VIRTUAL OVERVIEW OF THE HOSTELS BELO-HORIZONTINOS IN FRONT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the virtual environment of hostels based in the city of Belo Horizonte (MG), located in the southeastern region of Brazil, during the context of the pandemic of COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 . In this sense, an attempt was made to diagnose the current situation in such means of accommodation in view of the imposition of preventive measures such as the suspension of commercial activities. Thus, data were collected in order to identify the presence and performance of hostels on the web, as well as to verify the existence of initiatives by the enterprises to deal with the current scenario. The research is characterized as descriptive-exploratory, whose approach to the treatment of the collected data was qualitative. The study relied on the netnographic resource for data collection and analysis. The results showed that, on the one hand, some spaces closed activities due to the pandemic, on the other hand, most of these means of accommodation (13) sought alternatives to deal with the situation imposed by the authorities in the face of the pandemic. Instagram proved to be the main environment used by managers to keep their ventures public, showing the situational condition of the space as well as the sanitary measures adopted. It was also found that the current situation can become an opportunity to engage and inspire the audience, in addition to the potential to strengthen the reputation of each hostel through the web presence.