Updates from the Director


The Cornell Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations typically publishes updates from its director a few times each year. You can see all of CIHLER’s news and features on BusinessFeed.

David Sherwyn

David Sherwyn

Academic Director of CIHLER; John and Melissa Ceriale Professor of Hospitality Human Resources 607.255.1711

December 2021

As the semester winds down in Ithaca, our thoughts turn to the last year and the future. We at Cornell Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor & Employment Relations (CIHLER)*link are thrilled to have been able to hold our 15th Annual National HR in Hospitality Conference*link at the amazing Hotel Del Coronado Hotel*link in San Diego, CA. A special thanks to the people at the Del, especially the General Manager, Harold Rapoza, Jr; the folks at BRE Hotels, and Hilton Hotels and Resorts*link whose CFO, Kevin Jacobs, kicked off the conference. In Covid times, the agenda and its parts continued to move all summer and through the conference. Harold and his team kept it all under control – THANK YOU. Of course, we could not have held the conference without our amazing Advisory Board who presented on numerous panels and created an incredible leaning environment.  Special thanks to Bruce Tracey Gregg Gilman, Celeste Yeager, and Paul Wagner and who finally, the conference would never happen without our Conference Program Manager, Erica Heim – Erica THANKS!  We will be holding the 16th annual conference at the Loew’s Miami Beach*link on June 14-16, 2022!

In addition, to the conference, CIHLER continues to stay on top of the labor and employment issues in hospitality.  We will be at ALIS Law*link in January, Georgetown Hospitality Summit*link in March and we will be holding several Roundtables this Spring. These Roundtables will not have a difficult time finding topics. We are dealing with a “new normal” because of Covid, vaccine mandates, new guest desires, expanding labor and employment laws, collective bargaining agreements expiring, and, of course, a labor shortage. With all of this going on, the lawyers, consultants, tech entrepreneurs, CHRO’s and union leaders, chief labor relations officers who make up our Board have a lot of issues to discuss, learn, and innovate over. CIHLER looks forward to our many events set for the Spring and to seeing many of you as we get back on the road.


Previous Director's Updates

Below are previous director’s messages from David Sherwyn, founding academic director of the Cornell Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations.