As operations managers grapple with the challenges posed by the “Covid 19” pandemic on hotel business operations, the need for constant review of corporate strategy becomes imperative. This study advocated that the diversification strategy can be used by hotel management teams to improve on performance. The study which was targeted at hotels in Port Harcourt adopted a cross-sectional survey design; and used a sample of 380 respondents which included hotel operations managers as well as customers to perform the analysis. The findings of the study revealed that corporate strategy which was dimensioned by diversification strategy has a significant and positive relationship with business performance which was measured by customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. The study concluded that, a well-planned corporate strategy improves the performance of hotels in Port Harcourt and can serve as a technique for coping with the challenges posed by the “Covid 19” pandemic. The study recommended that hotel operations managers, directors and other stakeholders in the industry should continuously review their business strategy and endeavor to integrate diversification into their corporate strategy so as to enhance their performance.
Keywords: Customer Satisfaction, Customer loyalty, diversification strategy, operations challenges and operations management
