2026 AWARD SEASON WINNERS

International CHRIE wishes to thank the many individuals who took the time to nominate a deserving colleague. This year's winners were recognized at the 2026 ICHRIE Global Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. 

 Nomination Awards  |  Research Journal Awards  |  Conference Research Awards  |  Competition Awards

2026 ICHRIE AWARDS

The International CHRIE Medal of Honor

The International CHRIE Medal of Honor recognizes superior or extraordinary service and contribution to the growth and operation of International CHRIE. The award honors an attitude of hospitality, great dedication and commitment to the organization, and gracious and selfless service and leadership for the betterment of International CHRIE.

Congratulations to this year's recipient: Joy P. Dickerson, Ed.D.

Stevenson W. Fletcher Achievement Award

The Stevenson W. Fletcher Achievement Award recognizes an individual educator or trainer for outstanding achievement in contributing innovative ideas, methods or programs that have advanced teaching, learning or practice in the field of hospitality and tourism education.

Congratulations to this year's recipient: Dr. Agnes L. DeFranco

Lifetime Research Achievement Award

The Lifetime Research Achievement Award recognizes an ICHRIE member for lifetime contributions to outstanding scholarship and research in hospitality and tourism. The award is given to an International CHRIE member who has made and continues to make significant contributions to the field of hospitality and tourism through scholarly research published in hospitality and non-hospitality journals over an extended period. It serves as a tribute for a distinguished individual who has demonstrated both leadership in a specialized field of study and high standards in the systematic and objective analysis of data that has led to a significant contribution to the body of knowledge.

Congratulations to this year's recipient: Miyoung Jeong, Ph.D.

Industry Recognition Award

This special award honors a hospitality and tourism industry professional, program, project, and/or organization that has demonstrated commitment to advance culinary, hospitality and tourism education as a discipline.

Congratulations to this year's recipients:

MGM Resorts International (KJ Amin)
Glenn Mandziuk (World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance)

Raphael Kavanaugh Champion of Education Award

This unique award honors a corporation, organization, or individual who has made a long- standing commitment to and shown a pattern of support for special initiatives that advance the mission of ICHRIE.

Congratulations to this year's recipient: Birgitte Hvingel Jørgensen 

McCool Breakthrough Award

This award will be given to an individual, group, program, school, college, association, or corporation that has made a significant breakthrough or introduced a unique approach in the spirit of ICHRIE’s mission. This award honors the spirit of Willie McCool, a dedicated and successful astronaut and son of Audrey and Barry McCool, faculty members at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

Congratulations to this year's recipients:

Martin O'Neill (Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management)
Dennis Reynolds (Conrad Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership)

Excellence in Teaching Award

The Excellence in Teaching or Training recognizes an International CHRIE member for the individual’s implementation of innovative, creative, and effective teaching or training techniques in culinary, hospitality, or tourism education at the secondary school, diploma, college, university, or organization level.

Congratulations to this year's recipient: Amanda Belarmino, PhD.

Research Award

The Research Award is given to an author of a superior research article or other publication on a topic relevant to the fields of culinary, hospitality or tourism management by an International CHRIE member.

Congratulations to this year's recipient: Tarik Dogru (Dr. True), Ph.D.

Faculty Collegiality Award

The Faculty Collegiality Award is an individual award given to a faculty member who has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to fostering collegiality amongst peers. The ICHRIE member who receives this award displays a high level of team building characteristics in support of peers in their teaching, scholarship, and service both on their campus and externally. The spirit of collegiality is expressed through collaborative and constructive support of others to advance the quality of hospitality education, scholarship of value to the field, and selfless service.

Congratulations to this year's recipient: Cass Shum

Dr. Lea R. Dopson Eta Sigma Delta Chapter of Distinction Award (previously the ESD Chapters of Distinction Award)

The annual ESD Chapter of Distinction Award is to recognize a leading local chapter for their efforts in advancing our five points of honor: Creativity, Ethics, Excellence, Leadership, and Service.

Congratulations to this year's recipient: 

Auburn University
Yee Ming Lee and Oleksandra (Sasha) Hanchukova , Chapter Advisors
Academic Year 25/26

ICHRIE RESEARCH JOURNAL AWARDS

Outstanding Journal Reviewer Recognition

Congratulations to this year's recipients:

JHTC Reviewer: Dr. Timothy D. Webb and Yue Vaughan, Ph.D.

JHTE Reviewers: Dr. Tim Huang and Huiwen Shih

JHTR Reviewers: Jing Liu, Ph.D., Kam-hon Lee and Noel Scott

ICHRIE Research Reports Reviewers: Choongbeom (CB) Choi and Bongkosh Rittichainuwat, Ph.D.

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education (JHTE) - Article of the Year

Congratulations to this year's JHTE Article of the Year Award authors: 

Mitigating the Impact of ChatGPT: Cultivating Professional Identity Through Interactive Oral Authentic Assessments
Associate Professor Elaine Chiao Ling Yang, Ph.D., Brent D. Moyle and Ryan Yung, Ph.D.

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education (JHTE) - Highly Commended Paper

Congratulations to this year's JHTE Article of the Year Award authors: 

Effect of Hospitality and Tourism Students’ Perceived Skills on Career Adaptability and Perceived Employability.
Pimtong Tavitiyaman, Ph.D, Dr. Bruce Tsui, D.HTM and Dr. Peggy Ng

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research (JHTR) - Article of the Year/Best Paper

Congratulations to this year's JHTR Article of the Year Award authors: 

The Effect of Short-Term Leases on Hotel’s Agglomeration and Market-Entry Strategies: A Game Theory Approach
Prof. Simone Bianco, Florian J. Zach, PhD, and Dr. Manisha Singal

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research (JHTR) - Highly Commended Paper

ICHRIE Research Reports - Article of the Year

Congratulations to this year's ICHRIE Research Reports Article of the Year Award authors: 

Food Delivery Robots on College Campuses: Understanding Consumer Perceptions and Value Dimensions
Hayeon (Hailey) Choi, Ph.D., Hyun-Woo (David) Joung, Ph.D., and Eun-Kyong (Cindy) Choi, Ph.D.

ICHRIE Research Reports - Highly Commended Paper

Congratulations to this year's ICHRIE Research Reports Highly Commended authors: 

Sustainability in the Cruising Industry: Innovations in Air Quality, Energy Efficiency, and Waste Management
Fikret Durmus and Mi Ran Kim

2026 ICHRIE GLOBAL CONFERENCE AWARDS

Outstanding Conference Reviewer Recognition

Congratulations to this year's recipients: Rai Shacklock, Seung Hyun James Kim and Parinita Malhotra

Best Conference Papers 

Congratulations to this year's authors: 

How Epistemic versus Aleatory Uncertainties Shape Tourists’ AI Reliance?
Lavi (Zixi) Peng, Ph.D., Barbara Atanga, Ph.D. and Heyao (Chandler) Yu

Can humble leadership enhance hospitality employees’ psychological well-being? The moderating role of supervisor-subordinate relational age
Han Chen, Ph.D., Angie Yeonsook Im, Ph.D. and Yizhi (Ian) Li. Ph.D.

Designing Socially Assistive Robots for Networking at Business Events
Jijun (Jackie) Chen, Ph.D., Shinyong (Shawn) Jung, Ph.D. and CAI Liping, Ph.D.

Commendable Conference Papers 

Congratulations to this year's authors: 

Is It Safe for Me to Get In? Personal Control, Physical Safety, and Consumer Evaluation of Autonomous Ride-Hailing Services
Dr. Hanna Lee, Yerin Yhee and Seo Yoon Kang

Institutional Calibration: Why Experienced Reviewers Converge with the Consensus
Gyusang (Kevin) Hwang and Dr. Yang Yang

How Much Should You Invest? CAPEX, Leverage, and Performance in Hotels and Restaurants
Dr. Mahala Geronasso

Affirming Human Distinctiveness in Service Encounters: Consumer Responses to Hybrid Human–Robot Teams
An Sheng and Sungwoo Choi

Consumer Temporal Adaptation to Prepared Dish Transparency: Evidence from a Time-Series Analysis of Online Review Sentiment
Yueming Guo, Eojina Kim, Ph.D., and Zheng Xiang, Ph.D.

Measuring Transformation in Volunteer Tourism: Development and Validation of the Tourist-to-Volunteer Transformative Learning Scale (TVTLS)
Nikol K. Lopez Llantuy and Sojung Lee

The End of the Hidden Resort Fee: How California’s Ban Proves Transparency Beats Obfuscation
Esther L. Kim, Ph.D. and Eun Joo (EJ) Kim, Ph.D.

Good Intentions Aren’t Always Enough: Emotional Drivers of Food Waste Reduction
Wei Wang, Ph.D., Han Wen, Ph.D. and Chao Meng

How Engagement Domains Predict Competency Outcomes in Hospitality Management Education
Michael L. Wray, Ph.D

 ICHRIE COMPETITION AWARDS

ICHRIE Case Competition
Award Sponsored by Johnson & Wales University

Congratulations to this year's winners:

First Place: Ming Sheng Chow and Jared Bischoff

Yielding Connection: Institutionalizing Community at Ascott’s lyf

Second Place: Ela Tuli and Shikhar Dua

Leela: Balancing Culinary Art, Michelin Ambitions, and Business Sustainability in Hong Kong

Third Place: Cindy Yoonjoung Heo, Dai-In Danny Han, and Luc Partouns

DISPLACEMENT ANALYSIS IN RESTAURANT REVENUE MANAGEMENT Group Private Dinner vs. À La Carte Service Restaurant L'Etoile, Teaching Hotel Château Bethlehem

Honorable Mention: Indrani Vennelakanti and Sankara Moorthy K

Mystery on the Glacier: Governing Dark Tourism at Roopkund 

ICHRIE Research Reports Competition & Publication
Sponsored by DePaul University

Congratulations to this year's winners:

First Place: Dr. Cortney L. Norris, Dr. Lisa Slevitch, Matthew J. Bauman, Ph.D., Soyoung Park, Ph.D., and Seung Hyun Lee

Designing Menus That Welcome Everyone: How Inclusive Menu Cues Drive Customer Behavior for Diners with Dietary Restrictions

Second Place: Aili Wu, Wei Wei, and Lu Zhang

Open the Case, Detective! A Story-Driven Game Approach to Combat Human Trafficking in Hospitality

Third Place: Mehmet Erdem, Ph.D., Prof. Shashi Nambisan, Ph.D., P.E., Jehun Moon, M.S.,Dr. Billy Bai, Juliana Byzyka Ph.D., William B. Werner, and Bethany Khan

Transportation Needs and Commuting Stress Among Hospitality Employees: A Perspective from the Las Vegas Strip Corridor

2025-B ICHRIE Hotel Management Challenge Award
Sponsored by Knowledge Matters

Congratulations to this year's winners:

First Place: Mel Gelnar
Second Place: Carrie Bailey
Third Place:  Kathy Lau

2025-B ICHRIE Level Up! Revenue Management Competition
Sponsored by Russell Partnership Technologies

Congratulations to this year's winners:

First Place: Luana Stepčić
Second Place: Carrie Bailey
Third Place: Ellie Corpe

ICHRIE FutureFund™ Dissertation Proposal Competition

Congratulations to this year's Best Dissertation Proposal winners: 

TRACK A - Dissertation Work in Progress
Egor Cherenkov
Bridging Digital Transformation and Ethical Governance: Developing and Validating a Corporate Digital Responsibility Scale in the Lodging Industry

Lingyan (Lia) Zhang
Strategic Sustainability: Communication in Tourism and Hospitality: A Co-Benefiting Perspective

Soo Yeon Kwak
Self-Disclosure as a Relationship Marketing Strategy in Brand-Customer Relationships

TRACK B - Completed Dissertation
Aili Wu
Game-Changing Justice: Leveraging Gamified Storytelling to Combat Human Trafficking in Hospitality

ICHRIE Research Marathon
Sponsored by CMAA, NCA, and Club Benchmarking

Congratulations to this year's winners:

First Place: Lisa Cain, Nansy Kouroupi, Jihyeon Park, Cho Tin Tun Kirkpatrick, Chris, Cain, and Hwieun Choi

Second Place: Jenna Lee, Daniel Leung, Hyekyung “Danielle” Park, Anni Ding, and Jennifer “Yiyoon” Hanauer

Third Place: Wan Yang, Wen Chang, Forest Ma, and Juliana Tkatch

Past Winners