By Peter Szende and Namrata Sridhar From the start, menus have been a customer’s first impression into the restaurant’s culinary experience. Menus that have been carefully designed have drawn the customer’s eye to specific dishes and provide guidance when selecting a meal. (e.g. McCall & Lynn, 2008) Restaurant menu experts have begun to find that […]
By Dana Searle Doctors heal. Professors educate. Psychologists listen. Entertainers excite. I get to do all of the above, on stage each night, as I serve dinner. They say the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I think the same is true no matter the gender; a meal shared is a […]
By Peter Szende and Jeanne Pak It is late fall of 1885, and Arthur Maloney is the quintessential stockbroker at the New York Stock Exchange. He is busy taking care of his clients and is always rushing around with very little extra time—Maloney can barely spare a few minutes for a quick bite, much less […]
By Ingrid Lin “You wouldn’t build anything in most parts of Asia without having feng shui consultants come in and help you.” – Neil Jacobs, the president of global hotel operations for Starwood Capital. Feng Shui: real, phony, or magic? The western world might consider feng shui to be a mystical and mysterious art, […]
By Jan Whitaker In the summer of 1920 a woman named Mary Love opened The Maramor, a tea room-style restaurant in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The location was in a house once owned by the city’s richest man. After being vacated by his widow in 1895, the handsome 3-story building had housed a variety of tenants […]
By Peter Szende and Annie Holcombe The evolution of society and technology has created new trends and innovations. The hospitality industry tries to stay level with new technological advances in order to keep up and engage with their guests. This modernization has eliminated various practices and inventions that were once predominant in the industry. Throughout […]
By Bradford Hudson Almost everyone understands that fantasy is integral to the thematic elements in a Disney amusement park. Less understood, especially among people who have never visited one of these parks, is that Disney themes are often historical. Occasionally such themes relate to the heritage of the company itself, but in many cases […]
By Bradford Hudson During the early 1920s, the Earl of Grantham traveled from England to the United States. The British aristocrat would appear as a character witness for his American brother-in-law, who was a defendant in a trial related to the notorious Teapot Dome political scandal. Naturally he chose to travel aboard a British ship […]
By Jan Whitaker American women have long been involved in public eating places. In Early America a common pattern was set as wives partnered with husbands in operating dining rooms in taverns and inns – and then carried on alone. Elizabeth Fraunces, wife of Samuel Fraunces whose career is commemorated in New York City’s historic […]
By: Susan Wilson April 14, 2015 was the 150th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. This is the story of how that fateful day was linked to Boston, the Booth Brothers, and the Parker House. Hotel personnel have always collected wondrous tales about the visiting celebrities they’ve observed over decades of service. Few […]