Examining Hotel Resilience Strategies During Economic Downturns: Evidence from Hotels in Enugu State, South East Nigeria

This study examines the resilience strategies adopted by hotels in Enugu State, South East Nigeria, during periods of economic downturn, drawing on evidence from the 2020 to 2022 period that encompassed both COVID-19 disruptions and sustained naira depreciation pressures. Hotel resilience, defined as the capacity to anticipate, absorb, and recover from adverse economic shocks, is an increasingly studied construct in hospitality management, yet empirical evidence from Nigeria remains sparse. A mixed-method research design is adopted with in-depth interviews conducted with general managers and financial controllers of 20 hotels of varying categories in Enugu metropolis, supplemented by analysis of hotel financial data for the study period. Resilience strategy dimensions examined include cost management adaptations, demand stimulation innovations, supply chain restructuring, workforce management approaches, and market diversification responses. Findings reveal that hotels demonstrating the highest recovery trajectory employed a combination of aggressive domestic market targeting, flexible pricing and package innovations, and accelerated local supply chain development to reduce import exposure. Workforce strategies involving voluntary rather than compulsory reductions and creative deployment of staff to multiple roles are found to have preserved institutional knowledge critical to rapid recovery. The study recommends that hotel operators develop formal economic resilience frameworks in advance of future downturns, integrating scenario planning into annual strategic management cycles. Keywords: hotel resilience, economic downturn, recovery strategies, Enugu State, hospitality management