Social CRM: linking the dots of customer service and customer loyalty during COVID-19 in the hotel industry

Purpose Social customer relationship management (SCRM) is an evolving strategy gaining prominence in the hotel industry by cultivating new, improved relationships through engaging customers on social media (SM) platforms. Accordingly, this study aims to assess the effect of SCRM on customer service and customer loyalty (CL) in the hotel industry. This study also explores the moderating effect of COVID-19 (EC) on the relationship between (customer engagement [CE] and improved customer service [ICS]) and (CE and trust [TR]). Design/methodology/approach This study develops and tests the SCRM model using structural equation modelling on a sample size of 214 responses. The questionnaire was administered online to the customers of five preselected global hotel chains. The criteria for selecting the participants were that they must have tweeted from their Twitter handle by using # (hashtag) hotel name to resolve any customer service issues. Findings Results denote that CE significantly impacts ICS. CE was also found to exert a substantial effect on TR. The moderating EC was also found to be significant, but the effect was weak. Although the customers were extensively impacted by the pandemic and were initially hesitant to visit hotels, SCRM proved to be a powerful tool to gain back customer trust (CT) and develop CL by upsurging the shadows of COVID-19. Practical implications This study suggests that viable enforcement of the SCRM system can assist in real-time monitoring and tracking of customers' activities. This can develop a more profound connection with customers through CE which can boost the co-innovation process. Originality/value This study denotes a pioneer attempt to investigate the relationships between SCRM, CE, CT, ICS, CL and COVID-19 in the same framework in a SM context.