IMPACT OF THE WAR ON THE HOTEL AND RESTAURANT BUSINESS OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article examines the impact of the war in Ukraine on the domestic hotel and restaurant market. It was noted that for many institutions this impact turned out to be catastrophic and led to the fact that they were forced to stop their work. It was also noted that any crisis leads to the emergence of new opportunities. The changes in doing business caused by the war are analyzed. It was found that today the key indicator of the efficiency of the hotel and restaurant business is the absence of losses and facilities that need subsidies. It was noted that the situation is more optimistic in the west and in the center of Ukraine. The main reason for this was the forced and sudden arrival of a large number of internally displaced persons in this region. Despite a significant decline in the first months of the war, today most of the catering establishments of the western and central regions have reached the pre-war level in terms of sales. It was found that the main problems created by the war for hospitality enterprises are: physical destruction of establishments, disruption of logistics chains, drop in the purchasing power of the population, increase in the cost of production, outflow of qualified workers abroad. It was noted that the main factor in the economic survival of hospitality establishments is the combination of two principles: systematicity (understanding of strategic goals, control system, transparent internal processes and analytics) and flexibility (speed of making creative, non-standard decisions). Possible steps that can be taken by hotel and restaurant business establishments in order to maintain their positions on the market are considered. Namely: replacement of some ingredients by others, flexible updating of the menu, creation of own supply chains, organization of own imports, strict control of income and expenses, opening of new establishments in safe regions of Ukraine or abroad, relocation of business to other regions of Ukraine, temporary refusal of marketing activities , changing the form of payment and work schedules, etc. It is proposed to use the positive experience of the post-war recovery of the economy of the hotel and restaurant sector in countries such as Croatia, Cyprus, and Georgia.