International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management is a peer-reviewed academic journal addressing management practices, strategic issues, and operational concerns within the hospitality and service industries. The journal publishes empirical research, conceptual articles, case studies, and book reviews that engage with contemporary challenges faced by hotels, restaurants, tourism operators, and related service firms. It aims to bridge scholarly theory and managerial practice, attracting submissions from academics, industry practitioners, and policy researchers.

History

The journal was established in 1989 during a period of expansion in scholarly outlets focused on service industries, paralleling the growth of periodicals such as Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, Annals of Tourism Research, Service Industries Journal, and Hospitality Management. Early editorial leadership sought to position the title alongside journals published by Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Wiley-Blackwell, Sage Publications, and Emerald Group Publishing. Its formative years featured contributions from scholars affiliated with institutions such as Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of Surrey, and Griffith University. Over subsequent decades the journal reflected industry shifts represented by events including the Asian financial crisis, the 2008 financial crisis, and the recovery phases following the SARS outbreak, the Iraq War's effects on travel, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scope and Content

The journal covers a wide range of topics relevant to hospitality practitioners and researchers, comparable in breadth to studies appearing in International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Tourism Geographies, and Service Science. Typical subject areas include strategic management studies that cite frameworks from scholars at Harvard Business School, INSEAD, and London Business School; human resource investigations referencing practices from McDonald’s Corporation, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, AccorHotels, and InterContinental Hotels Group; operations research drawing on methods used by Delta Air Lines, British Airways, and Singapore Airlines; and consumer behavior analyses relating to brands such as Starbucks, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The journal also publishes interdisciplinary work linking hospitality to topics treated by United Nations World Tourism Organization, World Travel & Tourism Council, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Health Organization, and International Labour Organization reports. Case studies often profile properties, chains, and destinations including The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Las Vegas Strip, Dubai, and Macau.

Editorial Structure and Peer Review

Editorial governance typically comprises an editor-in-chief supported by associate editors and an international editorial board with members from universities like University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, National University of Singapore, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Monash University. The journal implements a double-blind peer review process aligned with standards upheld by publishers such as Emerald, Elsevier, and Taylor & Francis. Reviewers are drawn from academic networks spanning Cornell University, University of Queensland, Pennsylvania State University, University of Central Florida, and professional bodies including Institute of Hospitality and Chartered Institute of Marketing. Editorial policies emphasize research ethics consistent with guidelines from organizations like Committee on Publication Ethics and funding disclosures comparable to practices of National Science Foundation and European Research Council grant recipients. Special issues have been guest-edited by scholars affiliated with centers such as Oxford Tourism Observatory and thematic collaborations with events like the World Tourism Forum.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in major bibliographic databases and citation services analogous to inclusion in Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and Emerald Insight collections. Its metadata appear in library catalogs managed by institutions such as Library of Congress, British Library, National Library of Australia, and university library consortia at University of California, University of Toronto, and University of Melbourne. Article-level indexing facilitates discoverability through platforms and aggregators used by researchers at Google Scholar, JSTOR, and CrossRef subscribers. Abstracting services enable citation tracking alongside metrics reported by entities such as Clarivate Analytics and Elsevier's analytics teams.

Impact and Reception

The journal has established a reputation in hospitality scholarship comparable to leading outlets like International Journal of Hospitality Management and Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. Its articles are cited in academic monographs published by Routledge, Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, and Cambridge University Press and inform practitioner guides produced by consultancies such as Deloitte, PwC, McKinsey & Company, and Boston Consulting Group. Impact metrics reported by bibliometric providers show that the journal contributes to citation networks involving authors from University of Hong Kong, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Strathclyde, Bond University, and Auckland University of Technology. Peer assessments highlight the journal's role in disseminating applied research on issues such as crisis management studied after the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, service innovation following the Millennium Development Goals era, and sustainability debates linked to initiatives by United Nations Environment Programme. While some critics from editorial boards at competing journals have debated methodological orientations, the title remains influential among academics, industry executives, and policy-makers engaged with hospitality and tourism sectors.

Category:Hospitality journals