Atlanta Lodging Outlook 2019

On Tuesday, September 4, 2018 the Georgia Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society held its annual Atlanta Lodging Outlook breakfast seminar. A crowd of 320 area hotel industry professionals attended the 20^th annual seminar. This year’s event was held at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead. Our host was Brian Ettelman ’87, Director of Catering.

CHS Georgia chapter President Drew Wallace ‘12 opened the proceedings, followed by Chip Rogers, President and CEO of the Asian American Hotel and Lodging Association, and Jim Sprouse, President of the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association.

The first panel of speakers discussed economic development activity around the metropolitan area. The panelists included Nick Masino with Partnership Gwinnett, Jennifer Ball with Central Atlanta Progress, and Shannon W. James Sr. with Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance, Inc.

Following the economic development discussion, a panel of local area experts presented their outlook for 2019:

• Roger Tutterow Ph.D., Professor of Economics at Kennesaw State University
• Mark Vaughan, EVP and Chief Sales Officer for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Mark Woodworth ’77, Senior Managing Director of CBRE Hotels’ Americas Research

Thanks to eCornell who donated a certificate for $3,600 worth of online courses. The certificate was auctioned off, and the proceeds were used to support the Georgia chapter’s scholarship fund.