hotel management

Research

A Word from the Head of Research

At Les Roches, research begins with industry.

Hospitality, luxury, tourism, sport, and event management are undergoing profound technological, societal, and environmental transformation. As experience-driven sectors, their future will be shaped by organizations that can anticipate change, innovate with purpose, and act on insight. Our role is to support this transformation through research and insight.

Our ambition is to position Les Roches as a recognized contributor to applied research in the experience economy — a trusted partner to the industries we serve and a source of insight that informs real decisions, while contributing to scholarly knowledge through rigorous academic inquiry. We are building the structures, partnerships, and culture necessary to make applied research a defining strength of Les Roches.

We focus on applied research grounded in practice, developed in collaboration with industry partners, and directed at concrete challenges using established qualitative and quantitative research methodologies grounded in relevant theoretical frameworks. Our work supports organizations in navigating complexity, improving performance, and creating meaningful experiences in a rapidly evolving world.

This commitment to applied research also strengthens our academic community. It brings industry questions into our classrooms, engages our students in the creation of knowledge, and positions our campuses as active contributors to their regional and international ecosystems.

By placing applied research conducted in close collaboration with industry at the heart of Les Roches, we advance academic excellence through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and the dissemination of generalizable insights, while helping shape the future of global hospitality and the broader experience economy.
—

Professor Taran Patel, PhD, HDR.
Head of Research, Les Roches

Research as an engine for industry innovation

At Les Roches, research is conceived as an innovation engine for the global hospitality and experience industries. Our work contributes to academic debates within the field, and addresses concrete challenges faced by organizations and destinations, while anticipating future trends that will shape how people travel, experience, celebrate, and connect. 
We prioritize research that informs decision-making, improves professional practice, and supports sustainable development across the sectors we serve, while simultaneously meeting recognized standards of academic rigor and methodological transparency.

What “applied research” means at Les Roches

Applied research at Les Roches combines rigorous academic inquiry with a strong orientation toward real-world application. and industry relevance. It is grounded in established theoretical frameworks while addressing concrete challenges faced by organizations and destinations.

It is research that:
• Is conducted in partnership with industry actors, destinations, or organizations
• Addresses clearly identified real-world questions or problems
• Produces outputs that can be directly used by practitioners (reports, frameworks, tools, recommendations, case studies, innovation prototypes)
• Involves students in live research projects connected to industry
• Contributes to regional economic and social ecosystems where our campuses are located
• Is designed to generate insights that extend beyond individual projects and contribute to broader academic knowledge
• Leads to scholarly outputs such as peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations

At Les Roches, applied research combines elements of all these approaches, adapted to the realities of hospitality and experience industries. Our applied research generates actionable insights, managerial tools, destination strategies, and innovation practices that can be implemented by professionals, while also contributing to theory development and academic discourse.

Key research domains

Our research is structured around key domains that integrate industry relevance with scholarly inquiry and are aligned with the mission and values of the institution:

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Hospitality and Services

  • Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship
  • Future Trends and Disruptions
  • Change and Innovation Management
  • Experience Design and Customer Journey Transformation

Sustainability and Responsible Management
in Hospitality and Services

  • Sustainable Business Practices
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Sustainable Management
  • Ethical Leadership
  • Sustainable tourism and destination development

Digitalization, Technology, and AI in Service Industries

  • Digital transformation in hospitality and services
  • AI integration and service innovation
  • Data-driven decision-making

Hospitality Operations and Experience Management

  • F&B Operations and Trends
  • Food Marketing and Branding
  • Food Safety and Quality
  • Experience design and service delivery

Sport and Event Management

  • Event Planning and Management
  • Sports Sponsorship and Branding
  • E-sports and Innovation

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

  • Higher Education in a Global Context
  • Higher Education in a Multicultural Context
  • Hospitality Education

Leadership, Talent, and Organizational Practices
in Global Service Industries

  • Global Leadership
  • Multiculturalism
  • Organizational practices in service industries
  • Talent and capability development

Regional engagement and global visibility

With campuses located in leading tourism destinations, namely Crans Montana in Switzerland, Marbella in Spain, and Abu Dhabi, Les Roches acts as a knowledge partner for local ecosystems while contributing to global industry conversations through publications, industry reports, conferences, and collaborative projects in both academic and professional forums.

Les Roches Research Publications


A selection of our most recent Academic Research & Publications is below. For a full overview of research activity, please see our individual Faculty bios

Les Roches Research Publications: 2025

Journals:

Germanier, R. and Darioly, A. (2025), “Hospitality industry’s recruitment and retention challenges: practitioners’ perspectives, Gen Z’s recommendations“, Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes.

Darioly, A. and Germanier, R. (2025), “From challenges to solutions: a roadmap for hospitality and tourism practitioners“, Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes.

Les Roches Research Publications: 2024

Journals:

De la Lastra, C. D., De Labeaga, J. L. P., Castro-López, R., & Hernández-López, L. E. (2024). Innovation in the international educational experience for hospitality and luxury industry: Unleashing corporate entrepreneurship at Les Roches in Switzerland and Spain. In Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Tourism and Hospitality (pp. 275-283). Routledge.
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Puhr, R. (2024, May 6). Leveraging the potential of third space faculty developers to foster individual and collective flourishing faculty professional identities in higher education. London Review of Education.
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Diamantis, D. (2024, May 5). Emerging trends in hospitality for 2024 and beyond.
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Hassan, B. (2024). Embracing neurodiversity in the hospitality industry. Fox Communications.
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Ashaal, A., Bakri, A., AlKhatib, N., Chreif, M., & Zakhem, N. B. (2024). Harvesting sustainability: Navigating green practices and barriers in Lebanon’s hospitality sector. Business Strategy & Development, 7(2), e369.
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Gonet, X. (2024, June 10). Great customer service and its role in successful restaurants. Hotelier & Hospitality Design Magazine.
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Krebs, J. (2024, February 27). Customer service vs. customer support: What’s the difference?
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Aiosi, V. (2024, June). Transformations in the restaurant industry: How restaurateurs anticipate the future. Sommeliers Suisses Magazine, pp.64-69. (In French Language).
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Conferences:

Puhr, R. (2024, June). Leveraging the third space role of faculty developers in higher education ecosystems. ICED 24 Conference: Advancing Higher Education Ecosystems for Competency Development.
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Germanier, R., Darioly, A, Kotluk, N., & Tormey, R. (2024, March). “But of course I’m going to look happy” or “He needed to know I was angry”? Comparing use of emotional labour in teamwork in engineering and hospitality students. In EAPRIL Conference Proceedings 2023 (pp. 131-143). EAPRIL-European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning.
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Kouroupi, N. & Diamantis, D. (Jun 05-07, 2024). Utilizing metaverse technologies to enhance destination sustainability and resilience in response to tourism overcrowding. 6th Advances in Destination Management Conference.

Les Roches Research Publications: 2023

Journals:

Puhr, R., & Germanier, R. (2023). Flourishing or languishing? Exploring the lived experiences of faculty negotiating the challenges of synchronous and asynchronous delivery. In P. Kumar, & J. Eisenberg (Eds.). Synchro-nous and Asynchronous Approaches to Teaching: Higher Education Lessons in Post-Pandemic Times. Springer International Publishing.

Les Roches Research Publications: 2022

Journals:

Tajeddini, K., Gamage, T.C., Hameed, W., Qumsieh-Mussalam, G., Chaijani, M., Rasoolimanesh, S., Kallmuenzer, A. (2022) How self-gratification and social values shape revisit intention and customer loyalty of Airbnb customers, International Journal of Hospitality Management.
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Landrum, N. (2022). Strong sustainability in practice. Pathways to Research in Sustainability. EBSCO

Palabiyik, J.U., Cronin, B., Markham Bagnera, S.D. and Legg, M.P. (2022), “Endings, freezing, and new beginnings: the return of customer comfort to Massachusetts restaurants following the pandemic”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print
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Diamantis, D., & Puhr, R. (2022). Corporate social responsibility and work–life balance provisions for employee quality of life in hospitality and tourism settings. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 14(3), 207–209.
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Diamantis, D., & Puhr, R.(2022). Macro- and micro-level connections between work–life balance, quality of life and circular economic thinking as drivers of sustainability. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 312–315.
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Conferences:

Agogue, M., Fiset, J.E., Geller, K.D., Germanier R., Lewis Grant, K., Mailhot, C., Mukherji, S., Phillips, J.C., Puhr, R., Robinson, M.A. & Srinivasan, V. (2022). Synchronous and Asynchronous Teaching: Realigning Teaching Approaches to a VUCA World [Symposium abstract]. Academy of Management (AOM) 82nd Annual Meeting, Seattle, CA, United States.
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Puhr, R. (2022). Shared paths to faculty flourishing: The opportunities hidden among the challenges of HyFlex [Symposium paper]. What’s it even called: Hybrid/hyflex teaching and meetings: reflections, experiences and possible futures. University College London, 6 June 2022.
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Darioly, A & Riggio, R. E. (2022, September). The relationship between social and emotional skills and transformational leadership of future hospitality leaders. Paper presented at the symposium Psychology’s contribution to Hospitality (chair) of the 17th Congress of the Swiss Psychological Society (SPS), Zurich, Switzerland.

Les Roches Research Publications: 2021

Journals:

Albrahimi, A., (2021). How Fintechs are Supporting the Hospitality Industry. The Fintech Times (UK)

Marechal, L. (2021) Do economic variables forecast commodity futures volatility?, Journal of Futures Markets 41(11),  1735– 1774.
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Puhr, R. (2021). The skills debate in the context of a pandemic: Are students prepared for the workplace? Journal for Higher Education Development (ZFHE), 16(3), 99–118.
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Les Roches Research Publications: 2020 and prior

Journals:

Marshall, T., Mottier, E.M., Lewis, R.A. (2019) Motivational factors and the hospitality industry. (harveymaria.com) Cambridge University Press, IELTS Academic 14

Darioly, A., & Gueuning, F. (2018). What type of disruptive leaders will the hotel industry need? Insight, eHotelier
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Aiosi, V. (2018). This is the secret attraction of Swiss wine, Forbes
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Vlad, E. (2015). The application of Six Sigma in the hospitality industry. In J. Feng, S. Stocklin & W. Wang (Eds.) Educational strategies for next generation leaders in hotel management (pp. 73-113)

Vlad, M. (2015).  Educational Strategies for Next Generation Leaders in Hotel Management, IGI Global, Hershey, PA, USA(Ch. 8 Exceeding Guest Expectations: An Overview of the Best Practices in the Hospitality Industry)

Conferences

Mottier, E., Marshall, T. (2018) An Investigation into the Importance of Analytical Competencies: a Hospitality Industry Perspective. In: Proceedings of The 11th EuroMed Conference, ISBN: 978-9963-711-67-3

Qumsieh-Mussalam, G. (2011) Conference Moderator `Social Media in Hospitality & Tourism` 20-22 October, Verona, Italy

Chib, S. & Cheong, F. (2010). An Investigation of ICT Adoption Intent in Swiss Small and Medium Sized Tourist Enterprises. Chib, S. & Cheong, F. (2010). In: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Information Technology and Travel & Tourism (ENTER 2010), Lugano, Switzerland.