Publications
Publications
- September 2023 (Revised December 2023)
- HBS Case Collection
Twiddy & Company: Trust in a Chaotic Environment
By: Sandra J. Sucher, Shalene Gupta and Tom Quinn
Abstract
Twiddy & Company, known for Southern hospitality rooted in personal interactions, needed to adjust to contactless remote customer service as fear of the contagious virus prevented person-to-person contact. Local elected officials, in a bid to stop tourists from spreading COVID-19 to the Outer Banks island chain that hosted all of Twiddy’s vacation homes, closed the two bridges that connected the Outer Banks to the mainland, panicking guests and homeowners alike. Clark had a responsibility to Twiddy’s network of homeowners who rented their homes through Twiddy, guests who had booked now-impossible vacations, and employees who had been recruited by Twiddy’s reputation as a family company that treated staff well. Twiddy relied on finite summer revenue to sustain the company throughout the year, but with the upcoming vacation season thrown into chaos, Clark was unsure who, if anyone, he could afford to make whole and keep happy.
Keywords
Trust; Health Pandemics; Organizational Culture; Disruption; Government Legislation; Transportation; Tourism Industry; North Carolina; United States
Citation
Sucher, Sandra J., Shalene Gupta, and Tom Quinn. "Twiddy & Company: Trust in a Chaotic Environment." Harvard Business School Case 324-021, September 2023. (Revised December 2023.)