Current trends of Ukraine’s categorized hotels development

Abstract

The article analyzes the current state of categorized hotels in Ukraine, their dynamics for 2018–2021 and distribution by regions. The activity of the State Agency for the Tourism Development of Ukraine on the establishment of categories of hotels, with the subsequent identification of the main trends and frequency of obtaining the declared category by the hotel is investigated. The main motives for obtaining a category by modern hotels are summarized. The existence of a relationship between the selected target audience and the decision to undergo categorization by the hotel was identified. The influence of new requirements for hotels receiving permission to organize and conduct gambling on the rapid growth in demand for hotels to undergo the categorization procedure has been determined. The register of permits issued by the Gambling and Lottery Regulatory Commission was investigated and compared with a list of hotels that had recently been categorized and re-examined of an existing category. It is predicted that by the end of the year there will be a significant increase in the number of categorized hotels in the whole country, and specifically in Kyiv. The place of the Odessa region among other administrative-territorial units of Ukraine was determined by the number of categorized hotels for 2018–2021. The characteristic of the main trends that distinguish the Odessa region from the list of categorized hotels from other regions of Ukraine is given. The main changes that took place in the Odessa region in the context of various categories of hotels are revealed. The distribution of categorized hotels with more than one hundred rooms has been investigated. The dependence of the location of hotels and the result of their categorization is substantiated. The existing tendencies regarding categorized hotels in Ukraine are determined, including the uneven distribution by region, the revival of the rate of obtaining the category by hotels after the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine on state regulation of activities for the organization and conduct of gambling, positioning the Odessa region as the region with the largest number of «five stars» hotels. Suggestions for further research on this issue are given.