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This paper aims to examine the consequences of Covid-19 for the migrants and the tourism industry following the emergence of the new business models and operational practices in the following three areas: i) Covid-19 and post-Covid-19 labour shortages, ii) the development of migrant gig jobs and iii) future trends.

Covid-19 posed challenges for labour retention and has given rise to new outsourced and precarious forms of employment. The growth of various tourism-related apps and establishments, such as “ghost kitchens” or pop-up restaurants, has transformed the landscape of tourism work and opportunities. This short paper provides an overview of the labour consequences of Covid-19, focusing on migrant tourism workers.

Despite growing attention towards promoting sustainable, just and decent employment, global trends and changing industrial relations in the sector have led to heightened levels of precariousness and uncertainty in migrants’ work.

This paper contributes to the literature on tourism employment by examining the forms of new business models and operational practices that affect migrant labour.

This paper aims to present the feasibility study findings from a four-year project funded by the European Union Commission (the SAIL project, Staying Active and Independent for Longer). The funding stream was Interreg 2Seas which offers opportunities for coastal areas on both sides of the English Channel to work together on complex practical issues. The project focused on enabling older people to stay active and independent for longer using social innovation (co-production) approaches.

Ten pilot projects were developed, and each of the pilots worked with an academic partner to undertake a feasibility study that included 10 pilots across the four countries involved, France, Belgium, Holland and England.

This paper presents barriers and facilitators (using logic models) to the social innovation process with older people, which has wider relevance in terms of social innovation and its application.

The findings which inform this paper are extensive, and this is a longitudinal qualitative study with much of the data collection being done using an online wiki (complemented by interviews and documentary analysis) which is a relatively new method for data collection. However, the consistency of the findings when analysed by three researchers was clear and pragmatically this complex method was required to examine complexity in the process of implementing social innovation in practice.

This project has enabled greater understanding of how social innovation can be applied and has highlighted contextual issues that can undermine or enable attempts to adopt the approach.

For the 10 pilot projects generated, there were obviously important cultural and geographical differences in terms of engagement and practical implementation of social innovation. Some of which, as mentioned in this paper, are very important for the successful implementation of social innovation in a particular setting and indeed may be a strength or a barrier in terms of engaging with local people and agencies.

The development of logic models is a useful approach when the topic under study is complex and likely to produce a diverse set of process outcomes. The logic model focuses upon the relationships between the resources that are used to create the intervention and what is produced in terms of outcomes. Ultimately, this enables the identification of the factors that contribute to a successful intervention. Thus, in relation to this study, logic models have helped to provide an evidence-based framework that can support decision-making regarding the most effective use of limited resources to support successful social innovation processes in the future. The logic model for each area of the findings presented here can in the future be used to help implement social innovation; also, to consider how it can be improved in future research.

Social innovation has received increasing attention in recent decades (Agostini et al., 2017). This study aims to consider how the concept has been applied to the issue of ageing and what can be learnt about effective policy responses.

The acknowledged lack of understanding generally about the concept makes it timely to undertake a scoping review of the current evidence from social innovation projects associated with older people. A scoping review is considered appropriate where there is a need to “identify and analyse knowledge gaps” (Munn et al., 2018, p. 2).

Findings from the scoping review indicate that, as yet, the concept of social innovation is not fully defined. However, it has widespread appeal across a diverse range of disciplines and has the potential to generate innovative policy responses.

A key argument identified is the need to change the public’s perceptions of ageing and devise public policies that encourage and nurture age-friendly communities. In summation, although social innovation has the potential to act as a policy driver, but to be effective, it is necessary to devise robust strategies to ensure full user-engagement and active involvement of communities. Therefore, it is the process of delivery that needs urgent attention in any future research into social innovation.

The emergence of dark kitchens in the restaurant industry is a contemporary phenomenon, arising most recently in the context of the so-called gig economy. This new business model flourished during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on a global scale. Despite dark kitchens' popularity, considerable negative publicity exists in the news related to poor working conditions. To highlight this new phenomenon, this paper explores the existing literature on worker exploitation in dark kitchens in the context of the gig economy.

A systematic literature review of hospitality and tourism databases generated 1,430 articles, of which 18 met the authors' inclusion criteria for the final analysis, and 1,030 anecdotal sources, of which 47 were included. Thematic analysis was used to identify the key themes and summarise the findings to be used for further studies.

The popularity of dark kitchens as a business model is premised on the fact that dark kitchens' dramatically reduces the operational cost and increases productivity. On the other hand, the working conditions and contractual agreements of the gig workers in dark kitchens raise several questions from operational, legal and ethical perspective. These poor working conditions create the conditions for worker exploitation and further damage the sector's image.

This study advocates that companies and managers are responsible for implementing and monitoring fair working conditions in dark kitchens. The existence of poor working conditions increases employee turnover and, overall, affects the industry's reputation.

This explorative study provides insights into the working conditions and contractual agreements in dark kitchens. Currently, there is no other study (empirical or conceptual) to shed light on the working practices. The authors hope this study will trigger further discussion and empirical research in this field.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of employees excluded from a talent pool and to identify what career development is provided for them.

A qualitative approach was adopted, and narrative inquiry was selected as the optimum route to obtaining detailed and rich accounts of the experiences of employees excluded from a talent pool. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted with eight employees and seven managers in a small hotel chain in the south of England.

The study shows that employees who are excluded from a talent pool feel frustration, mistrust in the organisation, have low expectations of career development and show an intention to leave the organisation.

The study was conducted in a chain of hotels where talent management (TM) strategies are one of the key priorities in the organisation. The results may be different in hotels where TM strategies are less formal and talent pool segmentation is not clearly identified.

Hotel managers should consider employees who are excluded from a talent pool and build effective TM strategies and provide career development to minimise adverse reactions and improve commitment and motivation.

This research contributes to understanding talent pool exclusion and its consequences for the hotel sector. Narrative interviewing is used in this context for the first time.

Drawing from emotional labour (EL) and emotion regulation (ER) theories, this paper aims to identifiy what helps and what hinders the emotional intelligence (EI) practice of Vietnamese hotel workers. Researching EI qualitatively from a novel context highlights the influence of culture on EI.

The critical incident technique (CIT) was adopted as the qualitative methodological approach using a self-administered form and semi-structured interviews to collect empirical data from a sample of 34 Vietnamese hotel workers in 19 different hotels.

The findings show that following Joseph and Newman’s (2010) cascading model of EI would help hotel workers in their practice. The research also found different factors hindering the EI practice from the individual and organisational levels. Vietnamese culture was believed to guide deep-acting and meditation. Language barrier and manager support emerged as significant factors that could help or hinder their EI practice.

The research proposes a conceptual framework addressing the factors that could help or hinder the EI practice and provides implications for HR practices and management. Caution could be taken when applying the research implications because of the small sample as a nature of qualitative research.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to appraise the EI practice adopting the CIT as a qualitative methodological approach in an under-research context and add evidence to the theoretical links between EI, EL and ER.

The purpose of this paper is to explore career strategies used by Greek hotel managers in order to advance their careers successfully.

Using a case study sample of 65 hotel general managers working in deluxe hotels in Greece, data on career strategies were collected using a postal questionnaire.

It is revealed that the managers use a range of different strategies in order to advance their careers. The most commonly used are in relation to career opportunities, skills, mobility, interpersonal relations and handling diverse situations. The least commonly used ones relate to family contacts, job search techniques and pay.

The strategies are discussed in terms of recruitment, training and retention of managers in the hotel industry.

This paper builds on the knowledge of careers strategies used for career success.

The study examines the career motivations, paths and challenges of convention and exhibition (C&E) industry professionals in Asia.

The paper reviews the key literature relating to life and work history research, career profiles and human capital, which is followed by a discussion of findings of an online survey of C&E industry professionals in Asia.

Findings indicate that there is no specific career route/path into the industry, with experience being generated in a wide variety of sectors, and primarily gained in management, sales and marketing roles. Professionals show a high level of career commitment and face a variety of challenges relating to environmental, customer and job demands.

Data were collected from industry professionals from four South‐East Asian destinations only, thus it is important not to generalize study findings to Asia. Practical implications are discussed in relation to career development and employee retention, specifically in view of the variety of entry points into the industry, potential for job mobility, and challenges to motivate and retain a committed workforce composed of different generations.

Appropriately educated and trained labor is essential for the success of the rapidly growing C&E industry. Yet, despite the recognized value of superior staff and the wealth of employment opportunities, there is little understanding of careers in the C&E sector to date. The research addresses this gap in the research.

Examines the career paths of hotel managers in Mauritius. Three themes relating to career paths are explored: career mobility, career planning, and the value of certain skills towards career development. Previous research and the current debates surrounding these issue are presented, followed by an examination of the Mauritian context. The results illustrate that hotel managers have a high degree of international mobility, the food and beverage function is the dominant route to hotel general management, hotel managers actively engage in long term career planning, and managerial skills are considered the most important for a career in hotel management. In light of these findings, the implications for the hotel industry in Mauritius are discussed.