Letter from Outgoing CHS President, Richy Petrina '01

Dear Hotelies,

I write to you after just completing another Hotelie Hopping adventure, this time in support of the magnificent South Florida gala held at the Four Seasons in Miami. It was just one of many wonderful events I’ve had the privilege of attending in the past 12 months as part of my world tour, during which I’ve tried to meet as many of you as possible whilst amplifying the voice and reach of CHS.

This will be a rather lengthy note, for which I apologize in advance, but if you indulge me I promise it will be a good read. And although we are facing local and global challenges that are beyond our control – environmental, economic, and political – I am nevertheless filled with optimism as CHS heads into its 97th year.

Rebecca Lee, who has now taken the helm of CHS from Hong Kong, has my fullest confidence. I am excited for her fresh and bold voice to lead our organization, and thank you for your shared and continued support of our humble ethos that Life Is Service.

Sending warm hugs from chilly Ithaca! CU soon.

Richy

+1.607.262.0075

The 2024 Hotelie Journey

Last year was indeed a grand adventure for a humble Ithaca kid, and I wish to sincerely thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve our Hotelie community as your CHS Global President. It has been an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I look forward to properly thanking you through my future contributions from Ithaca.

Beyond the little town far above Cayuga’s waters, I met Hotelies in the following places: Austin, Bethesda, Boston, Boulder, Budapest, (further up) Cayuga Lake, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Holland, Hong Kong, Montalcino (Castello Banfi), Munich, Nashville, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Orleans, NYC, Orlando, Palmetto Bluff, Paris, (rural) Pennsylvania, Reims (Champagne), Roma, Salzburg, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto, Transylvania, Verona, Vienna, and Westport CT. 

Within CHS, we are extremely careful and frugal with our limited budget. So I wish to thank the many of you who generously and directly contributed to my actual journey in the form of gas money (for last year’s road trip to Florida!)… points for rooms (in Korea!)… hosting me in your hotels (throughout the world!)… taking me out to lunches, dinners, farmers markets, cappuccinos, cocktails, and baking cookies for the road… hosting events with me in your homes… letting me park my car in your Toronto driveway while flying to Asia… and last but not least, to the many of you who hosted me overnight in your homes. It was so wonderful reconnecting, meeting new friends, and meeting your families while traveling. Hotelie Hopping is without a doubt the most amazing way to travel!

I also wish to thank my own family – Emily & James – for allowing and encouraging me to do this in support of our extended family, the Hotelies.

And lastly, I thank all the many volunteer leaders – on the Global Board, in the Regions, in our 50+ Chapters, and on our many Committees – who devote countless hours to furthering the efforts of CHS. With little fanfare, unending grace, and thoughtful hospitality, together we show up and proudly serve the rest of our Hotelie community, our school, and our industry at large. 

Here are some of the highlights from 2024 and ongoing projects I’m excited about as we look to the future;

Globally: 

CHS was more active than ever in 2024, organizing just shy of 200 events. Chapters around the world are executing more and better activities, from the super-professional summit in Dubai (amazing, Adi) to intimate and relaxed gatherings in people’s homes. We continue to innovate and find fun ways to engage our community at a truly staggering pace! This momentum, on top of the two large events the school organizes outside of Ithaca, is the reason CHS remains the principal way through which thousands of Hotelies stay connected. Finland in April is almost sold out, and I hope to see many of you there!

In 2024, we successfully introduced the new community-driven nominations process for CHS Global Directors, allowing for a more transparent and impactful succession plan. This was excellently handled by my predecessor, Jeff Scott, who continues to serve CHS in various ways after stepping down from the board. Thank you, Jeff! And thank you to the many individuals who nominated themselves or others to serve as volunteer leaders.

We recently launched the year-round marketplace where products and services donated by Hotelies can be acquired by other Hotelies, with contributions supporting the mission of CHS. I encourage you to consider supporting this platform in the future with fun and creative ideas, or by ‘purchasing’ items from the site.

We are launching the Events Committee and restructuring the Marketing & Communications Committee – providing more opportunities for Hotelies to volunteer beyond the Chapter level – and helping us elevate our game. Keep an eye out for new opportunities to put your skills to use regardless of where you live in the world.

Speaking of, if you wish to host an event for your local Hotelie community, let us know. The CHS Lobby is stronger than ever (thank you, Susan!), and we can help amplify your meetup in partnership with local Chapters. You do not need to be a Chapter leader to organize an event and I invite you to write us at [email protected] if you wish to create one!

We have worked with many excellent corporate partners in limited and ad hoc ways in the past. Expect to see more tangible and relevant year round partnerships with companies and brands both on and offline.

November marked the 3rd edition of our wonderful Hall of Fame event, during a bigger-than-ever Hotelie Weekend where we hosted over 600 individuals! Plans are already underway for the next iteration – thank you to Ted Teng, the nominations committee, and many volunteers for your ongoing commitment to this endeavor.

We are working on a survey that is going to be shared with all of you in the upcoming months. When you receive it, please try and make time and share your feedback so we can continue to improve CHS and be more relevant to you. Thank you to 1st Vice President Alex Koch for your efforts on leading this initiative, as well as Yasamin Miller, and all the contributors.

In 2024, we launched the ‘Friends Of CHS’ – a new membership for non-Hotelie Cornellians who work in the Hospitality industry and would add value to the fabric of our CHS community. This invite-only membership has been rather sleepy, so to start off 2025, I am personally going to make a contribution to CHS by paying the first year’s memberships for three outstanding individuals that I believe should join CHS. They are Katie Button [James Beard Award-winning restaurateur in Asheville], Dan Ruff [CEO of Belmond Hotels], and Alexandra Miranda [a recent information science grad who works in operations at Four Seasons]. If you wish to recommend other Cornellians that should be invited to join CHS and formally sponsor them, please contact their local Chapter and us at [email protected]. 

In Ithaca:

Effective immediately, I am going to be refocusing my attention and my efforts to increase the desirability of CHS in Ithaca. Through the newly created CHS Office of University Relations, I will be supporting current and future CHS boards by enhancing our voice on campus, in collaboration with the school, its faculty and staff, and its many student groups. If your travels ever bring you back to Ithaca, please write me directly and let me know!

We are going to take a more thoughtful and expanded approach to CHS merchandise, particularly in Ithaca – with hats, other wearables, and accessories – in limited editions and in various languages. Beyond enhancing our visibility, this will serve to diversity our revenue streams.

We are going to broadcast more online events in the future around topics that are both professional and fun. Keep an eye out for CHS Sessions!

Scholarships:

Lastly, I want to remind you that CHS truly lives the ethos of Life Is Service by giving more than we receive. Although we receive zero financial support from the university we serve, our combined endowed contribution to the school – it’s second largest such endowment – is worth over $8,400,000. Each year, and in perpetuity, several dozen individuals benefit from it in the form of student scholarships. And beyond undergrads, we also have other scholarships that support MMH students as well as executive PDP and GMP participants. If you wish to contribute directly to the mission of CHS, in particular to help support young alumni / recent grads, please contact us directly at [email protected]. As well, I invite you to join the almost two thousand regular-dues and lifetime members in supporting what we do. To learn about dues options, click here. 

There’s lots of work to be done and the world is our campus. Let’s keep the momentum going and thank you for being a Hotelie for Life!