Home Authors Posts by Mark Young

Mark Young

24 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

Mark Young, Ph.D., is director of the Hospitality Industry Archives at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management, University of Houston.
Curt Strand — Berlin Hilton

A Look Back: The Accomplishments of Curt Strand

In July, hotel industry giant Curt Strand passed away at the age of 99. Among his many accomplishments, Strand was the last living link to the exciting era of early international hotel development. He...
Hilton El Paso

Historic Hurdles: COVID-19 Is Not the First Event to Completely Disrupt the Hotel Industry

The lodging sector is currently getting pummeled. Amidst an economic downfall, there are fewer travelers and resort and convention business almost all but evaporated. Things are dire, but history teaches us that it could...
40th Annual TH&MA Short Course

The Texas Hotel Short Course: Broadening the Availability of Lodging Education

In the late 1930s, the need for qualified personnel to staff hotels was becoming critical. The number of degreed hospitality programs at the nation’s universities and colleges, however, were few. Compounding this issue was...
Merriel Abbott - Managers Meeting

Merriel Abbott Paved the Way for Women in the Hotel Industry

What many people first see when looking at the picture below from the 1949 Hilton Hotels Managers Meeting is a long table full of men, which is nothing unusual for the time period. Then,...

How Hotels Used Throwaway Wrappers to Promote Their Brands

The phrase "today's trash is tomorrow's treasure" can be applied to several items in the hospitality industry archive, but especially to the archive’s collection of hotel soap wrappers. The archive is a wealth of...