Four graduate students in the Department of Hospitality Management won second place at the Smith Travel Research Student Market Analysis Competition. Yi-Sung Cheng, Ph.D. candidate, Angie Im, Ph.D. student, Tiantian Li, master’s student and BeomJoo Kim, master’s student, represented the college. The group, along with Seonghee Cho, associate professor of hospitality management, traveled to the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, on Nov. 12.

Smith Travel Research, a company specializing in market share analysis for major hotel chains, organized the competition. The MU graduate student team competed against 11 other schools, among them: Kansas State University, Michigan State University, Columbia University, New York University, Purdue University Northwest, Texas Tech University, Chandigarh University, DePaul University, Florida International University, University of Central Florida and University of New Orleans.

Each group conducted an analysis of hotel industry data. The MU team analyzed  the Austin, Texas, market. They also discussed the market in relation to its competition. This is the third year that graduate students from the University of Missouri have been represented.

“We are extremely proud of our students and their ranking at the STR Competition,” Bryan Garton, associate dean and director of academic programs, said. “The preparation and performance that the students demonstrated makes us truly proud.”