Research
Addressing Real Issues Facing the Hospitality Industry
The UNLV Harrah College of Hospitality is committed to serving as a thought leader for the industry—tackling real and timely issues that impact progress, profitability, and the customer experience.
As some of the world’s foremost experts in the fields of hospitality and leisure, event management, and gaming, our faculty members are consistently engaged in research that explores pressing topics like: customer loyalty programs, hotel booking trends, marketing strategies in gaming, hospitality in healthcare, etc. The college’s strong relationship with the international hospitality community helps us create unparalleled research opportunities for students as well.
Research Inquiries
If you have questions about research projects or would like to inquire about potential research partnerships, please contact our associate dean of research.
702-895-3932
seyhmus.baloglu@unlv.edu
Research News
UNLV casino management researcher Anthony Lucas looks at the apparent diminishing returns between free-play offers and patron behavior.
The hospitality researcher uncovers human interaction in the context of tourist attractions.
Hospitality executives acknowledge the benefits of artificial intelligence, for guests and the bottom line. But many are hesitant to adopt the technology in full — at least for now.
Faculty Research & Accomplishments
Publications
In addition to being regularly featured in top-tier journals, such as Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, and the Journal of Hospitality & Research, college faculty members produce UNLV's Gaming Research and Review Journal (GRRJ) in collaboration with the UNLV's International Gaming Institute). Published twice yearly, the GRRJ is a collection of peer-reviewed articles by leading academic experts in the field of gaming. Since 1994, GRRJ has featured hundreds of pertinent research papers on casino operations, gaming laws and regulations, management, technology, community relations, responsible gaming, and other important topics.
College of Hospitality Visiting Scholars Program
Through the Visiting Scholars Program, academics from across the globe are invited to engage in research and educational activities at the top-rated Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV. Visiting scholars have the opportunity to collaborate with faculty, attend seminars, guest lecture, interact with graduate students, and more. During their stay, visiting scholars receive office space as well as access to UNLV University Libraries and other campus resources.
The program requires self-funding (or funding by a source external to UNLV). For further details and contact information, please see the college’s Visiting Scholar Guidelines and Application Process.
Research Workshops
Each semester, the Harrah College of Hospitality holds a series of college-wide research workshops to foster a deeper understanding of current research developments and techniques as well as to encourage collaboration among researchers. The workshops, which are open to all UNLV faculty and graduate students, feature well-known researchers and scholars speaking on a variety of topics, from the emerging hospitality and tourism research trends, research methodology, state-of-the-art statistical analysis techniques, to funding sources such as federal funds, corporation grants, and contracts.
Summer Faculty Research Support
Annually, the Harrah College of Hospitality funds a competitive Summer Research Support program to help promote and support faculty engagement in quality research and scholarly pursuits. This is a grant competition open to all full-time college faculty. The final requirement for the program is the formal submission of an academic paper to a college-designated Tier 1 or Tier 2 journal. The application process typically begins in the spring semester.
Digital Scholarship
The Harrah College of Hospitality makes active use of Digital Scholarship, hosted by the University Libraries. Digital Scholarship captures, preserves, and shares the intellectual output of UNLV faculty, staff, students, and collaborations with other stakeholders. Research and scholarly archived output includes: articles, monographs, audio/visual presentations, working papers, technical reports, conference papers/posters, theses/dissertations, data sets, and publicly-funded research. Most UNLV Professional Papers are hosted on this site. Typically, the most downloaded research and professional papers are those produced by the Harrah College of Hospitality.
Qualtrics
Researchers and graduate students in the Harrah College of Hospitality use an electronic data gathering and analysis tool known as Qualtrics. This software helps researchers construct survey instruments using self-identified parameters, capture data, and then perform quantitative statistical analysis. Researchers at the college use the software to conduct hospitality-relevant market research.