determine the owner’s ability to continue operating at Bataraza, Palawan.

Respondents of the study

The respondents of the study were the 18 lodge owners at Bataraza, Palawan.

Sampling Procedure

This study used a total enumeration of the lodge owners at Bataraza, Palawan.

Research Instrumentation
 A set of questionnaires was used to gather data regarding the demographic profile,

factors, and its perception of the selected lodge owner’s ability to continue operating at

Bataraza, Palawan.

Part I of the questionnaire solicited information on their demographic profile.

Part II of the questionnaire gathered information about the environmental and

social/emotional factors affecting the lodge business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Part III of the questionnaire is identifying the strategies used by the owners to

overcome the challenges they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue

their business.

Data Collection Procedure

In order to collect necessary data for this study, researchers will perform the

following procedures; a) asked permission from the Dean of the College of Business and

Management prior to the conduct of the study. b) Selected a respondent from the lodge

owners of Bataraza, Palawan. c) Provided the respondents with a copy of the survey

questionnaire in order to gather data and information by asking questions referring to the

topic. d) After the respondents answered, the questionnaire was retrieved.

The Analysis of the Data

The data collected in the survey was tabulated, analyzed, and discussed using

statistical tools like simple frequency counts, percentages, and mean.

To measure the factors that affect the business of the lodge owners, a 4-point

Likert scale was used as shown below:

 NUMERICAL RATING SCALE DESCRIPTIVE RATING

4 3.50 – 4.00 Strongly Agree

3 2.50 – 3.49 Agree

2 1.50 – 2.49 Disagree

1 1.00 – 1.49 Strongly Disagree

CHAPTER IV
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter contains the data gathered and results obtained from the eighteen

(18) respondents of Bataraza, Palawan which includes their demographic profile,

environmental and social/emotional factors, and the strategies used by the owners to

overcome the challenges they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue

their business.

Part I. Sociodemographic Profile of the Respondents

Age
 Out of the eighteen respondents, six (33.33%) are within the age range of 60 years

old and above, four (22.22%) are within the age range of 40 to 49 years old, three

(16.67%) are within the age range of 30 to 39 years old, three (16.67%) are within the age

range of 30 years old below, two (11.11%) are within the age range of 50 to 59 years old.

Sex

The gender of the respondents consists of thirteen (72.22%) females and five

(27.78%) males.

Civil Status

Based on the gathered data, eleven (61.11%) of the respondents is married, four

(22.22%) are single and three (16.67%) are widowed. This further explains that the

majority of the respondents were legal families.

Monthly Income

Out of the eighteen respondents, eleven (61.11%) respondents range 5,001 to

10,000 monthly income, four (22.22%) of the respondents ranges below 5,000 monthly

incomes, three (16.67%) of the respondents ranges 10,000 and above monthly income.

Table 1. Sociodemographic profile of the respondents.

SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC Frequency Percentage

PROFILE (n=281) (%)
Age
60 and above 6 33.33%
40 – 49 4 22.22%
Below 30 3 16.67%
30 – 39 3 16.67%
 50 – 59 2 11.11%
Sex
Female 13 72.22%
Male 5 27.78%
Civil Status
Married 11 61.11%
Single 4 22.22%
Widow 3 16.67%
Monthly Income
10,000 and above 11 61.11%
Below 5,000 4 22.22%
5,001 – 10,000 3 16.67%

Part II. Factors affecting lodge business.

Environmental factors

Table 2 shows the environmental factors affecting the lodge business. As seen, the

statement “Lodge business had a big loss of income due to the pandemic” got the highest

mean score of 3.50. This corresponds to “Strongly Agree” on the Likert scale. Next is the

statement “Due to the lack of guests checking in at the lodge, the income is reduced”

which obtain a mean score of 3.44. The statement “There are only a few people who

check in at the lodges because of enhance and general community quarantine” got a mean

score of 3.41. Next is the statement “Because of the restriction order, people find it

difficult to get out of their homes and check in to the lodges” obtain a mean score of 3.33.

“Finding workers for the lodge is not easy due to the new requirements such as vaccines”

this statement got a mean score of 3.28. “Hard to accommodate guests who have already

booked a reservation due to restrictions” obtained a mean score of 2.89. The statement

“Having a hard time accepting guests because threatened by the new variant of Covid-

19” got the mean score of 2.8. However, the statement “Due to the absence of guests,
things inside and outside the lodge are neglected and this causes unexpected problems”

got the lowest mean score of 2.72.

The overall weighted mean was pegged at 3.18 which matches “Agree” scale.

This means that the respondents were assessed to agree about the environmental factors

that affect the selected lodge owners.

Table 2. Environmental Factors affecting the lodge business.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS MEAN DESCRIPTIVE

RATING
Lodge business had a big loss of income due 3.50 Strongly Agree
to the pandemic.

Due to the lack of guests checking in at the 3.44 Agree

lodge, the income is reduced.

There are only a few people who check in at 3.41 Agree

the lodges because of enhance and general
community quarantine.

Because of the restriction order, people find 3.33 Agree

it difficult to get out of their homes and
check in to the lodges.

Table 2. Environmental Factors affecting the lodge business. (Continue)

Finding workers for the lodge is not easy 3.28 Agree

due to the new requirements such as
vaccines.

Hard to accommodate guests who have 2.89 Agree

already booked a reservation due to
restrictions.

Having a hard time accepting guests because 2.83 Agree

threatened by the new variant of Covid-19.

Due to the absence of guests, things inside 2.72 Agree

and outside the lodge are neglected and this
 causes unexpected problems.

OVERALL MEAN 3.18 Agree

Legend:

Strongly Agree - 3.50 – 4.00; Agree - 2.50 – 3.49; Disagree - 1.50 – 2.49;

Strongly Disagree - 1.00 – 1.49

Social/Emotional Factors

Table 3 shows the social/emotional factors affecting the lodge business. As seen,

the statement “Continue receiving support from friends to continue the business” got the

highest mean score of 3.00. This corresponds to “Agree” on the Likert scale. The

statements “Experiencing difficulties on how to start the business again due to problems”,

“Have a hard time in adjusting to the new normal” and, “Attacked of depression because

of cancelled reservations” got the mean score of 2.78. “Having anxiety and stress towards

the business” obtained a mean score of 2.72. Next statement is “Pressure to improve

service quality and maintain health hygiene” got the mean score of 2.56, and “Lack of

motivation to continue the business” got the mean score of 2.50. However, the statement

“Disoriented due to lack of support from family” got the lowest mean score of 2.11.

The overall weighted mean was pegged at 2.65 which matches “Agree” scale.

This means that the respondents were assessed to agree about the social/emotional factors

that affect the selected lodge owners. Table 6. Social/Emotional factors that affect the

lodge business.

Table 6. Social/Emotional factors affecting the lodge business.

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL FACTORS MEAN DESCRIPTIVE

RATING
 Continue receiving support from friends to 3.00 Agree
continue the business.

Experiencing difficulties on how to start the 2.78 Agree

business again due to problems.

Have a hard time in adjusting to the new 2.78 Agree

normal.
Attacked of depression because of cancelled 2.78 Agree
reservations.

Having anxiety and stress towards the 2.72 Agree

business.
Pressure to improve service quality and 2.56 Agree
maintain health hygiene.

Lack of motivation to continue the business. 2.50 Agree

Disoriented due to lack of support from 2.11 Disagree

family.

AVERAGE WEIGHTED MEAN 2.65 Agree

Legend:
Strongly Agree - 3.50 – 4.00; Agree - 2.50 – 3.49; Disagree - 1.50 – 2.49;

Strongly Disagree - 1.00 – 1.49

Part III. Strategies used by the owners to overcome the challenges they encountered

during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their business.

Table 3 Shows the strategies used by the owners to overcome the challenges they

encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their business. As seen, the

statement “Reached out to customers and made them feel that they can still be part of the

business” got the highest mean score of 3.56. This corresponds to “Strongly Agree” on

the Likert scale. The statement “Make sure that all employees and workers were safe

from the symptoms of COVID” got the mean score of 3.50 and the statement “Include

employees in the COVID prevention efforts” obtained the mean score of 3.44. “When

COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, a recovery plan for the business was done” this

statement got the mean score of 3.39. The statements “Offering discounts and freebies to

the customers has been so helpful with business” and “Your business was greatly aided in

managing crises by the prudent hiring of staff and workers” got the mean score of 3.28

and 3.22. “Posting products and services on social media platforms helped a lot to attract

more customers” obtained the mean score of 3.17 and the statement “Providing brochures

and flyers help to connect and attract more visitors, thus, more booking and improving

brand value” got the mean score of 3.06. Next statement is “Social media became an

effective tool for business during the pandemic outbreak” got the mean score of 2.83.

However, the statement “Contact other well-known owners to ask for strategies on how

to back up” got the lowest mean score of 2.72.

The overall weighted mean was pegged at 3.22 which matches the “Agree” scale.

This means that the respondents were assessed to agree about the strategies used by the

owners to overcome the challenge they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Table 3. Strategies used by the owners to overcome the challenges they encountered
during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their business.

STRATEGIES MEAN DESCRIPTIVE

RATING
Reached out to customers and made them 3.56 Strongly Agree
feel that they can still be part of the
business.

Make sure that all employees and workers 3.50 Strongly Agree
were safe from the symptoms of COVID.

Offering discounts and freebies to the 3.28 Disagree

customers has been so helpful with
business.
Your business was greatly aided in 3.22 Agree
managing crises by the prudent hiring of
staff and workers.

Posting products and services on social 3.17 Agree

media platforms helped a lot to attract
more customers.

Providing brochures and flyers help to 3.06 Agree

connect and attract more visitors, thus,
more booking and improving brand value.

Social media became an effective tool for 2.83 Agree

business during the pandemic outbreak.

Contact other well-known owners to ask 2.72 Agree

for strategies on how to back up.

AVERAGE WEIGHTED MEAN 3.22 Agree

Legend:

Strongly Agree - 3.50 – 4.00; Agree - 2.50 – 3.49; Disagree - 1.50 – 2.49;

Strongly Disagree - 1.00 – 1.49

 CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The study entitled “COVID-19 aftermath: the selected lodge owner’s ability to

continue operating at Bataraza, Palawan” was conducted on January 2023.

It aimed (1) to identify the demographic profile of the respondent in terms of

name, age, sex, civil status, name of the lodging business, and monthly income; (2

Determine the environmental and social/emotional factors affecting the lodge business

during COVID-19 pandemic, and (3) To know the strategies used by the owners to

overcome the challenges they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue

their business.

The respondents of the study were eighteen (18) lodge owners in Bataraza,

Palawan. The data were gathered using survey questionnaires specially designed based on

the scope and limitations of the study.

Based on the results, the majority of the respondents, six (33.33%) are within the

age range of 60 years old and above There were two (11.11%) respondents within the age

ranges from 50 to 59 years old that got the lowest frequency and percentage.

The gender of the respondents resulted, in thirteen (72.22%) being female and

five (27.78%) being male.

As to the civil status of the respondents, eleven (61.11%) of the respondents are

married, while four (22.22%) are single and three (16.67%) are widowed. This further

explains that the majority of the respondents were legal families.

 Based on the results, the majority of the respondents eleven (61.11%) of the

respondents range from 5,001 to 10,000 monthly income, four (22.22%) of the

respondents ranges below 5,000 monthly incomes, three (16.67%) of the respondents

ranges from 10,000 and above monthly income.

Findings show the environmental factors affecting the lodge business. As seen,

the statement “Lodge business had a big loss of income due to the pandemic” got the

highest mean score. This corresponds to “Strongly Agree” on the Likert scale. However,

the statement “Due to the absence of guests, things inside and outside the lodge are

neglected and this causes unexpected problems” got the lowest mean score.

The overall weighted mean was pegged at 3.18 which matches “Agree” scale.

This means that the respondents were assessed to agree about the environmental factors

that affects the selected lodge owners.

Findings show the social/emotional factors affecting the lodge business. As seen,

the statement “Continue receiving support from friends to continue the business” got the

highest mean score. This corresponds to “Agree” on the Likert scale. However, the

statement “Disoriented due to lack of support from family” got the lowest mean score.

The overall weighted mean was pegged at 2.65 which matches “Agree” scale.

This means that the respondents were assessed to agree about the environmental factors

that affect the selected lodge owners.

Findings show the strategies used by the owners to overcome the challenges they

encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their business. As seen, the

statement “Reached out to customers and made them feel that they can still be part of the
business” got the highest mean score. This corresponds to “Strongly Agree” on the Likert

scale.

However, the statement “Contact other well-known owners to ask for strategies

on how to back-up” got the lowest mean score.

The overall weighted mean was pegged at 3.22 which matches “Agree” scale.

This means that the respondents were assessed to agree about the strategies used by the

owners to overcome the challenge they encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions

According to the results presented, it is therefore concluded that:

1. Most of the respondents are from the range of 60 years old and above. There were

two respondents within the age ranges of 50 to 59 years old that got the lowest

frequency and percentage.

2. According to the findings, there were 13 female respondents and 5 male

respondents, making up the majority of the group.

3. Majority of the respondents show that eleven range from 10,000 and above

monthly income, four range below 5,000 monthly incomes, and three ranges from

5,001 to 10,000 monthly income.

4. Most of the respondents agreed that the environmental factors affect the lodge

business which is “Lodge business had a big loss of income due to the pandemic”

and the statement “Due to the absence of guests, things inside and outside the
 lodge are neglected and this causes unexpected problems” got the lowest mean

score.

5. Majority of the respondents agreed about the social/emotional factors that affect

the lodge business is “Continue receiving support from friends to continue the

business” and the statement “Disoriented due to lack of support from family” got

the lowest mean score.

6. The findings indicated that the owners' methods for overcoming the difficulties

they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and maintaining their business is

“Reached out customers and made them feel that they can still be part of the

business” and the statement “Contact other well-known owners to ask for

strategies on how to back-up” got the lowest score.

Recommendations

Based on the results and conclusion the following were the recommendations:

1. The researchers advise the respondents to connect with other well-known owners

to learn more strategies for overcoming obstacles like the COVID-19 pandemic,

then continue to reach out to customers and give them a sense that they can still

be a part of the business. One of the environmental factors that affect the lodge

business is the lodge business had a big loss of income due to the pandemic.

2. Experiencing difficulties on how to start the business again due to problems and

Having a hard time adjusting to the new normal is part of the social/emotional

factors affecting the lodge business and lodge owners. The researchers would like
 to recommend offering discounts and freebies to regular customers, not just senior

citizens and including employees in the COVID prevention efforts, which will

help businesses start again and adjust to the new normal.

3. Due to the pandemic, social media platforms is one of the keys to attracting more

customers. The researchers recommend to the respondents to include social media

in promoting their lodge. Giving flyers and brochures to advertise their lodge

business will also be a big help.

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APPENDIX A. The Survey Questionnaire
Part I. Demographic Profile

Name (Optional): ________________________________

Name of the Lodging Business: ________________________

Age: ________

Sex:

o Male
o Female

Civil Status:

o Single
o Married
o Widow

Estimated Monthly Income:

o below 5, 000
o 5,001 – 10, 000
o 10,001 and above

Part II. Factors Affecting their Lodge Business

Directions: The following is a list of “situation” statements regarding the factors that
affects your lodge business in COVID-19 pandemic times. Please put a check (/) your
choice for each statement below.
Factors Affecting Lodge Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree
Business Owners Agree Disagree

(4) (2)
(3) (1)

ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTOR
1. Lodge business had big
loss of income due to the
pandemic.

2. There are only a few

people who check-in at the
lodges because of general
community quarantine and
enhance community
quarantine.

3. Finding workers for the

lodge has not easy, due to
new requirements such as
vaccines.

4. Hard to accommodate
guests who have already
booked a reservation due to
requirements

5. Because of the restriction

order, people find it
difficult to get out of their
homes and check-in to the
lodges

6. Due to the absence of

guests, things inside and
outside the lodge are
neglected and this causes
unexpected problems.
7. Having a hard time to
accept guest because
threatened to the new
variants0f Covid-19.

8. Due to the lack of guest

checking in at the lodge,
the income is reduced

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly

FACTOR Agree Disagree

(4) (1)
(3) (2)

1. Lack of motivation to
continue the business.

2. Experiencing
difficulties on how to
start the business again
due to problems.

3. Having anxiety and

stress towards the
business.

4. Disoriented due to lack

of support from family.

5. Have a hard time in

adjusting to the new
normal.
6. Continue receiving
support from friends to
continue the business.

7. Attacked of depression
because of cancelled
reservations.

8. Pressure to improve
service quality and
maintain health hygiene.

Part III. Owners were asked about the strategies of how they overcome the

challenges they’ve encountered in the COVID-19 pandemic times.

Directions: The following is a list of “situation” statements regarding the strategies you

used to overcome the challenges encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please put

a check (/) your choice for each statement below.

Strategies used to Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly

overcome the challenges Agree Disagree
during the COVID-19
pandemic
(4) (1)
(3) (2)

1. Social media became an

effective tool for your
business during the
pandemic outbreak.

2. Contact other well-

known owners to ask for
strategies on how to get
back-up.

3. Providing brochures and

flyers is a great idea to get
more bookings, improve
the brand value as well as
connect and attract more
visitors.

4. Offering discounts and

freebies to the customers
has been so helpful with
your business.

5. Hiring staff wisely that

can help grow your
business

6. You included your

employees in the COVID
prevention efforts.

7. You made sure that all

your employees and
workers were safe from the
symptoms of COVID.

8. Posting your products

and services in your social
media platforms helped
you a lot to attract more
customers.
9. You reached out your
customers and made them
feel that they can still be
part of your business.

10. When COVID19

pandemic hit the country,
you made recovery plan for
your business.
 Republic of the Philippines
Western Philippines University A STRONG PARTNER FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

APPENDIX B. Letter of Request

December 5, 2022
DR. SOL DE VILLA B. RAMA
College Dean
This University

Madam:
Greetings!

We, are the graduating BS Hospitality Management students of Western

Philippines University, are conducting a research entitled “COVID-19 AFTERMATH:
THE SELECTED LODGE OWNER’S ABILITY TO CONTINUE OPERATING
AT BATARAZA, PALAWAN” as partial requirements for our Thesis Writing.

In connection with this, may we respectfully request from your office to allow us
to conduct our thesis in our respective respondent as our way to collect data in our study
at Bataraza, Palawan.

Hoping for your favorable response. Thank you and God bless you always!

Very truly yours,

AGUILOS, GARRY JOHN L.

BALANZA, DARLENE JOY C.
LANDAO, MIKE JIM A.
MONTAÑO, MONICA C.
Student Researchers

Noted:

ROY B. CABARLES
Thesis Adviser

Approved:

SOL DE VILLA B. RAMA, DPA

Dean, CBM

San Juan, Aborlan, Palawan 5302 WPU-QSF-QMS-20AE Rev 00 (01.04.21)

www.wpu.edu.ph ● wpu.edu@gmail.com ● Mobile:09461712498
APPENDIX C. Documentation

The researchers and the GM of Sun Seas Beach Resort.

The researchers and the JJA’s Pension owner and general

manager.
The researchers and the general manager of Riverside
Inn.

The researchers and the general manager of Calgary Travelers Inn.