Hospitality Management class earns 95 percent pass rate for CHIA exam

The Fall 2017 Lodging Management class recently earned a 95 percent pass rate on the Certified Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA) exam, allowing the 37 students to add the credential to their resume and beat out competitors in the job market.

More than 200 universities worldwide offer students this nationally and internationally recognized designation, which is valid for five years. This certification is a new addition to the hospitality management program and is the first certification to be offered to students outside of food and beverage.  It will also support the new analytics concentration offered by the Department of Management as a business elective.

The class is taught by Lisa K. Bowles, instructor in the hospitality management program, who earned her CHIA this past summer. Dr. Ignatius Cahayanto is also CHIA-accredited, and both faculty are members of the SHARE Center, the arm of Smith Travel Research (STR) that provides real data for academic instruction and research.

In preparation for this exam, Bowles attended HX 2017: The Hotel Experience in New York along with four hospitality management seniors. Among hundreds of other students, they participated in two days of seminars on the future of the lodging industry, sustainability, career paths, and chatted with vendors on the tradeshow floor. They also received a personal tour of NYU from a hospitality faculty member to discuss potential hospitality graduate programs.

Photo: Lisa Bowles (left) and four Hospitality Management students attend HX 2017 in New York.