The study tested the antecedents and consequences of emotional labor (EL) acting strategies in the hotel industry. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of emotional intelligence (EI) on the relationships among EL acting strategies, emotional exhaustion (EE) and service recovery performance (SRP). - The survey was administered in five-star hotels in Korea. Frontline employees of the hotels participated in the survey and a total of 353 data were used for data analysis. - The research confirmed the importance of EI in the context of EL. The paper provided empirical evidence that EI affected the EL acting strategies and their consequential behavioral outcomes. - The study suggests that hospitality managers must find ways to elevate employees’ EI level. Performance management processes should incorporate identification and positive reinforcement of EL acting strategies that enhance SRP and customer satisfaction. - This study explored the under-researched subject of EL and its role within a hospitality industry context. The study is among the first to examine EI as an emotional resource, EL acting strategies, EE and SRP as a form of job-related performance simultaneously.