eCornell and Cornell University announce today the launch of a free online course focused on training hospitality professionals in the new media marketing skills needed for professional success. Marketing the Hospitality Brand through New Media: Social, Mobile & Search is the first online course focused on this topic and uniquely combines the most effective elements of a world-class Ivy League classroom with the flexibility of an online learning environment.

"The course is essentially a virtual toolkit for driving revenue through new media. Hospitality professionals will have an opportunity to learn from some of the industry's heaviest-hitters and emerge from the course ready to play a key role in their company's marketing strategy," says Chris Proulx, CEO of eCornell. "We're excited to make this content available to people for free online and it's a great way to introduce Cornell's thought leadership in this field to the greater hospitality industry."

The free course is authored by professors Rob Kwortnik and Bill Carroll at Cornell's world-famous School of Hotel Administration and builds on research and real-life social, mobile and new media strategies deployed by hospitality organizations worldwide. eCornell courses—while self-paced and 100 percent online—are "instructor-facilitated" to help guide participants through challenging, real-world exercises with practical on-the-job application. Classes enable learners to be immersed in learning that also fosters collaboration, interaction and networking among their cohorts.

Upon completion of the first course, students receive an official letter of completion from Cornell University. Students may then choose to enroll in the follow-up mastercourse at a substantial discount and may go on to earn a Certificate in
Hospitality Marketing & New Media Strategies for Revenue Growth from Cornell.

The program is particularly relevant for sales and marketing professionals, general managers, revenue managers and executives—anyone responsible for improving financial performance.

About eCornell

eCornell, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cornell University, provides many of the world's leading organizations with online professional and executive development in the areas of leadership and management; human resource management; financial management; healthcare; marketing; and hospitality and foodservice management. eCornell's proven course development model and asynchronous instructor-led course delivery provide students with an engaging, rigorous, and interactive learning experience. eCornell has delivered online courses to more than 50,000 students across more than 200 countries. For more information, visit ecornell.com.

Cari Sommer
Cari Sommer Media + Communications
914-715-5543
eCornell