Bed bugs bite the hospitality industry? A framing analysis of bed bug news coverage

Bed Bugs (Hemiptera, Cimicidae): A Global Challenge for Public Health and Control Management

Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, and C. hemipterus are among the most common ectoparasites in human life worldwide. They feed on humans of all ages and sexes across all socioeconomic levels. Bed bugs' blood feeding is responsible for a wide range of clinical manifestations varying from minor reactions to bullous eruptions or severe allergies. In addition, they are responsible for considerable psychological distress. Therefore, diagnosis of bed bug bites and their consequence manifestations is beneficial in adapting remedies and treatment protocols advised by clinicians. So far, there is regrettably no definitive way to control these ectoparasites despite extensive efforts of public health authorities to manage them. An overview of the literature and medical documents gathered from bed bug-infested patients referred to the Parasitology and Dermatology departments of Avicenne Hospital (Bobigny, France) allowed us to document and illustrate a range of clinical disorders and psychological concerns caused by bed bugs' bites and their clinical diagnosis. We also review the available tools currently used to control the bed bugs and present potential candidate methods for their successful eradication.

Enhancing Consumer Confidence and Response Efficacy in Tourism: Typology and Effectiveness of the Hotel Industry's Responses to COVID-19

Although the tourism industry, including hotels, has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, few empirical studies have systematically examined the typology and effectiveness of their responses. To capture common response strategies within the hotel industry and assess their effectiveness, two studies were conducted. Study 1 adopted a hybrid approach involving deductive and inductive thematic analyses to evaluate 4,211 news articles. Five broad themes emerged: (1) revenue management, (2) crisis communication, (3) alternative approaches to service delivery, (4) human resource management, and (5) corporate social responsibility. Drawing upon protection motivation theory, Study 2 included a pre-test, pilot study, and main experimental study to examine the effectiveness of several common response strategies. Results showed that reassuring crisis communication and contactless services can foster consumer confidence and response efficacy, leading to positive consumers' attitudes and booking intentions. Crisis communication and price discount were found to influence consumers' attitudes and booking intentions directly.

Characterizing Repellencies of Methyl Benzoate and Its Analogs against the Common Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius

Bed bug infestations are on the rise globally, and remediation efforts are becoming more expensive and difficult to achieve due to rising insecticide resistance in the pest populations. This study evaluates Cimex lectularius behavior in the presence of attractive elements-aggregation pheromone or food source (human blood)-and the reported botanical repellent methyl benzoate (MB), several MB analogs, as well as the well-known insect repellent, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET). Utilizing EthoVision, a video tracking system, we now report that MB and several of its analogs exhibit strong spatial repellency against C. lectularius, with methyl 2-methoxybenzoate (M2MOB) and methyl 3-methoxybenzoate (M3MOB) exhibiting the strongest repellent effects. Further, our data showed that MB, M2MOB, M3MOB, and DEET exhibit repellency against a pyrethroid resistant strain of C. lectularius.

Crisis management research (1985-2020) in the hospitality and tourism industry: A review and research agenda

The global tourism industry has already suffered an enormous loss due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) in 2020. Crisis management, including disaster management and risk management, has been becoming a hot topic for organisations in the hospitality and tourism industry. This study aims to investigate relevant research domains in the hospitality and tourism industry context. To understand how crisis management practices have been adopted in the industry, the authors reviewed 512 articles including 79 papers on COVID-19, spanning 36 years, between 1985 and 2020. The findings showed that the research focus of crisis management, crisis impact and recovery, as well as risk management, risk perception and disaster management dominated mainstream crisis management research. Look back the past decade (2010 to present), health-related crisis (including COVID-19), social media, political disturbances and terrorism themes are the biggest trends. This paper proposed a new conceptual framework for future research agenda of crisis management in the hospitality and tourism industry. Besides, ten possible further research areas were also suggested in a TCM (theory-context-method) model: the theories of crisis prevention and preparedness, risk communication, crisis management education and training, risk assessment, and crisis events in the contexts of COVID-19, data privacy in hospitality and tourism, political-related crisis events, digital media, and alternative analytical methods and approaches. In addition, specific research questions in these future research areas were also presented in this paper.

Framing the visitor experience in sacred places

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the dimensional structure of visitor experience in a sacred place based on the framing process.

Design/methodology/approach

Mix-method research was conducted in Turkey–Virgin Mary House which featured a sacred and popular tourist destination. Qualitative research, including interviews and expert panels, was used to create a set of knowledge for further analysis. Quantitative research, including two field studies comprising 842 participants, was used to validate the framing of visitor experiences in a sacred place providing reliability and construct validity.

Findings

The six dimensions were found within three framing axes of religious, environmental and organizational: inner experience; religious experience; physical environment; history; tour organization and service experience.

Originality/value

Current studies on visitor experience in a sacred place have mainly focused on emotions, motivations or physical dimensions. By synthesising the framing process and theoretical approaches, this study contributes to the literature by analysing the unique characteristics of visitors' experiences in sacred places, regardless of their religious identities.