Center for Hospitality Research Publications
Permanent URI for this collection
The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) is the leading source for quality research on and for the hospitality industry. It creates new knowledge—and shares that knowledge to power hospitality forward. The CHR works with business leaders to develop new ideas, theories, and models that improve strategic, managerial, and operating practices. These insights are captured in research reports and industry tools that are available online at no cost. Thousands of academic and business leaders worldwide tap into this research stream. An active knowledge-sharing program further distributes the center’s work around the globe.
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Driving Generational Change in Climate Action for Travel and Tourism Education WorldwideEpler Wood, Megan; Mic, Monica; Milstein, Mark B. (2025-09-30)This report is a synthesis of the 2024 Climate Week NYC session, Driving Generational Change in Training and Education in a Climate-constrained World, which was convened as part of the Sustainability in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality Roundtable organized and hosted by Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research and the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise. The session was convened to critically examine practical pathways forward for increasing expertise in climate action to create sustainable tourism education to address capacity gaps in climate action at all levels of the travel and tourism industry and governments given that the tourism sector faces urgent and multifaceted challenges as it confronts the climate crisis.Item How Can the Travel and Tourism Industry Catalyze a More Sustainable and Resilient Food and Beverage Supply Chain?Adalja, Aaron (2025-09-30)This report is a synthesis of the 2024 Climate Week NYC session, Driving Generational Change in Training and Education in a Climate-constrained World, which was convened as part of the Sustainability in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality Roundtable organized and hosted by Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research and the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise. The session was convened to critically examine practical pathways forward for increasing expertise in climate action to create sustainable tourism education to address capacity gaps in climate action at all levels of the travel and tourism industry and governments given that the tourism sector faces urgent and multifaceted challenges as it confronts the climate crisis.Item Climate Action Needs to Drive Destination Planning—Why Isn’t It?Epler Wood, Megan; Mandić, Ante; Burns, O’Shannon; Milsten, Mark B. (2025-09-30)This report is a synthesis of the 2024 Climate Week NYC session called "Climate Action Needs to Drive Destination Planning, Why Isn’t It?," which was convened as part of the Sustainability in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality Roundtable organized and hosted by Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research and the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise. This session examined the persistent gap between high-level climate policy discourse and evidence-based implementation by national tourism offices (NTOs) and destination marketing and management organizations (DMOs). Although climate change represents an existential challenge to the long-term viability of the global tourism sector,1 the integration of climate into destination planning remains sporadic and underdeveloped.2 Session participants invited included DMO leaders, travel and tourism association and NGO CEOs, private sector sustainability directors, protected area leadership, and academic and consulting specialists in sustainable tourism.Item Operational Characteristics that Support TippingLynn, William Michael (2025-08-12)Digital tipping has led to an expansion in the numbers and types of workers seeking tips, and legislation to stop taxing tip income may fuel more such efforts. However, my research on occupational differences in tipping suggests that such efforts are likely to meet with limited success. I have found that occupations are more likely to be tipped if they are characterized by one or more of the following six attributes: (1) customized service, (2) worker interactions with customers that are visible to others, (3) service that is relatively easy for customers to evaluate, (4 and 5) customers who are happier and wealthier than workers, and (6) workers that handle customer payment of the bill. These findings suggest that not all occupations can become commonly tipped. Efforts to increase tipping in traditionally non-tipped occupations are likely to be more successful to the degree that they share the six characteristics of traditionally tipped occupations listed here. On the other hand, non-tipped occupations that share few characteristics with traditionally tipped occupations are likely to encounter resistance to requests for tips and may want to abandon those requests. Furthermore, the findings suggest that those workers and managers who do ask for tips in non-traditional settings should also try to (1) draw consumers’ attention to the characteristics that their occupations share with traditionally tipped occupations and (2) appeal to tipper motivations that are consistent with those shared occupational characteristics.Item How Fostering “Room Ownership” Can Boost Guest LoyaltyYoon, Y. Rin; Shu, Suzanne (2025-08-12)One goal often espoused by hotel operators is gaining guests’ loyalty by delighting them. Strange as it sounds, however, delighting guests is table stakes in today’s saturated hospitality industry. As brands compete on ever finer margins of service and comfort, loyalty can no longer rest solely on satisfaction. Even as most hotel firms seek and achieve flawless execution, they cannot gain substantial differentiation. So what else moves the needle? A study recently published in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly suggests a novel strategic lever: psychological ownership. In this research brief, we present the theoretical grounding of psychological ownership, summarize the empirical findings, and translate the insights into actionable strategies.
Item Why Online Travel Agents Are Not HotelsDev, Chekitan S. (2025-06-04)In August 2020, the Mississippi Chancery Court issued a judgment of $44.899 million against a group of online travel agents (OTAs), sometimes referred to as online travel companies (OTCs). The defendants in this court proceeding comprised sites operated by Priceline, Cendant, Expedia, and Sabre. The judgment was based on the court’s finding that the OTAs had failed to relay funds to the state collected from guests as part of the state’s sales tax and a local lodging tax. The basis of the Chancery Court’s ruling was the finding that, given the OTAs’ business model, they are effectively hotels. On appeal, in July 2021 the Mississippi Supreme Court set aside the judgment. This subsequent ruling was based on the appellate court’s determination that the OTAs were not hotels under Mississippi law, even though they facilitate room bookings and collect funds that are considered occupancy taxes. In this article, I examine the issues and findings in this case.Item Annual Report FY 2023-2024Center for Hospitality Research (2024-10-30)2023-2024 Annual Report published by the staff of the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at Cornell University's Nolan School of Hotel Administration.Item Global Hospitality Leadership: Insights from Asia PacificDev, Chekitan S. (2024-10-30)Following a merger with Starwood Hotels (and with its own growth), Marriott Asia Pacific has become one of the largest hotel operators in the Asia Pacific region. While managing hotels in Asia has much in common with operations around the world, the region also has its own particular aspects, as explored in this discussion. In a conversation with Cornell University Professor Chekitan Dev, Marriott Asia Pacific president Rajeev (Raj) Menon explains his leadership strategy. As a start, he explained his firm’s approach of applying a balanced score card to the firm’s three primary stakeholders—namely, owners, associates, and customers. Menon also underscored the remarkable growth prospects for the Asia Pacific region, and the approach Marriott will take to be part of that growth. The conversation took place at Global Hospitality Conclave 2024, held at the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi.Item The State of Gender Equality in the Travel and Hospitality IndustryCornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration’s Center for Hospitality Research (2024-10-02)Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is an area of intense focus and scrutiny across the travel and hospital industry. Gender diversity, especially, is capturing attention because women represent a significant share of industry employees. A key industry theme is the challenges women face in obtaining promotions, earning the same salaries as men, and ascending into corporate leadership positions. Additional research capturing a broader base of the industry’s voice on gender equality and diversity in the workplace is needed to advance future progress. This report offers said research as well as potential solutions to the travel and hospitality industry’s gender equality and diversity challenges. Women Leading Travel & Hospitality4, NAPCO Research5, and the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration’s Center for Hospitality Research6 teamed up to conduct a workplace gender diversity study based on a wide sample of industry participants, across job levels. The survey-based study focused on the status of DEI efforts in the travel and hospitality industry to uncover the ways organizations are addressing gender equality, while providing a reference point to measure for future progress.Item Distortionary Effects of PPP Loans on Business Competition: Evidence From the Hotel IndustrySteiner, Eva; Tchistyi, Alexei (2024-09-13)The Covid-19 pandemic that emerged in 2020 caused a deep, global economic crisis that was especially difficult for the hotel industry. The U.S. government responded to this crisis with an emergency set of economic relief measures on a near-unprecedented scale. The Small Business Administration’s $953-billion Payroll Protection Program (PPP) was a key part of that response. In an effort to reduce layoffs, the PPP offered temporary payroll subsidies in the form of forgivable loans for small businesses. Given the significant cost involved, it is important to evaluate the economic impact of the PPP initiative. While the program was clearly beneficial for businesses that received PPP funds, we found a potential unintended consequence of the PPP—namely, the distortion of business competition. Our study assesses how equilibrium market outcomes change when firms benefiting from government subsidies compete against non-subsidized firms.