IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON INTERNATIONAL HOTEL CHAINS

Abstract

The article analyzes the dynamics of the development of the international hotel industry, it was identified the main leaders of international hotel chains, it was given a brief description of hotel chains. The main tendencies of the international hotel industry for 2014-2021 were studied and analyzed. The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and possible ways of development of the international hotel industry were considered. More than 20% of the world's hotel enterprises are owned or operated by international hotel operators. The Hotel Leaders ranking for each major geographic area demonstrates that regional markets continue to be quite closed to international companies. Achieving leading positions in the top ten companies on the market is a primary necessity, because it allows you to gain trust and attract investors to your portfolio. Various models and approaches to the development of hotel enterprises and the hotel product in general were formed in Europe and the USA. On the territory of the United States, hotels received a geographical scale, a significant advantage in the number of rooms and the democratization of hotel services, at a time when hotel enterprises in Europe were formed, relying only on the quality of the hotel product, which significantly reduced geographical expansion. For a long time, the English operator InterContinental Hotel Group remained the leader of the rating by the number of hotels, but one of the biggest changes in the rating in recent years is the appearance of Chinese hotel chains in the TOP-10. In 2023, the indicators will change significantly due to the takeover of the Radisson Hotel Group hotel chain in July 2022 – it became part of Choice Hotels International, which will significantly expand its geography. The conducted research allows us to state that the latest trends in the international hotel industry are the presence of Chinese companies in leading chains. Shanghai Jin Jiang and Huazhu Group Ltd. (China Lodging Group) demonstrated a significant growth in the number of rooms in 2017-2019. Wyndham Hotel Group, Choice and BWH Hotel Group are among the hotel chains that have significantly lost their position.