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The hospitality industry is rapidly evolving; aspects like technology, digitisation, artificial intelligence, eco-friendly, best practices, green hotels and sustainability are significantly impacting change. It is evident that the hospitality industry is trying its best to embrace change but do hospitality graduates have sufficient exposure to the importance of embracing these changes? Further, are academics updating their curriculum in line with industry requirements? This also prompts the question: How often do industry and academia come together to discuss the future? Is it the sole responsibility of academic institutions to consider the changes needed or should industry take a lead and guide academia? This theme issue explores these questions and concerns and considers the way forward.

This viewpoint article explains why the theme issue question is important and outlines the approach taken with reference to the hospitality industry and hospitality education. The authors explore our theme issue question with particular reference to developments in Asia.

The hospitality industry impacts the environment in numerous ways and it is important for the industry to learn and train employees for a sustainable future and it is equally important to understand the challenges faced by the industry in adopting sustainable practices. The deployment of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation is increasingly impacting global standards and operating procedures and clearly technology has a key role to play in sustainable development. The authors also consider ways in which hospitality education could be better synced with industry and how it could evolve in response to future requirements.

This theme issue on hospitality education and sustainability was conceived with the aim of addressing concerns like the challenges faced by academics in upgrading the curriculum/programme structure so that it is better aligned with industry norms. It further examines sustainable practices adopted by hotels in Asia as compared to their counterparts in other parts of the world and it explores the gaps between hospitality industry operations and the programme delivery of hospitality institutions.

Amidst ongoing digital transformation, the current paper provides a 360-degree overview of technology-adoption in Tourism and Hospitality. By combining and consolidating a wide range of sources, mainly in the tourism literature, the analysis depicts how the complex technological ecosystem often enhances or hinders the successful adoption, integration and interoperability of different technologies.

The critical review method was used to assess, analyse and synthesise existing literature in the area of digitisation in tourism and hospitality. The critical review process included a thematic analysis of the literature, where recurring themes, patterns and trends were identified towards addressing the study’s research questions.

The analysis identifies current trends, opportunities, challenges and strategies for technology adoption in tourism and hospitality, the implications for theory, practicable executive directions and avenues for further research.

The paper’s main contribution lies in its comprehensive identification, consideration and incorporation of all primary contemporary technological elements, and the ensuing development of a corresponding conceptual charting framework, which illustrates a multifaceted process with practical implications for various stakeholders, including businesses, authorities, consumers and employees.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the best approaches management should embrace to successfully attract and retain high quality human resource talent within the Niagara region's hospitality industry.

A selected cross‐section of relevant and recent publications are reviewed. The key findings from a mini survey involving 14 senior hospitality managers in the Niagara region are shared.

This paper suggests that the hospitality managers should: understand the basics related to good human resource management practices; know the “fair market value” for each position; foster relationships with colleges and universities to tap into student labor; encourage mature workers to apply for part‐time work; and cultivate a good relationship with seasonal employees and educate them on the rewards of a career within the hospitality industry. Through the industry survey, it was discovered that hospitality managers within the Niagara region are already executing some of these strategies. However, it was concluded that a stronger working relationship with the seasonal employees is required in the region.

Two academics with hotel general manager experience in five countries join hands with the president for three four‐diamond hotels to write this paper. Given the background of the authors, it is expected that the viewpoints would be welcomed by hospitality managers.

The purpose of this study is to understand hospitality finance research through content analysis by examining articles published during the past two decades (1990 to 2009).

This study identified subject areas, methodologies, and citations from hospitality finance papers published in four major hospitality journals (Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, and Cornell Hospitality Quarterly).

A perusal of 113 hospitality finance articles suggested that researchers have focused on several subjects, such as risk management, financing, bankruptcy, and capital structure. Even though qualitative analysis was the most common method in the 1990s, the use of quantitative analyses dramatically increased during the recent decade.

The data were collected from four hospitality journals. If data were collected from more hospitality journals, the most common subjects and citations might be different from the results of this study.

This study offers readers a perspective on how hospitality finance research has been conducted recently and also suggests a big picture about the potential direction of future research.

This study provides valuable information about past and current research streams, as well as the direction of hospitality finance research. Compared with previous review studies, this study concentrated on a specific segment of hospitality research in order to improve basic understanding of what is going on in the hospitality finance research, which has never been examined before.

An emerging hospitality studies focus amongst British academics prioritizes the study of host and guest transactions as a key feature of hospitality research and publications. This short paper introduces the papers in the special issue.

Provides a brief review of the papers within the issue.

The study of host and guest transactions extends beyond commercial hospitality management activities. A large number of human interactions can be better understood through host and guest transactions. Commercial hospitality management through service quality management, employee relations, customer and employee transactions as well as the development of customer loyalty can also be informed by the study of hospitality through the study of host guest transactions.

Outlines how the papers in this special issue provide a flavor of some of the research themes that social science perspectives suggest.

The aim of this research is to establish students’ perceptions of the international hospitality industry and, specifically, to establish the likelihood of the student seeking employment in the industry after graduating, the region/country where the student intends seeking employment, the functional area/sector which is most attractive to the student and the position which the student expects to hold five and ten years after graduating. The research is based on a questionnaire administered at two universities offering hospitality management degrees, one in the UK, the other in The Netherlands. The main findings are that students have a distinct preference for certain hotel departments, hotel chains and sectors of the industry. Most expect to be general manager/corporate manager ten years after graduating. As the degree progresses, the students’ perception of the industry deteriorates. The paper concludes by examining issues relating to the image of the industry and the development of hospitality curricula.

Hospitality management higher education’s historic origins have resulted in a strong vocational ethos permeating the curriculum. Knowledge about hospitality has been drawn from the industry and the world of work rather than from the many disciplines or other fields of enquiry, which can help to explain it. By the late 1990s there was a strengthening international movement, driven by higher education hospitality academics towards the liberation of hospitality management higher education from its vocational base and to explore the inclusion in the curriculum of a broader and more reflective orientation. This paper investigates the historical evolution of hospitality management education, concepts associated with liberal education, and provides an illustrative case study that evaluates how a more liberal base was introduced into the curriculum at two universities located in Australia and Scotland respectively.

Project management is an essential skill in the hospitality organization that is only becoming more important (Tereso et al., 2019). Bridging the gap between academia and industry is achievable by experiential learning or providing students with curriculum that gives them hands-on access to real-world industry research projects that attempt to solve real-world industry issues (Steed and Schwer, 2003). The purpose of this paper is to understand the scope of project management curriculum in universities’ hospitality programs, to understand the scope of project management skill requirements in hospitality firms and to narrow the disconnect between project management in academia and in hospitality firms.

The study used a mixed method approach. On the side of academia, a quantitative collection method was used to gage which universities offered a project management course, how many universities offer these courses and how many project management courses each university had. On the side of industry, a survey was administered to industry professionals in senior management positions. It was a quantitative survey designed to gage the importance of having project management as part of university curriculum. The aim was to show what was expected to be a disconnect between the two sides – academia and industry. A total of 57 responses were collected. Out of them 49 were usable. The Human Subjects consisted solely of two populations: individuals who worked in the hospitality industry. This accounted for 12 of the responses; individuals who worked in academia – more specifically in higher education at schools that offer Hospitality Management curriculum. This accounted for 37 of the responses. The subjects were identified and recruited through the professional networking site LinkedIn (for subjects that were industry professionals) and through both LinkedIn and American Hotel Lodging and Educational Institute databases for the subjects in academia. There were no direct potential benefits to the subject. The potential societal benefits of the study were the advancement of knowledge within the disciplines of both Hospitality Management and Project Management. The authors used the University of Memphis’ Qualtrics system and changed settings to anonymize responses so IP addresses would not be collected. The Qualtrics’ default is to collect IP addresses and GPS coordinates of those who responded. By setting the survey to anonymized responses the investigators were not able to collect this identifiable information. This information was included in the confidentiality, methods/procedures and in any other necessary sections/documents noting that the investigators would set Qualtrics to anonymize responses.

H1 was supported. The findings showed that most colleges and universities did not require project management classes for degree completion. Preliminary research showed that of 68 of the top hospitality programs in the world that were researched, only 7.5 percent required taking project management centric courses in order to graduate (College Choice, 2019; The Best Schools, 2019; Top Universities, 2018). In total, 43.2 percent of respondents answered “yes” when asked if their school offers courses in project management based on this definition of project management: “A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore the defined scope and resources. And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. A project team often includes people who do not usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies. Project management, then, is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirement” (Project Management Institute) (See Table A1). Of 43.2 percent that answered yes, 64.3 percent said that the courses were required for graduation (See Table AII). Meaning, only 27.8 percent of schools surveyed offered and required completing project management courses for graduation. It should be noted that this number may be lower as bias may have played a factor. It is evident that hospitality programs understand the importance of project management because 85.7 percent of the colleges and universities surveyed are teaching project management concepts in courses that are not project management centric, like Meeting and Event Planning (See Table AIII). H2 was supported. Only 9.1 percent of respondents believed that project management skills are not at all important to line level employees. Most, 54.6 percent, believed that project management skills are important to some extent for line level employees. In total, 9.1 percent believed that project management skills are not at all important for supervisory level employees; 27.3 percent believed they are needed to some extent and 36.4 percent believed they are needed to a moderate extent. As for management level employees, it was found that 63.6 percent believed project management skills were needed to a great extent. For director level employees, 63.6 percent believed project management skills are necessary. Finally, 72.7 percent of respondents believed project management skills are necessary for both VP level employees and executive leadership (See Table AIV). It should be noted that one person did not believe themselves qualified to answer questions regarding project management within their organization. More than half of respondents said that project management skills are used to a great extent within their organization. H3 was not supported. Both hospitality schools and hospitality companies agreed that project management skills have some level of importance in academia and in industry – most believed the skills were very important at both junctions (See Tables AV and AVI). However, in the preliminary research the authors found that 55 percent of the top 111 hospitality companies had project management positions, meaning that there was a potential need for project management courses in colleges and universities (Ranker, 2019). As stated earlier, only 7.5 percent of the top 68 colleges and universities required project management courses to be completed upon graduation. So, the discrepancy lies within the vastly different percentages between project management positions within companies and project management courses within schools.

The data provided strong evidence that supported the idea that project management is not required in hospitality programs upon completion. This opens new avenues to research the reasons behind schools not offering project management courses or making it a requirement for degree completion. On the other hand, project management skills are considered to be needed by hospitality managers. This provides valuable information for future studies that look to close the gap between academia and industry. The results indicated that project management is important for hospitality companies and schools, but the lack of project management education in colleges and universities is evident. The results of this study provided good news to students that aim to work in hospitality companies, since they can improve their project management skills and encourage their programs to stay updated with the industry needs so that they can succeed in their professional lives. Though this was an exploratory study of the project management discipline within the hospitality industry – with a limited sample size – the data clearly justified that there is room for additional data collection and research in this area of study.

The results show that there is a disconnect between project management curriculum in schools and project management skill demand in the hospitality industry. The research should encourage schools to invest appropriate resources into required project management curriculum. The hospitality industry is vast in the types of businesses that fall under it. Project management is one skill set that can be useful across most of the different businesses in the hospitality industry. From a practical standpoint, providing students with a solid background in the project management discipline provides them an advantage in the highly competitive hospitality industry. It accomplishes this by providing the students with in-demand knowledge and competencies that are both universally accepted and highly regarded by hospitality management companies as a skill set that is widely used in the industry.

There were limitations to this study. Some pieces may be improved in future research. The Qualtrics survey could have been reduced in number and order of questions for a better interaction and results. The use of the Qualtrics database might be helpful to reach a bigger population. Potential steps could be taken to reduce bias that may play a factor in the responses. For example, some respondents may have claimed that their schools offer project management curriculum when in fact they do not, or they do not know to what extent.

Project management is an essential skill in the hospitality organization that is only becoming more important (Tereso et al., 2019). Bridging the gap between academia and industry is achievable through experiential learning or providing students with curriculum that gives them hands-on access to real-world industry research projects that attempt to solve real-world industry issues (Steed and Schwer, 2003). Most graduate level curriculum at universities was found to hone skills like written and oral communications, problem solving and decision making, organization, time management and cost control (Steed and Schwer, 2003). It has been suggested that universities add project management curriculum and experiential learning to their programs for a more streamlined transition from academia to industry (Steed and Schwer, 2003). Existing research on this subject is a bit dated, so the objectives were: to understand the scope of project management curriculum in universities’ hospitality programs; to understand the scope of project management skill requirements in hospitality firms; to narrow the disconnect between project management in academia and in hospitality firms.

This study, a conceptual paper, analyses the growth of curation in tourism and hospitality and the curator role in selecting and framing products and experiences. It considers the growth of expert, algorithmic, social and co-creative curation modes and their effects.

Narrative and integrative reviews of literature on curation and tourism and hospitality are used to develop a typology of curation and identify different curation modes.

Curational techniques are increasingly used to organise experience supply and distribution in mainstream fields, including media, retailing and fashion. In tourism and hospitality, curated tourism, curated hospitality brands and food offerings and place curation by destination marketing organisations are growing. Curation is undertaken by experts, algorithms and social groups and involves many of destination-related actors, producing a trend towards “hybrid curation” of places.

Research is needed on different forms of curation, their differential effects and the power roles of different curational modes.

Curation is a widespread intermediary function in tourism and hospitality, supporting better consumer choice. New curators influence experience supply and the distribution of consumer attention, shaping markets and co-creative activities. Increased curatorial activity should stimulate aesthetic and stylistic innovation and provide the basis for storytelling and narrative in tourism and hospitality.

This is the first study of curational strategies in tourism and hospitality, providing a definition and typology of curation, and linking micro and macro levels of analysis. It suggests the growth of choice-based logic alongside service-dominant logic in tourism and hospitality.

The intention of consumers to behave sustainably is not a reliable predictor of sustainable hospitality choices. This intention-behaviour gap represents one of the biggest challenges for marketers and environment-friendly businesses. To address this issue, this study aims to draw upon the intention-behaviour gap. The authors revise the sustainable hospitality literature to identify the limitations, to evaluate the extent to which the intention-behaviour gap is embedded in the hospitality literature and to provide practical guidance on how to move research forward in the sustainable hospitality field.

The authors adopted a five-step process to review and analyse 71 scientific papers published in 14 Hospitality Journals. The authors developed a descriptive overview of the literature showing the publications in this field over the years, the sustainability practices implemented by companies and consumers and the setting of the studies. Finally, the authors conducted a critical analysis of research in sustainable hospitality adopting the intention-behaviour gap lens.

Leveraging the descriptive overview and critical analysis, the authors offer four directions for future research to address the existing literature limitations. The authors encourage scholars to expand the scope of the research setting, investigate diverse sustainability practices, integrate existing knowledge on the intention-behaviour gap into sustainable hospitality research and combine traditional research methods with emerging technologies.

This study exposes the theoretical challenge of applying conventional behaviour theories to sustainable hospitality, prompting a call for framework re-evaluation. It offers practical insights, empowering researchers, marketers and policymakers to navigate and mitigate the intention-behaviour gap in sustainable hospitality.

The originality of this paper is underscored by its distinctive focus on the unique intention-behaviour gap within sustainable hospitality, coupled with a compelling call to re-evaluate traditional behavioural frameworks. It provides a roadmap for future research in sustainable hospitality, benefiting researchers, policymakers and marketers in promoting sustainable initiatives.