Were they able to escape? An assessment of the adaptability of businesses operating escape rooms in Budapest

Abstract

Purpose Budapest is one of the cities where tourism volumes have shown steady and sustained growth yearly from the 1990s to 2020. As a result, alternative tourism products have emerged in the city’s offer, in addition to those catering for mass tourism, offering tourists the opportunity to try out their individual interests. One such option for tourists with special interests is the use of escape rooms. The COVID-19 epidemic has put tourism services in a very difficult situation and forced them to make operational changes. The study illustrates these changes through an analysis of the businesses operating escape rooms in Budapest. Design/methodology/approach The research used a qualitative methodology, which is well suited to identifying changes and problems in processes. Eight semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with owners and managers of escape rooms. The interviews were processed according to the rules of the double-coding protocol and the results were subsequently analysed. Findings The majority of businesses used an effective strategy to survive the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak, but some of the rapid improvements made during the crisis were not successful and had to be halted later. An interesting finding is that the majority of the operators interviewed so far do not collect and analyse data on the characteristics of their guest flows and therefore plan their improvements based on their own knowledge. Originality/value By learning about the operational characteristics of the businesses that run the escape rooms, we gained insight into the practical steps taken to deal with crises and their effectiveness in the case of the businesses studied. Examining the steps taken by tourism businesses to survive can lead to conclusions that will help to develop appropriate response steps for future contingencies.