On Tuesday, December 6, the CHS Hawaii Chapter held a reception at the Halekulani Hotel, followed by dinner at House Without A Key. During the evening, the Hotelies in attendance were treated to a tour of the newly renovated guest rooms and iconic gatehouse.
The CHS Las Vegas chapter held their 2022 holiday party on December 7 at Honey Salt. Special thanks to Honey Salt owner Elizabeth Blau ‘14 and Keith Kefgen ‘84 and his wife Judy for putting on such a spectacular evening. Thanks to Bryan Cohen – Arts ‘97 as well for leading us in singing the Alma Mater, stellar performance!
The New York chapter hosted its annual “You Need To Meet” reception on November 13, 2022. The event was held at The Pierre Hotel and preceded the inaugural Hotelie Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Hundreds of Hotelies were in attendance to enjoy and abundance of food and beverages.
Special thanks to the generous support of the title sponsor Uplift, gold sponsor Pernod Ricard, silver sponsors LDV Hospitality, BattleFace, Coeur Wine Company, and Cornell Hotel Society.
Thank you to Rafael Bitanga ’23, Bishal Chhatkuli ’22, and Bitanga Productions for the pictures below.
The inaugural CHS Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was very successfully held on November 13, 2022. Over 270 were in attendance. Almost all of the 17 inductees and the Rising Star and/or their families were in attendance. Unfortunately, we did not have family members for Dean Meek, Lilyan Affinito, and Vance Christian. The introduction and acceptance were truly heartfelt and reflected the Hotelie spirit extremely well. I told the audience at the end of the event, “my Hotelie pride meter is in the red zone.” We had eight decades of Hotelies in the audience. The younger Hotelies appreciated the Hotelie legacy they are now a part of. This is truly the start of a great tradition to celebrate Hotelies each year.
Over 300 Hotelies contributed in some form to the success of the Hall of Fame program and the auction. They served on the nomination/selection committee, they served on the marketplace committee, they contributed quotes and helped wrote the inductee stories, they solicited and donated auction prizes, they bid on these auction prizes, and they helped spread the word to other Hotelies. This is the Hotelie Spirit at work.
Thanks to the generous donation and bidding of Hotelies, we raised over $100,000 USD from the auction. Over 300 bids were placed. Many bidders bid on multiple items and many items had multiple bids. The highest bid was for the Aman New York stay and the Belmond Caribbean stay, each at $4,000. The item with the highest number of bids (14 bids) was the Scarpetta pairing dinner.
Sincere thanks to sponsors and supporters. For the Reception, special thanks to the generous support of the title sponsor Uplift, gold sponsor Pernod Ricard, silver sponsors LDV Hospitality, BattleFace, Coeur Wine Company, and Cornell Hotel Society. For the Hall of Fame, grateful for the supporters Banfi, Singer Equipment, Steelite and Made In Cookware. Most of all, special thanks to Francois-Olivier Luigg, IMHI ’92, and The Pierre Hotel, without whose generous support this event couldn’t have happened.
This is the start of a very special Hotelies celebrating Hotelies tradition. This is our brand and bond, and these are the giants who built our brand. For 2023, the committee is considering ways to have a more opened nomination process. Stay tune. If you are interested in volunteering for the Hall of Fame program, please let me know.
Ted Teng ‘79
Chair, Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame Committee
Pictures below provided by Rafael Bitanga ’23 and Bishal Chhatkuli ‘22 with Bitanga Productions
On October 28, San Diego area Hotelies gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of The Hotel School. It was the first event in almost four years for the San Diego chapter, but WELL worth the wait! Farmer and the Seahorse’s Anderson Clark ’08 and Chef Sam Deckman lead alumni through an incredible reception and four-course wine paired menu.
What an amazing night reconnecting as alumni… celebrating 100 years of Hotelie tradition and doing what Hotelie’s do best… gathering over amazing food. Huge thanks to Sarah Latimer ‘05 (SD CHS President) for her leadership and loyalty.
On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, more than 30 Atlanta area Hotelies celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration. The event was held at The Iberian Pig Buckhead. Our host was owner Stephanie Castellucci ’09. The group enjoyed a variety of Spanish tapas and specialty drinks, as well as novelties from the “party box” provided by CHS and SHA.
The CHS Georgia Chapter was honored to have several young alumni, as well as CHS leaders in attendance:
On Wednesday, September 14, 2022 the Georgia Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society collaborated with the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association to host the annual Georgia Lodging Outlook breakfast seminar. A crowd of nearly 400 area hotel industry professionals were in attendance. This year’s event was held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Downtown Atlanta.
Jim Sprouse, President of the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association, and CHS Georgia chapter President Lindsay McCall ‘12 provided welcome remarks. Lindsay then handed out two complimentary online course certificates donated by eCornell. CHS Global President Mark Woodworth ’77 then took over as Master of Ceremonies and Moderator for the entire program.
The first educational panel addressed the current labor shortage plaguing the industry. Sharing their expertise were Adam Glickman ‘02, Vice President of Marketing for Hotel Effectiveness by Actabl, Bryan DeCort, Chief Operating Officer of Hotel Equities, and Gregory Winey, Founder/Principal of NorthPointe Hospitality Management.
Following the labor panel, local area experts presented their outlook for 2023:
CHS Georgia thanks for the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association for their $3,000 donation to the CHS Georgia Chapter scholarship fund.
On July 28, 2022, current Hotelies interning in the Baltimore / DC area gathered for happy hour to meet local alumni. The event was held at Boardwalk Bar and Arcade at the Wharf.
On July 19, 2022, Atlanta area Hotelies gathered for craft beers, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. It was the first in-person chapter event since the 2019 holiday party. Over 30 Hotelies ranging from current students through the class of 1976 attended the event at Bold Monk Brewing Company.
New president Lindsay McCall ’12 welcomed the group and encouraged them to participate in CHS Georgia chapter events throughout this 100th anniversary year. She was followed by Alan LeBlanc ’84, the owner of Bold Monk and host for the event. Alan shared his career story and provided some sound business guidance for the many young alumni in attendance.
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Dear Hotelies,
It is with immense privilege and honor that I announce the launch of the Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame and its inaugural class of inductees on behalf of the Cornell Hotel Society.
As we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Cornell Hotel School, the recently named Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration, it is also an opportune time to celebrate some of those who have powered the School’s brand for one hundred years.
The mission of the Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame is to:
This is an annual event to be held immediately after the CHS New York City Chapter’s Annual Reception in November during the Hotel Show. Each year we will induct 10-12 Hotelies into the Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame along with a Rising Star award to recognize early Hotelie successes.
The Nomination/Selection Committee selects the inductees each year and is comprised of members from different generations, geographic regions, and segments of the industry. The founding committee members are as follows:
The criteria for nomination/selection are:
For this inaugural class, the nominations were generated by the committee using many resources such as the two school history books and the 90th Anniversary Hotelie Magazine. We also solicited input from the CHS Global Board, the Council of Young Alumni, and the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration leadership team. In the future, once this program is established, we plan to have a broader nomination/selection process engaging our CHS members and their local chapters.
The inaugural class of course is the most difficult one to make the selections. Alongside the 100th anniversary, the committee chose to include inductees from every decade for this first class. We literally have hundreds we could have inducted in the first class but that would not provide the proper recognition for each. We have one hundred years of Hotelie successes to celebrate, so it will take us a few years to catch up. I hope you will join us in celebrating this inaugural class and help us recognize many more Hotelies in the years to come.
The committee has chosen a very special inaugural class of 17 inductees representing the breadth of Hotelie successes over the past 100 years. The Hall of Fame inductees are:
The Rising Star award recognizes early Hotelie successes and this year the award goes to:
I have no doubt a sense of sorrow came over you when you read the name Roberto E. Wirth as he passed away suddenly. A month ago, I had a video call with him to inform him of this induction and sought his acceptance. He was very happy and honored. I did the video call with him so he was able to read my lips and I was able to see his smiling face. I hope you are comforted to know that he knew how highly he was regarded in the CHS community to be inducted into the inaugural class.
We will be sharing the inspiring stories of these inductees over the coming months before their induction at the November event.
Our sincere gratitude to the Nomination/Selection Committee members for their tireless work in composing an incredible inaugural class of inductees.
Save the Date! The inaugural 2022 Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame event will be held on Sunday, November 13, from 8:00 – 10:00 p.m. at the Pierre Hotel right after the CHS New York City Chapter Annual Reception (5:00 – 7:30 p.m.). Registration will be available later in the year. I hope to see many of you there to celebrate these first Cornell Hotelie Hall of Famers.
Thank you.
Ted Teng ‘79
Chair
Cornell Hotelie Hall of Fame Committee
Cornell Hotel Society
