The global hospitality industry is gaining strength, but certain challenges remain, according to participants in the first International Hospitality Roundtable, produced by the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR). One major challenge involves human resources, although the specific issues change from country to country. Proceedings for the roundtable, “The International Hospitality Industry: Overcoming the Barriers to Growth,” by Jan Hack Katz and Glenn Withiam, are available at no charge from CHR. Katz is a senior lecturer at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, and Withiam is the CHR’s director of publications.

To start the roundtable, Katz, who chaired the roundtable, presented the results of a survey of 143 hotel managers in 56 countries. “I found that the hotel managers worldwide were optimistic about their future prospects,” she said. “The hotel managers identified a general rise in tourism and an expansion in both international and domestic travel. However, there remains a perception that guests are still being careful in spending.”

Regardless of the local development issues for each nation, roundtable participants identified excellence in operations as the key to success. Thus, hotel companies must work to ensure high quality service in a superior facility at the right price.

Access and download "The International Hospitality Industry: Overcoming the Barriers to Growth" here.

About The Center for Hospitality Research
A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of the center's 77 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operating practices. The center also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. To learn more about the center and its projects, visit www.chr.cornell.edu.