Taking the lead in two major hospitality industry events here and abroad, members of the administration, faculty and staff of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration have organized two dynamic strategy conferences. The first event marks the fifth annual "Hospitality Industry Strategy Conference – The Americas" to be held March 21-23 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. In May, the Cornell Hotel School goes to London to host the "Hospitality Industry Strategy Conference – Europe."

Both conferences bring top-level researchers, analysts and executives to the task of meeting immediate and future challenges in the hospitality industry from a variety of perspectives. David W. Butler, Hotel School dean, said Cornell went "all-out in soliciting the advice and counsel of industry executives through a pre-conference Key Industry Issues Survey " and "aggressively recruited some of the most sought-after analysts" to headline the conference program.

The Washington conference is co-chaired by Charles S. Henry, president of Hotel Capital Advisers, and William R. Tiefel, vice chairman of Marriott International Inc. John Russell, chairman of the board of the American Hotel and Motel Association, will deliver the March 22 keynote address.

"The conference will illuminate issues that span all segments of the industry, looking at new concepts in marketing, financial and asset management, trends in technology and strategic management," said Thomas P. Cullen, associate dean for industry and international affairs and director of Cornell's strategy conferences.

Cullen crafted the conference format to feature panel discussions co-moderated by Cornell Hotel School faculty and major executives from leading hospitality companies. The European strategy conference will be held at the Hilton London Metropole in England, May 21-23.

For a complete list of panel discussions and conference participants, visit the conference web site athttp://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/execed/conferences or contact The Office of Executive Education at the Cornell Hotel School by phone at: 607-255-4919; fax; 607-255-8749 or e- mail: exec_ed_hotel@cornell.edu.