The first in a series of monthly webcasts will address the explosion of data available to business managers and strategists. Scheduled for Friday, October 2, the live webcast, "Where's My Data?," will run from 11:00 AM to 12:00 noon, eastern time. The three data experts leading the webcast are Professor Rohit Verma, executive director of Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research; Scott Chastain, lead architect for SAS Business Analytics; and Tracey Jarosz, director of customer and marketing insight at Fairmont Raffles Hotels International.

"This session is a tremendous start to our webcast series. Thanks to the assistance of SAS, which is a CHR partner, this series represents a true merger of industry and academe for everyone's benefit," said Verma, who has conducted numerous studies addressing product and service design, as well as process-improvement issues. "In this first session, we will explain how to attain, integrate, and manage the remarkable volume of data that is spread throughout your organization. In this case, architecture means creating a master data management system that makes business analytics possible."

As SAS's lead architect, Chastain has developed data architecture in such industries as healthcare, manufacturing, and finance. An expert in both technical and pragmatic aspects of database management, Jarosz focuses on customer relationship management and develops customer-focused marketing initiatives for Fairmont Raffles. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

Future webcasts will address strategies to reduce labor costs in the hospitality and gaming industry; drivers of customer loyalty programs; investment and pricing strategies to position hotels and casinos for economic recovery; how to design and measure consumer reactions to "green" technologies and room design; and how hospitality companies can make the best possible use of social media.

Scheduled Future Webcasts:

  • November 6, 2009: Cornell Professor Michael Sturman and Kelly McGuire of SAS will address human resources strategies that allow for top efficiency while maintaining service levels, including hiring workers with the right skill set and deploying labor efficiently.
  • December 4, 2009: Professor Michael McCall will present the results of his research on best practices in customer loyalty programs. Webcast participants will be among the first to learn the results of this new study. David Ogden, Senior Consultant from SAS will discuss a methodology to calculate customer lifetime value considering balance between customer satisfaction and cost of retaining the customer.
  • February 12, 2010: Positioning now is important for the economic turnaround. Cornell faculty Bill Carroll and Jan deRoos will join with Ravi Mehotra, of IDeaS, to examine the key strategies for coming out of the recession better and stronger than before. The webcast will cover investment strategies, pricing strategies, and up-to-the-moment economic trends. We will hear from practitioners from around the globe about strategies they are planning to prepare for recovery.
  • March 12, 2010: Participants will learn the real effects of sustainability for hospitality operations. This session will address the key question of how "green" design affects the bottom line.
  • April 9, 2010: With a focus on social media, this webcast will again give participants the chance to be the first to hear the results of a new research study. Cornell Professor Lisa Klein Pearo will explain the key elements of using social media as part of a hotel and casino marketing strategy.
  • May 14, 2010: The webcast series will conclude with an examination of the most critical issues in the casino and hotel industry. This webcast will address the most critical topics of the moment, so that the topics will be chosen in May just before the session.

About SAS | SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®.

About the Center for Hospitality Research

The purpose of the Center for Hospitality Research is to enable and conduct research of significance to the global hospitality and related service industries. CHR also works to improve the connections between academe and industry, continuing the School of Hotel Administration's long-standing tradition of service to the hospitality industry. Founded in 1992, CHR remains the industry's foremost creator and distributor of timely research, all of which is posted at no charge for all to use. In addition to its industry advisory board, CHR convenes several industry roundtables each year for the purpose of identifying new issues affecting the hospitality industry.

Center Members: Accenture • Access Point Financial, Inc. • Barclaycard US • Cvent • Davis & Gilbert LLP • Deloitte & Touche USA LLP • DerbySoft • Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts • Fox Rothschild LLP • Hilton Worldwide • Host Hotels & Resorts • Hyatt Hotels Corporation • IDeaS Revenue Solutions • InterContinental Hotels Group • Jumeirah Group • Marriott International • NTT DATA • Preferred Hotels & Resorts • priceline.com • PwC • The Rainmaker Group • RateGain • ReviewPro • Revinate • Sabre Hospitality Solutions • STR • Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces • Tata Consultancy Services • Wipro EcoEnergy • Wyndham Hotel Group

Jennifer Macera
Associate Director
(607) 255-3101
CHR

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