Adaptive Crisis Management Strategy: Insights From the Hospitel Model in Thailand's COVID‐19 Response

ABSTRACT This research examines Thailand's innovative response to the COVID‐19 crisis through the repurposing of hotels ( Hospitels ) as health‐support facilities. Drawing from first‐hand experience within the national task force, the study explores how the public and private sectors collaboratively transformed idle tourism assets into an adaptive healthcare infrastructure. This initiative represents one of the earliest large‐scale applications of strategic resource reconfiguration in the global pandemic context. The analysis integrates perspectives from crisis management theory, dynamic capabilities, resilience thinking, and shared value creation to interpret how organizational adaptability can emerge from necessity. Using a qualitative case‐based approach supported by secondary data from national reports and media archives, the study highlights three dimensions of adaptive collaboration: rapid decision coordination, flexible resource mobilization, and cross‐sector learning. Findings suggest that the Hospitel model generated dual benefits—relieving hospital congestion while maintaining partial business continuity for hotels—thereby transforming crisis response into a shared‐value mechanism. The case illustrates that resilience is not merely reactive capacity but a strategic mindset enabling governments and businesses to co‐create solutions under uncertainty. This insight extends theoretical understanding of sustainability beyond compliance and offers practical implications for future crisis governance and tourism recovery. Drawing from direct participation as a National Policy Maker within Thailand's COVID‐19 task force, this research provides a high‐level strategic analysis of the Hospitel model. Beyond immediate crisis relief, the findings offer a scalable policy framework for national‐level resource reconfiguration. It demonstrates how governments can transform idle private assets into a “Strategic Reserve Infrastructure,” providing a practical roadmap for future crisis governance and sustainable tourism recovery globally.