Rehabilitation Service in the Hospitality Industry

Topicality. The hospitality industry development in Ukraine takes place in crisis conditions of the post-pandemic environment and escalating military threats. In the context of the mentioned above, accommodation facilities reformate business concepts and customer-oriented approaches, supplementing them with certain security compliance, and the creation of relevant wartime rehabilitation services. Psycho-emotional exhaustion, physical injuries, hidden and definite stressors cause a necessity in forming rehabilitative hospitality. The rehabilitation services need for war victims and military personnel is acutely actualised, taking into account global tendencies: ensuring inclusive and barrier-free services; growing requirements for sustainable and environmental responsibility in the hotel business; increasing demands for health and medical services. Thus, rehabilitation hospitality can become an efficient means of ensuring equal conditions of access to hotel services for all population groups, as well as promoting social inclusion and tourism development (including medical and sanative ones), which means improvement of the economy and well-being of society in total.

The aim of the article is to ground approaches to the development of rehabilitation hospitality as a concept for promoting human mental health and societal inclusion. The focus of the research methodology is the hypothesis that the rehabilitation service integration into the hospitality sphere can help in increasing the competitiveness of business entities, attract the target audience to the newly created ground, and ensure the sustainable development of society.

Research methods. Presented for review research topic acquires the use of certain general economic methods of studying literary sources and scientific publications; statistical methods in the study of tendencies; empirical studies. This contributed to elaborating theoretical approaches and tools of scientific study, as well as logical interpreting the prospects for the rehabilitation hospitality development in Ukraine.

Results. The definition of “rehabilitation hospitality” is offered for use in the scientific operational field; its objectives, systemic components and functions in sustainable societal development are defined. The types of hospitality establishments that integrate rehabilitation services into the system of additional services are characterised. Preconditions for the rehabilitation services development in the hospitality subjects’ activity are evaluated. Based on empirical research results, the state of the development of the rehabilitation services system in Ukraine is determined. The checklist on forming the system of marketing management rehabilitation services is elaborated. The directions for developing rehabilitation hospitality are offered, basing on digital tools and partnership programmes in the rehabilitation sphere. Prospects for further research include finding and implementing innovative approaches and technologies in the rehabilitation hospitality sphere in order to enhance its effectiveness and service quality.

Conclusions and discussion. The conducted study demonstrates the relevance of rehabilitation hospitality as a factor in restoring human potential in sustainable state’s development, as it allows to research and scientifically ground directions for health restoration, and integration into society for those ones who suffered because of war, military personnel; to create barrier-free and inclusive environment in the hospitality industry, which ensures increasing accessibility and admission to services for people with disabilities and special needs, their social integration and improving the quality of life. In addition, this contributes to expanding the customer audience, and improving the reputation and competitiveness of hospitality establishments, as well as increasing their income. The sources of information and empirical research results used in this study confirm the offered hypothesis, the formulated conclusions and research perspectives, also creating a discussion platform for the study of rehabilitation hospitality, and its qualitative integration into the system of the state’s rehabilitation services.