The Center for Hospitality Research offers a wide variety of accessible reports aimed at providing specific approaches for addressing industry issues. The reports are written by faculty researchers at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration and elsewhere, with a goal of answering specific questions facing the industry. Based on their direct contact with industry leaders, CHR experts explain the implications of their studies for the reader’s benefit. All CHR reports are offered at no charge as a service to the industry.
The CHR also provides research grants to faculty across the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business who are researching topics of interest and importance to the hospitality, travel, and service industries. To see current funding opportunities, click the button below:
The full catalogue and a searchable database of nearly two decades of CHR reports, including industry tools and roundtable highlights, can be found in the CHR section of Cornell’s eCommons.
To submit a manuscript for publication, click the button below and select “Centers and Institutes, Hospitality Publications” from the publication list dropdown menu.
All submitted manuscripts must meet the submission guidelines outlined below. Manuscripts that do not meet formatting and content standards will not be accepted. Authors are strongly encouraged to engage an outside copy editor for assistance prior to submission.
Below is a list of our most recent publications, as well as important industry publications. To read the full reports, click the link at the bottom of each summary.
by Ashley Ellsworth Bird and Chekitan Dev
A new method of competitive performance mapping, ranking hotel brands’ performance based on the following four measures: revenue per available room, cumulative average growth rate, guest satisfaction, and franchise-fee data.
by Aaron Adalja and Jeanne Varney
A recap of the 2022 and 2023 Sustainability Roundtables hosted by the Center for Hospitality Research.
by Crocker H. Liu, Adam D. Nowak, and Robert M. White, Jr.
Hotels in gateway cities experienced a reversal, exhibiting better performance than hotels in non-gateway cities this quarter. Expect to see a rise in the price of large hotels and a decline in prices for small hotels next quarter.
by Chekitan S. Dev and Ming-Hui Huang
Empirical study discovering and analyzing three factors — service quality, service personalization, and service relationships — to reveal how service brands succeed.
by Jessica Brady, Gizem Kilic, and Michael T. Paz
Focusing on three tax incentives proposed under the title “American Innovation and Economic Growth,” applicable to the hospitality industry.
by Chekitan S. Dev
Hotels are seeking to differentiate themselves in a “sea of sameness”. To continue growing, brands will increasingly have to use technology and also apply research and development to assess their brand concepts.
by Crocker H. Liu, Adam D. Nowak, and Robert M. White, Jr.
The price performance of hotels by region was worse this period than in the prior period, with only the Pacific and New England regions posting small single-digit gains.
by Pablo Casas-Arce and Asís Martínez-Jerez
Worthwhile incentives are essential for a business’s success. The challenge is for hospitality firms to create incentives that work for both team leaders and team members.
by Pablo Casas-Arce, Sofia Lourenço, and Asís Martínez-Jerez
Instant feedback has become a societal hallmark. Providing detailed feedback as frequently as possible should improve decision-making, but that may not always be the case.
by Asís Martínez-Jerez
A comparison of two different approaches to sales force empowerment through “comping”. A tight, point-by-point analysis of staff members’ comping decisions, and a looser, more general approach.
by Kelly McGuire and Emma Scher
Participants focused on the changes that will be wrought by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence applications, such as Open AI and ChatGPT.
by Yifei Mao
Taking advantage of hotel price weakness early in the pandemic, private equity investors increased their market share.
by Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
Expect to see an uptick in the price of large hotels in the next quarter, while prices for small hotels falter, based on our leading indicators of hotel price performance.
by Jeanne Varney
Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Index (CHSB), a ten-year effort led by Greenview and published exclusively by the CHR to develop industry benchmarks for greenhouse gases, water use, and energy consumption.
by Robert Gregor
A small hotel in Lake George, NY promotes their property both through traditional hotel channels and by listing the property’s rooms on Airbnb.
by Crocker H. Liu, Adam D. Nowak, and Robert M. White, Jr.
Based on leading indicators of hotel price performance, we can expect to see hotel prices continue to falter next quarter.
by Chekitan Dev
A lively discussion with Hari Nair of Expedia Group around ten major travel trends in the changing world of hospitality, travel, and tourism.
by Philip Lólis, Mike Scott, and Clay Dickinson
With around $53.5 billion in gross booking value, or about 25 percent of the entire U.S. lodging industry, the STR market presents an enticing consolidation opportunity.
by Hanover Research, FreedomPay, Center for Hospitality Research, and Worldpay
The global commerce landscape is amid massive disruption from political, technological, social, and economic perspectives and it all promises to impact the payment landscape in the coming years.
by Chekitan Dev
A panel discussion in which we look ahead to where the hotel and travel industry will be in the next 100 years.
by Eric Ricaurte and Rehmaashini Jagarajan
Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking research reveals a general decrease in energy and water usage among the participating hotels. The decrease is largely associated with the pandemic.
by Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
Although hotels showed continued positive price momentum in all regions from the prior year (year over year), prices faltered in some regions from the prior quarter, especially in the Mid-Atlantic and to a lesser extent in the South Atlantic regions.
by Chekitan Dev and Laure Mougeot Stroock
With a theme of “Sea. Sun. Sand.,” the Caribbean island nation of Barbados relies on its tourism industry as a source of foreign exchange. The question has become: what does Barbados needed to do to ensure the success of its tourism industry?
by Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
The price of hotels showed strength in all regions except the South Atlantic this quarter, with all regions except New England experiencing double-digit growth year over year. Looking toward the next quarter expect slower or declining price momentum for larger hotels but not necessarily for smaller hotels.
by Chekitan Dev and Laure Mougeot Stroock
A new hospitality case study about a storied, independent Italian hotel, the Hotel Il San Pietro di Positano, leveraging its brand strengths to grow and remain competitive in its sixth decade of business.
by the staff of Centers and Institutes at the Cornell Nolan School
2021-2022 Annual Review, Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration.
by Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
The price of hotels showed particular strength in the Mid-Atlantic, Pacific, and West South Central regions, while other regions experienced positive growth albeit at a slower rate relative to the previous period.
by Emma Scher, and Kelly McGuire
The analytics function in hotels is still relatively new. While some hospitality companies began to build out an analytics function earlier, it has only been in the last ten to fifteen years that the majority of industry players have made investments in people and technology to support broader and deeper use of analytics in their organizations.
by Jay Wrolstad, Yao Cui, and Andrew Davis
Efforts to collect occupancy taxes on Airbnb lodging listings, designed by public policy makers to regulate the homesharing market, have put individual hosts at a distinct disadvantage compared to commercial listings, rather than leveling the playing field as intended, new research shows.
by Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
The price of hotels rose in all regions except the Mid-Atlantic this quarter. Hotel prices in the Mountain and South Atlantic regions reached new statistical highs, while hotel prices in the Pacific region continued to remain above their statistical high.
by Jay Wrolstad
Our fast-paced world keeps picking up speed, with digitization, globalization and mobility recognized widely as signs of progress and innovation—yet for many there is a growing desire to take a step back, catch their breath …
by Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
The price of large hotels fell while that of smaller hotels increased this quarter. On a regional basis, the MidAtlantic had the best quarterly gains, with the Pacific region also doing well, while the Midwest suffered price declines.
by Aaron Adalja and Jeanne Varney
The Center for Hospitality Research at the Nolan School hosted this sustainability focused Roundtable and participants reported robust and meaningful work being accomplished.
by Carolyn Corda, MPS ’89
Consumers’ connection to their preferred brand has frayed during the pandemic-driven downturn in travel. CHR board member company Adara looks to the future of data collection and ethically-sourced intelligence to create a bond of genuine brand loyalty.
by Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
Hotel prices continue to converge toward pre-pandemic levels. Gains posted were smaller relative to the previous quarter but higher year over year. Hotels in both gateway and non-gateway cities continue to exhibit positive performance, with hotels in non-gateway cities posting greater gains.
by the staff of Centers and Institutes at the Cornell Nolan School
2020-2021 Annual Review, Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration.
by Tashlin Lakhani
Franchise businesses are an essential and growing part of the U.S. economy, accounting for nearly 800,000 establishments, 9 million jobs, and $800 billion in output annually. The importance of franchising is particularly evident in hospitality.
by Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
Hotel prices continued to gain ground during the recent quarter, regaining losses incurred during the pandemic. Prices in all regions are reverting to their long-term average, with hotels in the Pacific and South Atlantic regions rising above their standardized average.
by Peng Liu and Terence Loh
In this case study, you are a consultant engaged to assess whether to invest in Project Innov Star, a Class A office project in Zhangjiang Shanghai, which currently is stalled.
by FreedomPay and Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), Cornell University
This report illustrates the challenges, opinions and actions merchants of all sizes are facing and how cybersecurity is being tackled and prioritized as the world shrinks, and hackers and consumers become savvier.
by Kathryn LaTour and Ana Brant
Social listening involves using the information customers post publicly to better personalize their experience. In this paper the process Luxury Hotel Company X embarked on to harness social media postings to better manage their experience in real-time is described.
by Eric Ricaurte and Rehmaashini Jagarajan
The annual Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking study, published for the eighth consecutive year, finds a general reduction in energy and water usage among the participating hotels over the past three years (2017 -2019).
by Ira Vouk
CHR hosted a virtual roundtable called Finding the Balance Between Driving Revenue & Managing Costs challenging the industry’s long standing practice of managing top line room revenues.
Deloitte State of the Consumer Tracker; Deloitte Insights
To better understand changing consumer sentiment and behavior in relation to COVID-19, check back each month to play with this interactive dashboard.
by Peter Caputo, Anthony J. Jackson, Ramya Murali, Maggie Rauch; Deloitte Insights
Survey data reveals that after more than a year of living with the threat of a deadly virus, the US traveler is upbeat, yet cautious about summer travel in 2021.
by Crocker Liu; Adam Nowak, Robert White Jr.
Looking toward the next quarter, our leading indicators of hotel price performance indicates that positive price momentum should continue to exist for both large and small hotels.
By Aptamind & World Tourism Forum Lucerne
This report highlights the glaring gaps in the travel and tourism sector especially in the C-suite and executive roles and also highlights what leaders can do to deliver on gender diversity.
By Sheryl Kimes and Chaoqun Chen
As a substantial number of restaurants have implemented pickup and delivery as a large part of their business, restaurant operators must consider customers’ reactions to the structure of pickup and delivery charges.
By Aaron Adalja and Jeanne Varney
The 11th annual Center for Hospitality Research Sustainability Roundtable took on a distinctively different format, a virtual webinar format.
By Christopher Anderson and Saram Han
In a series of studies using data from a well-known hotel chain and a customer feedback software company, we illustrate the long-term impacts of guest engagement.
By Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
Prices of hotels along the east coast continue to drop, although the rate of decline has moderated. Hotels on the west coast enjoyed positive price momentum, both on a quarter-over-quarter or year-over-year basis.
By Crocker Liu, Adam Nowak, and Robert White Jr
The prices of hotels in all regions continue to hemorrhage, with hotels in the Middle Atlantic and South Atlantic regions particularly hard hit.
by the staff of Centers and Institutes at the Cornell Nolan School
2019-2020 Year in Review. Despite this year’s challenges, CHR has accomplished a great deal thanks to the hard work of our dedicated staff and the generous support of our advisory board members. We invite you to look back at our events and achievements.
By Eric Ricaurte and Rehmaashini Jagarajan
The seventh annual Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking study includes data from considerably more hotels than last year. While the bulk of the data still come from hotels in the United States, the study also recorded a greater international participation, with 55 nations and 20 international hotel chains represented.
By Chekitan Dev and Laure Stroock
Step into the shoes of Aman Nath, founder and co-chairman of Neemrana Hotels, one of the most successful heritage hospitality brands in India. Since the company began operating in 1993, the Indian hospitality industry has changed dramatically—notably, the luxury/upper upscale segment has become more crowded with domestic and foreign brands, and there’s a growing demand for experiential travel to destinations off the beaten path. Along with CEO, Sonavi Kaicker, Aman will need to position the company to capitalize on these changes to the market, so the Neemrana Hotels can survive and thrive.
Click here to see solutions sent in by alumni, students, and hospitality experts.
By Linda Canina and Nicole McQuiddy-Davis
COVID-19 has disrupted travel and the hospitality industry like no other historical event. As travel slowly resumes in the US under strict government guidelines, our survey results suggest that travel-related businesses like hotels are now serving a more cautious guest who appreciates mask wearing, social distancing, and increased cleaning.
By Gary Thompson
This report describes the many spreadsheet-based analyses in this tool that can assist an individual, restaurant, or bar in managing a wine cellar.The Wine Cellar Management Tool Version 4, which is available at no charge from The Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University, does not require actual knowledge of how to construct a spreadsheet. It does require diligent data entry regarding wine purchases and withdrawals.
By Cathy Enz and Gary Thompson
For any organization, “Duty of Care” is the obligation to avoid or diminish any reasonably foreseen harm to customers and employees resulting from exposure to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Formalizing rules, procedures, standards, processes, and guidelines serve as a compliment to managerial oversight and help companies run smoothly with improved efficiency and coherence in Duty of Care activities.
by Elena Belavina
This research brief provides guidance for entrepreneurs on the benefits and effective use of crowdfunding for hospitality ventures
by Cathy Enz and Gary Thompson
The Disaster Recovery Priority Ranking tool is a spreadsheet-based decision-making tool designed to help managers apply a set of evaluation criteria to a variety of recovery-focused strategic initiatives.
Imagine you’re the CEO of Beach Enclave, a company that operates a luxury resort on Turks and Caicos Islands. You’ve just purchased three acres of beachfront property to expand your resort. With three possible choices of how to proceed, how do you ensure your decision makes sense financially and aligns with your existing branding strategy?
This is the scenario co-authors Chekitan Dev, professor of marketing at the Nolan School, and Laure Stroock, research associate, propose in their new case study challenge: “Beach Enclave Turks & Caicos: Creating a Luxury Villa Resort Brand.”
Click here to see solutions sent in by students, alumni, and hospitality experts.
By Chekitan Dev and Eva Steiner
Dual branding of hotels has become a growing industry practice. Beyond the potential marketing benefits of the dual-branding strategy, this paper tests whether dual-branded hotels operate more efficiently than comparable single-branded hotels (and therefore deliver better bottom-line results).
by Pamela C. Moulton and Yifei Mao
When hospitality managers price out potential new or replacement equipment, they generally can choose among several different models that could do the job. Sometimes a particular model is a standout, but more often the comparison involves each model’s up-front costs, ongoing running costs, and expected useful life, as well as each machine’s specific features. However, […]