ADAPTATION OF THE CHAIN HOTELS MANAGEMENT IN KYIV TO WARTIME CONDITIONS

Abstract

The hotel industry in Kyiv is one of the most developed in Ukraine. Major hotel chains operate here, which is indicative of how hotel chain management has adapted to the realities of war. These trends are related to the city's capital and business significance, its historical development in the hotel industry, and the potential for future growth in the hotel market. In total, there are 10 hotel chains, comprising 7 international and 3 national operators. International hotel chains are represented by 15 hotels, while national chains are represented by 16. Among the international chains, the largest number of hotels are represented by Accor (6 hotels) and Radisson Hotel Group (3 hotels). The full-scale invasion has effectively suspended the activities of hotel chains in the city. Among the main negative aspects faced by Kyiv's hotel chains during the war are: the destruction of hotels as a result of shelling (the Holiday Inn Kyiv hotel), a decrease in the flow of hotel service consumers, a change in the approaches of international partners due to fears of investment losses, an outflow of qualified personnel, the re-equipment of hotels due to the need for shelter and alternative power sources, constant air raid alerts and curfews, and the need to change the sources of supply of resources for the enterprise. However, in 2024, the city's hotel chains demonstrated economic growth, indicating that businesses had adapted to the war conditions and that business activity was picking up. This trend arose as a result of changes in hotel management approaches. These management decisions include: a primary focus on ensuring the safety of consumers and staff, optimizing business costs, multifunctionality of staff, adaptation to constant stressful situations and dynamic changes, greater attention to guests, individual approaches and non-standard solutions to problems, technical adaptation to the realities of war, changes in marketing approaches, intensification of digital marketing, improvement of the hotel management process, reduction of decision-making time and waiting for instructions from the management company.