Cornell Hospitality Research Summit will feature 80 industry-focused presentations

People attending the 2012 Cornell Hospitality Research Summit (CHRS) will be able to choose from 80 research-based, industry-focused presentations. Scheduled for October 8 and 9, 2012, at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, the CHRS features top-level presentations from a balanced mix of hospitality industry leaders and academic researchers. The goal of the conference is to provide fact-based, strategic information that will help the industry move forward. An overview of the CHRS schedule is available from the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), which is producing the conference. Early registration for CHRS at a reduced rate is now open.

“I am gratified at the strong response of the industry and universities to our call for presentations,” said Professor Rohit Verma, CHRS chair. “We had nearly twice as many proposals as we could fit into two days of sessions. Thus, we could select the best of a strong field of presentations. Most of our sessions include presenters from both the industry and a university. Additionally, our session chairs are industry leaders and researchers who will focus on the industry’s critical priorities.”

Verma added: “We chose our conference theme very intentionally to provide industry information and strategy that will be valuable and immediately useful. The theme is ‘Service Excellence and Performance Growth in the Global Hospitality Industry: Strategies and Approaches for Navigating Forward.'”

The 80 presentations are organized into 30 session tracks that focus on such topics as environmental sustainability, social media and service excellence, pricing and revenue management, and customer relationship management. Those overall topics include presentations that focus on current challenges, strategic planning and performance, mobile innovations, and brand management.

The CHRS also features a series of innovative interactive workshops on the CHR’s Tools for the Hospitality Industry. Using the school’s computer lab, participants will have hands on demonstrations of Hospitality Valuation Software, the brand new Cornell Real Estate Market Indices, and the Restaurant Table Optimizer. They will also learn a new way to price room reservations.

The full list of session tracks is as follows: Achieving Service Excellence, Brand Management and Customer Focus, Contemporary Challenges, Customer Satisfaction, Environmental Sustainability and Performance, Healthcare and Hospitality, Mobile Innovations, Pricing and Revenue Management, Service Experience Management, Social Media and Service Excellence, Strategic Alignment and Performance, Strategic Planning, Technology and Service Excellence, Trends in Restaurant Industry, and Trends in Travel and Hotel Industry.

The CHRS also will present the Hospitality Research and Analytics Award to honor the industry’s best research ideas that have been put into practice. The nomination and submission deadline for this top-level award is August 15. The Hospitality Research and Analytics Award features the practical application of research and analysis to advance the hospitality industry. Award winners will be recognized during the CHRS awards dinner ceremony on October 9, 2012. Award winners will be acknowledged in conference press releases from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research. CHR is presenting the Hospitality Research and Analytics award program with the support of IDeaS, a SAS company, and a CHR partner.