Hospitality may be a timeless principle, but the hospitality industry is changing fast; and for students in the School of Hotel Administration (SHA), the keys to success will likely involve innovation, adaptation and inspiration.

On Jan. 23, a dozen SHA students heard ideas about the changing industry from some of its top executives -- and contributed ideas of their own at a small networking event in San Diego.

The invitation-only event, hosted by the SHA's Innovation Network (IN), gave the students the opportunity to meet with more than 70 CEOs and senior executives -- including many Cornell alumni -- from companies such as American Airlines, Carlson Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, Google, InterContinental Hotels Group and the Marriott International, Starwood Hotels, Trump and Virgin hotels. Peter Diamandis, founder and chair of the X PRIZE Foundation, gave a featured lecture titled "Inspiration from the Ground and Space."

It was the eighth such event for the network, a community of top executives who gather to discuss the latest innovative thinking and help move the industry forward.

Past events have been held at the United Nations in New York, the USS Midway aircraft carrier in San Diego and Cornell's Statler Hotel. This edition, with the theme "Inspiration from Airline, Automotive and Travel Innovators," was held at the Evans Garage, a private car museum in San Diego owned by the family of Bill Evans '82, vice president and managing director of hotel operations for Evans Hotels, and Nancy Evans Zytko, M.P.S. '89, managing director of hotel finance for Wells Fargo Bank.

Each event includes 12 IN student ambassadors who help plan and organize the day. The students then participate in the discussions and presentations, bending the ears of the leaders shaping the industry's future.

At the San Diego event, students heard the executives' thoughts on the future of the hospitality and travel industry, gleaned insight and inspiration from the X PRIZE Foundation's Diamandis and gave a presentation on improving the guest experience.

"Never in my life have I been witness to so many brilliant people in one room grappling with the toughest issues our industry faces," said Will Dowling '11, IN student ambassador manager. "It's a pretty incredible experience when you are sitting at a table with several CEOs of major hospitality firms, and the executives themselves are listening to their peers and taking notes. The level of communication that we get to witness is very special."

"This is something I want to be a part of for the rest of my life," said Sameer Nair '11, who hopes to work in real estate and asset management. "Any sane person would die to be involved with this type of event and network. It is simply the place to be, and as a hotel school student you have an opportunity to be there."

For Vanessa Mange '11, who aspires to a career with a unique and "out of the box" hotel, the event yielded new ideas, valuable networking and a healthy dose of inspiration. "It may seem a little fantastical to build hotels in caves in the Atlas Mountains, Sahara Desert or behind a waterfall in New Zealand," she said; "but after listening to Peter Diamandis ... I learned that anything is impossible until you try."