MODERN TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL ACCOMMODATION ESTABLISHMENTS (IAE) IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Research on Individual Accommodation Establishments (IAE) is important in the context of global and local challenges in Ukraine, particularly military actions, economic instability, and changes in legislation, which require owners to adapt business models. The purpose of the research is a comprehensive analysis of IAE as a subject of the hotel services market, a study of the impact of modern challenges on the development of IAE and their competitiveness, as well as the development of proposals for improving services, including technological optimization, the implementation of environmental solutions, the offer of unique services, the use of marketing tools, and the implementation of advanced information technologies.

The methodological basis of the research is a comparative analysis of IAE and Collective Accommodation Establishments (CAE) according to key criteria (number of places, form of ownership, service organization, booking flexibility). Systematization and generalization methods are employed to classify the key advantages of IAE (flexibility, uniqueness, accessibility) and group the main problems and challenges in their functioning into five categories: economic, legal, operational, reputational, and external factors.

It has been established that IAE create a more personalized experience for guests, while maintaining flexibility in choosing accommodation conditions, in contrast to mass tourism-oriented CAE. However, IAE owners face a number of critical challenges:

Economic: Constant growth in utility costs and depreciation, high competition and price dumping, as well as significant seasonality of demand.

Legal and regulatory: Lack of clear legislative regulation of the market, which creates uncertainty regarding registration, licensing, and income taxation.

Operational: The complexity of administering reservations at high occupancy and the risks associated with property security and guest behavior control.

Reputational: The threat of negative reviews and rating downgrades, which significantly reduces the number of reservations.

External factors: The decrease in tourist flow due to military actions and the need to focus on domestic customers or long-term rentals.

The practical significance of the study lies in the development of strategic solutions to overcome these problems.