From market collapse to fragile survival: hotel resilience and adaptive reconfiguration under protracted conflict in Yemen

This study examines how hotels in Yemen develop organizational survival mechanisms under conditions of protracted armed conflict through the lens of Chaos Theory. Guided by an interpretivist research philosophy, the study adopted a qualitative case study approach using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 20 general managers of four-star hotels across Yemen. Purposive maximum variation sampling captured diverse experiences across different geographical and political contexts, including areas under the internationally recognized government and Ansar Allah-controlled regions. Data were collected between May and November 2025 and analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings reveal a five-phase process comprising demand collapse and market dislocation, operational breakdown driven by infrastructure destruction and insecurity, organizational resource erosion characterized by financial instability, supply scarcity, and workforce contraction, adaptive reconfiguration through clientele substitution, service compression, and informal operational practices, and ultimately fragile survival without recovery. The findings demonstrate how the Chaos Theory concepts of bifurcation, disorder, self-organization, and temporary equilibrium explain organizational adaptation under sustained instability. The study contributes to hospitality and management research by developing a process-based framework explaining how hotels adapt when conflict becomes a persistent operating condition rather than a temporary disruption. It further extends the application of Chaos Theory to hospitality research and introduces ‘fragile survival without recovery’ as a distinct organizational outcome, demonstrating that resilience may involve persistence through continuous adaptation rather than restoration to pre-crisis conditions. The findings also highlight the importance of adaptive business models, diversified markets, localized supply networks, and institutional support for strengthening hotel sustainability in conflict-affected environments.