Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 232: Hotel History: Union Station Hotel
Stanley Turkel | June 9, 2020
Nobody Asked Me But… No. 231: Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colorado
Stanley Turkel | May 19, 2020
Education
IHG Partners With JA Worldwide to Help Young People Build Skills and Experience in Hospitality
IHG | September 26, 2019
Announced ahead of UN World Tourism Day, partnership highlights opportunities available to young people in the tourism industry IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has today announced a global partnership with JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide, one of the world’s largest youth-serving NGOs, which focuses on preparing young people for future employment and entrepreneurship. The year-long partnership will support more than 750 young people as they gain skills and experience in hospitality in nine major markets around the world, including the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Japa...
PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management Celebrates 40 Years
PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management | September 23, 2019
Legendary hotelier P. R. S. Oberoi honoured with SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award (23 September 2019) The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) celebrated its “Splendid 40 Years” by hosting a gala dinner at Hotel ICON, the SHTM’s world-class teaching and research hotel, on 20 September 2019. Close to 400 guests from around the world attended the occasion in celebration of the School’s 40th anniversary. Addressing at the gala dinner, Professor Philip C. H. CHAN, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU said, “The year 2019 is a special year for the SHTM as the School celebrate...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 219: Hotel History: Josh Billings on Hotels One Hundred and Forty-Eight Years Ago
Stanley Turkel | September 11, 2019
Hotel History: Josh Billings on Hotels One Hundred and Forty-Eight Years Ago Josh Billings was the pen name of the 19th century American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818-1885). He was a famous humor writer and lecturer in the United States during the latter half of the 19th century. He is often compared to Mark Twain. Shaw was born in Lanesborough, Massachusetts. His father, Henry Shaw, served in the United States House of Representatives from 1817 and his grandfather, Samuel Shaw, also served in the Congress from 1808-1813. Shaw attended Hamilton College but was expelled in his second year for removing the clapper of the campus bell....
Hotels in North Texas Are Getting a New Tool to Prevent Human Trafficking
Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) | September 5, 2019
Dallas, TX (September 5, 2019) – The Hotel Association of North Texas (HANTX) today announced a new partnership with the Seattle-based nonprofit, Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) to make human trafficking awareness training available to all HANTX members and their staffs, free of charge. BEST provides training in human trafficking prevention, and BEST’s Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training, sponsored by AAHOA, will now be available to help hotel employees in North Texas learn the indicators of human trafficking and how to safely report it to law enforcement. This partnership will give more hotel owners in North Texa...
Hotel Equities Onboards New Class of Management Trainees
Hotel Equities | September 3, 2019
Manager in Training program elevates next generation of hospitality leaders Atlanta, GA – September 3, 2019 – Hotel Equities (HE) welcomed a new class of trainees to its Manager in Training (MIT) program. The new group is HE’s fourth class of trainees to embark on its MIT program, first rolled-out in 2015. The program was designed for recent college graduates who have an interest in the hospitality industry. Following a series of interviews, seven individuals were selected to participate in the program. Kareem Downer, a graduate of Georgia State University; Lauren Cohen, a graduate of Florida State University; Cammie Nguyen, a gra...
Radisson Hotel Group Begins Roll-Out of Its New Global Responsible Business Training Program
Radisson Hotel Group | August 29, 2019
Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the introduction of its new global Responsible Business training program, Living and Leading Responsible Business. Set to be rolled out worldwide over the next 16 months, the new program will cement Radisson Hotel Group’s position as a Responsible Business leader and will give team members the tools they need to drive standards and best practices. Taking responsibility for the environment and local community has long been important to Radisson Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups. It has been a vital part of the group’s broader commitment to sustainable develo...
Penn State School of Hospitality Management and Alumni Society to Honor President and CEO of Hilton, Christopher Nassetta, in 2020
PSHRS | August 21, 2019
Barron Hilton receiving the PSHRS Hospitality Executive of the Year Award in 1969 from Walter J. Conti, PSHRS President UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- August 21, 2019 -- The Penn State School of Hospitality Management in the College of Health and Human Development and the Penn State Hotel & Restaurant Society (PSHRS) have named Christopher J. Nassetta, president and chief executive officer for Hilton, as the 2020 Hospitality Executive of the Year. Hilton is one of the world’s leading hospitality companies that owns, manages, franchises, and leases thousands of properties across the globe. The School of Hospitality Management and PSHRS...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 218; Hotel History: Raymond Orteig and Charles Lindbergh
Stanley Turkel | August 20, 2019
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Raymond Orteig and Charles Lindbergh Raymond Orteig (1870-1934) was the New York City hotel owner who offered the $25,000 Orteig Prize to the first aviator to fly between New York City and Paris. In 1919, Raymond Orteig, a practically unknown New York City hotel owner, issued an extraordinary challenge to the fledgling flying world. Enthralled by tales of pioneer aviators, the French-born Orteig, who owned the Brevoort and Lafayette Hotels in New York City, offered a purse of $25,000 to be awarded to “the first aviator who shall cross the Atlantic in a land or water aircraft (heavier than air)...
Boston University School of Hospitality Administration Names New Program Chairs for Graduate and Undergraduate Degrees
Boston University School of Hospitality Administration | August 20, 2019
(August 20, 2019) Boston, MA - Boston University's School of Hospitality Administration (BU SHA) Dean Arun Upneja, PhD, has named Leora Halpern Lanz, ISHC, as Program Chair of the School's Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH), and Dr. Suzanne Markham Bagnera as Chair of the School's undergraduate program. According to Dean Upneja, PhD., "With the championing of these two experienced professionals, our goal is to further elevate the successful curricula and industry integration of our renowned School." Leora Halpern Lanz, ISHC, who has for the last four years also served as Marketing Lecturer at the undergraduate and graduate levels, t...
Mentoring in the Hospitality Industry: Insuring the Vibrancy for the Next Wave
Gary Hernbroth | August 5, 2019
By Gary Hernbroth “You’re never too good to get some help.” So says Shelby Hohenshil, 23, and just a year out of Michigan State University where she graduated last year from The School of Hospitality Business. But in some ways she has the wisdom of a wizened veteran when it comes to knowing what it takes to forge a successful career. Shelby landed a job right out of college at the monster-sized Hyatt Regency Chicago, the Windy City’s largest hotel at 2,032 rooms. But she has no misgivings. She knows she didn’t do it alone. “My mentor during my senior year at MSU played a huge role in getting me out of my comfort zone,...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 217, Hotel History: Catskill Mountain Resort Hotels
Stanley Turkel | July 30, 2019
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Catskill Mountain Resort Hotels This is the story of an area of 250 square miles, approximately an hour and a half drive northwest of New York City, which over the course of last century became a resort phenomenon unlike any other. The area had attracted tourists since the post-Civil War years because of its visual appeal and accessibility via two railroad lines, the Ontario & Western and the Ulster & Delaware. The new arrivals came up to the Catskill Mountains to settle, to farm, and to escape the unhealthy environment of urban tenement life. The message came back to New York’s lower Ea...
Hotel Industry Releases Public Service Announcement, Unites Around Nationwide Day of Action to Fight Human Trafficking
AHLA | July 30, 2019
Washington (July 30, 2019) – As part of the hotel industry’s ongoing commitment to combat human trafficking, today the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) launched a public service announcement (PSA) raising awareness about the No Room for Trafficking Campaign, which unites the industry around a single, comprehensive approach to fight human trafficking. The launch of the PSA also marks the No Room for Trafficking Day of Action, where hoteliers across the country are uniting and taking action by hosting training sessions for employees, raising awareness on their properties and pledging their commitment to the No Room for T...
When Beauty Signifies Quality
POLYU’S SCHOOL OF HOTEL AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT | July 30, 2019
July 30, 2019 -- When making hotel bookings online, potential guests’ expectations of service quality are influenced by the aesthetics of the hotel’s website, according to Dr. Ksenia Kirillova and Ms. Janelle Chan of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In a recent experimental study the researchers manipulated the level of attractiveness portrayed by a hotel website’s photos to examine how aesthetics influenced perceptions of quality and intention to book. Their results provide important insights into how hotel managers can use visually attractive images to stimulate positive percep...
Hospitality Upgrade Announces Recipient of the John Cahill Student Seat for the 2019 CIO Summit
The CIO Summit | July 23, 2019
Boston University Student in Hospitality Administration Selected ATLANTA, July 23, 2019 – Hospitality Upgrade Publisher and President Rich Siegel today announced the next recipient of the John Cahill student seat will be Smit Patel, a graduate student of the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration program. The upcoming CIO Summit will be held Sept. 4-6, 2019, in Boston. “Smit possesses a keen interest in learning all aspects of the hotel ownership and asset management disciplines. He has strong aptitudes in project management and sales modeling, and he has used his technical, operational and interpersonal skills in se...
Penn State School of Hospitality Management Receives $4 Million From Marriott Foundation
Penn State School of Hospitality Management | July 23, 2019
University Park, PA—In recognition of a $4 million gift by The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, University leaders have approved renaming the Oak Building in the Foundation’s honor. The Marriott Foundation’s commitment, part of a broader, ongoing fundraising effort to renovate the building and support future programing, is creating a dedicated space to encourage innovation and inclusion within Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management. The Penn State Board of Trustees approved naming The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation Building at its meeting on Friday, July 19. Renovations to The J. Willard and Alice S....
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 216: Hotel History: Ellsworth M. Statler
Stanley Turkel | July 9, 2019
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Ellsworth M. Statler In 1950, the hotel industry named Ellsworth Milton Statler “Hotel Man of the Half Century”, even though he had been dead for 22 years. Statler’s impact on inn-keeping was so great, no one else even came close. While many considered Statler the premier hotel figure, he was not a typical executive. A plain, rugged man who started to work at the age of nine, he continued to wear twenty dollar suits and four dollar shoes even after he became successful, and resembled Will Rogers more than Rudolph Valentino. When Statler began in the hotel business, the following practic...
Hotel Industry Unites on New Campaign to Fight Human Trafficking
AHLA | June 26, 2019
AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers is Joined by Dozens of Key Stakeholders and Industry Partners to Launch the No Room for Trafficking Campaign ‘No Room for Trafficking’ Aims to Train Every Employee in the Industry WASHINGTON (June 26, 2019) – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) today launched a new national campaign to unite the industry around a single, comprehensive approach to fight human trafficking. The No Room for Trafficking campaign builds on the hotel industry’s long-standing legacy and commitment to combat human trafficking. Already each year, thousands of hotel employees are trained. With this campaign...
Jolly Named Inaugural Recipient of King Early Career Professorship
The Penn State School of Hospitality Management | June 11, 2019
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Phillip M. Jolly, assistant professor of hospitality management, has been named inaugural recipient of the Elizabeth M. King Early Career Professorship. Jolly focuses his teaching and research on better understanding why people do what they do at work and how to leverage that knowledge to improve organizational performance and employee well-being within multifarious hospitality and related service environments. "It is a tremendous honor to be named the inaugural recipient of the Elizabeth M. King Early Career Professorship," said Jolly. "I'm excited by the opportunities that this endowment will provide me to enh...
Raise a Glass to Wine Tourist Diversity
| April 29, 2019
Not all Chinese wine tourists are the same. Although wine tourism is becoming more popular in China according to a study published recently by a group of researchers including SHTM professors Hanqin Qiu Zhang and Brian King, there is wide variation in tourists' level of involvement in wine-based activities. Drawing on the findings of a survey measuring levels of involvement in and perceptions of wine tourism, the researchers provide useful information for marketers aiming to develop targeted trips and marketing strategies. Interest in wine tourism has increased worldwide as tourists seek "authentic and individualistic experiences" while on...
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Establishes Fund at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration in Honor of Former CEO J. Allen Smith
| March 20, 2019
Ithaca, NY– Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has established an empowerment fund at the School of Hotel Administration in honor of their former chief executive officer, J. Allen Smith '80, MPS '86. The J. Allen and Katherine Smith / Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Empowerment Fund will provide a holistic program supporting underrepresented minority and first generation students to help ensure their current and future success. This includes mentoring, professional development, and career guidance. "I'm extremely grateful to Four Seasons for honoring Allen's many contributions to the hospitality industry with the creation of this fun...
Learn How To Approach & Engage in Difficult Conversations at the STRONG Leader Institute
Bryan K. Williams | March 11, 2019
30-Second Video By Dr. Bryan K. Williams One of the most frequently asked questions I get is "How do I handle difficult conversations with my staff?" I've found that leaders want to address subpar (and even mediocre) performance with their teams, but lack the skillset for how to do so effectively. One of our multiple sessions at the upcoming STRONG Leader Institute will be led by Alicia Santamaria, who is a subject matter expert on all areas of Workplace Conflict Management. Her session is called: Leadership Best Practices for Approaching and Engaging in Difficult Conversations In this session, she will explore four practi...
Building Better Customer Satisfaction in a World of Technology
Chris K. Anderson | February 28, 2019
by Elizabeth Martyn and Christopher Anderson As the hospitality and service industry makes greater use of computer applications and virtual technology, personal contact with employees becomes increasingly important for customer satisfaction. In a recent report from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), we explore how those customer contact employees can be trained in the "how" of service, especially when employees are involved in service recovery. We are specifically looking at training in the key skills of employee engagement, communication, and attitude, because they have a strong effect on customers' evaluation of servic...
Dr. Bryan K. Williams Selected as Keynote Speaker for Les Clefs d’Or Canada Congress in Banff
Bryan K. Williams | February 20, 2019
Washington DC (February 20, 2019): Les Clefs d'Or Canada recently held its 12th National Congress in stunning Banff, Alberta. The Congress welcomed elite concierges and travel professionals from throughout Canada for a 4-day event to Engage, Educate and Elevate. The golden keys worn by Concierge signify their membership in our organization and are granted exclusively to those who have not only consistently demonstrated an unsurpassed knowledge of their respective communities, but by those who demand excellence of themselves when meeting the needs of their guests. Dr. Bryan K. Williams was the keynote speaker and challenged all attendees...
Free Service Excellence Training at the Baltimore Convention Center, Led by Dr. Bryan Williams
BWTV | February 18, 2019
Washington DC (February 18, 2019): Delivering world class service is what separates a good experience from a world-class, memorable experience. Visit Baltimore and its partners the Baltimore Convention Center and Centerplate invite the Baltimore business community to join us for a Day of Customer Service Training. Dr. Bryan K. Williams, a service excellence and leadership effectiveness expert will lead these sessions (Watch Bryan's Video). The goal is to assist organizations in various industries to elevate their service experience to world-class levels for both internal (team) and external customers. Bryan noted, "I'm looking forwa...
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