Future strategies for restaurant system operation and ownership and new approaches for brand management were highlighted in two recent Cornell hospitality roundtables, as detailed in recently released proceedings. Key topics in the Branding Roundtable included maintaining a brand's points of difference, while the roundtable on Emerging Trends in Restaurant Ownership and Management addressed new ownership structures. Both roundtables dug into the implications of social media for brand management. The proceedings are available at no charge from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at the School of Hotel Administration, which organizes the roundtables.

Cornell Roundtable Focuses on Concepts for Powerful Branding

Brand management has become a steadily growing challenge given demanding customers, intensifying competition, and the increasing influence of social media. Participants at the recent Brand Management Roundtable discussed ideas to help focus and distinguish brands, including identifying and maintaining points of difference and applying "sticky ideas." The roundtable proceedings are now available at no charge from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research.

"Our roundtable participants discussed many promising branding concepts," said Cornell Professor Chekitan Dev, who chaired the roundtable. "Some of the most effective ideas are relatively simple, but the key insight is for these ideas to be 'sticky,' so that customers remember the brand. We also discussed innovating brand attributes across industry boundaries, safeguarding brand reputation, and configuring the proper relationship between the parent brand and its portfolio extensions."

Recurring themes at the roundtable were the use of an overarching brand element, such as a brand mantra or loyalty program, to spur creativity and innovation, maintain brand edge, manage brand architecture, and provide a unifying principle for brands' portfolios to bond customers to the parent brand.

Cornell Roundtable Examines Future of Restaurant Industry

The U.S. restaurant industry is experiencing a remarkable volume of change, although the changes are not readily apparent. Those changes were the topic of the recent Emerging Trends in Restaurant Ownership and Management Roundtable, held at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. The roundtable's proceedings are now available at no charge from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research.

"Our discussions were organized around some of the macro changes that are taking place in the restaurant industry, including the increasing role of private equity ownership and social media management," said Ben Lawrence, an assistant professor at Cornell who chaired the roundtable. "In the midst of the many changes, we saw two important themes emerge—one around the idea of creating and maintaining a community-oriented brand and the second about the tension between growth and the maintenance of brand values and corporate culture."

In addition to the role of private equity in restaurant ownership and social media, roundtable participants examined changes in facilities and design, human resource management, and the complexities surrounding restaurant chain growth.

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

Jane Henion
607.255.9780
CHR