Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a holistic resilience framework and its contributing factors for organizations in the hospitality and tourism industry for coping with uncertain environments, such as those brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper is based on a broad review of the literature on organizational resilience and strategic leadership. A conceptual framework is developed and discussed.Findings: This study develops a holistic “strategic leadership-enhanced organizational resilience framework” that addresses the actions and mindsets required by hospitality and tourism organizations to attain organizational resilience and health.Research limitations/implications: This study fills the research gap in corporate resilience frameworks for hospitality and tourism. This study has practical implications for the industry by suggesting specific actions that companies can take to enhance their organizational health and resiliency under environmental uncertainty.Originality/value: Previous studies suggested only partial strategic resilience responses. This study constructs a holistic “strategic leadership-enhanced organizational resilience framework” in the hospitality and tourism context.

This article explores how digitalisation is impacting the hospitality industry and assesses the evolving role of an Information Technology (IT) strategy in the digitalisation process. The research approach is qualitative and inductive, based on six in-depth interviews with senior IT professionals in the hospitality industry. Findings indicate significant differences in the role of an IT strategy in guiding digitalisation in the companies studied. The depth of information provided by the interviewees supports the development and application of a model that profiles the companies regarding their degree of digitalisation and technology integration. Analysis of interview material allows the identification of key properties for successful digitalization: process agility, workforce adaptability, and technology manageability, along with a clear data culture and ensured cybersecurity. However, disparate systems and technologies, and a lack of data integrity, are key issues that leave hospitality companies with difficult choices in progressing digitalisation initiatives. The applied model and identification of key properties for successful digitalisation contribute to the development of related theory and can also be used as a reference point for senior IT professionals working in the industry.

Purpose: – This paper aims to examine a number of Asian hotel companies to identify the hurdles and provide recommendations for those companies expanding internationally. Many Asian-based hotel companies have made their strategic choice to expand beyond their home territories by opening and managing hotels in non-Asian destinations to achieve growth. This is a strategic decision that other Asian hotel companies will eventually have to face when they follow their customers’ footsteps and/or enhance their brand awareness in non-Asian destinations for greater market penetration and other network advantages.Design/methodology/approach: – This is a review article that analyzes Asian hotel groups’ development practices based on content analysis of published references. The 2012 Hotels 325 list, the leading source of news and analysis for the global hotel industry, is used to identify the top Asian hotel management companies in the world. Their history is traced to examine key success factors for their growth and to identify issues and concerns for such companies’ development into non-Asian destinations.Findings: – There are a number of approaches that Asian hotel companies have adopted for international expansion based on their match with these companies’ key success factors.Research limitations/implications: – The review focuses on the top 53 Asian hotel companies on the Hotels 325 list and does not cover smaller Asian companies that may have had successful global expansion records.Practical implications: – The paper provides high-level guidelines for what Asian hotel groups need to do to expand their business internationally outside of Asia or their traditional markets. Non-Asian hotel groups would also learn from this Asian wave of hotel development.Originality/value: – There has been limited, if ever any, previous literature on the strategic development choices of Asian hotel management companies. As such, this paper contributes to such an important but largely overlooked area in hotel management.

This article explores how digitalisation is impacting the hospitality industry and assesses the evolving role of Information Technology (IT) strategy in the digitalisation process. The research approach is qualitative and inductive, based on six in-depth interviews with senior IT professionals in the hospitality industry. Findings indicate significant differences in the role of IT strategy in guiding digitalisation in the companies studied. The depth of information provided by the interviewees supports the development and application of a model that profiles the companies regarding their degree of digitalisation and technology integration. Analysis of interview material allows the identification of key properties for successful digitalization: process agility, workforce adaptability, and technology manageability, along with a clear data culture and ensured cybersecurity. However, disparate systems and technologies, and a lack of data integrity, are key issues that leave hospitality companies with difficult choices in progressing digitalisation initiatives. The applied model and identification of key properties for successful digitalisation contribute to the development of related theory and can also be used as a reference point for senior IT professionals working in the industry.