Keywords
digital technologies
hotel business
hospitality industry
competitive advantages
crisis management
hotel management
anti-crisis management
How to Cite
Abstract
Digitalization has had a positive impact on the development of the hospitality industry, contributing to a more effective distribution and distribution of hotel products. In crisis conditions, digital technologies allow hotel operators to ensure the adaptability and flexibility of their operational activities, which are highly sensitive to the decline in economic activity. The article aimed to identify the links between digitalization and the formation of competitive advantages of hospitality industry enterprises in crisis conditions. To assess the links, methods of statistical correlation analysis of the indicators of the development of the hospitality industry in the EU member states in 2023 and indicators of the digitalization of the economy in the EU in 2023 were used. The results demonstrate the direct impact of the ICT sector’s share in the gross value added of the EU economies on the level of hotel occupancy, i.e., on the demand for services in the hospitality industry. The post-crisis period of development of the temporary accommodation sector in the EU is characterized by a gradual recovery and an increase in the importance of digitalization for hospitality enterprises. Until the beginning of 2021, the hospitality industry focused on digitizing information and digitizing individual guest service processes. In the context of the decline in revenue caused by the pandemic, the hospitality business was forced to implement digital technologies for adaptation and flexibility of operations. Before the coronavirus crisis, the level of digitalization capability of the hospitality industry and hotel companies was estimated at 26% in 2020, while after the pandemic, the digital readiness and awareness of enterprises increased to 61% in 2023. Marketing using social media, websites for promoting hotel services, technologies for managing customer relationships, and online advertising of services are identified as some of the most important for forming competitive advantages of hotel enterprises. Ukrainian experience in using digital technologies demonstrates their increasing importance for performing various business functions of enterprises in the field of temporary accommodation in 2024–2025.
References
1. Anning‑Dorson, T., & Nyamekye, M. B. (2019). Be flexible: Turning innovativeness into competitive advantage in hospitality firms. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(2), 605–624. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM‑12‑2018‑1014
2. Aydogan, M., de Esteban Curiel, J., Antonovica, A., & Cetin, G. (2024). Characteristics of crisis‑resilient organizations in the hospitality and tourism industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 36(4), 1432–1453. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-12-2022-1630
3. Breier, M., Kallmuenzer, A., Clauss, T., Gast, J., Kraus, S., & Tiberius, V. (2021). The role of business model innovation in the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 crisis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, (92), 102723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102723
4. Chu K.-M. (2024). Innovation Practices of New Technology Adoption for the Business Survival Strategy of Online Travel Agencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Two Case Studies in Taiwan. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 15(2), 9556–9575. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01480-w
5. Denizci Guillet, B., & Chu, A. M. C. (2021). Managing hotel revenue amid the COVID‑19 crisis. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 33(2), 604–627. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-06-2020-0623
6. Denizci Guillet, B., & Shi, X. (2019). Can revenue management be integrated with customer relationship management? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(2), 978–997. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-01-2018-0039
7. Eurostat. (2025). Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by residents and non‑residents (Data code: TIN00175). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/TIN00175
8. Eurostat. (2025). Number of establishments and bed‑places in tourist accommodation (Data code: TIN00181). https://doi.org/10.2908/TIN00181
9. Eurostat. (2025). Percentage of enterprises with a web presence in the tourism accommodation sector (Data code: TIN00180). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/TIN00180
10. Eurostat. (2025). Percentage of the information and communication technology sector in gross domestic product (Data code: TIN00074). https://doi.org/10.2908/TIN00074
11. Eurostat. (2025). Tourism accommodation occupancy rates: Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments per available bed‑place (Data code: TIN00116). https://doi.org/10.2908/TIN00116
12. Hsu, A. Y. C., King, B. E. M., Wang, D., & Buhalis, D. (2016). In‑destination tour products and the disrupted tourism industry: Progress and prospects. Information Technology & Tourism, 16(4), 413–433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-016-0067-y
13. Hussein, H., Albadry, O. M., Mathew, V., Al-Romeedy, B. S., Alsetoohy, O., Abou Kamar, M., & Khairy, H. A. (2024). Digital Leadership and Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Leveraging Green Absorptive Capability and Eco-Innovation in Tourism and Hospitality Businesses. Sustainability, 16(13), 5371. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135371
14. Lai, I. K. W., & Wong, J. W. C. (2020). Comparing crisis management practices in the hotel industry between initial and pandemic stages of COVID‑19. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(10), 3135–3156. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0325
15. Lee, S., Song, H. J., Yoon, H., Kim, C. S., & Ham, S. (2024). Resilience of the hospitality industry during crises: A comparison between the 2008 financial crisis and COVID‑19. International Journal of Hospitality Management, (116), 103622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103622
16. Liberato, P., Liberato, D., Abreu, A., Alén-González, E., & Rocha, Á. (2018). Generation Y: The Competitiveness of the Tourism Sector Based on Digital Technology. In: T. Antipova & A. Rocha (Eds.), Information Technology Science. MOSITS 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing (vol. 724, pp. 227–240). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74980-8_21
17. Morrone, D., Raimo, N., Tarulli, A., & Vitolla, F. (2021). Digitalisation in the hospitality industry: Motivations, effects and role of COVID‑19. International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism, 3(3/4), 257–270. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJDCET.2021.116475
18. Noel, M. D. (2022). Competitive survival in a devastated industry: Evidence from hotels during COVID‑19. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 31(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/jems.12446
19. Pappas, N. (2015). Marketing hospitality industry in an era of crisis. Tourism Planning and Development, 12(3), 333–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2014.979226
20. Pencarelli, T. (2020). The digital revolution in the travel and tourism industry. Information Technology & Tourism, 22(3), 455–476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-019-00160-3
21. State Statistics Service of Ukraine. (2025). Use of information and communication technologies at enterprises: Internet usage, business software, cloud computing services, artificial intelligence, ICT, and the environment. https://www.ukrstat.gov.ua/operativ/operativ2021/zv/ikt/vikpt_ns.xlsx
22. Statista Research Department. (2024). Digitalization of the hospitality industry worldwide – statistics and facts. Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/8339/digitalization-of-the-hospitality-industry
23. Statista Research Department. (2024). Hotel industry in Europe – statistics and facts. Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/12198/hotel-industry-in-europe/
24. Zaki, K. (2022). Implementing dynamic revenue management in hotels during COVID-19: Value stream and wavelet coherence perspectives. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 34(5), 1768–1795. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-08-2021-1043
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yuliya Pereguda, Maryna Kryvoberets