Cornell Hospitality Research Summit to Present Panel of Global Hospitality Deans

A focus on global education will highlight the Cornell Hospitality Research Summit (CHRS), as a top-level international panel of deans of hospitality programs will be chaired by Kirk Kinsell, president of InterContinental Hotels Group. Kinsell and the hospitality program deans will outline the educational challenges for the industry, as part of the conference theme of "Service Excellence and Performance Growth in the Global Hospitality Industry: Strategies and Approaches for Navigating Forward." Early registration is now open for the CHRS, which is set for October 8-9, 2012, at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

"This panel demonstrates the key aspect of the CHRS, which is to connect the hospitality industry with hospitality education and thereby benefit both," said Professor Rohit Verma, CHRS chair. "For this reason, our educators panel is chaired by Kirk Kinsell, an industry leader. We also will have a keynote panel of industry leaders, which is chaired by our own dean of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, Michael Johnson."

Representing hospitality education programs from around the world, the deans are:

• John Bowen, Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston;
• Kaye Chon, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; 
• Fabian Fresnel, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne; 
• Bjorn Hanson, Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management, New York University; and 
• Christopher Muller, School of Hospitality Administration, Boston University.

In addition to the industry and academic panels, the CHRS will feature 80 presentations by industry practitioners and researchers, all designed to provide actionable strategies for the hospitality industry.

About the Cornell Hospitality Research Summit
Designed as a unique environment that matches participation of industry and university, the Cornell Hospitality Research Summit is scheduled for October 8-9, 2012, on the beautiful Cornell campus in Ithaca, NY. The CHRS was developed at the suggestion of the advisory board of the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research, to create a forum for the exchange of actionable ideas and strategies for the hospitality industry and related businesses. Early registration featuring a reduced price is currently under way.

The CHRS Title Sponsor is The Leading Hotels of the World; Platinum Sponsor is HotelNewsNow.com, a division of STR; Gold Sponsors are Deloitte, Hilton Worldwide, HVS, IDeaS, J.D. Power and Associates, LRP Publications, PKF Hospitality Research, Proskauer, SAS, STR, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, and Wyndham Hotel Group. Media Sponsors are Hotel Business, HotelExecutive.com, and HSyndicate.

For details on the agendas, presenters, and accommodations, please visit us at http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/events/chrs/