Cornell Center for Hospitality Research Partners with Mobil Travel Guide
The 'Gold Standard of Travel Ratings' Joins Forces with Leading Research Institution to Bring Custom
FEBRUARY 7, 2007. The Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research announced today a partnership with Mobil Travel Guide (www.mobiltravelguide.com), originators of the Five-Star ratings and certifications program for hotels, restaurants, and spas. The partnership will provide industry management with additional insight into hospitality service standards as well as strategies and tactics for establishing and maintaining them on a global basis.
'Given its 50-year history of setting the bar for service standards in the hospitality industry, the importance of having Mobil Travel Guide engaged with Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research is clear,' said Joe Strodel, Jr., director of corporate relations, Cornell School of Hotel Administration. 'Mobil Travel Guide adds a welcome new facet to the Center for Hospitality Research, because it operates at the key nexus between consumers and hospitality operators.'
Shane O'Flaherty, Vice President of Quality Assurance for Mobil Travel Guide will represent Mobil Travel Guide on the Center's advisory board, lending his more than 15 years of hospitality industry experience. Shane was Director of Business and Leisure Marketing for Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide where he was recognized as one of the "Rising Stars" in the travel industry by Travel Agent magazine.
Mobil Travel Guide uses the most rigorous and comprehensive standards in the industry to anonymously rate and review hotels, restaurants, and spas, helping consumers make better-informed travel decisions. For more information on Mobil Travel Guide's ratings process, visit www.mobiltravelguide.com.
About Mobil Travel Guide and HowStuffWorks
Mobil Travel Guide, originator of the prestigious Mobil Star ratings and certifications, has been providing the most comprehensive ratings and reviews of hotels, restaurants and spas in the United States and Canada since 1958. Mobil Travel Guide's team of anonymous, expert inspectors evaluates properties against rigorous and objective proprietary standards, giving consumers the insight to make better-informed travel and leisure decisions. Mobil Travel Guide is published in print by Publications International, Ltd. under license from Exxon Mobil Corporation and published online exclusively by HowStuffWorks.com.
Founded in 1999, HowStuffWorks is an online publishing company that provides objective, credible and useful information for people to learn about the world around them. The company's award-winning Web site attracts millions of unique visitors each month and is the source for in-depth, easy-to-understand explanations on hundreds of topics ranging from science and technology to health and electronics. In 2005, HowStuffWorks became the exclusive online publisher for Publications International Ltd., Consumer Guide and Mobil Travel Guide. HowStuffWorks is headquartered in Atlanta, GA, and is a subsidiary of The Convex Group, a media and technology company. For more information, visit www.howstuffworks.com.
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 56 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 Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly. To learn more about CHR and its projects, visit www.chr.cornell.edu.
CHR Partners and sponsors: AIG Global Real Estate Investment, Expedia, Inc., Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, HVS International, JohnsonDiversey, Inc., Kohinoor Group, Marriott International, Inc., Marsh's Hospitality Practice, Mobil Travel Guide, Nestl'e, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Proskauer Rose LLP, Smith Travel Research, Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc., SynXis (a Sabre Holdings Corporation), Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, Thayer Group of Companies, Travelport, and Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo.
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