HOTEL CHAINS IN UKRAINE: CURRENT STATE AND PERSPECTIVES OF OPERATION

Abstract

Hotel chains are of great importance for the high-quality functioning of the hotel services market, as they have established service standards, sufficient financial resources, and are widely distributed on the world market. In turn, measures are needed to increase the efficiency of their activities. The article examines the essence of hotel chains, their advantages in the market of hotel services. Methods of organizing hotel chains are revealed. Franchise relations are the most common, which cover approximately 80% of all hotels, and their advantages and disadvantages are defined. The ranking of the largest hotel chains in the world is submitted. It is established that the Indian operator OYO is the leader in terms of the number of hotels in the world, and Marriott International is the leader in terms of the number of rooms sold. The main strengths of hotel chains are the appropriate quality of services, a joint advertising policy, uniform service standards, the availability of financial resources, the possibility of obtaining consultations in the network, the implementation of innovations, support for social projects, uniform staff training systems, a wide range of services, and the availability of consumer loyalty programs. The main problems of the development of hotel chains in Ukraine are highlighted: decline in activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and military operations, damage to hotels, loss of customers, disruption of supply chains, problems with power outages, uneven territorial distribution of hotel chains, insufficient number of chains and hotels, low level of development of associated infrastructure, low interest of investors and lack of guarantees of protection of investments in the development of the infrastructure of hospitality enterprises, insufficient number and inadequate level of training of personnel for the hotel industry. The prospects for the development of hotel chains in Ukraine have been determined: the introduction of innovations (greening of activities, digital technologies, marketing innovations, crowdsourcing, etc.), diversification and personalization of services, increasing the safety of guests.